Page 30 of The Devil's Revelation
“Why do you want me so much? We barely know each other.”
His eyes stare into mine for a long moment. It’s like we’re suspended; that we’re the only focus of our little center of the room. I vaguely hear the surrounding music; barely see the people moving around us as we linger at the edge of the dance floor. “Sometimes you don’t need to know someone very long to know you want them,” he finally answers. “I’ve wanted you since I saw you at the shop, and then I opened my mouth and acted like an idiot. I figured that would blow it for me, but here you are, and you feel so damn right.”
I don’t think I’ve ever been speechless in my life, but here I am. I stare up at him, unsure I’m hearing him right. How is it that this man, the one I should stay the hell away from, is saying all these things to me? It’s not like I’m a virgin meeting a hot guy for the first time, but yet, I’m getting those same butterflies. Feeling like I’m not in my body right now.
My mind is whirling, but all I can do is whisper, “I don’t know if I’m ready for a relationship right now.”
“Right now, all I want is a dance and maybe throw some darts. No pressure,” he says with a smile, giving me a reprieve. For now. I smile and nod, and we continue to dance, but my mind is far from quiet.
I force myself to put it out of my mind as the song ends and Torque leads me off the dance floor and over towards the dart boards. Before long, our little chat is forgotten as we battle it out over a new game. Turns out, with Torque, I’m very competitive.
When he beats me on our fourth game, I glare at him. “You’re cheating. I’m not sure how, but no way you’re that good all the damn time,” I complain.
Torque smirks at me. “We own the bar, babe. I spend a hell of a lot of time here playing. You think I haven’t picked up a few tricks in all that time?”
I pout. “Unfair advantage.”
Torque shrugs, unrepentant. “So you’re saying you don’t want another game?”
I laugh, unable to help myself. “Do I look stupid? I’ll pass.” I glance at my phone. “I should probably be heading home anyway.” It’s closing in on eleven, which means I’ve been here for about three hours. Way longer than I planned. I smile at Torque. “Thanks for the invite. It’s been a lot of fun.”
“You can’t leave yet,” a woman cries out loudly. I look over and see Sage is well on her way to, or already is, drunk, and hanging off King’s arm unsteadily. “We still have to do body shots.”
“I think you’ve had more than enough, Crazy,” King tells her. “It’s probably time we head home anyway.”
“On ‘rr ‘ike?” she slurs as she turns her head to look at him.
King shakes his head. He looks at Torque and says, “I’m taking her to the clubhouse. I’ll have a prospect drive us and come back for my bike once she’s asleep.”
Torque nods. “You good to drive back?” King nods and then he leads a very happy Sage away. Also a very handsy one by the way she gropes his ass as they walk.
“Are you alright to drive?” Torque asks me.
I nod. “I only had one beer and I finished it a while ago. And I did steal a few of your nachos.”
He chuckles. “Forgot about that. Alright, I’ll walk you to your car then.”
“You don’t have…”
“Not up for discussion, Izzy,” he says firmly. “No woman is allowed to walk to her car alone here. Staff or customer.”
“Alright,” I shrug. I wave to the few guys standing around watching us, though most seem to have left already. Including all the women from earlier. “I feel bad I didn’t get to talk to your mother much,” I tell him as we head outside.
Torque snorts behind me. “Probably the smartest decision you made tonight. The combination of her, liquor, and the rest of them is a recipe for disaster. Especially since they were already feeling it before you got here.”
“I still don’t know where you get this idea that they’re wild and crazy,” I say as we walk through the bar door and into the warm night air. “The most I saw was them being loud and laughing a lot.”
“That’s tame compared to normal,” Torque grumbles. “Hell, they were dancing on the bar and tables before I got there. Or so the Prospect told me. They were probably trying to be on their best behavior so they didn’t scare you away.”
As we walk across the still packed parking lot, I’m realizing that Torque walking me to my car is a relief. There are a lot of shadows in the dark lot, and while I’m normally confident enough to walk in the dark alone, it’s different in a new town and at a bar I’ve never been to.
“Here’s my car,” I say as we reach it. Thankfully, I parked near one of the lights, though it’s still partially hidden in the shadows. I turn to look up at Torque. “Thanks for a great night, Torque. I had fun.”
He smiles down at me, the glow of the light casting a shadow over his features. “Even if I kicked your ass at pool and darts?” he teases.
I chuckle softly. “Yes, even with that. But I’ll be demanding a rematch,” I warn him.
“Looking forward to it.” We stare at each other for a moment, and I’m pulled into the blue of his eyes. Even in the low light, they’re bright. Slowly, his smile drops and he steps closer to me, backing me up until my body hits the side of the car. The tension between the two of us fills the darkness. He puts his hands on my car, caging me in. I should probably panic, or push him away, but I do neither.
I just stare up at him with wide eyes. “Torque,” I whisper. His name is a mere breath of sound.
“As much as I want you to come work for me,” he murmurs, “right now I’m glad you don’t.”
That’s not at all what I expected him to say. “Why?”
His eyes glitter in the dark as he crowds closer into me. “Because if you did, then you would be my employee and I wouldn’t be able to do this.”
His mouth descends on mine and I don’t even consider stopping him.
