Chapter 7 #2
Luke finally put his phone down, and his eyes bulged. “Has anyone ever told you you’d look great with veneers?”
Elspeth scowled. “Unfortunately, no.”
William walked up from the back room, carrying a crate of glasses and looking handsome and dangerous. He wore a fitted pair of dark jeans and a gray tee, the medallion on his necklace dipping low against his muscled chest.
Luke must have noticed the way William was staring and put an arm over me as if staking his claim.
William strode toward us with confidence, his wolfish grin getting bigger as he surveyed the scene in front of him. It was menacing and off putting.
He reached out a hand. “I’m William.”
Luke grabbed it firmly. “Luke.”
“Oh, this is Luke,” he said with mock amusement. “Nairie’s told me all about you.”
“All good things, I hope.”
William gave a murderous grin. “Nope.”
I grimaced at Elspeth. “Can we have some alcohol?”
Elspeth laughed. “You came to the right place.”
Luke squeezed me tighter against his side, and I stiffened. “I’m taking Nairie to a huge influencer event. I do a lot of campaigns for brands on social media, actually.”
William crossed his tattooed arms over his broad chest. “What kind of campaign, exactly?”
“Gummy laxatives.”
The side of William’s mouth ticked up. I avoided eye contact by sipping the drink Elspeth placed in front of me.
“Is there a lot of money in that?” William asked.
“Definitely, I could try to get you hooked up with an agent if you’re interested.”
“No, thanks.”
Luke and I eventually found a half-circle booth while William and Elspeth went over the night’s schedule and spoke to some of the bartenders and waiters.
Luke tapped on his phone, making sure to tag his location on the selfie he just took, and posted it to all his social channels.
In the meantime, I stared at William taking charge of the bar.
I’d never seen him in this context before, and it was another turn-on I could add to my list. He was firm with his directions, giving each person he was speaking to his undivided attention and cracking one of his rare, dazzling smiles intermittently.
The confidence he emitted seemed to make everyone around him listen and want to do better.
He was a natural leader, and I sighed, looking back at Luke twiddling on his phone.
I hated that he might be my first, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.
Eventually, Luke attempted to make conversation without ever asking me a single question about myself. I chugged the rest of my drink, hoping it would make time go by faster and dull my IQ a few points.
William’s large hand appeared in front of me with a refilled glass. I slowly raked my gaze over his rough fingers and corded forearms until I met his eyes.
“May I join you?” William didn’t wait for a response and sat on the other side of me.
Luke let his arm fall over my shoulders again, and I shifted uncomfortably. William narrowed his eyes on the act and scowled.
He slid my mixed drink closer, and I grasped it appreciatively.
William pointed his index finger with his hand still wrapped around a whisky glass toward Luke’s neck. “Mind if I ask what that tattoo means?”
Luke smugly smiled. “It’s a psalm I just picked out of the Bible at random.”
William sipped his drink. “Are you religious?”
“God, no.”
“What does it mean?”
“No idea.”
William looked at me like I could do better, and I crossed my arms. I know Luke sucks, but William doesn’t have to rub my face in it.
Luke motioned his chin at William. “Where are you from, man?”
“Scotland.”
“How do you know Nairie?”
“I’m Elspeth’s brother.”
“Elspeth?”
I stared at Luke in shock. “You just met her at the bar ten minutes ago. I told you she’s my best friend.”
William looked over at me, and I felt pinned under his stare.
“Oh my god. Is that BellaBoo329? She must have seen my tag from my story.” Luke quickly slid out of the booth and walked over to a girl dressed like Y2K Paris Hilton.
William looked at me over his glass. “So that’s Luke.”
I sank in my seat. “Yeah. I know what you’re going to say.”
William raised his eyebrow.
“You want his discount code for anal bleaching. It’s Luke200.”
William barked out a laugh. It was truly my favorite thing. Not a lot could make this man smile like that.
I sipped on my drink and looked everywhere but at William. I could feel his eyes watching me, and my nerves started to build. We were sitting dangerously close to each other in the tiny booth, so private and perfectly hidden away.
His voice was softer now. “Why are you so wiry?”
“I’m not, just taking everything in. I love coming here.”
I looked at the stuffed deer heads on the wall and posters of Lindsey’s favorite soccer teams.
He calmly twirled the glass in his hands. “Did you submit your drawing yet?”
“I’m going to soon.”
“Surfer?”
“Yeah. I don’t think I’m actually going to win though. I mean, drawing isn’t my livelihood or anything, so it doesn’t matter.”
William leaned in as if exchanging a secret and beckoned me forward silently, curling his index finger. “It could be. If you really wanted it.”
I looked up at him, and the curve of his mouth twitched up. Something froze me in place, and I found myself staring into William’s eyes for an ungodly amount of time.
I cleared my throat. “Yeah, well . . . Maybe. So when are you going back to Scotland?”
William slowly looked away. “Can’t tell yet. We made some progress with the pub’s books this afternoon, but a lot more changes are needed to get this place on track.”
“Any new updates from back home?”
“Mum hired one of my cousins to pick up the slack while we’re down a housekeeper. A lot of my family help with the inn, actually. It’s nice.”
I sipped more of my drink and felt bolder than usual. “Minus Angus?”
William stared at me. “That’s the best part.”
“Have you guys attempted to talk at all?”
William’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed. “Nope.”
I mumbled out of the side of my mouth, “Sounds like you’re scared . . .”
“Scared of what exactly?” William inched his upper body closer until he was all I could breathe.
The sound of his deep voice this close to me was so intimate.
“You tell me,” I whispered.
William was nearly touching me now. The anticipation of it was unnerving, and I tried to refrain from jumping into his lap.
The air was electric.
My hands itched to caress his muscular thigh, our faces merely inches apart. I brought my drink closer to my chest to avoid touching him, but it brought the cold glass against my breast, and the sensation made my nipple hard.
William looked down, and I wondered if he noticed my body’s reaction.
He glided his tongue across his devilish smile. “What about you?”
His brogue drew out the vowels in “you,” a deep, almost growl-like response.
“What about me?” My voice quivered.
William locked eyes with me, taking his time formulating the next question. It seemed like he was enjoying watching me squirm.
“Why are you getting kissed by guys like that?”
His stare was penetrating as I struggled to find a response. There was a possessiveness in his voice.
“He’s a nice guy deep, deep down . . . I think.”
William chuckled and took another sip.
He looked away and back at me. “Is that what you want?” His eyes lit up with mischief. “A nice guy?”
The look he gave me nearly disintegrated my panties—completely confident, almost cocky, with a tinge of jealousy.
In any other scenario, I would be left speechless.
But flirting with William emboldened me. It gave me a voice I never knew I had. “The grumpy Scotsman wasn’t available.”
Luckily, William cracked a smile. He brushed his fingers across my chin to wipe off a splash of my drink and held my chin between his thumb and forefinger.
He grabbed my empty glass to put it back on the table, and the back of his tattooed finger brushed against my hard nipple.
I shivered, not sure whether he did that on purpose or not, but his eyes blazed with desire.
Just then, Luke rejoined the table, and I was reluctantly pulled out of our lust cloud.
“Nairie, want to dance?”