He was sitting on the opposite side of the bar—the corner, his back to the wall like hers was. He was also able to study the room.
The thought forced her to jerk her eyes away—he definitely wouldn’t be studying the room for the same reason she was. She was here for a purpose. She had to keep that in the forefront of her mind. She couldn’t afford to let an attraction, even one as visceral as this, derail her.
There was no way she could use him for her mark. He was too big, too strong, too sexy.
Far too aware.
This really wasn’t the time for her libido to start working again. It had been in hibernation for eighteen months and needed to stay that way, at least for tonight.
But she wished the situation was different. Wished she was just a woman sitting in a bar with no agenda. Not one running for her life. Not one most of the world considered a selfish bitch who’d cried wolf.
Suddenly, it was much easier to keep her gaze off the too-aware, too-sexy man. Lexi had forfeited the right to have a relationship, maybe forever.
That was part of her penance—a penalty much longer than her jail time.
She forced herself not to look at the warrior again. She shifted her gaze back to the other two guys. The man in the booth was looking her way, so she glanced down at her water. Demure. It was fake, and she didn’t like to do it, but she was beyond morality now.
Most people would argue she’d been way beyond morality for quite a while.
The other man, the slim man a couple stools down, glanced her way, and she gave him a small smile before looking back down at her water. Now was the waiting game. Looking approachable but not desperate. See who took the bait.
She couldn’t resist one last look up at the man directly across from her. His eyes immediately found hers once again.
Shit. He was going to be the one to come talk to her. She could almost see the alpha male in him establishing a claim on her. He was definitely going to scare away the other two.
And for a second, she almost didn’t care.
But then she remembered what it felt like to be lying in an alley, crying and bruised, terrified for her life. What it felt like to never be able to sleep, to not have enough to eat or anywhere to live.
She needed to stay the course. Make it to a town she’d never been to called Oak Creek, take the job and place to live that had been offered in an act of kindness from someone who had every right to withhold kindness forever.
And just survive.
A handsome man in a bar who made her feel more alive than she had in years had no part in that equation.
When she glanced up and found his eyes once more on hers, she deliberately turned away from him. Gave him a cold shoulder, international sign for I’m not interested, and hoped it would be enough.
He was getting up. Shit, he was getting up. And if her goddamn heart didn’t stop fluttering like she was some maiden being courted, she was going to rip the thing out of her chest.
But God, another part of her wanted him to come over. She didn’t want to steal from him. But maybe she could ask him to borrow it or something. He looked like he was capable of handling anything.
His phone saved her. She watched as he pulled it out of his pocket and frowned at whoever was calling. And she was definitely not disappointed when he turned away from her to answer it.
It was better this way.
Right.
“Excuse me, miss?” The bartender slid a drink in front of her, then pointed to the slick guy over in the booth. “The gentleman over there would like to buy you this drink.”
Well, that solved that problem. The choice had been made for her. Now she had a role to play. “Did he now? What is it?”
“Vodka tonic. It’s what he’s drinking. I think it’s what he hoped you were drinking too.” The bartender kept his face carefully neutral.
She raised an eyebrow. “I see. Frugal too. If I turn him down, he’ll just take the drink himself.”
The bartender gave her a half smile. “Yep. Those were my instructions.”
“Is he on his way over here yet?” She could look up in the mirror and find out herself, but she didn’t want to be too obvious.
“Getting up now. Do you want me to get rid of him for you?”
“No. I’ll give him a shot. Thanks though.”
The bartender looked a little disappointed before schooling his features into a blank canvas again.
That’s right, buddy, I’m a disappointment. Get used to it.
“I see you got my drink.”
The bartender turned away with a little nod, and Lexi spun to face the slick guy from the booth, forcing a small smile. “I did. Thank you.”
“It looked like we might both be drinking the same thing, and that it must be a sign that you wanted me to come talk to you.”
There was nothing about this guy she found attractive. From the way his hand was already touching her where it rested on the back of her barstool to the smell of his cologne—which wasn’t overpowering but too cloying nonetheless—everything about him made her want to back away.
It’s a role, Alexandra. Play it. You’ve played much harder.
She smiled at him. “I have to admit, I’m a little glad for the company. It’s been a rough day.”
“I have a booth over there.” His fingers trailed along her back as he pointed to where he’d been sitting. “Why don’t you come hang out with me, and we’ll see if we can get you cheered up.”
She gave him a falsely grateful smile. “That sounds great, actually.” She slid the vodka tonic toward him. “Here, you drink this one. I’ll keep drinking mine.” There was no way she was getting drunk around him. She’d stick to water.
He winked at her. “Let’s go have some fun.”
She didn’t cringe as he slid his arm around her shoulder and led her to the booth. “Yeah, let’s have fun.”
2
An hour later, Lexi was definitely not having fun.
Evidently, she wasn’t the only one who’d picked this bar because the booths gave a semblance of privacy. Vodka Tonic next to her, actual name Caleb, had evidently chosen it for the same reason.
They were on their third round of drinks—at least he was, she’d been nursing or dumping hers as often as possible—and he’d become more handsy as the minutes passed. And his wallet was nowhere nearer to her than it had been when she’d joined him in the booth.
His cologne wasn’t nearly as bad as his conversational skills. She already knew that his watch cost more than a thousand dollars—something that evidently impressed most women, or so he said. She knew that he worked with a bunch of pricks—again his words—at an insurance sales office in Idaho Falls, and that said pricks couldn’t open a door without his help. She knew this hotel was kind of crappy and that he would’ve been driving a BMW now if his two ex-wives weren’t demanding such unreasonable alimony.
She should be thankful that Caleb was so busy talking about himself that he hadn’t asked a single question about her. That’s what she needed.
But every second she spent with him pushed her closer to releasing the scream building inside of her.
This shouldn’t be so hard for her. She was acting, it was a role, but every time he touched her, her skin crawled. Every laugh that came out of her mouth was so obviously fake, she couldn’t believe Caleb hadn’t caught on.