Page 65 of Stranger to Love

I blew a breath out through my nose, stepping back up to the register. “Three Moretti?”

He flashed a patronising smile. “That's it, sweetheart.”

I was itching to wipe that grin right off his face, but I let it go. I was in no mood to get punched again that night—or to do the punching. I pulled the pints, letting the brain-numbing monotony of the job take over.

I shouldn’t have, but my thoughts drifted straight back to her.

To the darkness in her eyes right before she’d shoved me back against the wall. The brief, calculated way she’d assessed me first—making sure she wouldn't cause real damage before she laid a hand on me. The level of control she possessed was unlike anything I’d ever seen, and yet she’d completely unraveled the second her lips hit mine. It was as if she’d allowed herself a single minute of total release.

And fuck, she’d made every second of that minute count.

If I focused, I could still feel the weight of her body pressed flush against mine. She was so fucking strong—lean and toned, but with curves that made my chest ache. I wanted to trace every single muscle on her with my tongue.

Just a moment, I reminded myself, blinking back to reality as the foam hit the brim of the glass.

“Shit,” I hissed as I over-poured the pint. Fuck, my mind was scrambled. The guy at the till just smirked as if he was expecting me to be fucking incompetent, and it took everything I had not to throw the pint in his face. I inhaled deeply, sorted the pint out, finished all three, and charged the prick before I lost control.

“Thanks, sweetheart.” He winked at me as he put the pints in a triangle and carried them all away.

Ugh. I cleared up my own fucking mess as I waited for the next drunk to appear in front of me. It was starting to quiet down somewhat, thank fuck. It was the lull before we shouted last drinks and everyone panicked like they would never get to drink again. I just sighed when Mia leaned on the bar next to me, her eyebrow arching in a way that showed she could read my mind.

She finally broke the silence. "You went from practically begging on your knees for the woman to pretending it didn't happen pretty quickly, Lex.”

I chewed on my cheek for a solid minute. Because yeah. In the moment, I had been ready to be whatever she wanted me to be, but then she ignored me. Worse than ignored, treated me like I was any other student and not one she had had her tongue down the throat of. I raked my tongue across my teeth before I answered Mia. “I don't know how to fucking do this.”

Mia grinned way too wide for my liking. I groaned and moved to walk away, but she caught my arm. “You want to try something with her?”

Did I? She was a supervillain psycho on a power trip. I should have been fucking running away or laughing in her face, not… not this. Not, oh fuck, was I moping over a woman? Was I pining for her? Oh gross. Oh gross, fucking disgusting. My face contorted, and Mia burst out laughing. She playfully shoved at me. “Oh, you so do!”

I sighed. “She is fucking hot, Mia. Of course I want to snog her again.” Obviously. Because that was something I could allow myself. The physical wanting. Fuck, of course that was what it was. I just kept thinking about her because I wanted to fuck her. It was like a weight off my chest—idiot, that was all it was.

“So what are you going to do about it?”

I chewed on my lip. “I don’t know. She’s not exactly like every other woman I've slept with.”

“No, she is not." She then sidled up to me. She glided her finger down my arm as I glared at her. She was so fucking touchy sometimes. “Didn’t you say she liked it when you were bratty?”

I involuntarily closed my eyes at the memories. Yeah, she liked it when I pushed her. It was like a switch inside of her turned on when I teased her or tried to get her to lose a semblance of control, and I thought she liked it when she gave in too. Like when she got me food on the way home. I had never had a woman want to control me in the way she did before, and it had unlocked something. Something I hadn’t realised was there, and fuck, that was also probably why my head was so fucking mashed. I leaned forward, dramatically pressing my forehead against Mia’s bicep.

She chuckled and patted my back. “Oh, little Lex, she is going to kill you.”

I groaned. Yeah, she fucking might. Maybe I could actually try this?

Fuck, it felt so good just thinking about it. I could only imagine what it would be like to be completely owned by that woman. It wasn't something I’d ever done before, but that was only because I’d never met a woman like her.

Taking a deep breath, I stood up and looked Mia dead in the eye—or as close as I could get, given that that tall goddess had a good foot on me.

I put on my best fuck-everyone face. “If she wants a brat, I can be a brat.”

"Yeah, you fucking can.” Mia smirked darkly. “Seriously, Lex, I've only met the woman briefly, but fuck me, if I were you, I would throw myself into this. Plus, the way she carries herself, maybe she can be your sugar mama, too.”

And fuck me, I hated the idea, so why did my stomach do a flip? What the fuck was happening? I shook my head and cracked my neck. “It’s time, Athena.”

Mia saluted me as she stepped over to the bell and rang it. As if summoned, the hoard of drunks rushed to the bar, and I prayed the next hour would go quickly. It was a blur of drunks way too excited for overpriced beer and shit wine, way too many shots poured, and eventually the clear-out and blinding reality of flicking on the house lights. Then I was throwing my bag over my shoulder and walking up the stairs, finally done with the place for the night. Mia walked next to me. She kept glancing at me, grinning, and I felt like my legs were numb because I didn’t know if she would be waiting for me or not.

When we reached the top of the stairs, Steve nodded us goodnight, and we pushed the doors open. My stomach instantly dropped, a cold twist of anxiety taking over.

She was right where she always was—leaning against her car with her trench coat wrapped tightly around her, arms crossed, one heel crossed over the other, looking like she fucking owned the place.