Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80932 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80932 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
We shake hands. As she’s exiting the bar, I pull out my phone to call Regan. However, I see a text from her that she’s running about fifteen minutes late, so I ask the bartender to bring me a beer while I wait for her.
A couple comes in and sits down to my left at the bar. The guy nods in greeting, then his eyes go wide as he recognizes me. He doesn’t make a big deal out of it, though, and I lift my gaze to one of the TVs behind the bar to watch a basketball game they have on.
A few moments later, someone takes the stool to my right. When I glance that way, I see it’s an attractive woman who is roughly my age. I can tell by the way she’s staring at me that she knows exactly who I am. She has on a dress that slits right up the outside of her thigh when she crosses her legs. By the way she is pointedly staring at me, I can tell she’s looking for a reaction.
I give her a polite smile before turning my attention back to the basketball game.
She asks the bartender for a glass of wine. Once she has it in front of her, she unfortunately attempts to make conversation with me. “You are Dax Monahan, aren’t you?”
It would be rude of me to ignore her, so I give her my regard along with a polite smile. “You got it.”
She holds a limp hand out sideways. “I’m Tara.”
Again, it would be rude to ignore her, so I give her a quick shake and another smile.
“Can I buy you a drink?” she asks.
I pick up my beer mug, holding it up to show her it’s still three quarters full. “I’m good, thank you.”
“Your next drink then?” she persists.
I manage another smile. It slides off just as fast as she takes the tip of her index finger and runs it down the center of her chest to the low-cut V of her dress. It’s a move that’s highly sexual and meant to convey she’s offering more than just a drink. I try to figure out the most nonconfrontational way to stop this in its tracks.
A month ago, I would’ve made a move, but today I am completely uninterested. “Look, you seem like a nice—”
I’m completely stunned when she leans on her barstool toward me and puts her hand on my thigh, moving it quickly upward. Of all the times I have been hit on by women eager to fuck a hockey star, I have never had one touch me so intimately and so quickly after having just been introduced. She almost reaches my dick, but my hand moves light and fast to latch it around her wrist.
The woman grins as I remove her offending appendage. “Oh, come on. I know you’re not a shy, schoolboy virgin. I also happen to know you’re single. I follow the Vengeance very, very closely, and you, Dax Monahan, are as single as they come.”
I open my mouth to respond. Instead, Regan’s voice comes from behind me. “He is most certainly not single. And if you put your hand back on him, I am going to break it.”
I jerk my head up to see Regan, who is absolutely and perfectly glorious in her fury directed at this woman. For the first time, the woman appears to be off balance as she stares at Regan with a healthy dose of fear in her eyes and an unflattering pallor to her face. Her eyes slide to me in question.
Nodding, I gesture at Regan with a thumb. “She’s really scrappy. I wouldn’t mess with her.”
The woman wraps her hand around her wineglass, then picks up her clutch purse. “I’ll just go find another place to sit.”
I push up from my barstool as I grab my beer. “Don’t bother. We’re here to have dinner.”
Turning to Regan, I put my hand behind her neck and pull her to me for a soft kiss. “You hungry, babe?”
“Starved. And I’ve got great news to tell you about.”
And just like that, the woman at the bar is forgotten as we walk over to the maître d’ stand.
We’re given a nice table by the window. Once we get settled in, Regan nods toward the bar area. “Is that pretty typical?”
I grimace. “It’s typical for women to hit on professional hockey players, but I’ve never had one move that freaking fast. I feel violated.”
Regan snorts. “Puh-leeze. What man doesn’t enjoy a beautiful woman putting her hands on him?”
“This man.” There’s no teasing in my voice, and Regan blinks at me as I clarify. “Unless it’s your hands.”
She stares at me a long moment, appearing slightly confused. “How do you do that?”
I tilt my head. “Do what?”
I know she doesn’t mean it, but her tone sounds almost angry. “Sound so goddamn convincing.”