Page 11 of Dark Encounter
"Find something you like?" Erik's voice surprised me a little. The sound of it washed over me, forcing me to realize that it didn't matter what he might want from me. I was willing to give it. All of it.
"The liquor or the bartender?" I glanced sideways at him before turning my attention back to the bar. I could play the bitch like he did most days in the library.
"Both?" He offered a card. "Put the lady’s drinks on my card with mine. It's not a request."
The guy nodded, his eyes widening a little.
I turned and lifted my first shot to my lips. "To the scariest guy in all of New York."
He took my other shot. "To the woman he'd choose to fuck every night if his life were any different."
The liquor burned on the way down, as did his words. The truth. He wanted me beneath him too, but his life wouldn't afford it. It was a life I knew nothing about, and yet I wanted to so bad.
"And one night would simply destroy everything." I licked my lips and set my shot glass down, knowing I was pushing in the wrong direction.
"You're just a child locked in that beautiful body, Grace. You don't need to dress like a slut for attention." He reached out and gripped my chin hard, leaning down and letting his lips hover above mine. Every pleasure point I had lit on fire, my body screaming for me to close the gap and submit fully to him. Power rolled off of him in intoxicating waves, and the darkness in his eyes called to me. "You already have everyone's when you're being yourself."
"I want more," I whispered and moved closer, only to feel the pressure of his free hand on my hip.
"I'm not the man you want in your life. Stop fooling yourself and get your head out of a book, kitten. I'm a monster, not a savior."
He kissed the tip of my nose and walked off, joining Jenna and Nate across the room. I turned and ordered a beer, grateful that the bartender was moving so fast that night.
I couldn't get enough air in my lungs as I stood there, feeling two feet tall. My mother had the power to cut me down to nothing, but it would seem that Erik Bertinelli did too.
"Hey." Nate moved up beside me and smiled.
"Are you still thinking about me in my panties?" I elbowed him and took a drink, liking the guy a little more now that he'd given me the thumbs up on being hot.
"Hell yeah. I wish Jenna were into girls too. We could have some fun tonight." He smiled and leaned his beer toward mine. "You know Erik cares about you."
"What? That's absurd."
"Why? Because he's a heartless bastard? He's here tonight, right?"
"Yeah. For you." I let my eyes drag down his back to the thick curve of his perfect ass. "I wanna do so many things with him. It scares me."
"It should." Nate chuckled and extended his hand. "Half of one of these will have your blood boiling and your inhibitions completely gone. Take it and tell him you got it off of someone and youneedhim to help make it stop."
"Make what stop?" I took the pill and glanced up into Nate's strong gaze.
"The lust raping your system." He pressed his hand to the bottom of mine. "Take it and force yourself to break a few boundaries tonight."
"I'm scared." I glanced down at it as the pulse in the side of my neck went wild.
"Good. You should be." He took a sip of his beer. "You both need each other. Make it happen, Grace. He'll fall in love with you before he knows what's happening."
I popped the pill in my mouth and shot it down with a quick sip of my beer as Jenna and Erik walked back toward us. "I want that."
"Of course you do." Nate moved around me, his voice low, seductive. "Because you're a good girl."
A shiver ran through me. I might have been before I showed up, but something told me that I wouldn't be for much longer.
