Page 75 of Inflict

Connor scoffed, taking a seat beside Evelyn on the leather sectional, a pint of black stuff in his hand. Wine wasn’t his thing, but he figured Evelyn might want to drink if they were in a bar, and he had something of his own.

“Don’t believe everything you hear, lass.”

But to be fair, she had a point.

Evelyn simply shot him with a sly smile that said she knew he was toying with her, and sipped on her drink. “What now?”

“You wanted to listen to music, so wait, and listen.”

Connor took the chance to survey the bar, and the people inside. It wasn’t a pub, like he preferred, or even a club where someone could get up and dance. However, the place was a little-known gem, tucked away in a rather old part of Brooklyn, and it did decent business. The place didn’t appeal to a younger crowd because it didn’t cater to specialty drinks, flashing lights, and new-age music.

Instead, the place sported shined wooden floors, low lighting, leather furniture, a bartender with a tongue as sharp as his eye, and a stage. A single spotlight on the stage lit up the lone microphone that also gave a shout-out to the yesteryears gone by, with its large size and crackly sound when it was turned on.

It wasn’t Connor’s first time at the place, but he didn’t come here often, either. He needed to be in a sort of mood to enjoy the atmosphere and nuance the bar provided. Usually when he went out to drink, it wasn’t to enjoy the establishment, but to get drunk, have a meet with someone, or find a quick ride with a woman.

Connor glanced over to find Evelyn watching him from the corner of her eye. None of those things were on the table tonight—at least not with someone else. He found he wasn’t all that interested in those things, anyway, unless the lass beside him asked for it.

She had asked for music, but didn’t mention anything about dancing or the sort. He figured a bar with rubbish music wouldn’t be up her alley, and neither would a club with enough people to make anyone claustrophobic. Maybe in time, but not tonight.

The curtains moved at the back of the stage, making Evelyn sit straighter as two people came out on the stage. A man and a woman, both dressed for a stage, while the man had a stool and guitar in his grasp.

Connor rested comfortably into the sectional, throwing his arm along the back. “Live music, love. You can’t get better than that.”

Evelyn didn’t reply, but her profile was more than enough to tell him she was over the feckin’ moon. He didn’t care to pay attention to the couple on the stage setting up, or even the other people who had started to swarm the stage to get a seat on the sectional surrounding it to be the closest for the show.

Even after the man began to strum out a low, soulful tune while the woman’s vocals perfectly complimented the instrument’s sound, Connor was distracted. Or rather, far more interested in someone else.

Evelyn, that was.

He didn’t want to miss a single thing as she experienced it with him, especially when she looked as happy as she did right then in that second. There had never been a moment when he wanted to freeze time, to perfectly capture a moment, more than he did when she smiled. It was always so genuine, so perfectly beautiful.

She didn’t even realize it.

He wasn’t sure how he managed to, when he’d never bothered to pay attention to something so simple in the other people around him.

Perhaps Evelyn was just special in that way.

Connor had been so caught up in watching Evelyn, that he didn’t realize she was staring back at him until she spoke up.

“Don’t you like the music?” she asked quietly.

He nodded. “Aye, but I like something else far better, lass.”

Evelyn leaned into his side, settling more relaxed into the leather and closer to Connor. Her fingertips danced with his along the back of the sectional before she pulled his arm down around her shoulders. He quickly managed to lose track of time again, simply by the sensation of Evelyn’s fingers toying with his as she watched the show.

Connor couldn’t help but want more; he was a selfish bastard in that way, though he never tried to hide it. He stroked her bare arm up to the cap sleeve of her dress, stopping to finger the lace overlay of the blue fabric. He’d wondered what dress she would pick from the handful that had been purchased, and was secretly happy with her choice.

For a few reasons …

It was high enough in the back to hide the stars below her neck, yet dipped low enough in the front to make his gaze and mind wander while his throat and slacks tightened. The deep blue make the red tones in her hair stand out more, and even caused her freckles to be a wee bit more noticeable on her skin. The skirt fell at her knees, but wasn’t so tight that he couldn’t get it up over her waist rather fast, if needed.

Connor smirked to himself, shaking his head as his fingers traveled back down the length of her soft arm again. Evelyn was paying attention to his moves, because with each touch, goosebumps bloomed over her flesh, though she never looked away from the stage.

He decided then and there that he could stay like this forever, watching her and touching her, because it was one of the most interesting things he had ever seen. She was by far one of the most interesting things he had ever been lucky enough to meet.

Twice, actually.

He’d been that lucky twice.