Page 9 of Crave: A Reverse Harem Romance

A wave of nausea hit me, and I was glad to be sitting down as my legs started to shake. My God, what could have happened to me tonight? It was such a chilling thought. Drink-Stealer had actually saved me.

“Oh my God…” I muttered, still trying to process what he’d just said. “Thank you so much.”

“Of course. You didn’t drink any of it, did you? I’ve already had the police called, but I can call paramedics if necessary.”

“No, no.” I swallowed hard and shook my head. “I didn’t take even a sip of it, you stopped me. Holy hell… I don’t even know what to say...”

He nodded. “I just wanted to be sure. I noticed you were, uh… stumbling… quite a bit.”

I felt my face flush red with embarrassment. “Oh, right. That. Yeah, no… that was just what two mojitos and a pair of high heels did to me,” I told him as my eyes shifted.

Now that we weren’t running through the club and I could think a little more clearly, I got a good look at him for the first time.

He was actually really handsome. The kind of handsome you almost never see just going through your day. He was very tan, and the suit he was wearing did nothing to hide the fact that he was built. He had perfectly styled black hair and a strong jawline. This guy belonged on magazine covers, not hidden away in some sex club office.

I was no longer going to be referring to him as Drink-Stealer in my head. From now on, he would be known as Tall, Dark, and… Handsome? No, handsome was not a strong enough word to describe him. Tall, Dark, and… Hot? Still not good enough.

Tall, Dark, and Lickable.

Yep, that was it. That was his new name.

Tall, Dark, and Lickable.

“Tall, dark, and… what?” he asked me.

I was instantly horrified, and my eyes widened in shock. “What?”

“You just mumbled tall, dark, and I think it was… lickable?”

My heart jumped into my throat. Had I actually said that out loud?

Holy hell, maybe I wasn’t as sober as I thought. Harlow, seriously, what is wrong with you? Maybe Liza was right, I didn’t get out enough. And now my lack of human contact has turned me into a totally socially-awkward fool.

“I didn’t, uh, I was just…” I stumbled on my words, but I was too mortified to find the right words. Or… any words.

He laughed it off. “Well, uh, my name is Ryker, but you can refer to me as Tall, Dark, and Lickable if you’d like.”

I flung my hand to my head in embarrassment. “No, no… I think I’ll go with Ryker…”

Tall, Dark, Lickable Ryker.

“And what should I call you?” he asked me.

“Um, Harlow,” I said, still not meeting his gaze. “Harlow Grey.”

“Harlow, it’s lovely to meet you.” He extended his hand across the desk to shake mine.

I took a deep breath and shook it back before timidly leaning back in my seat, stewing in my own embarrassment.

“Uh, who are you, exactly?” I asked him, desperately trying to change the subject. “I mean… how did you know somebody had put something in my drink?”

“I’m one of the owners here. I was watching the security cameras when I saw you start to follow your friend to the dance floor. As soon as your back was turned, a man squirted a few drops of something in your drink. I don’t mean to lecture, Miss Grey, but you really can’t leave your drink unattended for even a second.”

“It was that fast?” I asked, stunned. I knew for sure I hadn’t turned away for more than a few seconds, at most.

He nodded. “It can be very quick.”

“That’s… horrifying.” I closed my eyes and tried to collect my thoughts. I couldn’t believe how I had taken my safety for granted. Never again, though. This was a lesson I only had to learn once.

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