Page 143 of Cold As Ice

“Fine, have it your way.” I shoved past him, his unnerving stare following me out of the hall.

“Everything okay?” The security guy asked as I passed him.

“Someone really needs to speak to McSteamy about personal space.”

“Julian causing you trouble again?”

So, he had noticed our previous interactions.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” I said, “but I don’t like his weird fixation on Madison.”

“He’s harmless enough, boy. But I’ll be keeping an eye on him. The name’s Kingsley.”

“Austin.”

“We going to be seeing you around here more often, Mr. Austin?”

“If I have anything to say about it.”

“Oh, it’s like that, huh?” The corners of his mouth tipped in a knowing smile.

“It’s exactly like that.”

“I’m sure going to enjoy watching Mads put you in your place. Excuse me, looks like I need to see about reminding a couple of guys about the rules around here.”

Sure enough, I glanced behind me to find a couple of guys getting really handsy with one of the servers.

Thankfully, Madison was behind the bar. I couldn’t handle watching her getting groped like that. But I had to remember this was her job, and as she’d pointed out to me before, she didn’t have the luxury of options.

It was late, almost midnight, and I needed to get up and at it early.

Madison caught my eye as I made my way over to her.

“You didn’t have to stick around this long,” she said.

“I was hoping we might get to talk some more.”

“Sorry, we weren’t expecting it to be this busy.”

“Not your fault. Will you be okay getting home?”

She nodded, but it wasn’t her eyes I was looking at; it was her lips. Soft and pink and begging to be kissed.

“Austin,” she snapped, and I jolted out of my fantasy. “You can’t do that here.”

“But other places?”

“Don’t push it.” Her amused expression, the slight flush to her cheeks, was at odds with her stern tone. “Good luck with your games.”

“Thanks. I’ll be back Sunday.” I planted the seed, hoping she’d bite.

To my disappointment, she didn’t.

“Well, okay then.”

“I’ll be seeing you, pretty girl.” I rapped my knuckles on the bar and forced myself to walk away.

Not quite the grand exit I’d imagined, but I couldn’t hang around all night.

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