Page 12 of Architecti
“If you’re going to spend the night checking a lady out, you could at least buy her a drink,” she says.
She has sass.I wonder if she’s a brat, too.Nothing like taming one.She puts her hand on her hip like she’s expecting me to buy her a drink.
I run a hand through my short hair.“And what if it’s my birthday?Shouldn’t you be buyingmea drink?Don’t pretend you weren’t checking me out.”
She flags the barman down and orders.“A Palimpsest, please.”
“A Palimpsest?What’s that, bitter maturity and historical trauma…?”I wink at her just to see how she’ll react.
Her lips purse.I’ve got to her already, and that knowledge does things to me.My insides light up, the first swirl of heat settling between my thighs.Those golden irises fire up, sass, fight and a little rage fuelling her.
She is magnificent.
“It’s refined,actually.The orange bitters and bourbon mixed with the walnut liquor evoke the depth of the Great Library, and the kind of warmth age-old family recipes bring.”
“Age-old is right—it’s the same drink my grandad used to drink.Helped him on his way to the grave, too.”I raise an eyebrow at her.
“Oh, and let me guess, a young thing like yourself is ordering what?”
The barman returns and slides the Palimpsest to her.
“Moonless Black, please,” I say.
She outright rolls her eyes at me.“I might be middle-aged, but at least I’m not a cliché.And there I was thinking you were the refined kind of masc.A dom even…”
There’s the opening.Oh, I am going to break her.Looks like this evening is perking right up.
“Bold of you to assume,” I say and snatch her tumbler out of her grasp and take a sip.Her lips part, surprise coursing through her refined features.
Good, she strikes me as the type of woman that needs to be kept on her toes.
The bourbon hits first.A heated burn slips down my throat, but it’s a nutty orange lingering on my tongue that makes it sumptuous.
She was right.It tastes like old books and aeons of knowledge.Warm fires and family dinners.Gods damn.
“Not so cocky now, are you?”She grins.
Oh, that’s it.
I step into her personal space.She doesn’t move, another hint of brat?Or perhaps she’s a switch.What’s clear is that she’s sussing me out as much as I am her.I position us with her back to the bar, resting against it.
I press my body to hers, leaning against the bar for balance and knock my thigh between hers.I push up until I hit her warm centre and hold with just enough pressure on her pussy that she inhales.
“You have no idea how cocky I can be.Now, why don’t you be a good girl and tell me your name.”
This close, I inhale her scent.It’s deep and exotic, like oud and amber and a little hint of rose.
Behind her, the barman places my drink down, so I take the opportunity to lean forward, my lips millimetres from hers, brushing against her jaw.
She sucks in a breath, her body trembling with want.It takes a monumental amount of self-control not to lose it and fuck her against the bar.
Her chest heaves up and down, heat radiating off her.“L-Lucy.”
Fuck, I love getting under the skin of a woman.I jerk back, pulling my thigh away and giving her some breathing room.Her cheeks are tinged pink, her lips flushed.She secures a streak of red behind her ear as she sips her drink.She’s not trembling anymore, but her knuckles are white as she grips the glass.
I bring my Moonless Black up, but to my surprise, she snatches it out of my hand and takes a drink herself, mimicking my earlier move.
I gawp at her.It’s not often a woman surprises me.She swirls the liquid in the glass before taking a sniff, followed by a gulp.
