“Are you ready to order yet?” I ask him in a voice that’s softer than I intended.
“What I want isn’t on the menu.” He smirks and takes a sip of the soda. Who does this guy think he is? I give him a once over, like five times and come to the same conclusion each time. He knows exactly who he is. An arrogant, cocky asshole that looks like a god. My motherfucking type. I’m fucked.
I put my hands on my hips, ready to let him have it when his eyes soften and he lightly chuckles. “I’m just fucking with you,” he says, running his hands over his short hair and giving me an amused smile.
I almost wince, taking offense to his retraction of the comment he made. He comes off as a douchebag, but as much as I don’t want to admit it, part of me hoped there was some truth behind his words. What girl wouldn’t, coming from a guy like him?
I plaster on the best smile I can, attempting to conceal my disappointment. “What will it be then?”
He shrugs, looking at me indifferently. “I’m not really hungry, so I’ll stick with the soda.”
The confusion is clear on my face as I cock my head to the side, raising an eyebrow at him. “So, why are you even here then?” The words spill from my lips before I even get a chance to stop them. His eyes widen ever so slightly and he gives me a lopsided grin.
I fight the temptation to duck my head in embarrassment and meet his eyes head-on, waiting for an answer and pretending like I meant to ask him that.
“Pretty ballsy, aren’t we?” His eyes bore into mine with a blazing heat. He slightly narrows them at me. “Are you always so nosy?”
“Are you always so annoying?” I counter, not missing a beat with his arrogant attitude. His lips curl into a full grin and his clear blue eyes shine. “Stop looking at me like that,” I threaten him in a hushed voice. It doesn’t sound near as harsh as I intended. The effect he has on me is unwanted and unknown and we both know it. I could lose myself, drowning in those crystal blue pools.
He crosses his arms on the counter and leans on them, close to me. “And how is it that I’m looking at you?” His voice is soft like velvet and moves like silk over my skin, giving me goose bumps.
I grab on to the counter to steady myself and look down, trying to collect myself. “You know what I mean,” I choke out. So much for remaining unaffected and collected.
His hand reaches out, and he brushes the pad of his thumb over my knuckles; my skin burning from his touch. An involuntary shiver courses through my body and my eyes meet his again and am met with a look that threatens to set this entire building on fire. “You mean this look? The one that tells you how badly I want to take you home, tie you to my bed and fuck you until you forget everyone’s name but mine?” He has since lost the cocky grin and looks at me like I’m what’s next on the menu. “Every reaction your body has for me, I see it. You think I don’t notice, but I do. And you know what that tells me?”
My heart pounds faster against my ribcage and I shift my weight on my feet nervously, attempting to squeeze my thighs together, feeling a growing warmth there. I swallow hard, watching him, waiting for his response.
“It tells me you want the same thing.” He pauses, a faint smile playing on his lips. “And that, babe, is everything I need to know.” He rocks back in his seat, pulling his arms across his chest.
I’m slightly taken aback at his accurate assessment and glare at him. “I’m not sure who the fuck you think you are, making assumptions like that. You need to check yourself.”
“Goddamn, you’re even sexier when you’re pissed.” He lets out a low, deep chuckle. “I know exactly who I am, babe, and when I’m done with you, you will too.”
7
ANDER
She stands in front of me, her light hazel eyes opened wider with her mouth slightly agape. Like a deer caught in headlights, except she’s not caught, she’s fucking trapped. I revel in the effect I’m having on her. A light pink tinge grows over her cheeks and her chest rises and falls quickly in short ragged breaths. On the side of her neck, her jugular vein pulsates, threatening to burst through her skin.
The innocent look on her makes me want to bend her over that counter and fuck her senseless. My already hard cock twitches in my pants. Within a second, the innocence is gone and her feistiness is back and my cock doesn’t get any softer.
She starts shaking her head at me. “You’re an arrogant, cocky bastard, so if you think you can waltz in here and spit your game and seal the deal, you’re so fucking wrong. I don’t give a fuck about anything concerning you.” She lets out a deep breath and continues to glare at me. I want nothing more than to fuck that pissed off look off her face.
I raise both hands in defeat, submitting to her because this clearly isn’t going my way. “Okay, okay. Just hear me out, alright?” What the fuck am I doing? I submit to no one and here I am trying to reason with this random chick.
“You have one minute and then I’m calling the manager out here for you sexually harassing me.” She places her hands on her hips and smirks at me. This fucking girl…
“I swear I’m not this much of a douche,” I start. “Give me a chance to show you that.” She quickly raises her hand to speak. “I’m not done yet; only one minute, right?” She slowly nods, letting me continue. “Just let me take you out, no strings attached. I know we don’t know each other, but I wanna know you.” I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding as all my words came out rushed and together. I cock my head to the side, staring at her as she watches me with calculating eyes. She stands as still as stone, except for chewing on her bottom lip and stares straight through my eyes.
I wait for some kind of an answer. She was so eager to try to cut me off when I was talking and now all I get is silence. Just when I think she’s about to call the manager out, she opens her mouth to speak.
“Okay,” she says, quietly. “One time, no strings.”
“One time, no strings,” I repeat, with a slow smile forming on my face. I feel like a little kid that won a damn stuffed animal out of one of those dreadful claw machines. Unexpectedly, my phone starts ringing, breaking into the conversation. I pull it out of my pocket and glance down at the screen, frowning when I see the name. I look back up at her. “I gotta take this,” I tell her and she nods, grabbing my menu and putting it back. I swipe the screen, answering the call.
“Ander.” Javier’s thick Spanish accent comes through the speaker. “Why aren’t you here right now?”
“Why would I be there?” I ask him, glancing at the clock above the door to the back. It’s only six o’clock.
Javi sighs and a string of Spanish words come out in a rush. “We’re supposed to meet about some of the guests coming to the hotel.”
Fuck, that meeting was today. When Troy asked about dropping me off at the casino, I completely forgot about it. This girl is in my head already.
Javi runs the Royal Legacy Casino and I work for him there, playing poker for the house. Some high profile clients were coming to stay at the hotel and the plan is to always get them to play poker and take their money right out from underneath them.