I considered my already empty glass.Getting drunk sounded perfect, but men tended to get worse at sex when they got wasted, and I didn’t want that.In other words, I didn’t mind being sloppy drunk during sex, but the guy better be at least half-way sober.
“You’re trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me?”I asked instead.
“Depends.Do you want me to take advantage of you?”
Alright, maybe he was passing the test.Maybe.I mean, he didn’t throw a tantrum because of my slight bitchiness, and he was basically asking for consent.
I tapped my fingers on the bar and narrowed my eyes at him, pretending to think.“What if I want to take advantage of you instead?”
“All yours, baby.”
I shuddered.“No endearments, okay?”
He slid a bill across to the bartender, pretending not to look at me, but I could see him watching me from the corner of his eye, noticing how I reacted with an actual full body shudder.
“You make the rules,” he answered nonchalantly.
Good.That was good.Him noticing too much of my reaction wasn’t, though.
Looking at his posture, I wanted to say he was military, but the way he watched me made me think law enforcement.Although, his watch was too nice.Not that I had anything to hide from the police, but I didn’t want him getting too attached and using his position to track me down or something.
Whatever.I just had to make sure not to tell him too much about myself.It didn’t have to get complicated.
I followed Nick outside and shrugged my coat on.The weather was still crap, but it somehow got even worse with the annoying drizzle.Fucking weather.
“So, your rules mean you decide where to go,” Nick said, looking at me intently, his eyes telling me exactly how he wanted the night to go.“I’m from out of state, so I’m staying in a hotel a few blocks from here.Or we can just hang out.”
“Hotel sounds perfect.”Him being from out of state sounded even better.I wouldn’t have to worry about him getting too attached.“But if you’re angling for a murder-suicide, I have to warn you: I’m a light sleeper.”
“That’s too bad.”He chuckled, then offered me his elbow and as soon as I took it, he started walking toward his hotel.Not too rushed, but he was definitely a man on a mission and that mission’s objective was in my pants.“I promise, I’m not a serial killer.Although, you should probably text someone my ID to be on a safe side.”
There were only two people in my life who cared enough to report me missing.One of them would have nightmares if I texted her with anything remotely like “in case I get murdered,” and the other one would read me a lecture about my life choices.
“I’ll take my chances,” I answered.
Would running into a serial killer really be so bad?
Oh, hell, I couldn’t go down that path, not even in my thoughts.If I got killed, it would absolutely destroy my sisters, and I wouldn’t do that to them.They deserved better after everything they’d been through.
I focused on the cold air biting through my jacket.Even that was better than thinking of murders and what not.That’s what I got for only having one shot.It clearly wasn’t enough to numb me.
As we got to the hotel, I wondered if the watch was a gift because the angry carpet and dying potted plants didn’t exactly scream money.Then again, maybe he wasn’t the one who had booked it.New York was a prime location for conferences people were forced to attend, and their employers would book the accommodations.It was either that or he stole the watch from someone.So many possibilities and definitely not enough alcohol in my system.
The elevator ride was silent, the tension growing more taut with every floor.In the room, he stepped aside to let me enter first.I put my bag down, tossed my coat on a chair, and turned to face him.
Nick didn’t pounce.He took off his jacket, hung it neatly, and set his phone face-down on the nightstand.When he looked at me, there was something in his eyes—determined but not desperate.
Good.Still good.Maybe the lack of alcohol in my system wouldn’t matter if he proved to be as considerate as he was so far.Maybe he could make me forget.
