“This is your last chance,” Javier whispered to him, like a confidant. He didn’t need to add an “or else” to the end of it.
Tom muttered a totally dejected, “I’m sorry” just as Steve walked up to them. He looked Tom up and down then glared at Javier.
“What happened?” Steve asked. He looked to me and Julie.
I found my voice and pointed at Tom. “I cut this guy off because he was being drunk and rude to me. He then took the vodka from me anyway and drank it. This man here was sticking up for me.”
“I paid you, you stupid bitch,” Tom wailed. Big mistake. Javier looked ready to bite his head off, but Steve beat him to it, grabbing Tom by the collar. Steve was thin and wiry but he obviously knew how to handle the idiots.
“All right, buddy, that’s all I needed to hear. You’re banned from here. For good. Your pals too.”
In unison they all cried out in protest while a few people in the crowd clapped and cheered. I guess they’d had this coming to them for quite some time.
“Do you need me to assist you?” Javier asked Steve, carefully rolling up his sleeves.
Steve eyed him suspiciously. “No, I think you’ve done enough.” He paused before hastily thanking him.
He dragged Tom a few feet and pushed him, his friends following behind, shooting me and Javier sharp looks.
Julie bent over and scooped up the twenties that Tom had littered on the ground. She stuck the sticky wad in my jeans pocket and patted it. “Those guys have made this place hell. I’ve never been able to get them banned. You deserve this.”
I smiled awkwardly and looked to Javier who was taking a seat at the bar, wiping down the counter with a napkin. “Well, actually, I think this man does.”
She looked between us and gave me a wink. “His drinks are on the house then. And whatever else he wants.” Then she sashayed down the bar to help Deanne with the remains of the crowd.
“Did you hear that?” I asked him, suddenly feeling nervous as all hell. “Free drinks for you.”
Javier neatly folded up the napkin and stuck it in an empty glass before looking up at me. He waggled his brows. “And whatever else I want.”
Please for the love of God, stop blushing, I told myself. I cleared my throat. “So, what would you like to drink?”
“Aside from you?”
I laughed anxiously. “You can’t drink me.”
He leaned forward, his eyes running up and down my body, causing my skin to heat. “Yes, I believe I can. And I believe I will. But for now, I’ll just have a Bombay and tonic.”
I gulped down his words as they penetrated hotly. This was going far too easy, far too well. I expected to have a challenge in getting to know this man, to get close to him, and here he was coming after me. It made things much easier and much more dangerous, in ways I couldn’t even pinpoint.
I quickly made him his drink, trying hard to look cool and confident as I did so, knowing his eyes were on me the whole time.
I handed over the drink then grabbed a slice of lime for a garnish as an afterthought. I was about to place it on the rim, but he reached out for my hand and took the lime out of my fingers. Then, while his eyes held mine, hot and hard, he placed his lips on my fingers and sucked the lime juice off of them. Tingles pricked at me from the inside, running from my fingertips to my heart.
My jaw unhinged for a second before I snatched my fingers away from his warm mouth.
“You taste as sweet as I imagined, angel,” he said, his eyes dancing with intensity. “Of course, when I said I’d drink you, I was hoping for a bit more privacy.”
What could I say to that? I couldn’t even find the words. So I switched the subject.
“Thank you for that.”
“For licking your fingers?”
I smiled wryly, conscious of how wet they still were. I didn’t want to wipe them off. “For saving my ass back there. I…”
“You handled him just fine,” he said quickly. “I didn’t mean to just show up and save anything. You, my angel, don’t need any saving. I just wanted to put the boy in his place. That is all.”
I felt an unwanted thrill at his use of the word “angel” again. Particularly when he put “my” in front of it. His angel. My mark.
“You look like you put a lot of boys in their place,” I remarked, aware that I was skirting dangerous territory.
He shrugged and sipped his drink. “Perhaps I do.”
“So why did you come here?”
He smiled lazily. “I told you. I’m persistent. I don’t like being told no.”
“To be fair,” I said, consciously wiping down the bar and counter so I didn’t look like I was slacking off, “you asked me out on a date for Friday night, not Thursday night. I only said no to your second offer.”
“I hoped I could show you what you were missing.”
“And that is?”
“You’ll find out. I’m planning on staying here until you’re off your shift.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I told him. “I don’t think those boys will be back.”
He lowered his chin. “You are misreading me. I am staying here so I can talk to you. Look at you.” His eyes seemed locked on to a place at my bare neck, where it met my shoulders. “Be with you.”
I swallowed hard. “You’re very forward, Mr. Bernal.”
“Please,” he said, waving his hand dismissively. “Mister, that makes me sound so old.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-three.”
I did a double-take. “No way.”
He stroked his face. “Do I look older? Younger? I hope you think I’m handsome, no matter what the number is.”
“You are handsome,” I blurted out stupidly. “I mean, I thought you were older. You act older. I don’t know many twenty-year-olds who dress so well.” I was going to say expensive, but I didn’t want him to think I noticed his wealth.
He took another sip of his drink and folded his hands on the table. “And you. How old is Eden?”
“Twenty,” I said automatically then realized my terrible mistake. “I mean, twenty-one. Man, I guess I’m just hanging onto that golden age.”
My heart was racing so fast in my throat over that error I was certain it was showing up all over my face, like I had a big neon sign blinking above my head that said, “Liar, Right Here.”