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“Tripe soup.”
“Oh, goodie.” Scarlet finished off her first drink. Last night’s soup was so watered down and salty, it barely took the edge off our hunger, but the man had been kind to feed us at all.
“Two of those, please,” I ordered. We needed food, and options were slim nowadays.
Turning more to her when the bartender walked away, I felt the room blurring at the edges. “So, Scarlet…”
She didn’t respond, her attention on her glass.
“Scarlet?”
Her head jerked up. “What?”
“You okay?”
“Yeah, was just spacing out.” She twisted on her stool more to me, pulling off her outer jacket and brushing back her long hair. She really was stunning. Without any makeup, she looked younger, but at the same time older. More comfortable in her skin, like she didn’t need to put on an act.
“Why are you here?”
“What?” She sat up higher.
“Don’t you miss your family? Aren’t they freaking out because you aren’t home?”
“Yes, and most definitely yes.”
“Then why aren’t you with them?” I rested my head on my hand, the booze leaning me more into the bar. “Why are you here… with me?”
She rocked on her stool, her eyes falling on me before she looked away. “Because I have to.”
“Why? Why do you have to be here with me?” Why did it sound like it meant more every time I said that?
She took a drink, tucking hair behind her ear. “For their safety and mine.”
“That’s not telling me much,dziubus.”
Her emerald gaze lifted. “Little beak.” She swallowed. “Why do you call me that?”
I hadn’t even realized I had just called her the name again. “Not sure.” Shrugging, I gulped back whiskey, everything becoming warmer and fuzzier. “Fit, I guess.” I hadn’t spoken Polish in a century, so I had no idea why the old nickname came back to me.
The barkeep set down our dinners, sliding more drinks our way. In any of these places, the drunker you were, the wider your wallet would open.
Neither of us went for our food. We watched each other, continuing to drink.
“Question.” I licked at my lip. “Are the people after you the cause or the reason you’re running?”
“They are the result of my own actions.”
“Hmmm.” My head ticked down, wondering what this girl could’ve possibly done that was truly bad. “Interesting.” A smile curled my mouth, the alcohol lowering my guard. I could hear the drag of my voice, the unintentional salaciousness of it, the tease. “So Scarlet is a naughty girl after all.”
She sucked in, her neck and cheeks turning a pretty rose color, something in her eyes flashing. Wild and raw. Every fiber in my body responded to it, the hum around her charging the air between us.
She sipped, her gaze sliding to me. “What makes you think I was ever a good girl?”
Warning. Warning.
My knuckles cracked around the glass, my body so keyed up from our journey through the forest that I was vibrating with need. Even something playful and cheeky from her had me about to explode. I needed to shut this down, or I was going to do something we both might regret.
“I can just tell. You’re good,” I replied nonchalantly, almost insultingly. I swiveled the chair to face the room, scanning the workers’ faces, hoping to find an outlet, maybe a few. My mood was telling me I’d end up in the party room tonight, except my dick didn’t respond to any of them.
