Scars (Marked #2.5) (7 page)

“Turn around, beautiful.” My face heated up, and I wanted to hide. These reactions were throwing me off; I’d never felt like…oh God! His scent hit me then; all wood and spices combined to entice the inner bitch in me.  All I could do to hold in the hum of pleasure that threatened to escape me was bite the inside of my cheek.

He smelled like a man who worked with his hands outside—a man’s man. Musky. Like raw motherfucking sex.

I did as he asked and turned around, letting Jaime’s arm fall from around me in the process.  Worst fucking thing I could’ve done. In that moment, I was embarrassed by our blatant display of affection.

“Look at me,” he demanded at my clear avoidance, and yet again, I complied. A tiny whimper escaped my lips this time at the mere sight of this man that I didn’t know.

“Fuck me.”

“Wow.”

11

Dinner began as an intense affair.

Jaime had been quiet, almost withdrawn, while Luke was the opposite. Chatting, smiling, and pulling me in with a natural ease that scared me. He was too comfortable within my presence, treated me as if he knew me.

We were seated in an intimate booth near the back of the quaint restaurant. It was semi-closed off from the rest of the room, and for some reason, this made the friendly dinner tense. At least for me it was.

Felt as if I were the prey being tricked and brought into the slaughter house under false pretenses.

“Ladies first.” Luke had waved me forward when the hostess walked us over to our table. It was a huge motherfucking mistake. I walked—rubbed my side against his body as I squeezed by him. Maybe I could have in hindsight asked him to move, but truthfully that was not what I wanted.  His scent, the feel of him made my mouth water and nipples tightened.

His deep intake of breath let me know he wasn’t unaffected. Once situated, I looked over at the young woman standing next to Jaime. She’d appeared, happy as could be, a few minutes before we were called to be seated.

Young. Ginger colored hair. Pretty in a very basic way. We were complete opposites, yet I didn’t detest her. Felt no animosity while we were introduced and she kissed Jaime on the cheek. Quite the opposite happened. Instead of the rage or jealousy I usually felt, watching her next to him brought me a small semblance of peace.

As if all the pieces were falling into place.

Also didn’t hurt that she’d walked in to our intense bubble when I needed a distraction the most.  And she served her purpose well if the way Jaime was currently looking at her was any indication. He liked her, and I was okay with that. “Come sit, Sam—” I began, but was interrupted before I could finish.

“No,” The men answered at once, causing both our brows to rise. They were acting weird. Jaime looked away after his outburst, his eyes looking right past me as I tried to get his attention. Was he nervous? Worried over my reaction?

If he’d look my way, he would see that this was more than okay.

Instead of explaining himself, he pulled her in to sit across from me and took the seat beside her. Was she his date? If she was, then why bring me? We’d never spent Valentine’s together in the past, and today didn’t have to be the day to start.

The awkwardness grew.

“What’s going…” I trailed off mid-sentence. At that moment, Luke had chosen to squeeze in next to me, his knee touched mine, and an electrical pulse ran through me. His strong arm stretched in a cheesy move next and lay behind my head.

Long fingers took turns between playing with my hair and tapping a simple rhythm against the back of the booth. It pulled me from my previous curious state and into a relaxed one. In those few minutes, I only saw and heard him—became in tune with his every inhale and exhale.

“Behave,” Luke whispered low, and that one word on any others lips had never sounded so good.

No one else at our table noticed our exchange, and for that I was thankful. They didn’t see my small nod or his pleased smile. If they did, they remained silent while I tried to wrap my mind around everything that had happened within the last hour or so.

Since when had I become so complacent?

“Hi, my name is Laura, and I’ll be your server this evening. Would anyone be interested in seeing or sampling something from our wine list?” Fuck and no thank you. The way this entire dinner was progressing screamed for a hard liquor kind of night. Just as I opened my lips to reply, Jaime spoke up.

“No, thank you, sweetheart. We’ve already started celebrating at the bar and don’t want to mix spirits. Can you bring me your specialty drinks menu instead?”

“Of course, sir. I’ll be right back with that.” She smiled and turned around, heading toward the waiters’ station across the room. That miniscule exchange was enough to snap me out of my confused daze. Who was this Luke guy, and why was I letting him affect me so?

“Penny for your thoughts?” Luke asked, bringing me back to the present. “You seem lost inside that head of yours.”

If only he knew how true that statement was.

“Nothing much. Just wondering why we’ve never met before if you two,” I said while pointing between him and my best friend, “are so close. I’ve never heard of you before this dinner was planned.”

“Fair enough.” He smiled at me, the simple gesture making his inviting hazel eyes crinkle at the corners. “I’ve recently moved down from Ohio for work. An opportunity too good to pass us was presented, and I jumped. Plus, I have a sister and close friend that live here…they might have swayed my decision.”

“A move like that seems scary to me.” Change never boded well with me. Too much unknown and up in the air.

“So far, it’s been the best decision I’ve ever made.”

“Quit with the heavy, old man.” Sam giggled, and my eyes snapped up to hers. “At least not until the second date.” All talking ceased after that comment, and the table became quiet. What the fuck did she mean
date
? Was she referring to Jaime and I? Couldn’t be Luke…

“As friends,” Jaime amended; his eyes met mine for the first time since we sat down. “We are all here as old friends and possibly new ones…a friendly date. And that sounded weird.”

I reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “How about we’re just all hanging out?”

“For now, that works.” My companion to the right of me chuckled, while Sam nodded. Then, I felt his shift in posture and his arm rub against mine, causing a small eruption of goose bumps to dance across my skin. “For now.”

Our server, thank God, interrupted us then. She took her time, showing us which were her favorites and popular amongst the guest.

“Vodka and Red Bull please.” Samantha agreed with me and ordered the same, while the boys decided on beer. If she was annoyed by our ignoring her suggestion, she never made it known.

Then, the quiet returned. Too quiet.

It made me feel self-aware of just how different I was from the rest of my dinner companions. I didn’t fit into the mold our culture deemed normal. While I was usually proud of all my body modifications, tonight I wanted to hide them.

“So what do you do for a living?” A tiny gasp escaped me at Luke’s close proximity. His warm breath caressed my neck; I could almost feel his lips on me as he spoke. There was barely any space between us. Completely inappropriate for a so-called date between friends. “I’m curious about you, Janice.”

“Curiosity killed the cat,” I replied saucily. That caused his own smile to widen. He was beautiful.

Fuck, I can’t be attracted to him.

My mind had been set and my path chosen for me. Luke was as dangerous if not more so than Maya had been to my plans. I could feel it in my bones that this man was not to be trusted.

“What if I’m not the docile house pet you seem to think I am? More like a rabid dog after a tasty treat.” The way he pronounced each word caused his lip to skim the skin behind my ear. Sinful. Exquisite.

My thighs clenched at the innocent contact, and I let out a girlish giggle.

What the ever-loving fuck? I don’t do the giggling bullshit!

“Janice?” Jaime’s voice sounded as unsure as I felt at that moment. “Are you okay?”

Taking a long sip from the drink the waitress had placed on our tables minutes ago, I looked up at him with what I hoped appeared to be a calm expression. From his pursed lips, it seemed he wasn’t buying it.

The knot that had lodged itself in my throat didn’t budge either. “I’m fine.” Those two choked-out words caused Luke to also turn and look my way with an incredulous yet amused look on his face.

“Sure you are,” Jaime mumbled, earning himself an elbow to the ribs from Sam. “Dammit, woman…what the fuck?” His hiss of pain caused the few patrons closest to us to turn and look at our table. All eyes fell on me. The freak.

Their horrified/annoyed looks were something I was very used to, because in a table full of normal, it would be
my
fault that the idiot caused a scene and ruined their dinners.

“Will you keep it down?” Sam returned the glare; her eyes dared him to argue. This wouldn’t end nicely. If my best friend was one thing, it was stubborn. “People are looking our way.”

No, they were looking at me.

Reaching for the clutch beside me, I took ahold of it and placed it at the crook of my elbow. With my unoccupied hand, I grabbed my drink and downed it in two gulps. There was no doubt in my mind that this so-called dinner was over; Jaime would blow up and I would have to pull him out of here.

Looking over at Luke, I motioned with my hand for him to let me out.

“Just where do you think you’re going?” He made no move to let me out. Instead, he got closer. The arm that up to a few seconds ago had been lying behind my head was now draped across my shoulders. Squeezing just a tiny bit, the muscles in his forearms flexed, and again I shivered. “Cold?”

“No.”

“Good.” What kind of game was this man playing? And why did feeling his body against mine, the way he laid his forehead against the side of my head, feel so good? “We haven’t had a chance to get to know each other…talk.”

Wanted to get to know me. Talk. This bullshit was making my headache return.

No man that looked like him cared about me. If they did, all they wanted from me was the pussy located between my thighs or to know how my lips felt surrounding their cocks. Is that what he was after? A quick fuck?

Men like him didn’t see me as more than a naughty one-night stand. It was all they deemed me good for. Luke was everything I wasn’t…clean cut.

With short, honey-blonde hair, sweet hazel eyes, and a dimpled smile…he was gorgeous. There was no denying his good looks, but that was all he had going for him.

No piercings.

No tattoos.

He wasn’t Talan.

I liked my men the way I loved my dicks; hard. Tough. The kind that walked around with a chip on their shoulder—who were assholes to everyone around them and didn’t give a shit what the world thought. 

Luke seemed the total opposite of what I admired in a man. A good guy. Someone who wore a suit to work at some menial job that he spent thousands of dollars on his education to get. I dove in head first into situations while he skirted around the issues. Not my type.

He was cocky, I’d give him that, but there was nothing else to draw me in. 
Keep telling yourself that.
Fuck.

“Bathroom.” Squeaking was something I’d never done in the past, and neither was blushing, but in the span of a few hours, this man had caused me to do both.

That succulent bottom lip of his quirked up, and his eyes took on a dangerous gleam. “Do I make you nervous?”

“Move.” My eyes turned to slits while my hand—that had a dirty mind of its own—fell against his chest. A hard and very defined muscular chest. It landed with a small thud, alerting the other two of our interaction.

“No.” Stubborn asshole. Couldn’t he see that I was seconds away from not keeping the promise I’d made to Talan while in his shop? That I would not let another man touch me. Fuck me, like I so desperately needed.

“Quit fucking with me.” One would think that after the initial shove I would’ve pulled my hand back, but I didn’t. Instead, my fingers twitched and pressed a little further. Maybe I was a masochist.

“Why?” His fake perplexity was getting on my nerves. Luke knew what he was doing to me. “Kind of like you right where you are.”

Well damn.