Rayne

Loafers, I mean, Nick, kept ahold of my hand, his thumb brushing softly against my pulse point. Another shiver raced through me and his tilted smile turned into a full-blown grin.

He was such a contradiction in his style versus the hungry, determined look on his face. I had to admit; it made me very curious. He wasn’t my usual type. I tended to go for the broken ones.

I cleared my throat, which was suddenly very dry. “Rayne.”

“I take it you’re new in town?”

I narrowed my eyes and cocked my head, adopting a mock sarcastic attitude. “No shit, Sherlock.”

Nick threw his head back and laughed. It was a great sound, and I felt the urge to hear more of it.

The other bartender on the closing shift, Kate, came over and interrupted us. She was a cute, pixie-sized girl with short, blonde hair, a tiny waist and a generous chest. Even I could appreciate her assets, but when I glanced at Nick, his eyes were still glued on me. I was used to male attention, but more often than not, their eyes strayed continuously to the parts below my neck. So, I was surprised to see Nick staring at my face, almost as though he was trying to memorize it.

“Great job tonight, Rayne,” Kate complimented. “It was nice to have some experienced help.” Her eyes bounced inquisitively back and forth between Nick and me. “Um, nice to see you, Nick.”

He glanced over at her and gave her a genuine, albeit polite, smile. “You too, Kate. Night.” The heat in his gaze cooled when he looked at her but the moment his eyes came back to me, it flared to life.

Kate’s expression was a little befuddled as she waved and took off. A minute later, my boss called out that he was locking up.

“I’ll walk you to your car,” Nick stated. It was obviously not a question. Again, I was struck by the assertive attitude rolling off someone who looked like they just stepped out of an IZOD ad. And, it hadn’t escaped my notice that people seemed to be looking at him like he’d grown another head tonight. I was very intrigued and almost regretted not having a vehicle for him to walk me out to.

“I’m only staying a few blocks from here, so I walked,” I told him regretfully.

He frowned deeply and glanced at the classy, gold watch on his wrist. “You were going to walk home at three in the morning?” His tone was protective, and It made me smile. Of course, he didn’t know that my parents made sure I had several black belts and trained in boxing before they sent me out into the world. A lot of men (and women) found it intimidating.

“I do it all the time, Nick,” I explained. I winked and put my hands on my hips. “I can take care of myself. Trust me.”

Nick’s hold on my hand tightened and he tugged lightly walking with me to the end of the bar where he could pull me around to the front so I was facing him without a barrier. “No fucking way am I letting you walk home alone at this hour.”

I shrugged, not opposed to the idea of spending a few more minutes with him. “Suit yourself, Loafers.”

He’d begun leading me toward the door but at my words, he stopped and looked back at me inquisitively. “Loafers?”

I snickered and looked pointedly at his shoes. “I didn’t know your name.” He didn’t appear to be amused, so I swallowed my smile and gestured for him to continue toward the exit.

Once we were outside, I tugged lightly at the hand he was still holding, but he refused to let it go.

“Where do you live?” he asked gruffly.

I pointed in the right direction and we began walking that way. We strolled in a comfortable silence for a while.

“You do this every night?” he queried suddenly, breaking the stillness.

“Sure,” I responded. Nick threw me a dark look and shook his head before facing forward again. He grumbled something that I couldn’t quite catch though it sounded like, “Not anymore.”

“What was that?”

Nick stopped and opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, then shut it and abruptly started moving again. “Nothing,” he mumbled.

We reached the entrance to my apartment a few minutes later. “This is me,” I told him. I felt a slice of regret that he was leaving, which was weird since I didn’t even know him. “Thanks for the escort, Loafers.” I planted a quick, hard kiss on his lips before spinning around and grabbing the door handle.

“Wait.” I looked back over my shoulder but didn’t turn around. “Are you working tomorrow?”

“No. The part-timer I replaced is working her last shift.”

“Have dinner with me.”

I raised a brow at his demanding tone. I should’ve said no and left it at that but…damn, I was too intrigued by this man. I wanted to crack the nut open and see what was really inside.

“Sure.”

“I’ll pick you up at six.”

“I can meet you there,” I said before I remembered that my car was in the shop.

“I’ll pick you up at six.” His tone was final, as though warning me not to argue.

I mentally shrugged, what the hell. I’d have to give in eventually anyway.

“Suit yourself, Loafers.”