Chapter 13 #2
“I’ll call, since I apparently can no longer text in privacy,” I added, digging my elbow into Henley’s side as nonchalantly as possible.
He all but dragged me toward the door, my goodbyes rushed out on the way. As he steered me toward his truck, all I wondered was how the fuck I’d gotten stuck with this one.
On the way back to my house, where I assumed—and damn sure hoped—all Henley was going to do was drop me off and leave, I demanded a drink.
I didn’t want to go home to sit in the bed he’d fucked my mouth in only a few hours ago. It’d either piss me off or turn me on. God forbid the latter, because I continuously had to keep pinching myself on the detour to the bar every time I thought of him reading that book between my legs.
“You got a twitch or something?” Henley grumbled as he held the door open for me to enter the rundown establishment. Fuck him for being a gentleman.
“Just having an allergic reaction to being in your presence,” I responded, heading straight for the bar to order a drink. Whiskey Ridge didn’t have any places like this directly in town, so he had to drive about thirty minutes outside of it to some other town—if it could even be considered that.
There were a few men lining the bar, three girls smoking cigarettes and eyeing me from the corner, and some black lab lying on a dirty bed beside the jukebox.
The lighting was dim, a gold hue clashing with the bright neon signs lining the walls.
It wasn’t fancy by any means, but it didn’t have to be.
I simply needed a buzz.
As soon as my hands hit the splinter-ridden bar top, I said, “Whiskey on the rocks.”
The only acknowledgment of my order was a glance from the bartender before he got to work.
“Nothing for me, huh?” Henley asked, unfortunately stopping by my side. He rested his elbows on the counter as he leaned back, facing the tables.
“I’m not your mother. You can order for yourself.”
A small chuckle escaped him as he dipped his head. I glanced over to find his pearly teeth on display for a moment before his tongue lapped over them.
My eyes snapped back to the bar right as the glass of liquid gold slid in front of me. I didn’t need to be imagining his tongue in other places right now.
See, this was why I needed a drink. The man was making me crazy.
“What’s got you all worked up, little killer?” Henley questioned, sounding somewhat bored, as if I was some child he had no other choice but to follow around all day.
I downed the whiskey in one gulp, sliding it back toward the bartender before he was barely a step away. He replenished it, and I repeated the motion twice more.
Henley grabbed the glass before I could slide it back for a fourth shot. “That’s enough.”
I slowly turned my head, meeting his intoxicating eyes. The alcohol warmed my chest, already making my legs feel lighter. “Don’t you think you’re controlling me enough already? Let a girl drink.”
He studied me, gaze roaming over my face before he leaned a little closer. “The events of the past two days might suggest I’m not controlling you nearly enough.”
I turned to face him, breasts brushing his arm. More heat flowed through me at the contact. Fuck him. “You want to put a leash on me, too?”
His body mimicked mine, our chests now touching. I tilted my chin back, despite only being a few inches shorter than him. “I was thinking more like a shock collar.”
I yanked the glass from his grip before he could resist and slammed it back on the bar. “Another.”
His eyes narrowed in scrutiny; mine narrowed in defiance.
The bartender obeyed, not wanting to get in the middle of whatever this was. I was sure he saw a lot of couples fight in here. To him, we were simply an inconvenience.
“Sounds like you have some control issues, Henley,” I surmised, plucking up the glass and sipping half the contents.
I didn’t want to throw up from drinking too fast, but knew I needed something to numb the bullshit I was currently enduring.
Plus, who didn’t want to live a little before the inevitable end of their life?
His eyes tracked my tongue as it ran over my bottom lip, lapping up a stray drop of whiskey. “Seems like you prefer causing chaos. All that gets is a girl needing to be controlled.” He floated closer, and with him came a faint smell of the forest after it rained.
Did he really have to remind me of my favorite scent, too?
But that wasn’t enough to cloud what he’d just said—and what it did to my heart.
I tried to keep my steely front in check but, unable to stop myself, my lashes fluttered and my eyes fell.
His neck was directly in front of my face, so close that I could see his pulse thrumming under the delicate skin there. He’d recently shaved, but a shadow remained. One that drew dark thoughts through my mind. The scratch of scruff, the heat of unwelcome hands.
My breath shook as I brought the glass to my lips, tipped my head back, and sucked down every last drop. I set it on the bar more gently than before.
“I have to use the restroom.” I didn’t give him a moment to retort before I turned and headed for the back hallway.