Page 2 of Collateral Damage
“Holy shit, Crick.” Ben immediately reached for Cricket as she let go of Bess, grabbing onto her boyfriend’s broad shoulders instead. His brow creased in a frown as he stared down at her. “You look terrible.”
“Thanks.” Cricket leaned into Ben the Perfect Man, wrapping one arm around his waist.
He pressed a kiss to her head as he pulled her close. “You know what I mean.” He glanced over his shoulder at Bess as they turned to go. “You good?”
Bess nodded.
It was a lie.
Cricket peeked over the muscled arm holding her tight. “Go back and have a good time.” She wiggled her brows at Bess. “Let loose a little.”
“Will do.” Bess forced a smile as Cricket and Ben left the bar, abandoning her to a room full of strangers.
She’d rather be the one puking up bad spicy squid.
“You’re friend gonna be okay?”
Bess jumped a little, the deep voice behind her seeming to come out of nowhere. Just like the man who owned it.
She twisted to face him. Her eyes found him a little too quickly, and the sight of him made her stumble mid-spin, sending Bess careening to one side as her booted feet tangled together. He lunged forward, moving faster than she’d ever seen anyone move before. His hands caught her in a firm but careful grasp, holding her steady as she tried to regain her footing.
Which wasn’t easy, especially with him watching her so closely. His dark eyes never left her face, not even for a second. “You okay?”
“Yup.” Bess dragged her eyes from his, barely managing to make it past the dark shadow of scruff covering the sharp line of his jaw, and down to the broad spread of his chest.
“Good.” The stupidly beautiful stranger still didn’t let her go. “That’s good.”
She forced her eyes to his again and her breath nearly caught at the intensity burning there.
This was ridiculous. He was just a man.
It didn’t matter that he might be the single most attractive example of the specimen on the face of the earth. Tall and broad-shouldered, with a dimple hiding behind the scruff covering each cheek, he could pass for a rugged David Gandy on his best day. Just without the accent.
It was probably better that he didn’t have it. That might be the straw that would send her legs buckling, dropping her to the bar floor she’d worked so hard to avoid earlier.
But he would probably catch her again.
Which would be simple, considering he still hadn’t let her go from last time. “I’m okay. Really. You just surprised me.”
He studied her for a second. “You surprised me too.” The warmth of his hands disappeared as they finally fell from her arms. His eyes flicked to the door before settling back on hers. “Did your friend have a little too much?”
“Too much...” Her brain raced to catch up.
“Oh.” Bess shook her head. “No. Bad Korean food.”
“Is there good Korean food?”
For a second Bess didn’t realize he was kidding. The line was delivered completely deadpan. It wasn’t until his full lips barely twitched that she figured out the truth. “It was spicy squid.”
The handsome stranger’s upper lip curled, one side of his barely crooked nose lifting along with it. “That sounds disgusting.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” She watched his lips to see what they would do next.
“Can I get you a drink...”
Bess’s eyes snapped up to his. He wanted her name.
Should she be giving a strange man in a bar her name? Gorgeous or not, there was a good chance she’d be trying to sneak away from him before too long, bored out of her mind. Men who looked like him didn’t usually have much to offer conversationally.