Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
“Why don’t I check your things? I need to walk around and see who’s here tonight. If you see anything, come find me. I won’t be far.”
Her brows drew together. “Maybe I should come with you?”
“No, that’s not necessary.” I’d never be able to focus with her right next to me. “It would be better if we we’re both looking from different vantage points, so we don’t miss anything.”
She shrugged. “Fine. But be careful, okay?”
I raised a brow, secretly loving that she wanted to keep me safe. “You really think I’m going to get killed in the middle of this big crowd?”
She handed over her bag and jacket and gave me a sweet smile. “You never know.”
With a slight shake of my head, I strode to the coat check room. After securing Serenity’s things. I made a short circuit around the club, keeping an eye out for trouble, and purposefully avoiding looking toward her. Several minutes later, however, I caught a flash of red in my peripheral vision. Turning, I spotted Serenity on the dance floor beside a man who looked like he was trying hard to impress her.
She barely smiled at him, keeping her attention on the people around her, like she was looking for the guy she’d seen in her vision. I couldn’t fault her for that, but something twisted in my gut to see her dancing with some loser.
The guy leaned over to whisper in her ear, and wrapped an arm around her waist. She stiffened, but he didn’t seem to notice. Growing bold, he put his other arm around her waist and began to sway to the music.
Serenity put her hands on his shoulders, but did her best to keep some space between them. When his hand moved lower toward her ass, fire roared inside of me. That was enough. I strode to his side and grabbed his arm, shoving him away from her.
He took a few steps back, anger darkening his face. “What the hell, man?”
I dismissed him and glanced at Serenity. “You okay?”
Her eyes widened. “I’m fine.”
I turned to the man. “She came with me, so she’s off limits.”
His brows drew together. “Well, she didn’t tell me that.”
“I’m telling you, so get lost.” I glared at him, unable to hold back the seething anger in my gut.
“Fine. But it’s not my fault she wanted to dance with me. Maybe you should pay more attention to your date.” He frowned at Serenity before stalking off.
“Now you’ve done it,” Serenity said.
“Done what? Did you really want to dance with him?”
“No, of course not. But you’ve made a scene. Everyone’s looking at us. You’d better dance with me if you don’t want to look like a total jerk.” She raised her arms to my shoulders and began to sway. A slow second later, my hands came around her waist, and I began to move with her.
“That’s better.” She arched a brow. “Do you normally treat your dates like this?”
“I don’t bring dates here. Ever.” My gaze dropped to her lips. “I don’t have to, women usually come to me.”
“Yeah… I saw enough of that on the surveillance video.”
“So why were you dancing with that guy if you didn’t want to?”
She huffed out a sigh. “I couldn’t see much from my seat, and he asked. So I thought, why not? I’d have a better chance at keeping an eye on everyone from the dance floor.”
“Hmm.” I grunted, unsatisfied.
We swayed in silence for a long minute before she raised her gaze to mine. “So… tell me something about yourself, something that no one else knows.”
“Why?” I scoffed.
She rolled her eyes. “So I can get to know you better.”
My brows rose. “Why would you want to do that?”
“Well…” She huffed. “I’m trying to figure you out. Sorry if that’s a crime or something.”
“It might be.” I grinned, pulling her a little closer. “You might not like who I am.”
She searched my face. “And what if I do?”
Heat pulsed through me. “That might be even worse.”
“How about I go first, then? So you’ll know what I mean.” Swallowing, she ran a finger over the collar of my shirt. “I like to snack on peanut butter. Sometimes I leave the lid off the jar, and take little finger-dips all day long.”
She met my gaze like she was daring me to complain, so I one-upped her. “I don’t mind that. In fact, I’d lick peanut butter off your fingers anytime.”
Her eyes widened, cheeks flushing a brilliant crimson, but instead of taking the bait like I’d hoped, she pressed on with her questions. “Your turn. Tell me something you like to do.” She paused, a glint of mischief in her eyes. “Aside from licking peanut butter off my fingers. Which… you don’t actually know if you like.”
“Yet.” I grinned. “But… since you’re forcing the issue, I guess I’d say that I like to take off on my bike for a few days at a time. Just me, the bike, and the open road.” I lifted a hand from her waist and lightly traced one finger over her wrist, gently brushing her skin all the way along her arm, over her bare shoulder, and down her spine, where her silky hair fell over the back of my hand.