Page 29 of Hunt for You
“Do your business and get out!” Kash called after me. I didn’t reply, but raised my middle finger over my shoulder and let it talk for me.
10. In the Shadows
~ BRIDGET ~
Crossing the bar towards those pool tables, I couldn’t resist letting my hips sway a little, just because I knew Kash would be watching, but of course, the guy at the pool table noticed too, and followed my progress with his eyes, so I had to pretend that was just how I walked.
His gaze dragged down my body as I got close enough and the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
Excellent!
“I heard you wanted to talk? What’s your name?” I asked the guy, leaning my hip against the pool table and folding my arms to emphasize my chest.
Between the hair, the piercings, and the vintage punk look, I’d expected him to be an awkward, angry man. So it was a surprise when he shot me a dark grin, set the chalk down on the pool table and turned away from me to take his shot without responding.
I waited a second while the balls cracked, but I wasn’t letting Stonewash Steve dominate mehere,so without another word, I pushed off the table and turned around to leave.
“I heard you’re looking for someone to hurt you.”
Hunt, actually. But close enough.
I stopped walking and turned, but kept my unimpressed expression. “I’m looking for someone with a very particular set of skills. Not a sadist with an inferiority complex.”
He nodded. “I’m happy to hear you know the difference.”
“Doyou?”
He dropped his chin and grinned and for a split second that jawline looked familiar. My pulse began to race.
No.
No way.He couldn’t be Cain. Cain wouldn’t let me see his face. But that jawline…
My breathing got shallower and I turned to fully face him. He noticed and his smile got bigger.
“I’m working at a local place,” he said in a low, dark voice as he moved around the table to take another shot.
I nodded. “How’s Valerie doing these days? It’s been a while.”
There was more stubble on his jaw than I’d seen reflected in that window. I couldn’t tell if that made his jaw seem stronger, or if the shadows were just playing tricks on my mind.
Had Cain had his lip pierced? I didn’t think so, but it was on the side that had been turned more away from me…
He arched one brow, but smiled as he shook his head. “Val is… Val. She’s got a lot going on.”
“Including inviting east coasters to come play with our rich kids?”
He locked eyes with me. “I have a very unique set of skills.”
“Sure you do. So skilled andsuccessfulthat you’re drinking in a dive bar on a Friday.”
He stared at me a second, then shrugged and leaned his pool cue against the table before reaching into his back pocket. I liked the way his bicep curled, and how his sleeves-cut-off t-shirt pulled against his chest when he reached back like that. But I didn’t let it show on my face as he pulled out his wallet and opened it.
He had man-hands. Big knuckles, calluses, tendons that stood proud and continued up his forearms, a visible power that was almost elegantly reduced in fine motor-skills. The kind of hands that had dexterityandbrute strength. They could thread a needle, or choke you to death.
I love man-hands.
My heart pattered.