Chapter 4: "You're staring."

I settle into my seat and look around the bar. 

There’s a modest hat on my head because I’m not dumb. Things like this have become a necessary precaution whenever I go out in public because of the enemies I have made. I have done things for Ulric right under the public eye, things that would get me mobbed if my hat didn’t make me so ignorable and I was identified.

I want to forget Ulric ever happened. I want to forget Violet ever happened.

I want to forget that this is something that’s currently happening right now so I order some drinks. 

A soulful voice blasts from the speakers. The music soothes my nerves because I remember this voice, voices actually. They’re my favorite werewolf band, from when I was once a silly teenage girl.

I can sense the auras of the different people scattered around the large bar. Otsana is on alert but she tells me we can be calm later because no one seems interested in us.

I start with a bottle of vodka.

The bartender stares at me a bit warily when I ask him to give me the full bottle but I flash my credit card in his face, smiling wildly like a person who knows she’s about to get batshit drunk and isn’t scared.

He chuckles and drops the bottle on the countertop in front of me. He hands me an opener and a shotglass. I don’t bother to tell him I don't drink much, or that this is the first time I'm drinking in four years.

I can sense his aura but I ignore it purposefully. He’s a shifter. A powerful werewolf shifter, or maybe Lycan? I can’t tell so specifically.

It takes more than an intimidating aura to ruffle me though.

 

I open the bottle, pour myself a glassful of that clear white liquid and I throw it back. 

My brain feels like it’ll explode. The alcohol stings.

I ask for a bigger glass, “A tall one that can contain at least half the bottle please.”

The mysterious bartender nods and drops a tall glass cup in front of me. I smile as I fill it up with alcohol. The first chug sets all my nerve endings on fire. It burns down my throat so bad I feel my lungs irk in displeasure and that alcohol kick starts going to my head.

My voice is hoarse when I sigh and finish up the rest of the bottle. The bar is sparsely occupied yet the current occupants throw glances my way. Otsana releases a low growl in my mind and I let her slip a bit of my aura out.

If they’re paying attention, they’ll sense I don’t want the attention.

“I want a Honey bee.”

The bartender sighs and nods. We go on like that for most of the night. 

By my fifth hour in the bar, I turn to see most people have left and it’s nothing more than me and him here right now.

“I want another one.”

The bartender looks at me and frowns, “We’re about to close.” 

I scoff, “The bar doesn’t close till midnight, I saw the sign outside. I still have two more hours, another one.”

He glares at me and I return his look, my expression provocative and very much daring. 

He’s probably bitter I’m keeping him from closing and going home early so he can get to fucking who’s waiting for him.

I discard those thoughts as soon as they slip into my head. I’m bitter, not a horrible person. I shouldn’t make assumptions like that.

The bartender’s voice is sullen as he speaks, “I’ll be back, I have to speak to my boss first.”

I nod and reach into my purse, dropping a wad of cash on the table that can cover my current fee while chuckling to myself, “Like I’ll be scared of your boss.”

The statement isn’t well received because he goes stomping off but I chuckle more to myself because who does that? Who sees a woman trying to drown out her sorrow and threaten to cut her enjoyment short? 

Tch. Men.

“That’s her..”

I cock an eyebrow up and roll my eyes as I turn back to see who this clown might be but my body freezes on the spot as I feast my eyes on the most handsome man I've seen in years now.

Soft baby blue eyes glow lightly under the dim light of the bar.

His aura is a thick thing that ripples from him in waves. They capture me with an intensity that rocks every nerve in my body and the rest of him makes my legs clench as my body warms with desire.

I curse under my breath. Shit.

How long has it been since I saw someone whose aura screamed liquid sex?

He sees I'm staring because his lips rise in a low tilt and he speaks in the raspiest, sexiest baritone I've ever heard, “You can go home Ty. I’ll lock up when she’s done.” 

The other male promptly takes his leave and hells, my brain feels like it might melt when he walks closer to me.

He stops just an inch, taking the next seat and drawing me deeper into my gaze as he husks, “You’re staring.” 

I nod. The action is slow and murky-brained but I regain composure quickly, “I know,…. but I can't be penalized for staring can I?”

He chuckles again and it’s a husky rumbling thing. When he looks back at me I can't help but get that feeling again. Like he’s heaven and hell at the same time, soft and hard, bitter and sweet, his eyes make me think of innocent nights, but that gaze…. that dark gaze fills me with more wildness than I've known in a while now.

I don’t flinch when he moves closer to me. 

I don’t blink when he brings his face so close to mine that I can’t help but smell his natural scent. He’s playing a game with me, curiosity and something else brimming in his eyes as he asks darkly,

“What do you need to do… for me to penalize you then?”

I drag him to me and kiss him. Our contact is electric.

I can barely blink, barely think for lack of breath as he pulls me to him and kisses me back fiercely. I feel strong arms, male arms, haul me from my seat and grab me by the thighs. My lips are locked in a fierce battle with his, my arms around his neck, my body growing warm and pliant in his hold. 

He kisses me hard as he places me on the counter, and even sitting here I can't help but notice how I am still not taller than him. His upper body is larger than mine and he gives me the feeling of being trapped in. It sends hot waves of pleasure through me as his hands fumble with the zip at the back of my dress. He yanks it down and gentle pressure has him shredding one arm of my dress.

He’s definitely an Alpha.

I feel his hands trail over the flesh of my back, his body growing warmer as he nips at my lips, growling softly as he kisses my neck. He drags mildly sharp teeth across my throat. My body shivers fiercely and it feels like I’m burning so I tell him.

“Fuck me.”

I’m already pulling at my dress. My brain is muddled and hazy with desire but I don't care. I feel like I might die if I don't have him in me right now and my body sings with desperation.

“Please.”

His mouth captures mine again, fingers lacing themselves into my hair and holding roughly as he kisses me half out of consciousness and whispers breathily, “I’m at your service love.”

My brain short circuits when he lifts me by the waist. 

I hang on for life as he locks the bar doors with the push of a button, I breathe the rugged scent of him in. He smells smoky, like burnt coffee, and call me an addict but I groan because I love it.

He takes us up a flight of stairs swiftly, nipping at my neck as he drops me on the softest bed I have ever lain on. We rip at each other’s clothes, our bodies ringing with the need to be and feel. I throw myself into the sex so much, I feel scared I might be making a fool of myself.

I moan! 

I moan loudly when he eases himself into me because hells he’s huge. We’re kneeling, me practically in his lap as he spreads his thighs out wide and plasters me to him. He plants a kiss by the side of my neck, my back in contact with his chest as he grabs my breasts and fondles them. The thickness and length of him make me so full inside I gasp but then the tightness turns into burning. A burning need for him to move. I place my hands against the headboard and turn to give him a sultry look.

He receives my meaning almost immediately and low groans escape both our mouths when we kiss. He moves.

He slams deep and hard and I cry out in mind-blowing pleasure. The rest of the night is a haze of orgasmic lovemaking, kisses on every part of my body, my breasts in his mouth, his hands on my waist as he makes me ride him and slams hard into me. Our voices are hoarse as we cry out in pleasure again and again.

We separate, panting, heaving, and my brain drags me off into sleep fast.

I wake up to the warm sun on my skin and a pounding headache. The reality of what I've done hits me.

“Shit.”

I slip out of the bed slowly and my numb legs almost make me go barreling to the ground. I groan and curse silently under my breath again, “Fuck you, Sophia. Fuck you and your bad choices.”

I just slept with a strange man! A total stranger, what am I, twenty?

I look to him and he’s deeply asleep. 

I can tell from the way he’s breathing and looking at his well-built form, the curve of his broad back.… I feel desire pool in me again. 

No. I shake my head and dispel those thoughts. No.

I look into the bin by the side of the bed and curse again when I see nothing. This bastard fucked me raw!

Everything in me tells me to crumple on the floor and scream because damn those drinks and damn me for finding this dolt sexy!

It’s okay. It’s okay. If I get pregnant, I'll come back to kill him.

I search for a bathroom and I take a hot bath. I don’t care if he wakes up. I’d have the time to shout at him then.

The hot water soothes my aching muscles and soon all I can feel is how sated I am. I had sex, and it was good sex. 

Incredible sex.

My dress is loose on one strap but I slip into it all the same. He’s still sleeping when I walk in and something in me, something stupid softens at how attentive he was last night. 

That stupid thing makes me walk over and lean down as I whisper a few inches from him, ”Goodbye.”

I exit the room and make my way back out easily.  I wasn’t so drunk I didn't see where we passed coming in.

The button opens the door to the bar and I exit the building, locating my car and making my way to it once I'm there. I place my head on the steering wheel and sigh.

I’m being incredibly stupid now because of Ulric but my head feels clearer than it has for a while now.

I pick up my phone when it rings, and open the message that has been sent.

It’s short and simple.

“After much thought, I've agreed to your terms Sophia. The divorce papers have been signed, and the rejection ritual can happen by noon today. 3 p.m. in my office.”