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“What’ll you have, sweetheart?” The smiling man with red cheeks asked me, affable as any businessman with a customer.
“Tea and a corned beef sandwich,” I answered, and then had a thought. “Could I have mustard with it, please?”
“Sure thing,” Tommy said and left them in the corner.
“He seems…nice,” I said, just to stave off the silence.
“Yeah, nice isn’t a word I’d use when referring to Tommy. A businessman, definitely. Cunning? Probably. Nice? Nope, not a word I’d use at all.” Johnny leaned back in the booth, his gaze now on me, rather than the man pulling a pint for him.
“I see.” I nodded, even if I wasn’t certain about much at all. “Then why are we here?”
“Because, it’s the only place with a booth in a dark corner, which is exactly where I wanted you, Tara Anderson.” He leaned into me as he spoke, his eyes in line with mine.
“Is it now?” I asked, swallowing hard, my pulse leaping in my neck. He looked like he didn’t want that sandwich to eat, after all. He’d be happy eating me alive. I wasn’t sure I’d tell him no, if he tried.
“It is, Tara.” He sat back, smoothing a finger down the right side of his jaw, thinking as he took me in. “Exactly where I want you.”
Holy fuck, what was he up to? I squirmed on the seat, pulling my bottom lip in between my teeth, my eyes glued to his. “And what exactly are you going to do now that you have what you want?”
“I haven’t decided yet, honey. There are so many…possibilities.” His eyelids lowered just a fraction, but enough for me to notice, just as his voice lowered to something far more intimate. “And I’d like to do them all.”
“Oh.” I wanted to tear my gaze away, beg a stranger to help me escape whatever mistake I was about to make. I had a feeling though, that this might be the best mistake of my life. He might be what I needed in my life. So long as I kept it fun and didn’t come to expect anything from him, Johnny Baker might be just what I needed in my life.
His hand moved under the table, topped with a plastic green tablecloth. When it came down, it was on my right thigh, just below my skirt. My bottom lip went back between my teeth, to stop myself from moaning in delight. My head tilted slightly, though, letting him know I was aware of the intimate touch. I wouldn’t dare tell him no, anyway. He’d taken all of my control, somehow, and there was nothing I could do about it. I could get up and leave, of course, but what would be the fun in that?
“Yes, oh. That’s all you need to say, Tara. Not no, not stop, just…oh. That pretty little oh, purred in the exact same way you just said it. So…pretty.” His lips came near to mine, with only a breath separating us.
“Here’s your drinks. I’ll be back with your sandwiches as soon as they’re done,” Tommy interrupted the moment, making Johnny draw away.
I wanted to pout and protest, wanted to beg Johnny to kiss me, but the moment passed, and Johnny picked up his pint to take a drink. “Do you have a boyfriend, Tara? Anyone that might be upset that I took their woman out to eat?”
“No.” I shook my head automatically, answering without thinking. “I’m all alone.”
Johnny’s head turned sharply at my words, his eyes dark blue slits. “Not anymore.”
“Oh,” I repeated, but not on purpose.
Johnny nodded, a wry smile twisting his lips and making his eyes gleam. “Very good. I like how you obey.”
I just smiled, not sure if I wanted to be a toy for Johnny Baker and refusing to say ‘oh’ again, just to please him. And there was a part of me, a part I didn’t want to think about too closely yet, that demanded he conquer me. If he wanted me, he’d have to earn it. He might only want me for lunch, or he may want me longer, but if he wanted me, he’d have to earn it.
I looked up at him with a mischievous smile, a little devil on my shoulder. “And what do I get if I obey, Johnny?”
His dark eyebrows lifted in surprise. He’d spotted the game I was playing, good. I liked observant people, they tended to be intelligent. And it would be easier to play this game if he paid attention. Glad to not be disappointed, I sat back in the booth and looked down at his hand before I brought my eyes back up to his.
Johnny’s grin was an answer all on its own, wolfish and full of bravado. He leaned towards me to whisper in my ear. “If you’re a good girl and do as you’re told, I’ll get you off right here at this table, Tara. Would you like that?”
“Mm,” I said, pursing my lips flat against my teeth, afraid I’d say something stupid. It was bad enough my cheeks were on fire, I didn’t want to open my mouth and convince him I’d gone totally stupid on him.
His fingers clenched on my thigh, not painfully, just enough to get my attention. My eyes narrowed as a thought occurred to me, something I should have asked someone a while ago, before I stared him down on the stage the night before. My hand came down over his and I pulled away. With a clear head and steady eyes, I looked at him coldly. “Are you married, Johnny?”
“No,” he answered with what I could see was open honesty.
“Got a girlfriend?” was my next question, and he shook his head.
“A woman who claims you? I’m not stupid, I know what biker women are like, I don’t want to wake up with a knife in my throat. Or my guts.” My gaze didn’t waver, I needed the truth out of him.
“Nothing of the kind, Tara. I don’t have a lot of time for women. I was married years ago, when I was eighteen. She ran off with our forty-year-old dentist neighbor and our kid. Divorced me, got custody of our daughter, and moved to Canada. I learned my lesson. Between her and a mother that ran off when I was five, yeah, I don’t have a lot of time for women.” His eyes didn’t narrow, didn’t change at all. They stayed on mine though, making the point that this wasn’t a love match, even if he didn’t say the words.
