Page 90 of Fighting Mr. Knight

“Excuse me, Counsellor.” I nod towards Bonnie approaching.

“I won’t keep you from your lady friends, Jack.” He winks approvingly at me as he turns back to the bar.

“I thought you weren’t coming,” she says as she reaches me.

“So, you did miss me.” I sit on the bar stool so we’re at eye level and gently pull her by the wrists between my legs. Close enough that I can smell her delicious scent but not close enough that the Bradshaw crowd will suspect. They’re far enough away and drunk enough to be oblivious.

Her lips curve into a sassy grin. “Did you want me to miss you?”

“Very much so. For some reason, I’ve been distracted all day. Haven’t been able to focus since a certain hot-headed mouthy cockney tried to come all over my stomach.”

She visibly blanches. “Don’t remind me. I’m so embarrassed. I’m out of practice. Do you know stomach-sitting is actually a fetish? On the bright side, at least you can’t get pregnant from dry-humping a stomach.”

“You can borrow my stomach anytime. Day or night.” My hand trails down her hip confirming panties are intact. “I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

“Oh.” Her eyes widen. “Why?”

“Why?” I raise my brows. “What do you meanwhy?”

She sways slightly. She’s a bit more drunk than I thought. “Ah, come on, Jack. All the women in the bar turned when you walked in. Literally,every single womanstopped what they were doing and stared.” She hiccups. “Even the ones with guys.”

“Really? The only woman I saw was you.”

She rolls her eyes dramatically and laughs. “That’s a great line.”

I sigh. “Are you going to claim everything I say is a line?”

“I’ll assess them on a case-by-case basis.”

I nod to the Old Fashioned she’s waving precariously in her hand. “How many of those cocktails have you had?”

“Just a few. I’m tipsy, that’s all.”

Says every drunk person.

She glances over at the Bradshaw table and tries to pull away from me slightly, but I hold her in place.

“What was the guy from Nixon Lee asking you?”

“Adrian?” Her cheeks heat as she takes another gulp of cocktail. “Oh, he was chatting about the factory designs.”

She’s lying.

“Questions that he needed your personal number for?”

“I don’t have my work phone on me. It’s at the office.”

Uh-huh.

“So . . . about earlier on.” Her flush deepens as she waits for me to take the bait.

“Ah, yes.” With a grin, I intertwine my fingers in hers. “Earlier on.”

She smiles coyly. “It was pretty hot.”

“It was.” I fight the urge to pull her flush against my chest. “If I had my way I’d pick you up in my arms, kiss every inch of your body, and give you a night so memorable that you’ll never want to see another man again. But I suspect you’ll be upset if I execute that plan in front of your co-workers.”

She blows out her cheeks. “Holy hell that sounds like the best plan ever. But yes, I would be extremely pissed with you. Don’tyoucare what the teams think?”

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