CHAPTER 3 #2
The woman standing next to the blonde leans around the woman who still hasn’t looked my way even though I’m screaming at her to do so in my head. “You’re on a first name basis with the bartender, is there a story there or are you just a regular?”
Even though the brunette is batting her eyelashes like she’s trying to take flight, it’s the wide eyes of the blonde that I can’t seem to look away from. She’s gorgeous. I could swear, for a second, my heart stops before beginning to beat again but now it’s off somehow.
Or maybe it’s on?
It doesn’t make me want to call for an ambulance that’s for damn sure.
“Neither,” I grunt. “It’s a friendship circle kind of thing.”
“Ohh,” the brunette holds the word out and wiggles her fingers, “mysterious.” I glance her way, long to catch her smirking, but my gaze moves quickly back toward the blonde. “I’m Tasha,” she introduces herself. “And this is Avery.”
“Avery,” I whisper softly.
There’s no way she heard me, it’s just not possible. Still, her dark blue eyes dilate and her soft pink lips part before her breath hitches. I wonder what other sounds I could get out of her.
Breathy moans.
Passionate screams.
Pleasure filled whimpers.
I can almost taste every sound on my tongue.
After clearing my throat, I nod my head toward Tasha because it feels like she’s just given me a gift. “Tasha. Avery, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Bridger.”
“Lovely to make your acquaintance, Bridger,” Tasha chirps.
“Nice to meet you, Bridger,” Avery’s voice is soft and lyrical. My ears strain to pick up every nuance in her words, few that they are.
“This doesn’t seem like your scene,” Tasha points out. “You should hang out with my friend, it’s not hers either. I basically coerced her into coming out with me tonight.”
Avery chuckles under her breath and flashes a soft smile at her friend while shaking her head. “It wasn’t like that, Tasha,” she grumbles. “I just needed,” she pauses as if searching for the words as emotions flit across her face, “to do something different.”
Her dark blue eyes study me, raking over the exposed skin on my arms where tattoos dance across my skin. When she licks her lips, my fucking knees go weak and I down my whiskey in one swallow because it’s the only things stopping me from grabbing her.
I’ve never wanted a woman like I want her. There’s electricity between us. I can feel it charging with every breath. It’s like static. I think we’re both waiting for the strike.
“If going out to a club isn’t your scene, what is?”
I surprise myself with the question. Not because I’m asking one at all, which would be enough, but because I genuinely am curious about the answer. Something in me wants to know more about this woman.
It’s a ridiculous feeling. One I know can’t go anywhere, not really, but it won’t be ignored either.
“I’m more of a home person,” Avery winces with her words. “I love to read and watch movies. I’ve tried other hobbies, like knitting, but it did not end well.”
The way she looks up at me, a sparkling innocence in her eyes, has my heart pumping harder. I’ve never found a woman I wanted to fuck adorable before. But here we are.
My cock perks up at the thought of being buried in her tight, wet heat and throbs in response. He’s not helping the situation. I guess the only good thing going on for me right now is how the bar is helping to hide the bulge in my jeans.
“Was there some sort of knitting needle accident?” I can’t look away from her as I practically purr the question, as ridiculous as it sounds.
“No,” she laughs through her answer, “nothing like that. I just kept dropping or adding stitches and the scarf I was going for looked like a rhombus instead of a rectangle. A knitting needle accident sounds like the emergency room would be involved. I’m not a klutz, I’m just not skilled when it comes to using my hands in a crafty way, no matter how much I wish I was. ”
“Why do you want to be crafty?”
There’s something there, something in her, which makes me want to know more. It’s kind of fucking with me right now.
Before she can answer, Tasha leans around her with a big smile on her face. “Well,” she chirps, “looks like my work here is done.”
Then she’s walking away from the bar and merging into the bodies on the dance floor. My eyes are wide, and my mouth is hanging slightly open. I’m not sure if it’s because of her brashness or because she did it all with a smile on her face.
Avery giggles and my attention snaps back to her as I soak up the sound. I want to hear it again, which makes a huge part of me want to run away. But my feet keep me rooted in the spot.
“You get used to her,” Avery assures me, even though I don’t think either of us believe I’ll be around long enough to get used to anything that has to do with Tasha.
When I don’t say anything, Avery’s cheeks blush slightly.
It’s hard to see in the lights of the club, but it’s like I have fucking superhero vision when it comes to this woman.
“I guess,” she muses, “I’d like to be crafty because there’s something special about using your hands to make something, either out of nothing or out of something else. It’s a skill, one I don’t have.”
I nod, her words soaking into my skin. “I can understand that. It’s kind of the same way with tattooing.”
“Tattooing?” Her question isn’t judgmental; it’s filled with genuine curiosity.
“I’m a tattoo artist at Vibrant Ink,” I tell her, my tone wary.
The reaction people have to my profession can vary. Widely. There’s a lot of judgment out there when it comes to tattoos. Most of it is unjustified and ridiculous.
“Huh.” Her eyes move over the tattoos on my exposed arms. Her dark blue eyes flare with desire.
My cock hardens in my jeans so fast that it makes me a little lightheaded and that’s after already being half-hard from the moment I saw Avery.
“That makes sense,” she muses. “How long have you been tattooing?”
I lean into her and her soft vanilla and cream scent floats toward me.
“A while,” I tell her, lust filling me and making it hard to think straight.
She deserves more of an answer, a better answer. But my need for her is almost overwhelming and makes it next to impossible for me to think straight.
“Okay,” she murmurs.
Our eyes lock and she licks her lips. I can feel every one of my pounding heartbeats down the shaft of my cock. It’s impossible to think about anything other than burying myself deep inside of her and feeling her squeeze my length with her wet warmth.
When I lean in even closer, Avery’s breath hitches and the warmth from her skims along my body.
“I understand this might be moving quickly, but I need to taste every inch of you before I fill you with my cock and feel your sweet pussy milk all the cum from my balls,” my voice is low and husky, my lips brushing against the shell of her ear with every word.
“Yes,” she moans, and it makes me want to beat my chest.
I could take her to my place, but it’s too far. There’s a hotel not far from Aces; while she deserves so much more than being taken to a hotel, the need consuming me won’t let me make a better, clearer decision.
If I’m not inside of her in the next minute, maybe ten at most, I don’t know what will happen.