Page 13 of My Wild Mountain Man

“Raven.” I took my hand out of my pockets. My fingers brushed hers at her side. I wanted to tell her not to show up, take away the offer I’d made, but I knew I’d rather burn in hell than rescind it.

“I close tomorrow, too,” she put out there, and just as quickly as she’d showed up, she walked away, making her way to her sisters’ table. Fuck.

Temptation was calling, and I was wild enough to freaking answer.

I returned to the bar and tried to focus on work. Serving customers and making sure our wait staff was taken care of was usually a breeze. Muscle memory now that I’d been doing this for the last seven months.

But I kept getting distracted.

Especially when a group of rowdy college-aged guys came in and started to flirt with the Trejo sisters while they were out on the dance floor. Olive was a knockout and always got tons of attention, but my girl in that outfit was the one getting chatted up. A tall, young fucker was getting too touchy feely for my tastes, and it fucking killed me to stand off to the side.

“Hey, Bash,” Coral said as she sat at the bar. “Can I get a cherry Coke, extra cherries?”

“Of course. How’s it been?” I asked, making small talk while I watched the guy lean in and say something to Raven.

“I should be asking you that.”

“What?” I frowned.

“You know she’s an adult now, yeah?” My eyes connected with hers.

“What?” I asked again because there was no way she could know how I felt. Could she?

“Raven,” Coral pointed out.

“What about Raven?” My voice sounded scratchy in my own ears while I tried to play dumb in front of the oldest Trejo sibling.

“If you have to ask that, then maybe never mind.” She shook her head while taking a sip of the cherry Coke I put in front of her.

“Coral––“

“You know, maybe one of those frat boys is what she needs.” She shrugged. “But I can tell you for a certainty that’s not what my little sister wants.”

“I’m too…” I swallowed.

“You should step in.”

“What?”

“He’s going to ask her out, and then what? You lose your chance?” The question hung heavily between us.

“No disrespect, Cora, but I might not be the right guy for Raven.” Too old and jaded with sexual tastes that leaned towards the darker end. But as I watched the guy give her his number, I knew I didn’t want her with anyone else. It was selfish of me but fucking true.

I hopped over the bar and headed straight towards her without a plan in mind.

Almost like she felt me get closer, her eyes rose and met mine. The moment I was within reach, I took her hand.

“Dude?” the college kid called out, but I didn’t listen. I held her hand and brought her right against me as we started to dance way too slowly for the song that was playing.

“Bash?” she gasped, and my cock, fuck, it was hard just from feeling her in my arms and breathing in her sexy, soft scent.

“Just… dance with me, pretty girl,” I whispered against the shell of her ear and felt her body relax in my arms.

I was playing with fire.

Dancing with her again. This time in front of everyone. Testing my self-control. My hand pressed against on the small of her back. It shocked me how much smaller she was than me. How much of my hand covered her. The images it created only made me harder. My balls ached for a release I knew I wasn’t going to find in that moment, but I didn’t care. I would take any spare second she’d give me.

We danced, our bodies pressed so close I doubted a sheet of paper fit between us. I knew I was fucking up. There would be hell to pay if Onyx returned to the bar, if someone told him I’d slow danced with his baby sister. But fuck, I couldn’t stop. The only reason I had to tear myself away from her after two songs was because my bartender needed help after a bit of a dinner rush.

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