I swallowed and nodded. I truly believed that. Bishop had shown me how much he didn’t take shit from stupid assholes.
“Comes with the territory, I guess.”
His scowl reappeared, and he shook his head. “Not here, Korrie. Not with you.”
I inhaled sharply at his words, knowing I shouldn’t read too much into them, but how could I not when he looked at me that way and said the words in that tone?
We stood there just a moment longer before I gave him a weak smile, one that was like that because I was so nervous, the kind of way that was good and exciting because of Bishop.
I forced myself to turn and head back to my tables, and the entire time, I felt Bishop’s eyes trained right on me.
4
Bishop
It was late as hell, well after three in the morning, but I was still so keyed up, this wild energy running through my veins.
And it was all because of Korrie.
God, she makes me feel… alive.
I wiped off the counter for the fifth time, dragging my feet on fully closing, because the only other person left at the bar was Korrie. Pyper and Regan had left, and we’d closed over an hour ago, but Korrie stayed back to go over some procedures, saying that while she was here, she wanted to get it done.
I admired the hell out of her commitment and work ethic, that was for sure.
I loved it even more that I was able to be here with her, while things were calm, the lights low, and I’d put on some music as background noise.
She hummed softly, and her voice eased me even more, more than anything I’d ever heard in my life. For the hundredth time tonight alone, I glanced at her. She had a stack of work procedure papers in front of her, the fingers of one hand lightly tapping on the bar in time with the song playing overhead. Her other hand gently toyed with the end of a thick curl, and I was mesmerized by the sight.
She calmed me, everything about her so pleasing to me that it was almost this drugging feeling.
Korrie exhaled, and I snapped back to the present, looking away quickly and clearing my throat. I was hard, but was I such an asshole that I wasn’t even ashamed over that? I tried to discreetly adjust my shaft.
“I think I’m going to head out. My brain is pretty much toast.”
I looked at her, trying to act like I hadn’t been watching her this whole time like a damn creep. She closed her eyes and brought her fingers to her temples, rubbing the digits in slow circles as she closed her eyes. The soft sound she made wasn’t sexual in the least, but damn, that’s where my mind went.
Right into the fucking gutter.
God, she was incredible, gorgeous, and with a down-to-earth personality. She also had a witty sense of humor, and I caught bits of it here and there throughout the night. I craved more. Hell, I yearned to just hear her voice.
I’d stopped fighting this attraction a day after our first introduction. That interview had literally changed my life. I’d given myself twenty-four hours to figure out why I was so drawn to her, to see if it was just an instant-attraction kind of thing. But then I realized she was something special, someone who entered a person’s life and meant to turn it upside down in the best of ways. I knew this feeling I had wasn’t fleeting.
I knew she was it for me.
My feelings were this strong because I’d found my soul mate.
She looked over at me then, and I swear I felt the fucking ground tilt under my feet. Korrie gave me a tired smile, and I knew she had to be exhausted. We’d been jam-packed as soon as the doors opened, and it never let up until I forced all the drunks out at two.
“Yep, I’m going to call it a night,” she said in that soft voice of hers that instantly made me dizzy.
I curled my hand around the edge of the counter to brace myself because the ground tilted once more. “Yeah, you look beat.” I kicked myself for even saying that. Like anybody wanted to hear they looked tired. But even though she looked exhausted, she was still so damn sexy it made my heart skip a beat. “Let me just insert my foot into my mouth once more tonight.”
She gave me a genuine laugh, and I couldn’t help but grin. Korrie tipped her head to the side a little bit, this soft expression covering her face. “You’ve got a really nice smile, and the dimple complements it.”
Well damn. I wasn’t the type of man to get all bashful, but she brought that out in me. In fact, she was the only person who could make me blush, which I was feeling like I was doing hardcore at the moment.