“Yeah, Greg. Just got a lot to think about.” I let out a long sigh.
“I’m sure you have. It’ll work out fine, you’ve got your head screwed on right, and I’ve never known you to make a shitty decision.”
“Yeah, I guess, whatever.” I didn’t mean to sound so dismissive and he wouldn’t take it to heart, but I was done with talking work. “Can we not do any shop talk? This week has given me a goddamn headache, just want to get drunk.”
“Sounds good, count me in.”
One by one, my men walked into the bar. Sandir, then Tayte, followed by Andrey. They were making themselves comfortable and deciding a good old drinking session was exactly what the doctor ordered when Jolie appeared.
“Vodka tonight, gentlemen?”
“For starters,” Greg called out exuberantly.
“Ooh, messy night, huh? You have a designated driver, fellas?”
Andrey burst out laughing. “Oh, man. I love you, Bunny. We’ll get a cab, sweetheart, thanks for the concern.”
With wide eyes, Jolie smirked. “Bunny?” Touching the buns on her head, she laughed herself. “Very original, guys.”
“Bring out two bottles and some Perrier, please,” I cut in.
Watching the woman walk away, I wondered what her story was. Did she have a bloke, would she find any redeeming qualities in a man like me other than my looks and money? Did the thought of danger turn her on? The tightness in my pants was all but demanding to find out, which was utterly shallow. I’d never been one to not go after what I wanted and demanded, but there was no doing that with Jolie. The woman was in a different class, she’d never fit the dark corners of the world I inhabited, she shone above anything I’d seen in a long while and she probably didn’t suffer fools gladly. A fool I most definitely was.
No one had ever called me rational, so I made a quick decision. Without a word to my guys, I got up and followed the same path Jolie had taken through the bar, as casual as could be. The woman fucking intrigued me more than anything had in years - she made me want to break all the rules. The back corridor was dimmer than the bar, a slither of light from the store cupboard showing where Jolie had gone. Bill didn’t keep our vodka behind the bar, she’d need to fetch it from the store.
Standing outside the door, I peered through the crack to see Jolie up on a short stepladder, her skirt barely covering her arse cheeks as she stretched for the vodka on the top shelf. Biting my lip, I waited until she was safely back on the ground before pressing the door open and creeping inside.
“Fuck!” she hissed, twirling around, clutching the neck of the bottle to her chest. “What are you doing in here?”
Good question, I had no idea. Closing the door, I took a step closer while Jolie took a step to the side and away from the ladder. “You’re still afraid of me?” Tucking my hands into my pockets, hoping to show there was no intention to intimidate, I waited her out.
“Ah…” Up on her tiptoes, she peered over my shoulder, then deflated. “Kind of?”
“What you saw that night,” I began.
“I haven’t said a word, I swear. I never saw anything,” she rambled nervously, cutting me off mid-sentence.
“Jolie.”
“What? I promise,” she whispered. “Not a thing.”
“You needn’t be scared of me.” Her nod was barely perceptible, an unsure acceptance of what I’d said, and it simply wouldn’t do. Her grip on the bottle tightened, her knuckles white, and I hated I had this effect on her. Closing the space between us, I pried the bottle of vodka from her grasp and placed it on the shelf behind her. “I’m not a danger to you.”
Jolie’s breath puffed against the collar of my shirt, goosebumps erupting across my extended arm at the warmth. Why did she smell so fucking decadent? I almost growled out my appreciation, only just holding back, not wanting to scare her further.
Drawing away, I smiled down at her, Jolie’s stare fixed on my throat. Tipping her head upward, my fingers under her chin, she still couldn’t look me in the eye.
“Jolie, look at me. Please?”
“Shit.”
“What you saw,” I continued. “I’m sorry you had to walk into that situation.” The sincere apology came from nowhere. I’d never said sorry for such a thing in my entire life.
Finally, she gazed up at me, with possibly the saddest eyes I’d ever fallen into. “I had nightmares.”
I felt every bit of distress in her admission and for once there was genuine guilt at how my actions had affected someone else. That was new, brand fucking new. This woman, I couldn’t explain her, I couldn’t find a single word in my repertoire to rationalise what was going on and why I was so compelled to get to know her.
“I’m sorry,” I said again.
“It took me a long time to stop searching through crowds for your face, afraid you were coming for me too, that you’d changed your mind.”
Christ. I dropped my hand from her jaw, unsure of my next move. I should have left the storeroom, let her get on with her job, her life. Yet, I was caught in the moment, my feet refusing to budge. By engaging with Jolie this way, I would inevitably drag her into a world she didn’t belong in. That light I swore she radiated would be snuffed out in no time at all, and I couldn’t do that to a woman like her.
Then her eyes dropped to my mouth and woah…
Everything else fled from my mind except the thought of kissing her. I wanted her mouth on mine, those small hands clutching my
