Page 24 of Vicious Little Darling

“Sorry about that,” his deep, velvety voice cuts into my thoughts. “It was my uncle.”

I tilt my head back, taking in the way his warm eyes linger on my face. It’s as if helikeswhat he sees. “No problem at all. I should get going, anyway.”

His brow furrows. “Oh,” he says, disappointment in his voice. It makes my heart flutter. “Maybe we could continue this another time?”

Pursing my lips, I push back from the table and get to my feet. “Yeah, maybe. If you want to. I have a lot going on in my life right now…” I can’t meet his gaze as the words slip from my mouth, so I focus on his chin—his perfectly dimpled chin, hidden beneath a light layer of dark stubble. As painfully attractive as he is though…

I bet he can’t fuck like Skull-face.

“I guess I’ll just see you around then,” Xander breathes out, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Maybe I’ll get the job at the bar. We can at least be friends.”

Oh God, he thought this was a date… And here I am, ruining it.Had I not had a sexy creep between my legs last night, I’d beelatedright now.What the fuck is wrong with me?

“I…” my voice trails off as I try to conjure up the words I want to say to him.

“It’s all good.” But he still frowns at me and then drops his eyes away, picking up his coffee cup and heading toward the door. Within just a few seconds, he’s slipping out of the coffee shop door and walking off down the street.

Shit. Shit. Shit!I leave my coffee on the table like a horrible person and dart through the shop, weaving in between tables until I reach the door. I shove it open and take off in the direction I saw Xander go, scanning the crowd for him.

But he’s nowhere. Well, I mean, he’ssomewhere,just nowhere that I can see. I walk a few blocks in that direction I thought he took, my shoulders slumped and then, finally, I give up.So fucking stupid, Ember. You could’ve ruined it with someone you’re actually interested in.I let out a sigh, angry with myself for all the reasons…

Including the fact that Istillwant the skull-faced weirdo to show back up in my life. And this time, maybe he’ll have the balls to fuck me.

And potentially murder me.

***

“Ready for your first night?” Josh greets me with a massive smile as I step through into the empty pub.

“Yeah, of course.” I feign a smile, like I didn’t spend all day wondering why my creepy stalker was no longer hanging around. I mean, I told myself last night I’d change the locks, but…

“You seem distracted. Are you okay?” Josh asks as he holds out a hand towel. “I know you took the day off from the bookstore. I was hoping thathelped.”

“Yeah, it did,” I lie, and then am gruesomely reminded of my ruined coffee date. “I also met one of the guys you interviewed.”

He narrows his eyes at me. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” I say quickly, sensing the need to downplay the encounter. “But it wasn’t anything special. He came into the bookstore to get a few things for his mom’s birthday, and then I ran into him on the street when I was trying to stay away from the area, to avoid Rich.”

“Ah,” Josh says, blowing out a sharp breath. “Well, I interviewed four guys, and only extended an offer to two of them. I let the other two know we were going in a different direction.”

I nod, acting as if I’m not trying to recall exactly what Xander said. “He seemed nice—like you two might get along.” The shot in the dark was meant to draw Josh out, but instead, he only shrugs.

“Let’s get your training over with. Those guys won’t start until the weekend, anyway.” Josh waves me over to the register, and then—for the next forty-five minutes—gives me the rundown of everything, including showing me the list of names that we don’t serve.

“What did these people do?”

Josh chuckles, folding his arms across his chest, which shows off his pectoral muscles straining against the fabric of his black henley. “Most of them didn’t pay. Some of them are fighters—they come in and they like to pick a fight with anyone that will look them in the eye. I try to avoid those types… And this guy,” he pauses as he extends his arm to gesture to the name. “This guy is a fuckingcreep.He’s followed women home from here more than once.”

I stare at the name.Jaxton Banks.

“Noted,” I say as my stomach does a flipflop in my gut. Could a guy likethatbe the one stalking me? Since it’s happened, I have not considered the fact that more than likely, I’m not an isolated event. I’m just one of many.

Ugh. Gross.

But I still feel my pussy ache at the thought of him there again, bending me over and whispering dirty things.

“Youreallyare out of it.” Josh nudges me as he heads around to the front of the bar. “We open in ten minutes, so hopefully, you’ll snap back once the customers start showing up.”

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