She smiles back. “I trust you implicitly.”
I arch an eyebrow at her. “You might want to reconsider that, doll. Trusting me could lead you down a very questionable path.”
Her lips part and she just stares at me for a long second before saying, “I’ll totally follow.”
And just like that, I know who I’m taking home tonight.
I go back to the bar and mix their drinks, and when I let Lilah’s voice filter into my consciousness, she’s nearly ripping the strings off her grandmother’s guitar. I take a second to settle the adrenaline she always stirs in me before looking up at her. She’s watching me with narrow eyes and a glare as hard as the steel of her eyes.
I pull my gaze away, unwilling to let her derail my plan. She’s out fucking White Mustang, so I’m not going to let her make me feel guilty about taking what I need too.
Instead of leaving the tray for Carol, I bring the drinks to the girls’ table. I dole them out and hand the blonde hers. “Let me know what you think.”
“What is it?” she asks, taking a cautious sip.
“Just something I came up with.”
“So we should just call it Hot Bartender?” the brunette says, brushing her fingertip over my arm.
The girls all laugh and the brunette winks at me.
So, now I’m thinking threesome, and I’m also thinking this might not be able to wait until I can get them home.
“This is really good,” the blonde says, and everyone decides they need to have one too.
I go back to the bar and start mixing. Lilah finishes her set and lays her guitar aside. When my eyes find hers, there’s anger and frustration, and something else I can’t read.
“You may as well just fuck them right on their table,” she spits.
I pour gin into the shaker and start shaking. “I’m thinking about it.”
“And what about Destiny?”
I slam the shaker on the counter and pierce her with my gaze. “What about her?”
When she glances around the bar, I realize several people are watching us, including the college girls. She comes around to my side of the bar, grabs my elbow, and tows me through the swinging doors into the kitchen.
“She’s in love with you,” she says, throwing a hand at me. “How can you do this to her?”
Jeff’s giving me a shit-eating grin from the grill and I roll my eyes. I turn for Mom’s office and Lilah follows me.
“She’s not that stupid, Lilah. I don’t know what’s going on inside her head, but love isn’t anywhere in the equation. Just like you told me this wasn’t happening,” I say, waving a hand between us, “I told her. It just took us both a while to get it.”
The muscles in her jaw flex. “You’re a total shit, you know that?”
I press my lips together and nod. “Yep.”
She hangs her head. “Why do I even care?”
I sit on the desk. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. You’re off fucking White Mustang, so why does it make any difference who I fuck. And don’t give me some bullshit about Destiny.”
She lifts her head and looks at me, and her expression is totally indecipherable. There’s a storm in those darkening eyes that makes me think she’s on the edge of blowing her top, but her face is pale and her lips are parted as though anticipating something.
She slams into me before I even know she’s coming, and she starts clawing at my neck and back, as if trying to climb right into me. It takes a second for her mouth to find mine, but when it does, her kiss sucks every ounce of air from my lungs and leaves me desperate for my next breath.
Which is her.
My next everything is her.
We devour each other, hands, mouths, bodies clashing together in a hurricane of desire and need, devastating everything in its path.
In some back recess of my brain, I’m vaguely aware that someone is saying my name, but it’s lost in the cyclone of the feel and taste and smell of Lilah. The sound of her moans.
A steel hand grabs my arm and yanks. “Bran!”
Lilah gasps and pulls away, and my vision focuses on Carol’s red face.
“What?”
“My water broke. I need a ride to the hospital.”
I look down and her leggings are dripping onto the floor. “Jesus!”
“Vicky said she’s getting dressed and she’ll be here in fifteen to cover the bar. We need to go.”
“What about Wyatt?” I ask, finally gaining my wits.
“He took Isaac up to his parents’ for the weekend to give me a break. It’ll take him over an hour to get back.”
I turn to Lilah, who’s still staring at me, stunned speechless. “Can you keep an eye on the bar until Mom gets here?”
She nods.
I push through the office door and Jeff’s prepping a tray of nachos. “Lilah’s watching the front,” I say, whisking Carol through. “Mom will be here in a sec.”