Chapter 8
Kimber
I was still laughing.
The kind of laugh that didn’t make any sense.
The kind of laugh that made people stop and stare... I’d had enough of that to last me a lifetime.
Once I quit laughing, I stared up at the man with long grey hair that was pulled back, who had said his name was Merlin.
Then I shared, “Honestly, at this point, I couldn’t tell you who hit me. The last... ehh... however many minutes or hours it’s been is a blur.”
He seemed to consider my words, then he said, “Well, if it comes to you, you come find me and let me know. Yeah?”
I shrugged, “Sure.”
He grinned.
Then he asked, “So, only two reasons a woman goes to a bar. She wants to get fucked, or she needs to get drunk. Which is it?”
I felt my cheeks turn pink at his words, but there was something about his candid honesty that I really liked.
So, I shared, “Well, considering I haven’t met a man who gets me as I deserve, I’m only here to get drunk.”
His eyes widened at my words for a beat, then, for some weird reason, he saluted me, “Like that. Okay, little lady, what’s your poison?”
I grinned, “Jack Daniels, please.”
He winked, then turned, grabbed the bottle of Jack, grabbed a glass, and asked, “Rocks or no rocks?”
I grinned, “Rocks, two fingers please.”
The man at his side chuckled, “Names, Wolf. Darlin’, if I wasn’t already hooked on someone else, I’d give you a run for your money.”
I giggled, “Hey, Wolf. And if I weren’t a respectable woman, I’d take you from her.”
He winked.
Merlin slid my drink in front of me. I lifted it, tilted it to the two men, and then I drank it down.
Then I set the glass back on top of the bar and asked, “Another?”
When Merlin didn’t respond for a beat, I looked up at him.
A slow beaming smile spread across his face, then he shared, “Little lady, if I had been with anyone else other than my woman over the past thirty years, I could have sworn you were mine.”
Something deep inside of me warmed at his words.
But what I missed was Merlin telling Wolf something. Because Wolf took one look at me and left from behind the bar. But he was back in less than a few minutes.
Once he made my drink, he set it in front of me and shared, “For being cool as shit, that’s on the house.”
I nodded my head in thanks.
But... I missed something.
That was the man who had a deadly glint in his eyes, who had grey hair and the most mesmerizing sea green eyes I had ever seen, see something inside of me. And that man headed toward one direction in the clubhouse.
Me.
He poured me another round, and I threw it back.
And then... with my third round, I did what I always did.
I savored it.
That first sip was like finding the first drop of water in a desert.
And as the whiskey flowed down the back of my throat, burning as it went down, I thought about my life.
What life? I internally scoffed.
How sad was that?
I was officially twenty-four years old, never had a boyfriend.
Sure, I went out on dates.
Dates that my parents set up for me.
But a date was a date... wasn’t it?
Just then, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
Normally, I wouldn’t have turned my head to look, but well... see, I had been sipping on my drink this whole time.
And Jack Daniel’s was the best whiskey to give you liquid courage.
Therefore, I turned my head.
And fucking froze.
Because standing there at the end of the bar was the most gorgeous man I had ever seen.
So gorgeous in fact that I almost winced from the sheer beauty that was him.
Black boots.
Light-washed denim jeans that hugged a pair of muscular thighs that made my mouth wat... oh no... what made my mouth water was the already impressive bulge he was sporting.
Kimber! I chided myself.
My eyes traveled upward to see a tight black tee that was covered by a leather vest.
A leather vest that had a set of arms hanging at its sides.
A set of arms that were muscular enough to pick me up, lift me, place me where he wanted me, and rock my world.
Kimber! What has gotten into you?
Umm, well, the answer to that question was this man in front of me.
A man who... Jesus Christ had the face and the body that could cause panties all over the world to melt.
A face that was chiseled perfection.
A strong jaw.
Soft lips.
The kind of lips that were equal in size to give the right amount of pleasure.
Did I know what I was talking about?
No.
But in my mind... I knew exactly what I was talking about.
Speaking of that, he also had a nose that wasn’t too big or too small, just right. One that had a slight curve to it, which said it had been broken before.
And then the man started to head in my direction.
And that was when I caught sight of his eyes.
His freaking eyes.
Eyes that reminded me of the perfect tones in the water in New Zealand.
Sea green.
A woman could get lost in a pair of eyes like that.
The kind of eyes that showed you what your future would look like by his side.
The kind of eyes that showed you what he was feeling at all times... but only if he allowed it.
And right now... those eyes were speaking to me.
Telling me that he liked what he saw.
Or so I was telling myself.
The moment he reached me, he winked.
“Hey, I’m Grey,” he offered me his hand.
Remember what I said about liquid courage? Yep. I was feeling it, and I was here for it.
Therefore, I placed my hand in his.
And at the feel of his skin on mine, a shiver raced through me of the very best variety.
This gorgeous man that God obviously broke the mold after he made him, was touching me.
Me.
The girl who sometimes feels broken.
The girl who sometimes feels abandoned.
And the girl who has so many issues is sitting here thinking all of that in front of him.
Pinch me.
“I’m Kimber,” I breathed.
Yep. Breathed it.
Kimber Diane Stevenson, don’t you dare make a fool of yourself in front of this man.
At his chuckle, I knew that I had failed.
But... maybe I didn’t.
Because he just let go of my hand and sat down on one of the stools beside me.
Beside me.
Oh, my goodness.
Was it hot in here?
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yep. Peachy.” I squeaked.
He grinned.
Those lips curving just right.
Oh. My.
Then he tilted his head to my glass, “What are you drinking?”
Before I could answer him, Wolf did.
“Jack Daniels. And Grey, what you have at your side is a woman whom I’d be making mine if I weren’t already thinking I was taken.”
I looked at Wolf and smiled.
He grinned.
But it was Merlin who looked at Grey and said, “And I’m thinking about claiming her. I’m going to talk to Tempie. Weren’t able to have kids. Think the man above just wanted to wait until he created the right one who needed people like us.”
I felt tears hit my eyes at his words.
He smiled a soft smile at me, then, when someone called his name, he tapped the bar in front of me, and then said, “Want that name as soon as you remember.”
I nodded.
“Name?” Grey asked.
Merlin pointed at my cheek, “Some fucker put his hands on her. Want a name.”
Before I could even think about anything else, I felt the softest touch from a calloused thumb on my chin.
Slight pressure was applied, and my head was turned to the side.
Grey’s eyes moved over my face to rest on my cheek.
Those sea green eyes of his darkened the barest degree, then he growled, “Yeah. I want a fucking name too.”
Then, with an even softer touch, he trailed his fingers over my cheek that stung a little. I knew that I must have winced because he asked, “Need some ice?”
I shook my head. “No. Doesn’t hurt that bad.”
He stared into my eyes as he slowly dropped his hand and said, “It does. You let me know. Yeah?”
I nodded.
Then I looked down at my drink.
My empty drink.
My head snapped up, and I looked at Merlin. Then I asked, “Give me another?”
He winked.
After he poured me another drink, I took a sip.
And as the whiskey went down my throat that time, I felt something brush against my thigh.
I glanced down and saw a jean-covered thigh.
A very nice jean-covered thigh.
My eyes trailed up that jean-covered thigh into an area that looked damn impressive.
So damn impressive that I felt my cheeks blush.
And I felt my cheeks blush even more when Merlin slid a beer to Grey, and I watched as his throat worked to swallow the liquid down.
A certain vein on the side of his throat that I wanted to lick.
Needing to get my mind out of the gutter and away from this man, whom I knew had to be taken just by his looks alone, I tried to think of something to help.
Then the part about Merlin saluting me came to my thoughts; therefore, I shouted, “Merlin!”
I heard quite a few chuckles but paid them no mind.
“I’m right here, little lady, no need to shout,” he said in a normal voice.
Proving that he was indeed close because I had clearly heard him, which meant he wasn’t that far away.
Oops.
“Why’d you salute me earlier?” I asked.
He winked, “Because you said that you know what you deserve and you're not settling for anything less than that. I respect it.”
“Oh.”
He chuckled.
Then I looked at Grey, “And what about you. What do you think about that?”
His sea green eyes seemed to shine, then he shared, “Well, wish I had thought about that shit years ago. But now... well, I’m pleased as fuck I didn’t. Cause it means I got plenty of experience on how to treat my woman. Treat my woman in a way that she’ll never have to look for anything better.”
“Your woman is lucky,” I shared, then hiccupped.
He grinned, then in a deep, gravelly tone, he shared, “Yeah, she sure is.”
I swooned.
Then I hiccupped again.
He chuckled.
I made this gorgeous man, chuckle.
Oh. My. God.