He squeezed her hand again, reveling in it being there. It was stupid to be this excited about a woman he hardly knew.
Sure, what he knew about her he liked.
Gray had gone through a long line of messed up relationships he thought he could save, but that was over. Now he was going to have some fun and let what happened happen. This thing—whatever it turned out to be—was a huge step.
As they got on the elevator in his building, his stomach growled. He was starving, but other hungers took precedence over his stomach.
Apparently, Alyssa was of the same mind because she had her shirt partly unbuttoned before he got the door locked. She let it fall on the floor and reached up to kiss him.
“I thought you were hungry,” he teased against her lips as she started on the buttons on his shirt.
“Call it in. We’ll be done with round one before it gets here.”
“Holy hell,” he said, pulling out his phone to do as she asked. “You’re brilliant.”
She was more than brilliant. She was sexy and skilled and…lots of other things he couldn’t think of as she nipped the skin on his chest while unfastening his pants.
He stuttered out the order for the pizza and smiled when the nice gentleman said it would be there in thirty minutes.
Thirty minutes. He didn’t have a second to spare.
He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder making her laugh as he took her to his cave—or room as it were. He tossed her lightly on the bed and jumped on top of her, kissing down her chest. He pulled her bra aside so he could latch onto one of her nipples and then worked over to the other one.
She was busy shrugging off her pants.
His memory had served him well. She was every bit as sexy as he remembered—and even more so now that she was in his bed.
He dug around in the drawer next to his bed for a condom as her hand grasped him, causing him to hiss with pleasure.
“Alyssa.”
“You say my name a lot when we’re together.”
“Is that a problem?” Maybe it was too intimate.
“No. It’s fine. Is that a thing for you?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe.” He’d never given it much thought.
“Do you want me to say your name, or just use the usual God references?”
“My name might be nice. I know I’m not God.” They laughed like old friends having coffee instead of two strangers getting ready to have their second hookup.
“I’m glad you finally let me talk you into a second time,” she said with a playful grin.
He laughed and rolled on the condom, getting round one underway. Sliding into her felt like coming home after a long trip.
Somehow it was better than the times before. He felt even more comfortable with her, and he practically stumbled into point B without much effort at all. He would put more energy into it after he’d had sustenance.
Knowing she was satisfied threw him over the edge and he breathed her name as he climaxed. Her arms were still wrapped around him and he took pleasure in her touch.
They were catching their breaths when the doorbell rang.
“Shit,” he said, not quite able to move yet.
“You stay here. I’ve got it.” He managed to roll to the side and watched Alyssa get out of his bed and shrug on his work shirt to go answer the door.
A few minutes later, she was back with the pizza, paper towels, and two bottles of beer. She took off the shirt and crawled back in bed, handing him a beer.
“Naked dinner,” she proclaimed as she picked up a slice and blew on it to cool the cheese.
“Damn it, you are too good to be true.” If he knew she wouldn’t run screaming from the room, he might have proposed marriage that second.
Chapter 5
Doug frowned at his phone as the bartender dropped off his beer.
I’m not going to make it. Something came up, the text read. He had an idea what had come up. Or rather, who.
“Thanks a lot.”
“You’re welcome,” the bartender said on her next pass.
“No. Not you.” The woman paused, cocking her head to the side. He’d seen her in here many times. He knew her name was Chanda and she was amazing to watch in action. She could pour a drink with one hand and make change with the other while taking someone’s order.
“I mean thank-you for the beer, but without the attitude.”
“No problem.” She nodded to the phone. “Did you get stood up?”
“No. I mean not by a woman. My friend isn’t coming. He’s with a woman.” He winced as he played back his answer to make sure it sounded right.
“Friend abandonment is worse in my book.”
He stared at the hoop in her lip as it pulled up into a smile. Then she was gone. Off to do six other things at once. Her brain must be so tired by the end of the night.
Rather than go home after his first beer, he stayed for a second and then a third. He had nothing waiting at his apartment but loneliness. He wasn’t in a hurry to get back to that.
MacGregor’s was full, but not over-crowded. There were a number of women there without a ring or a man at their tables. He made a few attempts, but didn’t bother with a lot of effort. He was looking forward to having visitation with his daughter the next day, so he was okay to have a few drinks and go home.
Watching this bartender was making him exhausted anyway. He’d switched to soda after his third beer. He was thinking about heading home, when he caught the conversation a few stools away.
Two twenty-something men were hassling Chanda. They started by making comments about her boobs. She had very nice boobs, he noticed himself, but these guys were being crass. He frowned, but did nothing until one of the guys reached over and touched her while she was wiping off the bar.
She jumped back and scowled at the guy, who just chuckled and attempted to joke it off.
“Come on, I’ll leave a big tip.”
His unintentional pun made the jackass on the next stool bust up.
Maybe it was the liquid courage—though three beers over a four hour time frame didn’t seem likely—but Doug was on his feet heading to her rescue whether she wanted it or not.
“Don’t touch the lady.”
“Lady? She’s a hot bartender.”
“Same rules apply to her that apply to your mother. Respect, dipshit, or leave.”
It was at this point that Doug remembered he was alone, and there were two of them— both were bigger than he was. Together, they were a wall of angry muscle. Shit.
“Where’s Mac?” Doug threw a look at his damsel who was not in distress, but safely on the other side of the bar. Mac, the owner of the bar, was large and Scottish. Despite the skirt—or kilt—he looked like he could kick some ass.
“He took a deposit to the bank. He should be back in ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes?” Doug said and looked up at the ceiling. It would have been nice to know that before he spouted off about respect. “Baseball bat?” He held out his hand expectantly.
“Sorry. We’re not allowed to keep weapons behind the bar.”
“A baseball bat