by Thayer King
Kyle scanned the barstools in search of a woman in eggplant. He was causing a bit of a stir. He’d met quite a few of these people already. He returned nods of welcome and a spattering of hellos. He walked deeper into the bar and spotted a flash of purple in one of the padded booths at the back.
The next thing he noticed about Anais was her curly hair. It fell in shining, riotous spirals over her neck and shoulders. She had lovely brown sugar skin and a nice rack that made his breath hitch and his palms curl in anticipation. He tamped down on the sudden surge of lust, reminding himself that this was something that could lead to more. He’d let his dick lead way too often. He needed to get to know her. Then he could fuck her.
Besides, he still hadn’t seen her face. She had her head tilted down, her thick curls blocking her features as her finger skimmed over the touchscreen of her phone. He cleared his throat. “Anais?”
She stopped and looked up at him, her dark brown eyes meeting his for a moment before they scanned him from head to toe and then back up again, her lovely plump lips opening more and more as though she could not believe what she was seeing. Her shocked reaction reminded him of something that he’d forgotten. He didn’t exactly blend in with the small town look.
***
Anais was going to kill her best friend. Nicole was nice and had the tendency to believe the best of everyone, but that was no excuse for this mess. She’d set her up with a fucking serial killer!
His dark brown hair was buzz cut, emphasizing his high cheekbones and sculpted facial features. Long dark lashes framed chilling, downright eerie pale green-gray eyes. His jaw was shadowed with stubble. The tattooed tail of some animal was visible just beneath the collar of his leather jacket. If she had to venture a guess, she’d say it was a dragon. Beneath his cuffs, she thought she might detect a dagger on one wrist and a serpent’s tail on the other.
If he had been just a little less inked up or if he didn’t have that ice cold gaze, she might be a little less judgmental. But the two combined were just too much.
She consoled herself with the thought that serial killers did not look like serial killers otherwise they would never be successful. But that thought didn’t help much since despite being scary, he was a handsome bastard. Some women would be drawn to his bad boy looks. Just not her. She was interested in getting married. She wondered how Nicole could have gotten this so wrong. This guy was not marriage material. He was a walking one night stand.
She wet her lips and nodded, seeing no way out of this at the moment. Her gaze flicked about the full bar. A number of people watched them curiously. He couldn’t very well kill her here in the midst of the other bar patrons. She just had to make sure she was never alone with him. “You’re Kyle?”
He nodded and slid into the other side of the booth. He was very tall so she still had to look up at him. He placed his palms flat on the table. Anais couldn’t help but note how large his hands were. Perfect for wrapping around unsuspecting necks she thought with a gulp.
Beth, their waitress, came over to take their drink orders. He ordered a beer and Anais took the safe route and asked for water. That way if he tried to drug or poison her she’d be more likely to detect it. “So,” she said, attempting a smile, but she suspected failing miserably. A suspicion that was confirmed when he merely arched an eyebrow curiously. “Um, Nicole, didn’t tell me much about you. Just that you were new in town. How did you and Nicole meet?”
“She’s dating my cousin Stuart.”
“Stuart is your cousin? You look nothing alike,” she blurted before she could help herself.
His firm lips quirked a little at the corner. “No, we don’t.”
“She said you were new in town.” He nodded but did not say more. Their waitress delivered their drinks and asked if they were ready to place orders for food. Kyle ordered a burger. Anais was reluctant to order anything since she didn’t want anything to slow down her escape from this date from hell. She finally ordered a grilled chicken salad.
“So,” she said again to fill the awkward silence. Kyle watched her with a steady gaze. Anais fought the urge to shiver. “Um, what do you do for a living?” She managed to dredge up a genuine smile. “I own A. Heart Natural Cosmetics in town.” She was proud of her store.
He sipped his beer. “We’re neighbors. I own Gray’s Auto Body Works.”
Her eyes narrowed on him. “You do.” She was so going to kill Nicole. Slowly. Maybe she should sic this serial killer on her.
“You don’t sound happy to meet me.”
“That’s because I’ve been dealing with the noise pollution from the repairs to the building for months. Then I finally thought it was over and you move in and start making noise again. Only this time there’s no end in sight!”
“I’m sorry. Right now we have to keep the back garage doors open. I’m looking into a ventilation system that will enable us to close the doors.”
“And how long will it take to get it installed?”
He shrugged. His voice was a deep baritone. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like he was much of a talker. When their food arrived, he didn’t waste any time picking up the large burger and digging in. By comparison, she picked at her salad, shifting the lettuce around and taking occasional bites. Conversation ground to a halt.
Kyle finished his burger and took a long drink from his beer. “This isn’t going to work, is it?”
Eyes wide, she shook her head. Had he ever been under the impression that this was going well?
He nodded. “Didn’t think so.” He stood and dug his wallet out of the back of his jeans. “It was nice meeting you.” He dug out enough money to cover the bill and leave a tip. “See you around, neighbor.” And then he walked away.
Anais released a sigh of relief. Then she picked up her phone and called her former best friend. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“Anais? Why are you calling me? Aren’t you still on your date?”
“Nicole, are you crazy?” Anais stood and shrugged into her wool coat. It was cool out this evening. She picked up her purse and made her way to the door. “You set me up with a serial killer.”
“What? He is not. He’s not, is he, Stuart?”
She could hear Stuart talking in the background but she couldn’t make out his words. “You have to ask? How long did you know this guy before you decided he’d be perfect for me?” She walked outside and pulled the keys to her car out of her pocket. It was after five and the sun was well on its way to setting. Fortunately, she’d parked close. She pressed the button on her fob to unlock her car. She opened the door and tossed her purse into the passenger seat.
“He’s Stuart’s cousin and he’s really nice. He’s just the sort of guy you’re looking for. He has a job. He has no kids and no ex-wives.”
Anais settled behind her wheel with a huff. “Nicole, did you not notice that he was covered in tattoos, has the eyes of a serial killer, and hands that could snap a woman’s neck without trying?” She closed her door behind her. “And he’s white. What were you thinking?” They lived in a small town. She could count on one hand the number of interracial couples in town and have fingers to spare. There was just the black guy married to the woman he’d met in the Philippines and the white guy married to the woman who’d moved to town from Venezuela. And that was it as far as she knew. There might have been some hook ups amongst the younger generation, but teen relationships didn’t count.
“Hey, I’m white.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not dating you.”
“Are you saying that you wouldn’t date me if I asked you out?”
Anais laughed at Nicole’s offended tone. “No offense, but no matter what color you are, you’re missing some parts that I consider pretty essential in a mate.”
“Oh. Right. Well, Kyle has those. And he’s good with his hands.”
She recalled the sight of his large hands spread on the table. She’d bet he was good with his hands. She could imagine those big hands stroking over h
er curves and…and wrapping around her stupid neck. What was she thinking? Did she really want those creepy, serial killer eyes staring down into her face while he was fucking her? No, thank you. “How would you know? Have you been cheating on Stuart?”
“That’s not what I meant. Get your mind out of the gutter. I meant that Stuart says he’s good at fixing things. He’d be a great guy to have around if you have, say, an old house in need of some repairs and fixing up.”
“Do you think those are my only requirements in a man?” she asked, locking her doors and starting her car.
“I think those are a good start. Anyway, are the two of you going to see each other again?”
“Are you kidding? Not if I can help it.”
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue
Coming 2017