She shot a glance to the bartender who gave her a shrug. “You come here tonotdrink?”
I didn’t exactly go into how drinking wouldn’t help my mental stability so I told her the other half of the truth. “I’m here for the ambiance.”
“I’ll take whatever beer is good on tap,” she said to Lester.
He clutched a cleaning rag over his chest. “A woman after my own heart.”
“Be careful there, Lester,” I laughed, though it was strained in my own ears.
“Don’t put off my new boyfriend,” Miranda mock accused me with a daring look, and set her hand on the countertop. Lester covered her hand with his own, playing into her antics.
“Yeah, can’t you see we’re in love?”
Miranda’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Yeah, we’ll be getting married soon.”
A possessive streak, dark and powerful swirled in me, making me want to yank his hand off hers, pull her against me and show her who she should be in love with. But I also rarely saw this relaxed playful side of Miranda. Tonight’s win really lightened her mood, and I didn’t want to ruin that. So I clenched my fists at my sides and gave a tight smile of warning.
“Which is why all our drinks will be on the house,” she finished.
Lester removed his hand at that. “Sorry sweetheart, I think we should see other people.”
Miranda laughed, in a full belly relaxed way I’d never seen. “Drats! Well, it was worth a try.”
I grabbed her free hand and dragged her over to the pool table, knowing Lester would bring our drinks over. The way herhand felt in mine sent hot shocks up my palm and into my bones. Fuck, it felt so right to be near her.
Reluctantly, I let her hand go and picked up a couple pool cues. “Would you play with me?”
Lester silently dropped off our drinks with a wink before taking off again, leaving us to our private corner of the bar.
“Another game? I thought we’d had enough of those for one night.”
I shrugged, hoping against hope. Just when I thought she’d shut it all down and walk out, she picked up one of the sticks. “Prepare to have your ass kicked, god of none.”
“I don’t care how you touch my ass, as long as you’re doing it,” I breathed, shooting her a leering smile. Miranda shook her head, even as she bent over to pull the ball rack out. My stomach jumped up into my throat before falling as her perfect rear was put on display for my view.
Memories of plowing into her tight body on that medieval bed in that theater came back in slow-mo technicolor, making my throat dry and my shorts instantly tighter. “How about we make things more interesting?” I asked, my voice a dry rasp.
Miranda lifted that perfectly arched eyebrow as she racked the balls.
“A little game called truth or dare. Every time you sink a ball, you get to pose a truth or dare to the other person.”
Maybe I was pushing my luck too far. Miranda didn’t want me poking around in her head, and as much as I didn’t want my brain poked either, I was desperate to get past all those defenses.
Miranda licked her lips in a slow, torturous movement that made me want to capture those swollen petals into a kiss so hot her clothes would melt off. Instead, I gripped the pool cue with all my strength, doing my best not to crack it.
“Deal,” she finally said.
There was something in her eyes that told me I might have made a massive mistake.
She leaned over, thrust the stick until the crack of balls broke the air and two solids disappeared into a corner pocket.
“Tell me about Aten, and how we can kill him.”
Well, fuck, that turned on me fast.
Chapter 21
The Badass
