Page 12 of Queen of Tempests and Sin

His lips flattened, and he gave me an even harder stare.

‘No one ever told you intense staring is rude and borderline psychotic, huh?’ I arched a brow and tilted my head as his dark stare carried on searing into me. ‘Have you always been creepy… or is this a recent development?’ I shook my head and looked to the sky. ‘Creepy isn’t cool, dude.’ I added with a sigh. ‘Just a heads up.’

‘You’re ridiculous.’ His voice was rough, like stones being ground underfoot.

‘Nope. I’m unique. Big difference.’ I placed my hands on my hips.

He narrowed his eyes. ‘People like you are the reason I prefer animals to humans,’

‘You forgot the “no offence” at the end of that. It’s good manners, you know.’

‘I meant it as an insult.’

I snorted. ‘Dude, I’m taking the piss.’ His eyes darkened further; the air between us thickened with heat and animosity.

As I tried to step around him again to reach the table, he encircled my upper arm in his meaty hand, stopping my movement. His fingers squeezed my arm to the point of pain. I shifted, edging up to the point of kicking him in the balls.

Instead, I leaned in slightly and said in a low, venom-laced voice, ‘Listen here, asshat. I suggest you move your hand before I make you.’ A muscle ticked in his jaw, and a half-smirk curled on his lips.

‘Ajax. Enough,’ a husky baritone cut through the tension like a blade dipped in honey.

I didn’t flinch. I stared Ajax dead in the eyes.

‘No wonder you’re a surly prick, with a name like that.’

His grip again tightened on my arm for a beat, then he released me.

I dropped to my hands and knees, crawling under the table to retrieve my phone—screen shattered, because of course it was. ‘Flipperty-shit, double-damnit,’ I cursed.

‘Ajax,’ that voice said again, calm but commanding. ‘Get the lady another coffee.’

I climbed to my feet, bent over my poor, busted phone, one hand still on the table to steady myself. ‘What were you drinking?’ the sexy voice asked. ‘Please, take a seat.’

I raised my head; the man was standing, and my eyes travelled up him. Blue jeans hugged muscular thighs, and his form-fitting white T-shirt fit his perfect body in all the right ways, showing off the plane of his stomach, the bumps of his pecs, and defined biceps. Holy fuck-balls, he was a big bastard.

I eventually reached his face. His eyes were locked on mine, sharp and unwavering, and I froze as my knees gave out, and I collapsed into the chair.

His intense, unwavering gaze made my heart rate spike; he was a predator, and I felt like the prey.

‘Drink?’ he prompted again, voice low and intoxicating. My mouth was dry, and my lips were numb. The guy was insanely attractive; movie star hot, and I stared at him like a creeper.

Si Thalassa, my target, stood before me.

I went still.

‘What sort of coffee would you like?’ he said again, tilting his head, looking at me as if I were an imbecile. ‘I’ll get you another.’ That voice—barrel-deep, raspy, confident—crawled over my skin like smoke. The assuredness in it radiated through my body and burned across my flesh.

I sucked in a deep breath, feeling an annoying tug in my core—a warm, fuzzy pull. I resisted the urge to swipe an arm across my damp forehead, because the force of his presence beat into me in a way I’d never felt before. It was disconcertingly delicious.

I let a wider smile linger on my lips as I tried to swallow the boulder in my throat and licked my parched lips. His gaze tracked the movement, and something dark and unreadable flared in his eyes. My smile faltered as I cleared my throat. ‘Erm… double espresso, please.’ Ajax appeared and placed my hat and sunglasses on the table, then stalked back into the coffee shop.

‘Give me your phone,’ Si said, lowering into the chair opposite me, holding out a hand.

‘Sorry?’

‘I’ll get it fixed.’

‘Oh—no, no. That’s fine. But thanks,’ I replied, clutching the cracked device to my chest.