Page 1 of Vesper Martinis
Prologue
Wesley
Six Months Ago
I sit at the bar, tapping my glass with my finger as I look around the room. I thought that maybe after working in a bar for years, I wouldn’t want to hang out in one during my off time, but I don’t mind. It can be a pleasant environment. And it helps if it’s in another city.
The bar I work for is a high-end bar in Vancouver, which is different from where I am in New York. This bar is more of a hole in the wall—calmer and quieter. It’s a bar where the bartenders know most of the patrons by name.
I’m visiting my parents in New York and having one last drink before my flight home later tonight.
I look over to my left, feeling a set of eyes on me, and my breath hitches when they meet the gaze of a man with dark-rimmed glasses, a sharp suit, and the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen.
Fuck me.
His eyes looked absolutely devilish as they raked over my body. This is what they mean by “undressing him with your eyes.” Because right now I can feel my body heat tick up and my skin become sensitive. My cock twitches in my jeans, and I want nothing more than to have this man.
Typically behind the bar, I can flirt my ass off, but on the other side of it is a different story. Still, something draws me to this man so intensely that I find myself sliding off the stool and walking towards him.
He sits up straighter, bringing his drink to his perfect lips as he continues to make eye contact with me. I sit next to him at the bar and reach out my hand.
“Hi, I’m Wesley.” I wait for him to reciprocate, but he doesn’t even look at my hand, making me blush in embarrassment. He smirks at me and as I’m about to put it back down and abort this mission, he takes my hand in his.
“Pierce. Donnelley,” he says, shaking my hand, and then takes a sip of his drink.
Pierce looks me up and down as if studying me, and I can’t help the shiver that runs down my spine.
I clear my throat before asking a question. It’s not a particularly fancy question but it’s all I can think of at the moment. Something about this man’s fierce blue eyes has my brain short-circuiting.
“So, you live around here?”
Pierce smirks, then nods his head. “Yeah, I do,” he says simply, leaving it at that.
Oh, he’s going to make me work for it.
Well, game on.
“Nice. I used to live here. But I’ve recently moved. I’m actually headed back home later tonight.”
I add that part to indicate I’m not here looking for love. He seems to get my drift because his body shifts closer and more towards me, and his eyebrow lifts.
“You are, are you?” Pierce looks around the bar. “So, you’re here to relax before an uncomfortable plane ride?”
“Something like that.” When crossing my leg over my knee, I brush against his leg.
Pierce’s eyes follow where I brush his leg, then tilts towards my face. When his eyes hit mine, my cock twitches in my pants.
Fuck me, he’s handsome. Strong jawline with a bit of scruff, sharp eyes, and a wicked grin. He takes a sip of his drink and then licks his lips.
“You, um, wanna go somewhere… I don’t know… quieter?” I ask as a man in the back laughs loudly.
“Where would you suggest?” He sets his drink down and pulls out his wallet for some cash.
“I have a hotel room a couple blocks from here.” I nod to the front door of the bar.
Pierce steps off his stool, and as he stands, I realize he’s an inch or two taller than me. He looks down at me with a sideways grin, leans in, and whispers into my ear, “When we get to your hotel room, I’m going to ruin you.”
“That’s pretty cocky,” I say, raising an eyebrow.