She put in the orders and caught her breath. God. What was wrong with her?
Whatever it was, she had to pull herself together, because she was on thin ice with Ethel already tonight, and she had other tables to take care of.
Nina made the rounds, bringing out dishes, checking to see everyone’s food was all right, refilling drinks, all on autopilot. She deliberately didn’t look over at Joel. She hoped no one at that table needed anything, because her eyes weren’t going anywhere near it.
Instead, she stopped by the table of rowdy, beer-drinking men. They might be obnoxious, but at least she wasn’t strangely attracted to any of them.
“Everything all right over here, guys?” she asked with her bright fake-smile.
“Be better if you stayed a while,” one of them said, looking her up and down.
“Afraid I’ve got a job to do.” She kept her smile in place.
“Maybe some other time, huh?” another one said.
“Maybe we could just keep you here anyway,” said a third, and just as Nina was about to make her excuses and leave, he reached out and caught her around the waist, one meaty hand spread over her hip and part of her butt.
Nina froze. Her leopard snarled, Claw him! Bite him! Make him sorry he touched us!
“Sir,” she started, her voice trembling with the need to hold in her leopard’s rage.
She didn’t get a chance to finish the sentence.
“Let her go.”
The voice was quiet, but fury lurked in its depths. Nina knew who was standing behind her without turning around.
“Hey, why don’t you mind your own—uh.” The customer had twisted around in his chair as he talked, and Nina watched his squinty eyes go wide at the sight of whatever was behind her. His arm slowly pulled back.
The whole table was silent. Nina took a deep breath, said, “Glad to hear everything’s all right, gentlemen. You keep enjoying, now,” and turned to leave.
Which, of course, put her face-to-face with her rescuer. Joel.
“Are you okay?” His eyes were intent on her face. Nina was finding it hard to breathe, looking at them. Could that molten silver color really be natural? It sure seemed to be melting her.
No. No, she couldn’t melt. Not for some man with pretty eyes and a deep voice.
She had to be strong, had to be able to stand on her own. If she couldn’t keep herself going alone, she was done for. She’d known that since she was sixteen, and she wasn’t about to forget it now.
So she lifted her chin, looked right into those gorgeous eyes, and said, “I’m fine. I don’t need any help.”
His eyes slid past her to the table of men, but surprisingly, he didn’t try to argue with her. “My mistake.”
“That’s right,” Nina said steadily. “And now I have to get back to work.”
There was a long, long moment where she honestly thought he was going to say, Don’t.
But all at once he let out his breath, and said, “I’ll just be going, then.”
Then the tables were turned. Because her leopard hissed. No, don’t let him go. Keep him here with us!
The desire was strong enough that Nina actually opened her mouth, ready to protest Joel’s leaving. He’d stepped backwards, but he stopped, stock-still, his eyes fixed on her mouth.
She snapped it shut. What was she going to say? “No, don’t go, hang around me while I do my job”? This whole situation was ridiculous already, and her strange freaky instincts were making it even worse.
What is up with you tonight? Nina thought at the growling, apparently man-hungry leopard. I let you out for a run just today! You should be tired and happy!
Happy with him, her leopard insisted.