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“I’m trying to be a gentleman, but I’ll admit I’ve thought of five different places I’d like to take you tonight.”
“The river for a romantic stroll?” she joked.
He twitched his head down a dark alley. “Doggy-style behind that dumpster.”
She belted out a laugh, and now her cheeks were positively on fire. “That sounds fun.”
A low rumble emanated from his chest, and when she jerked her gaze to his, intensity sparked in his lightened gold eyes. “I think you would be fun in bed.”
“Really?” she uttered on a breath.
A wicked grin took his lips. “I would corrupt you.” There was promise in his voice. Promise, and confidence. “You’re so shy, and blush easily,” he told her as he brushed a fingertip quickly down her cheek. “You react to my body, and I can smell your desire. You would open up so easy for me, wouldn’t you?”
“Y-yes.”
His chuckle was dark and sexy, and she leaned into him and pressed her cheek against his muscular tricep. It was right in this moment that something caught her attention through the big picture window of a dive bar they’d been walking past.
“Is that Kru?” Lucas pulled them to a stop and canted his head at what he saw through that window.
Sure enough, Kru was at the back of the bar, taking a sip out of a glass of beer. He locked his arms on the table that held his drink and just stared at nothing. He looked…haunted. He looked to be alone.
“Maybe he had a bad day,” she said. She wanted to ask if they should go check on him, but Lucas seemed to dislike him, or tolerate him at best, and they were on a friend-date.
He just looked so…lost.
She didn’t have to ask though. Lucas murmured, “Come on,” and led her to the door of the bar.
When they stepped inside, he grabbed her hand and led her through the myriad of tables. It was a dark-wood bar with old street signs all over the wall. She perked up when she noticed the back half of the bar was split into five lanes, and there were couples and trios slinging axes end-over-end at targets against the wall.
Holy moly. “Is this a lumberjack bar?” she asked.
Kru jerked his bright-green gaze up at them, and for a moment, he looked shocked. Then he plastered on an empty smile and straightened his spine. “Look who the white tiger dragged in.”
“Don’t know what that means, man,” Lucas said, offering his hand for a shake.
“Cadence didn’t send you?”
“Nope. Haven’t seen her all day. What are you drinking? I’ll grab us a round.”
The forced smile on his face faltered, and revealed a vulnerability that surprised Jenna.
When she glanced at Lucas’s face, she knew he’d caught it too. His eyes were on Kru like a hawk’s.
“Uuuuh,” Kru said thickly. Something was wrong. He ran his hand over his hair and lowered his eyes to his vibrating phone, sitting next to his nearly-drained beer. Cadence’s name was lighting up the screen. “I just don’t want to talk, okay?”
“He likes Coors,” she told Lucas.
Lucas stunned her by reaching across and gripping Kru’s shoulder. He shook it gently and held him trapped in an expression she couldn’t read.
Whatever he said with his eyes, Kru lowered his head and nodded. “Yeah, okay.” He huffed a sigh and flopped gently under Lucas’s grip.
“I don’t want to fuckin’ hear about your feelings anyway,” Lucas said as he released him and made his way to the bar. “Suck ‘em back into your body, shove them deep down, and let’s throw some axes.” He turned and ghosted a grin at Kru, and whatever was wrong with him, Kru’s smile came back with a little feeling.
He flipped an axe and caught the handle easily while draining his beer, then threw the axe one-handed. The blade split the bullseye perfectly in half.
“What the heck!” she exclaimed. “That was awesome!”
Kru did a little bow and said, “It’s my only talent.”
