Page 270 of Flirting with Darkness

Resisting the urge to tuck her hair behind her ear, she reached for her drink instead, letting her eyes rest on his boot.

He sat like a bad boy with no regard for the rules, dirtying the booth bench with his shoes like he knew no one would dare say shit to him. The way the witch’s eyes had widened when he’d told her the drink was on the house – she knew Dex either owned the place, or the witch was terrified of him.

Maybe both.

She shrugged, not really knowing how to answer his question. “I don’t have a preference.”

No one had ever bothered to ask before.

Her sister had called her by her given name, or Lee. Nova loved that nickname, but after Gianna died, she hadn’t let anyone call her that. It just hurt too much.

The silence between them grew until it was thick, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.

She liked how dark the bar was, how it was lit with bright colors instead of normal lights. The glow allowed the patrons to see, but not in too much detail. The darkness was almost warm in here, curling around her feet like puppies.

Nova took another sip of her drink, closing her eyes.

The music pulsed through the bar, something grungy – a rock mix with a beat that teased her to dance. Something about this place hit different than everywhere else she’d been tonight.

It was the first place she felt comfortable, the first place she hadn’t seen a single sign of the paranormal.

Well, until Dex.

She opened her eyes to see him staring at her, the leather straining across his knuckles as he tightened his grip on the vodka bottle. The muscles in his jaw were tight too and she realized then just how sharp it was.

Sharp enough to cut.

He was definitely not human.

Nova almost asked him to play a game of pool with her, but there was an intensity in those golden-brown eyes that told her he wasn’t really one to relax while other people watched.

She held his gaze instead and sipped her drink through the straw until it was gone.

A straw was annoying as hell, but this way she didn’t have to tip the glass back and risk her hair falling away from her face, exposing her eye.

“I should go,” she said, licking the taste of blackberries from her lips. “Thank you for the drink, Dex.”

Nova left the glass on the table and stood, clenching her keys in her left hand. She slid her jacket on as she walked toward the door – not surprised when he didn’t ask her to stay.

But she was surprised when she felt her stomach drop with disappointment as the door closed behind her.

Freezing cold wind whipped off the Sound and she tightened her jacket around her.

She felt ridiculous standing outside the bar as if she were waiting for him to come after her.

Nova knew she was running away. She couldn’t eat wings knowing that dangerous pretty boy was staring at her.

Maybe she could find someplace else to grab a slice of pizza or something.

Then she wrapped the darkness around her like a cloak, fingers sliding through her silver knuckles just in case. She started walking without really bothering to think about where. It was Friday night, she’d find something.

The bar with the arcade would have to wait for another day.

6

DEX

Dex couldn’t believe she just left.

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