Him, of all people.
He flicks his gaze in my direction, gifting me with a fraction of his attention for a few seconds.
But as the emotionless words leave his mouth, I wish he’d stayed looking the other way. Because the urge to claw out his eyes is so strong I might actually be in danger of visiting a South African jail like he’s already threatened me with.
His lips curl into a sneer.
“Get yourself a fucking torch for your next nighttime walk.”
11
WOODY
“Look who it is.”Declan grins, tilting the neck of his beer bottle toward the other end of the bar.
He persuaded me to come and have a couple of beers with him. It’s not my thing—all the people, the noise. The only upside is sometimes those things muffle the voices in my head that haunt me.
My grip tightens around my bottle as I spot the source of Declan’s interest.
New York City’s perched on a bar stool beside her friend, wearing a tight little white dress, and laughing.
I bring my beer to my lips and take a long, cool gulp before placing the condensation-covered bottle back on the bar.
“Time I headed back. See you in the morning.” I stand and clap Declan on the shoulder.
“What? Come on, man. It’s still early.”
My gaze slides back to the other end of the bar where two guys have appeared beside the girls, both wearing matching leery smirks like their luck is in.
Maybe I should go and tell them that she only fucks guys if it’s due to a case of mistaken identity.
“Shame management say guests are off-limits, hey?” Declan chuckles, following my gaze. “She’s a cool girl.”
“She’s a nightmare,” I grit, narrowing my eyes at one of the guys who’s moved so close to Jude it’s obvious that he’s done it to get a direct eyeline down at her cleavage. But she’s laughing at something he says like she either doesn’t realize or doesn’t care.
“Nah, Mel’s great. You should have seen her getting to grips with her board earlier. Never done it before, but she didn’t stop until she got the hang of it. We stayed out another forty minutes after the others had enough.”
Declan’s smile grows and he throws a hand up in a wave, which Mel returns, nudging Jude and pointing in our direction. Jude waves back, her face lighting up.
Then she sees me.
“Go on. Have another,” Declan says.
I hold Jude’s glare, watching the way hers deepens as I slide back onto my stool, indicating I’m not going anywhere.
“Sure. One more.”
Declan knocks his palm on the bar. “That’s more like it. Another round?” he calls to the bartender.
I stare at Jude and she does her best to ignore me and chat to the chump who’s still got his eyes on her breasts.
I wouldn’t mind getting those juicy tits in my mouth again if it weren’t for the hellcat they belong to.
What the fuck was I thinking last night? I should have stopped her. I should have known she thought I was Declan. I just assumed she must have known I was doing him a favor and was sleeping on-site.
“I knocked three times.”
I didn’t understand the significance of those words until Declan told me about his interaction with her and Mel yesterday. He thought the girls were messing with him.
