Landon

I saw her the moment I stepped inside the bar. Maddie was impossible to miss. Her blonde hair was once again pulled up in a messy bun, several strands dangling around her face. She was also behind the counter, pouring a draft beer.

I made my way through the patrons, inspecting the location. Whenever I went to a new bar, I automatically compared it to the pub Val and I ran years ago. It had been all black wood and shades of green, and had an air of general shabbiness.

This one was all warm tones, the dim lighting casting a pleasant glow on the brown wood. The place was packed with patrons standing around the high, round tables. A few servers milled around, and at the far end of the room was a makeshift stage, but it was still empty.

“Fancy seeing you here, stranger,” Maddie greeted me playfully when I reached the counter. “Where’s your friend?”

“Couldn’t make it after all.”

“And you came anyway because...?”

“You promised fun, Maddie. Why are you behind the bar?”

“My sister has the flu, so I’m filling in for her.” A frown marred her forehead as she reached to the rack above our heads where wineglasses were hanging. “She gets sick a lot lately. I keep telling her it’s not normal, that she should go to a doctor, but she doesn’t listen. Calls me a nag.”

I grinned, plunking my forearms on the bar. She filled the glass of wine, handing it to the redhead next to me. Then Maddie pointed at me. “Don’t make fun of me. I know she’s a grown-up, but I can’t help myself.”

My grin widened. I recognized the behavior. “Far from me to make fun of you. I’m the same. I call it eldest sibling syndrome. Nice to find a kindred spirit. So, you know the owner, or how come you can work instead of your sister?”

“I used to work here. When I first moved, my business wasn’t bringing in much income, so I was supplementing it with bartending. So now, if my sister has to miss a shift, I cover for her so she still gets the money. What can I get you, Landon?”

I looked at the blackboard hanging on what I assumed was a fake-tile wall to our right. Several cocktails were scribbled on it in white chalk. “I’ll take the house specialty.”

She made a come-here motion with her finger, and I leaned in over the counter. Even though alcohol fumes were swirling around us, I still caught a clear whiff of her perfume. I barely refrained from leaning in even closer.

“It’ll give you a really nasty hangover tomorrow. Several people already complained about it, including yours truly. I don’t recommend it. You look like a bourbon type of guy anyway.”

I pulled back, laughing. “I look like it? Is that translation for Val talking about me?”

“She might have said a few things. So, bourbon?”

I nodded, watching her prepare my drink. I’d been watching her more often than I wanted to admit over the last days. I’d talked her into eating lunch with me every day. I brushed her fingers when I took the glass, and she drew in a sharp breath, jumping a little as if the contact electrified her. What would she do if I trailed my mouth up to her neck, tugged with my teeth at her earlobe? An image of Maddie arching her hips and back into me filled my thoughts. Her scent was still fresh in my mind, as was the feel of her skin under my fingers. I could practically feel her pressed against me.

“I want my goddamn drink.”

We both looked in the direction from where the voice had come. A surfer, by the sorry look of him. He raised his brows at Maddie, tapping his hand on the counter.

“Come on, how hard can it be to make a mojito? Fucking get to work already.”

“Apologize to Maddie, or you’ll be out on your sorry ass in ten seconds.” Maintaining my calm, I shifted closer, straightening up.

He hunched slightly when he realized I towered over him. His eyes darted to Maddie, then back to me, and he raised both hands in surrender.

“Okay, I’m sorry.”

Maddie smiled sweetly at him while working on his cocktail. “Rule number one. Never be disrespectful to the person serving your food or beverage. You never know what they might put in.” When she slid his glass toward him, the guy looked down at it as if afraid to touch it. I held my glass up in her direction, grinning. Her sass was contagious.

She tended to the other patrons as I enjoyed my bourbon, perched on one of the barstools. The servers milling around the room prepared the orders they received themselves, but Maddie still had her hands full.

A band climbed on the stage soon after and performed covers of well-known songs, as well as some of their own. Maddie was right; they were very good. Several of the patrons started dancing. So did Maddie behind the counter. She was wearing a blue dress with a black belt around her tiny waist. Her shoulders were bare.

“You’re a very good dancer.” I drank up the sway of her hips and thighs, the sensual-as-fuck yet classy way in which her ass arched up rhythmically. I had a very sudden and very clear vision of me holding those hips, pressing her against me. Jesus, I hadn’t felt such a pull toward a woman in years. I couldn’t tear myself away.

“Thanks. I typically dance the entire time they perform, but house rules forbid me leaving the bar. But there are no rules saying I’m not allowed to dance behind the bar.”

“What time does your shift end?”

“I’m closing, so three o’clock.”

“And you’re working on Val’s yard tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Coffee will be my best friend.”

“I’ll talk to Val. I’m sure she won’t mind if you take the day off.”

She shook her head. “No can do. I don’t like skipping work for personal reasons.”

Stubborn woman. I didn’t like the fact that she’d only get a few hours of sleep, but I respected her work ethic.

“My place is just five blocks away. I’ll be home in twenty minutes tops,” she continued.

“You’re walking?”

“Of course.” Motioning to my empty glass, she asked, “Another bourbon?”

“No.” I wanted to keep a clear head, so I glanced at the menu, choosing the first nonalcoholic drink that caught my eye. “I’ll have a mint lemonade with ginger and strawberry.”

“You must be very secure in your masculinity. Women usually order that.”

“I’m very secure in my masculinity, Maddie.”

Her lips parted, forming a small, delicious O. I was affecting her, in the same way she was affecting me. I didn’t take my eyes off her as she prepared my drink. She glanced up at me every few seconds, and I enjoyed immensely the way she bit into her bottom lip after every glance.

“Here is your drink!” She sounded breathless.

I stuck to the bar for the next few hours, listening to the band, ordering almost everything from the nonalcoholic side of the menu, and fending off any men who came on too strong on Maddie.

“Stop scaring away the customers,” Maddie admonished me after I caused the third male customer to cower away.

“He was more interested in you than the drink.”

“I know, but you still can’t scare off customers.”

“But you can put them off from the house specialty?" I challenged.

“I don’t put everyone off. Just the people I like.” She winked at me and continued to dance while mixing cocktails, pouring drinks. She was an unquenchable well of energy and sinful moves. The more I watched her, the more I wanted to know how she’d feel against me. I wanted to dance with her—another new impulse for me.

She chitchatted with other patrons too, and annoyance twanged inside me whenever a man asked her for her number. She declined every time, which was when it dawned on me that she might be seeing someone. Why hadn’t that occurred to me before? Surely a woman like her wasn’t single. She was smart, sassy, and hardworking. She’d mentioned an ex, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have someone in her life at the moment. Fuck, that thought bothered me. Even though I didn’t have a right to be bothered.

As three o’clock neared, the patrons shuffled out one by one, even though the band kept playing as if they had a full house. Fifteen minutes before closing time, there were just two other people besides us. Maddie had dismissed the servers on the shift, saying she could close up by herself.

I watched her dance become wilder, more passionate, and I couldn’t take it any longer. I leaned over the bar and said, “Come out here and dance.”

She jutted out her lower lip. “Can’t. House rules.”

“Come out here.”

“Landon—”

“Break the rules with me, Maddie. Dance with me.”

She swallowed hard, glanced at the clock, at the last two patrons who were headed out the door, then nodded. She stepped from behind the bar, smiling shyly as she walked closer to me. It was her first shy smile. Her blue eyes were beautiful.

I looked at the band, who’d started to gather their things as the patrons left but now began playing just for us. It was the kind of music I wanted. I didn’t want a slow dance; I wanted a wild one. I took her hand, twirling her once before lowering my hands to her hips. She had her back to me, and I stepped closer until her spine was pressing against my chest. Maddie put her hands on top of mine but didn’t push them away. I kept us both still for a moment. I had to ask first. I had to know.

“Maddie, are you dating someone?”

She shuddered in my arms, pressing her back even closer to me. “There is no one in my life, Landon.”

“Then be mine for this dance.”

I heard her sharp intake of breath, and then her hair tickled my face. Half her bun had come undone again. I pulled the elastic band. Her hair was silky and soft.

“Let’s get rid of that, shall we? It’s just in the way.”

She nodded wordlessly, taking the elastic band from my hand, shoving it in a small pocket in her dress. I pushed her hair to one side, baring the back of her neck to me. I lingered with my fingers on her skin longer than necessary, pressing my thumb where her hairline ended.

“Are we going to dance or what? I’m breaking the rules with you, Landon. You’d better make it count.”

I was breaking some rules of my own. It was the first time I’d let myself come this close to a woman in years. But that didn’t matter right now. This moment was all that mattered. Maddie was all that mattered. She had wanted to let loose and go all wild the entire night, but she hadn’t been able to behind that bar. I was going to give her what she needed.

Lowering my hands to her hips again, I moved us both to the rhythm of the music. She gave herself to the music, to me, the sway of her body smooth and inviting. Her scent was driving me insane, and I knew the intoxicating flower sweetness would be branded in my memory for a long time. Taking her hands, I twirled her, catching the feral glimpse in her eyes.

“You’re good at this, Landon.”

I spun her again, once, twice, until she lost all sense of space and swayed right into my arms. Laughter tumbled out of her, and I could hear the reverberations of her guffaws against my chest. It was contagious. I joined in on her laughter, but then she let the music take her over again, and I pulled her to me. I wanted to soak up all her sensual energy. Our hips were aligned, our chests touching. Heat was building inside me, and when I felt her frantic breath land on my jaw, lust shot right under my belt. A drop of sweat dripped from her temple, making its way to her earlobe. I wanted to lick her there.

When the music stopped, we both glanced at the stage questioningly. I didn’t want the moment to end. Judging by how tightly Maddie was holding my hand, neither did she.

“Sorry, guys, we already played fifteen minutes extra for you. But we really have to go.”

Maddie jumped, slipping her hand away. “Oh, I have to close up. I lost track of time. I....”

As the band gathered their instruments, Maddie wiped the bar surface with a wet cloth, put the remaining glasses in the dishwasher.

“Landon, you don’t have to wait for me.”

“Yes I do. I’m walking you home.”

Maddie straightened up, scrutinizing me like she was seeing me for the first time. “I live just a few blocks away.”

“It’s not up for negotiation. It’s late, and your car was vandalized. It’s not safe.”

She laughed softly. “I just met you last week. How do I know you’re safe?”

“Val can vouch for me. Give her a call.”

“At three o’clock in the morning?” She tilted her head, her eyes holding a challenge.

“The owner shouldn’t let a woman close up the bar. I never let Val do it. He should have asked one of the guys who worked as server to do it. A lot of drunkards hang around in front after closing time, and most people you meet on the street at this time are looking for trouble.”

“I walk home alone every time I’m here.”

“Not this time.”

“You’re intense.”

I laughed. “You could say that.”

“That’s why you hung around the entire night? To walk me home?”

“That and I wanted to dance with you. So the matter’s settled.”

“No it’s not.”

“You can’t get rid of me, sweetheart. I’m walking you home.”

***

Maddie

I gave in to him, because how could I not? I had the shrewd suspicion that it wouldn’t have mattered—he’d have walked me home anyway. He seemed the kind of man who wouldn’t be deterred by a no, and I liked it, a little too much. I also liked that he was so protective of me. Did that make me a little nutty?

Truthfully, I appreciated his offer, because with the wave of tourists that summer brought in, you could never be too careful. Grace always drove after a shift because she lived farther away.

He had a point about my car being broken into. And I had to admit to myself that I wanted his company for a few more minutes. The way he’d danced with me... My insides were melting just remembering it. My entire body was still wound up tight from all the sensations he’d stirred inside me.

“It’s a lovely night,” I exclaimed as we left the bar.

“Great for a walk,” he replied. Judging by the sheer number of people out and about, you wouldn’t have thought it was almost four o’clock in the morning. LA was just as alive and vibrant as ever, though summer seemed to be an especially crowded time.

I wrestled with the million questions I had for him. I didn’t want to pry, but at the same time I wanted to know more about him, and I wanted to know things directly from the source, not from Val.

Maybe I was imagining things, but while we were dancing, I felt a connection—something that went beyond the spark between us. In the throes of dancing, he seemed to let loose in a way I hadn’t seen him do since he arrived.

“Can I ask you something?” I tried.

“Sure.”

“Did something happen to make you decide to take time off?”

“We just finalized talks for a partnership with another player in the industry. We have a lot of synergies between us, and it makes sense. But I’ve been working sixteen-hour days for the last six months to make it happen. I needed a break. And I missed my family. It’s been years since I spent more than a few days at a time with them.” He smiled at me, a smile that made my insides flutter. Damn my traitorous insides. They had no business fluttering. “But if my brothers ask, my official story is I needed a proper break from everything. I’ll never hear the end of it otherwise. Plus, I did need a vacation during which I don’t wake up to check sales numbers and go to bed making projections.”

“Instead you unload timber poles and walk women home in the middle of the night.”

“Just one woman. And I’ll gladly do it again. I had a great time tonight, Maddie. I loved dancing with you.”

My skin sizzled, and I nearly melted into a puddle when he cocked his head and trapped my gaze with his.

“I loved it too.”

“Worth breaking the rules?” he challenged.

“One hundred percent.”

“Tell me about your sister.”

“Grace is the smartest person,” I piped up. “She’s in law school right now on a partial scholarship and works at the Lucky Bar and a few other places.”

“And that’s enough to pay the rest of the tuition fees?”

“No, I’m paying them. She works to cover her living costs.”

He smiled. “You’re a great sister.”

“Thanks. I don’t want Grace to graduate with a ton of debt. That puts a lot of pressure on you as a young professional.”

We arrived on my street faster than expected. When had time flown by? Tiny bungalows were crammed into each other along the street. I had no yard to speak of, but living alone in LA came at a cost.

I wasn’t ready to say good night, but I wouldn’t invite him in either. Our dancing had been fun and a lot more explosive than I expected, but I wouldn’t cross that line.

I stepped up on my porch but Landon remained with his feet on the concrete, not making any move to follow me. I liked that a lot—that he knew when to push and when to respect boundaries.

“See you tomorrow, Landon. Thanks for walking me home.”

“Anytime, Maddie.”

He pulled out his phone and asked, “What’s your number?”

“Why do you need it?”

His eyes were focused on his screen, but the corners of his mouth tilted up. “You’ll see. Number?”

I rattled it off, watching him closely. My heart was pounding against my rib cage as I tried to read the situation. When he shoved his phone back in his jeans, he bestowed a smile upon me and I felt a hot sizzle slither down my spine, followed by a cold shiver. I had no idea why this man had such an impact on me. That issue was only more aggravated when he took my hand in his and raised it to his mouth, just like he’d done on that first day. He brushed his lips on my knuckles, and this time the heat his lips brought spread throughout me, concentrating low in my body. Another rush of heat shot right between my legs when he looked up and I saw his pupils had widened. He let my hand go the next second. Thank heavens. If he’d held my hand longer, I might have done something crazy. Like kissing him. Oh, scratch that. I would have jumped him.

“See you tomorrow, Maddie.”

I felt his gaze on me while I unlocked and pushed my door open. Once inside, I hurried to the window and saw him heading away with purposeful strides. I was overcome by the impulse to head back out, ask him to come inside.

It dawned on me that he hadn’t told me what he needed my number for. But I got my answer a few minutes later when my phone chirped with an incoming message.

Now you have my number too, beautiful. Anytime you need someone to walk you home, give me a call.

I looked at that message for a long time, smiling like a fool.