I can’t do the whole friendship thing with her. It’s just not possible.

I try to focus on Hannah, the sweet barmaid from earlier, but all I can think about is Laura.

Her voice.

Her smile.

Her eyes.

Those perky breasts hidden beneath her top, and her arse.

Fuck me, her arse.

I suppress a groan as I shift in my seat, blinking at Hannah. This is where my thoughts should be—on her, a sexy woman who’s all set on an easy hook-up—instead of someone who’s unattainable.

Her lips tip up at me, and emboldened by the alcohol in my blood, I take in her tits straining against her T-shirt, letting my eyes linger for a beat too long.

That should do the trick.

“What are you thinking about?” she says as she leans closer towards me.

I raise my eyes at her and lick my lips. Then I put the beer down and push up on the bar so I can whisper in her ear.

“Your tits,” I murmur. Her breath hitches as my breath fans over her skin, and I grin as I sit back. Her eyes turn darker, more lustful, and as she wets her lips, my smile widens.

So easy.

Hannah looks around her before she lifts her hand, her fingers trailing over my jaw.

My thoughts veer off in Laura’s direction, but I push them away. Not now. I need a release, and this girl will do just fine.

Hannah’s smile turns bolder as she nods once.

“Meet me outside the ladies’ room in ten minutes,” she whispers. I groan as she bites my ear lightly. At the touch of her teeth, my cock hardens automatically. It’s basic physics—a reflex.

“I thought you didn’t get off work until one?” I murmur.

As she leans away from me, I have to grin at the knowing look in her eyes.

“I don’t. But that doesn’t mean we have to wait until then.”

Well, well, well.

“You’ve got it,” I mutter.

She leaves the bar and I look at my phone to mark the time.

Ten minutes. I can be alone with my thoughts for that long, can’t I?

“Whatever you’re about to do, stop it,” Alex grumbles in my ear.

I scowl at him as his face and body come into view.

“Why?”

“Because fucking that girl isn’t going to solve your problems.” He places empty glasses on the bar and waves a bartender over.

“Alex, I’m fine,” I mutter after he’s given his order.

He shrugs, but his eyes flash with irritation.

“Suit yourself. I’ll go entertain Laura and Trish, and then I’m going to make sure they get home safe.”

Sighing, I run a hand through my hair.

“She’s got me all tied up in fucking knots,” I grumble. “She wants us to be friends, for fuck’s sake.”

Alex grins. The urge to wipe the floor with his mouth is at the forefront of my mind.

“Just ignore that. Keep working through her armour, and she’ll come around eventually. I guarantee it.”

I blink at him.

“That’s it? Those are your words of wisdom?”

He laughs at the sarcasm dripping from my voice.

“Aaah, the youth today.” He pays for his drinks and just as he’s about to leave me, he hesitates. “Kristian, trust me when I say that the women who make you stumble…they’re the ones you fight for. They’re the ones you fall for—and even if you shag that girl tonight? You’ll keep falling. Trust me on this—it’s bound to happen. You might as well enjoy the ride.”

I shake my head as I down the last of my lager. I stand up and check my phone.

It’s time.

I clap his shoulder once before I leave him.

“Well, maybe I’ll fall—but as long as she won’t be there to catch me, there’s no reason I shouldn’t keep busy until she comes around.”

“Don’t make a mistake, lad,” Alex calls after me, but I just keep walking. I know I’m already making one, but I need to do something to forget Laura.

Maybe I can still be her friend, but not tonight. Not when I’m drunk. Not when the need to sink my cock inside a warm and willing female is there, pulling at me to just do something about it.

I don’t have to think when I’m fucking someone.

I don’t have to feel.

And right now, that’s all I want. To cease thinking or feeling about a certain stubborn, scarred, sexy woman, whose eyes swim with secrets whenever they look into mine.

I frown as I pass Laura’s empty table, but then I push her away from my mind. I’m locking her away until morning. Instead, I smile at Hannah as I find her standing outside the ladies’ room, a deliciously turned-on look in her eyes.

I stop right in front of her and take a deep breath. When my chest expands, rubbing against her nipples, I grin at the way her eyes widen.

“Are you sure we won’t get interrupted?” I whisper in her ear, leaning down to run my nose against her hair.

She smells nice. Always a plus.

“We won’t. Come on, big guy—we need to hurry. My break only lasts fifteen minutes.”

I let her lead me inside and watch as she takes out a bunch of keys, locking the door.

“Then I guess we best make the most of it,” I mutter.

As she walks towards me, I unzip my jeans. Anticipation, lust, and alcohol course through me. When she stops in front of me, I take her hand and push it against the bulge in my pants.

“Mmm,” she sighs as she starts to rub my cock over my boxers. I hiss through my teeth as her mouth nips at my jaw.

“You like it rough, baby?” she asks me.

“Fucking love it,” I moan as she takes a firmer hold on me. I lean my head back and close my eyes for a moment, enjoying her touch.

“Good. Time to play a little, then.”

Thank fuck.

The loudness in my head clears. My eyes spring open as I hear the sound of her zipper, and I watch as she tugs at her black skirt. A lustful groan rumbles from my chest when she pushes it down, revealing black, skimpy underwear.

Quickly, I grab her by the hips and turn her to face the counter. I grin as I take in our reflection.

“Hold on,” I warn as I mould her arse in my hands. Her breaths come faster as she spreads her legs. She’s definitely no stranger to a quick tryst in a public place.

Good. That should make it easier to get this over and done with.

Impatient, I push her thong away, baring her arse, and I tease her pussy with a finger. When I run it down, she moans and her slick heat makes my cock twitch.

“Yeah, this is just what I need,” I whisper as I find a condom in my pocket. I free my cock with one hand as I keep finger fucking her. Her moans, and the glazed look in her eyes, make me swell with need.

“Got to make sure you’re ready, baby,” I whisper as I taste the skin of her neck. In one easy, practiced move, I tear the condom wrapper away, and quickly put it on.

“I’m ready,” Hannah pants as she leans over the sink, pushing her arse closer to me.

“Good.” I line up my cock at her entrance and slam inside her. “This will be as rough as you want it, Hannah,” I pant. Taking a chance, I slap her arse, and blood rushes to my cock when I feel her pussy clench around me.

Then we stop talking altogether as I fuck her. The harder I push inside her, the more I see Laura in my mind—and the more I imagine that it’s her I’m fucking instead. Just as my thrusts become quicker, harder, I even believe that she’s there, watching me, as I look up from Hannah’s arse. I frown, closing my eyes, but then brush it off as my imagination running wild, when I look back into the mirror, finding nothing except Hannah’s reflection staring back at me.

Hannah’s soft cries grow louder, urging me on, and as warmth runs through me, I throw my head back on a long moan, thrusting one final time as I come.

Breathing like mad, I give us both some time to come down from the high, before I pull out.

Now that my need is stilled, I feel like a fucking idiot.

We dress in silence, and I avoid the questions in Hannah’s eyes.

“Thanks,” I mutter as I walk to the door.

“Sure. Anytime.”

Her voice is breathy, confident, and I just nod. As she stops next to me and turns the key, she curses.

“Fuck! It’s broken.”

My heart stops beating and a sinking feeling fills my gut.

“What?” I frown.

“See?” She wiggles the handle as she turns the key again, and nothing happens. “I best tell Peter so he can sort it out.”

“Fuck,” I breathe.

Did Laura see me fucking Hannah?

Maybe it wasn’t my mind running wild when I thought I saw her reflection in the mirror.

Shit!