bring myself out of the darkness and push myself forward to not being this vacant shell of a bottomless pit that filled me.
“Thank you for the offer, Mr. Cardinelli, but I must regretfully decline. We can reconvene once my twelve week contract is up.”
His glare never relented, only continued to burn a hole through my body. Any other person would have probably felt uncomfortable, but I just stood there, glaring back at him as my body buzzed with excitement. I needed to hurry and get outside, or I’d miss my chance with Link. I pulled my wrist away from Cardinelli, who reluctantly let go, and I turned to make my way toward the bathroom before offering my apologies to Mr. Patterson. I felt his eyes on me the entire time I was walking to the bathroom. Heat flanked my backside and I risked one more glance over my shoulder as I pushed open the door to the restroom.
He still stood there, the same spot I had left him as he rubbed his thumb and forefinger across his overly tanned jaw. A shiver ran through me as I looked away and walked into the restroom. A weird feeling ran through me as I looked into the mirror, attempting to fix my already perfect hair. It was something I hadn’t really felt that much before, but I recognized the emotion as I gazed at my own reflection and saw the dullness in my eyes.
I was uncomfortable, and not in the I-fell-on-my-ass-in-front-off-a-thousand-people uncomfortable.
No, this new feeling had a hint of fear.
I DIDN’T SEE CARDINELLI, nor Patterson as I left the restroom to make my way outside, but I did have the pleasure of running into Mrs. Cardinelli on my way out of the restroom. Everything was fake about her, right down to the over large, rather expensive sacks of water filled plastic she had on her chest. Her perfume was too strong, and her make-up immaculate, to the point of being excessive. She teetered on her feet, signaling her sign of inebriation as she fought to steady herself against the doorframe.
“You think he wants someone like you?” She asked as I walked past her to head outside. Stopping in my tracks, I turned around to answer her. It was her husband who propositioned me, not the other way around, but her next few words stopped me by stunning me.
“Dr. Gunn. He is, what do the kiddies call it now? One fine assed piece of a man.” She said as she sloshed her drink all over the floor.
She wasn’t talking about her husband, but about Andris. I was instantly brought back to earlier when she wouldn’t stop looking at Andris and I while we were dancing.
“I agree,” I admitted, “But the question isn’t what does he want with someone like me, it’s what will I do to him that will make him come back begging for more. See, the difference between your overly stretched pussy and the fine quality of mine is that it keeps men coming back for more. It even had your husband begging to be inside of me just minutes ago, so when you start using your tiny IQ of a brain to think, think about that .”
And I walked away.
ANDRIS WAS WAITING for me when I exited the bar. Propped against the sleek black car with his palms pressed against it and strumming his fingers upon the fender, I took him in. Pulling my trench coat tighter around me, I took tentative steps toward him, drinking in the beauty of the man, who at the moment, looked like he harbored a large amount of pain or sadness. The wind whipped the bottom of my skirt around my legs and I watched as the same breeze feathered through the dark curls that rested on his forehead and the warm vapors of his breath in the air as he exhaled.
“Andris?”
He looked up, his eyes, that usually held warmth, were colder than the air that surrounded us. He pushed off the car and bounded for me, taking my hand and escorting me to the car. He was silent, brooding, as he opened the back door for me to slide into the car. My ass connected with the warm, heated leather seats, and I was thankful for the heat on my backside, but
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