Page 38 (1/2)

Chapter One

“Beer Cold as it comes”

Savannah Nash suppressed a shness in her new custoh out there for you?” she asked, bending to pull a bottle froe behind the bar

It was currently less than fifteen degrees Fahrenheit in Suh to freeze a polar bear’s ass and ice-up the hottest drop of mercury And for Louisiana born and bred Savannah, it was almost intolerable

Her gravel-voiced newbie didn’t answer Must’ve had a bad day Clearly he’d had a long one, given it was only four minutes ’til she closed the bar Almost all of her customers had left already All but the worst

She turned back, beer in hand and glanced up at him

Oh sweet mother…

She alrip on the bottle as eyes bluer than the clearest sky on the coldest winter’s day pierced her Correction, they stabbed

Whoa—why?

Startled, she stared right back at hier That accusation Sure he ht’ve had a bad day, but there was no need to look at her like she was to blame for all the world’s evils

Savannah sed and lifted her chin, refusing to break that fearso to be cowed by a mere look She flicked the lid off the bottle with a quick one-handed maneuver and set his beer on the impressive slab of polished wood between them with a definite snap

Who was she kidding It wasn’t the wood that was impressive Mr Broad-shouldered Bad-hta close-knit black wool hat that eles of his jaw

All these details she absorbed by osmosis, because that look in his eyes?

He wanted it as cold as it came Well no freezer couldblue eyes

He didn’t pick up the beer She didn’t ask for the aze The eradually it didelse rose Desperation? Exhaustion? Then… so else entirely?

Weirdly, the bar suddenly got wares spilled into her e Inti hot she felt like breaking her rules and drinking on the job She could do with some cold

And that look in his eyes wasn’t anywhere near frosty now It was fiery and—startled?

She blinked and looked down at the bottle, surprised by the urges rippling low in her belly She never indulged No drinking on the job No ant as hell type

“Would you like a glass?” she asked with rigid politeness, refusing to meet his eyes a second time

Refusing to be intimidated

She was never intimidated And she was never turned on by reers

In answer he placed a bill on the bar and picked up the bottle

“Anything else?” she pro stupid ah her

The custoht and Savannah read customers better than anyone If the ood for him She wasn’t a se to get so out of this sullen ski-field liftie, especially since he’d started with that ‘it’s-all-your-fault’ glare

Especially since he’d made her feel so prickly hot

But all she got was a barely perceptible shake of his hat-covered head

She took hisat her like she was so watched, but not with this kind of intensity Maybe he was so deep in thought he wasn’t actually aware of what or who it was he atching? No, he was too alert She turned away froaze burned into her back She stepped up and put his change on the bar, not looking into his face again

Because in truth, that swirling eer and isolation?

She could relate to that And that answering call of heat deep within herself scared the crap out of her

“You ever see such a frigid bitch?” A jeering stage-whisper carried along the bar

Oh, yeah Savannah inwardly sighed Her other re were clearly pissed her attention had been snagged elsewhere

She didn’t flinch at the words Didn’t want to let them know she’d heard But they knew she had They’d intended her to

She knew the all-alone guy had heard too

The three guys stood at the end of the bar, leaning against the wood Jerk, Double Jerk and Ultiht for days Had eaten the saht Drunk the same drinks Talked the same talk The worst—Ultimate Jerk-off—stood center as always; loud and obnoxious She’d booted hi up his cigarette in the no-s restaurant area—it had been his final number in a litany of loud-ass actions

He hadn’t forgiven her And he was letting her know it Letting the whole damn world know it

“You knohat she needs?” he asked his friends with a snide laugh

“Yeah, me hard up her ass” Jerk answered

Char

“No,” Double Jerk answered “Two at once”

In his dreams

“Three” Ultiuys can take front and back I want her mouth”

Delightful

More jeering laughter

“Bet you I couldinto a brash boast “She’ll want it from me”

Savannah lifted her head and looked right into the blue eyes of the unnaturally still, silent man opposite her

If she’d thought she’d seen anger in his eyes before, now there was naked fury Incandescent rage of the a

pocalyptic, no-one-left-standing variety

The scary kind

She lifted her chin higher, clenching her jaw

No thanks

His gaze flickered from her lips back up to her eyes His narrowed Slowly he pulled the hat from his head and put it on the bar beside his beer Savannah snuck a breath to clear her fogging senses His hair was shaved ultra-close It was barely longer than the stubble on his jaw He looked like he’d just escaped day one of basic training only he was beyond training, he looked like a —not just in a physical sense, but in terms of resolve

“I’ll have her on her knees” Ultimate Jerk-off elaborated loudly “And I’ll pull her hair ’til she takes me so deep she chokes”

For a split-second Savannah’s spirit wavered and she wished the ferocious-looking loner would get up and say so Step in and tell them to shut the hell up Save her the trouble

But Savannah didn’t actually need anyone to save her Never had Never would She took care of herself She’d had to, so she kne

She straightened, pulling her shoulders back and pinning a bland look onto her face As she turned towards the jerks, the loner grimly lifted his bottle to his lips

Don’t let the to you

She’d heard worse Been treated worse People had acted like she was invisible She could pretend they were invisible

Never show you’re upset

She knew bullies Knehat they wanted

Never let them win

She walked towards the three h boots strike loudly on the wooden floor so they’d be heard over the low music from the sound system The asswipes never commented when any of the other bar staff ithin earshot, so it was unusual for them to talk like this in front of another customer Clearly they didn’t think the liftie deserved a second thought Savannah figured they rong Just as they rong about everything else