I watched Hatch walk away and enjoyed the view of his perfect ass clad in tight blue jeans as he moved through the club.

I smiled to myself as I watched every female in the club, both customers and cocktail waitresses, admire the same view that I was.

I think I even saw a couple guys turning their heads, Hatch had that effect on everyone.

He was one hell of an impressive man.

And he was all mine.

I turned to somebody waving a few bills in my direction, fixed a smile on my face, and asked him how I could help him.

From that moment on my night was split between Hatch and the people in front of me. Hatch wasn’t around, but I couldn’t help but have half my mind wherever he was. The other half paid attention, well as much as I could, I did mess up more than a couple drink orders.

“You seem extremely distracted,” Scarlett, one of the cocktail waitresses asked as she caught me in a daydream. She leaned across the bar, her red hair shining in the lights above, and whispered, “Is it a man? You have that look, like it’s a man.”

I actually blushed, I was feeling bashful at her guessing correctly. I was about to deny it, but Lucy came striding up, flipping her blonde curls. “It’s gotta be that carpenter,” she giggled. “I’ve never seen big bad Kitty this goofy for anyone before.”

“Come on you guys, I would never get giddy over a dude,” I replied and arched my eyebrow. “I’m not that man crazy.”

“You’re not man crazy, you’re one specific man crazy,” Scarlett quipped, turned with her tray of drinks and shot me a knowing grin before she left to serve her table.

Lucy added her own knowing grin before heading off with her tray. I rolled my eyes at both of them, but they knew. I knew, it felt like everybody knew.

Except for my uncle Max and my dad. I wasn’t quite ready to let them in on this little secret.

Time crawled until my shift was almost over and I finally looked up to see Hatch strolling across the club towards me. People parted in front of him, opening up a clear path for him to get to me, as if he were royalty or a celebrity.

He walked like he was though, he strutted, knowing all eyes were on him.

My breath caught in my chest and I couldn’t help but let a wide grin stretch my lips in what I was sure had to be the least attractive look on me. I wasn’t the grinning type, and yet there I was, grinning like a fool for Hatch.

“I told you,” Scarlett said to Lucy and a couple other waitresses. They all tittered with laughter and watched as Hatch approached the bar.

“Hey, kitten,” he said and slid onto a stool. He leaned forward crossed his arms on my bar and I felt myself literally ogling his muscular, tattooed forearms.

I loved good, muscled forearms with veins and tats and my god, Hatch was basically everything I loved all wrapped up in a smoking hot package.

“Hey you,” I replied, doing my best to play it cool. I was wiping a lowball glass with a cloth and found that focusing on the work kept me from leaping over the bar to slip into his arms.

“What time do you get off?” he asked and stared at me with the sweetest schoolboy crush in his eyes. Until they flicked down to my breasts, where they began to smolder like a slow burning fire.

“As soon as you get your hands on me,” I laughed and watched his eyes widen in surprise.

“You’re a playful kitten, I wonder what got into you?”

“I think you know exactly what got into me,” I replied in a low voice and moved close to him so he could hear me clearly. “I think you know very well what got into me several times last night.”

Hatch shifted uncomfortably and I knew he’d just gotten very hard inside his tight blue jeans…and that made me extremely happy.

“So…when are you off again, and how soon can we get naked together?”

I shifted my eyes around to see if anyone had been paying attention and suddenly realized I no longer cared.

I didn’t care who knew that I was falling in love with Hatch, it wasn’t anyone’s business, but even if they made it theirs…who cared?

I leaned across and surprised him with a kiss on the lips. He grabbed the back of my head and wouldn’t let me go, kissed me harder and left me breathless with weak knees as he pulled away.

Scarlett clapped and Lucy laughed, a few of the other cocktail waitresses joined in telling each other they knew something had been going on, and in the midst of it all I only had eyes for Hatch.

We were officially off the market it seemed, out in public as a couple, and I couldn’t be happier.

“I guess I’m done now,” I said and wiped my hands on the cloth after setting the glass down under the counter. “I mean, I could probably work another hour or two but I don’t want to.”

His kiss had woken something inside of me again, the moment his lips had touched mine, my body had fired up and all reason had gone to the winds where it belonged.

Only lust and love ruled me now, and it commanded me to leave the club and take Hatch upstairs to my place. I couldn’t stand the long drive back to his, out to the suburbs. Waiting that long would be the death of me.

“Aren’t you going to get me a drink first?” His eyes glittered with amusement.

“What would you like?” I asked, a little taken back.

“How about a nice, sloe screw?” His voice rumbled in his chest when he said it and I thought I was going to orgasm right then and there at his words.

“What makes you want that?” I asked.

“It’s your favorite drink, isn’t it?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I hesitated and narrowed my eyes. “You know it isn’t, don’t you?”

“I knew the moment you said it, kitten,” he chuckled lazily. “I just didn’t want to say anything because you looked so into it when I guessed that one.”

“I don’t really have a favorite, you know. I like wine.”

“I like beer. And whiskey. And you.”

I smiled and reached across the bar, grabbed his shirt and pulled him close for a kiss. As his lips touched mine again, the world fell away and I didn’t care who saw what was happening.

He was mine, I was his, and nobody else mattered.