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Chapter 1
Wipingdownthepubtable closest to the door, Scarlett Mason could already tell that tonight was going to be alongone. Normally, working her weekday shift at Thazir’s dive bar wasn’t terribly eventful.
Of course, the regulars came in every night like clockwork. The rare out-of-towner drifted through and needed a cold drink to unwind. And the occasional miscreants tended to cause trouble any time they came in. Tonight was one of those nights. This time, a couple of younger-looking Xoyosan were rowdy from the moment they stumbled through the doors.
She could hear them even now from all the way across the room, their loud, drunken voices drowning out the sounds of the tele-projector above the bar.
She’d turned it on to one of the games happening tonight—some sport she didn’t actually understand and honestly didn’t bother to try—at their request. It wasn’t a shock when one of them slapped her on the ass and told her to keep the pitchers flowing.
It made her want to sigh and close up shop for the rest of the night.
Scarlett wasn’t a stranger to being accosted, especially here when she dealt with Xoyosis’s most intoxicated. But tonight, she was the only one on the clock, and dealing with them as well as the rest of the regulars who had trickled in was starting to get a little overwhelming.
The door in front of her chimed open, making her look up and flash a smile. “Hey, welcome to Thazir’s. You can sit anywhere you’d like.”
The newcomer nodded, a cloak draped over his large body with the hood pulled down over the majority of his face. It made her uneasy immediately despite him heading over to one of the corners of the dive bar and taking a seat.
She didn’t want to prejudge anyone, especially if he turned out to be some kind of drifter just passing through due to business elsewhere in the galaxy. Plus, who was she to deny anyone a drink based on how sketchy they looked?
Shaking her head, Scarlett tucked her rag into her apron and approached his table. “Can I get anything started for you?”
Carefully, he tugged the hood of his cloak away from his face and let it fall back onto his shoulders. She blinked in surprise at his violet-colored skin.
A Lorrian? All the way out here?
That was different.
She’d seen residents from the planet Noxxa pass through Xoyosis from time to time, most of them pleasant enough to not leave much of a mess but, for some reason, always skimping out on the tip. But a Lorrian outside of Noxxa or Lorr was rare to see.
Scarlett tried not to make it obvious that she was staring at him while he grabbed the small menu off of the table and flipped it open.
He was certainly handsome with a strong jawline and a square face that gave him a bit of a roguish look. It was softened by his long lashes that framed his violet-colored eyes. His dark hair was straight and slightly messy from his hood, with a few pieces of it flicking up around his ears.
“Do you have any beers on tap?”
Scarlett bit her lip. His voice sounded exactly like she thought it would, deep and smooth, like she’d been coated in warm sugar. It made her tongue tingle.
She cleared her throat, shaking herself from the thoughts. “Yeah, I’ve got a few.”
“I’ll take your bestseller.”
Scarlett nodded and stepped away from his table. “Right away.”
Heading directly over to the bar, she shook her head. She could feel her skin starting to heat up and sweat beginning to collect around her brows. What the hell was wrong with her? Sure, Lorrians were known to be incredibly attractive, but to get worked up over one man sitting in her bar?
Seriously, pull yourself together.
Grabbing one of the beer glasses off of the shelf behind the bar, she turned around to stick it under the tap.
“Hey, lady.” One of the rowdy Xoyosans held up the empty pitcher, waving it in the air. “Can we get another one?”
Scarlett frowned. She’d just put that pitcher down right before she’d started cleaning the tables, and they were already out? Glancing over at the running tabs screen next to her, she winced at how high their bill was climbing.
It wasn’t that she didn’t think they had any money on them, but at the rate they were drinking, she doubted they’d have enough to cover their entire bill. Even if they split it up between all of them.
She flashed the kid a smile, though, pulling back the tap to fill the newcomer’s glass. “I’ll be right over.”
“Hey, didn’t you hear me?” The Xoyosan kid stood up, unbalanced and clearly wasted. “I said we need a refill.Now.”
