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His lips quirk up as he splays his hand on my lower back and leads me to the long L-shaped bar in the far right of the room. “Not exactly.” Although he’s casual, there’s a tightness in every small feature of his stance and the way he walks.
His answer is one he would have given me a week ago. Hell, even two days ago. He would have left it there, and I wouldn’t have had the balls to push for more. I would have let the unsettling feeling push us farther apart.
Not tonight though, not as we brush by the crowded room, past high tables and men and women whose outfits range from both custom suits and short dresses, to tattered jeans and thin white tank tops. “I’m working with the Cross brothers, and Jase owns this place, so if he needs me here, I may be here, but I won’t be the bouncer or bartender.”
His eyes hold a brightness, even though they’re dark and in them I see the reflection of the bottles that line the bar, and more, so much more.
Passion, desire, a challenge, and … purpose.
It’s disconcerting in some ways as I take a seat at the bar, sitting down on the leather stool. I could never give him this. I don’t want him to fight, but that’s what dark knights are meant to do.
“You want anything to eat?” he asks me and I shake my head, telling him I just want a cranberry juice. He signals for the bartender easily, but I can tell he’s on edge like I am. On edge that the wall of mistruths and hidden secrets is breaking down between us.
“Bastian,” the bartender greets him and then turns to me. “You must be Chloe,” he says without missing a beat. With his sleeves rolled up and his tattoos showing on his forearms, the man looks deadly, even if he’s smiling at me. Italian. Dominating. And sexy as hell.
“Sebastian’s told me all about you and the little addition,” he says, and his eyes drift lower as he searches for the baby bump. “Congratulations,” he tells me.
“Thank you,” I respond but I don’t even know his name, and I could cringe at that. I know so little. I don’t know anyone here, but that’s going to change. Sebastian’s only been here a week longer than me, but it’s obvious that he belongs here. That he’s welcome here.
There’s a small piece of me that wants to be welcome here too. For once in my life.
“Chloe, this is Seth,” Bastian tells me and Seth smiles broad and wide.
“It’s nice to finally meet you,” he tells me and then someone calls for his attention, taking him away but not before Bastian orders his beer and my drink.
“He works with Jase.”
“Well obviously, since this is his bar.”
“No, I mean…” Sebastian trails off and runs his hand along the back of his head. “Seth likes being behind the bar when he’s not working. But he works really close with Jase,” he tells me and then pauses. Even the music pauses a beat, as if to let the words sink in.
“What does he do?” I ask, and Bastian reaches for his beer. I turn around to thank Seth, seeing my drink right next to my hand for the first time. I hadn’t realized he set it there, but he’s already moved on to someone else.
“He does a lot of things. Whatever needs to be done. Fixes situations that get out of hand.”
“You like him?” I ask, letting my finger sit on the rim of the glass. It slides along the edge and I wonder if it makes a sound given that the edge is wet, but it doesn’t matter. The club is so loud, the soft sound would drown in it. Bastian nods, not showing me any emotion on his face, but steadfastly observing my reaction.
“Is that what you do too?” I ask him, not sure if I really want to know, but I damn well know that I want him to know I’ll still love him regardless.
“No.” Bastian takes a drink and then tells me, “I’ll be staying with Carter, going places with him to make sure things go down the way they’re supposed to.”
“Situations?” I ask and before he can even say “yeah” again, I ask, “Like what you used to do?” His tax returns said he was a butcher for Romano, but the scars on his knuckles say otherwise.
This time he only nods, his lips pressed in a tight line. “If it needs to be handled. Yes. I handle it.”
“So you’re the muscle,” I comment and take a sip of the bittersweet drink. I appreciate having to be sober for this. It’s surprising how it doesn’t bother me. How it even excites me. That’s what surprises me the most.
