Page 98 of The Code of You

"Two whiskeys, please.”

"Coming right up,” he said. "Nice accent, by the way. Irish?”

I smiled. "Boston. But thank you.”

He grinned. "Sounds like something out of a film.”

I took the drinks he handed me and turned around. Neo was still standing. His eyes narrowed slightly as they moved over the bartender. Heat crept up the back of my neck.

"What?” I asked when I got back to the table.

Neo took the whiskey and didn’t answer. A muscle ticked in his jaw.

"You’re staring at him,” I whispered.

"He assessed you. Within 2.1 seconds. Pupil dilation, minimal forward lean, change in vocal register.”

"He was friendly.”

"He was forward.”

"He was polite.”

Neo looked at me. "He wanted to touch you.”

I unfolded my napkin. "So? I can decide for myself who gets to touch me.”

"Of course you can.” His voice went dangerously quiet. "But I decide who survives.”

My heart skipped. The hair on my arms stood up. From anyone else it would have been an empty threat. From him it wasn’t.

The image returned without warning: Neo breaking a man’s neck with a single twist. The body going slack. Neo’s eyes lighting up in the moment of killing.

"Do you really think he deserved to touch you?” His voice moved over my skin like cold air. "He has no substance, Pandora. Three years of university, then cocktail courses. He doesn’t read books. He doesn’t know who you are.”

"And you know all that because . . .”

"I scanned him.”

I stared at him. "You scanned him.”

"Yes.”

"Because I ordered drinks from him.”

"Because you smiled back.”

I breathed shallowly, then not at all. The anger came slowly, first a prickling in my stomach, then a blaze. My teeth pressed together hard enough to hurt. He actually thought he could control every step I took, decide who I spoke to, who I smiled at.

"You know what?” I stood. "I’m going to get a soda.”

I felt his gaze on my back as I walked to the bar.

"Back again,” the bartender said. "Would you like another compliment?”

I laughed. The sound surprised me. What was I actually doing? I was putting an innocent person in danger just to prove something. That was rotten. It made me no better than Neo. But God, the thought of him watching me right now, of driving him insane . . . It delighted me. I wanted to provoke him. I wanted him to lose control. What was wrong with me? Arousal tingled through my limbs, made my voice unsteady.

"Just a soda.”