Faster (Stark Ink, #3) by Dahlia West Read Free Book Online

wrong. Holy shit. The bar was dark but it didn’t obscure him at all. He was taller than she would have assumed, but not by a lot. His dark hair framed his eyes, eyes that were practically boring into her from across the large space.
    Without looking back at his friend, he passed over his cue and headed toward her. His long strides took him effortlessly across the wooden floor.
    Ava realized that she didn’t think he could get to her fast enough.
    Maybe he thought the same because he began to move faster.
    As she watched him make his way toward her, a table in the back caught her eye. She froze. Two guys were at a table, sipping beers. One she’d never seen before; the other was Jonah.
    Instinctively, Ava took a step back.
    “Damn it,” she muttered to herself.
    Jonah had few friends, as far as Ava knew, but apparently he hung out with them more than she would have guessed.
    She turned away quickly and darted back through the crowd. She cursed her luck as she pushed people out of her way. Oh well, she’d known it was a risk to come here. It had still seemed worth it at the time.  
    On her way back across the room, she searched the crowd, trying to spot Sienna and her cowboy. It was dark, though, and there was little elbow room. She didn’t see any familiar faces.
    Across the dance floor now, she hurried past the jukebox. Her phone was in her jeans pocket and she’d call Sienna when she got outside. She was just a few feet from the door when she was caught from behind. Suddenly, she was whirling and the green exit sign spun before her eyes. In the space of a second, she was facing the wrong way, back pressed up against the wall, pinned.
    “Where are you going so damn fast?”
    Ava’s heart was caught in her throat. Dark eyes pierced her, muscled arms held her in place against the wall. Damn, he even smelled good.
    She swallowed hard, trying to catch her breath. “Didn’t see anything I liked,” she said with a shrug.
    “Oh, is that right?”
    He leaned in, putting his face just inches from hers.
    Ava forgot the real reason. She forgot everything, even how to breathe.
    “I see something I like.”
    He wasn’t touching her. His palms were pressed against the wall on either side of her. He was close, but not too close. Or maybe not close enough.
    “What’s your name?” he asked.
    Ava didn’t answer.
    Undeterred by her silence, he grasped her arm gently and turned it over. “Hmm,” he said thoughtfully. “Adam, Dalton, Jonah, DJ?” He raised his eyes to her. “So... what’s a guy gotta do to get on the list?”
    She laughed and pulled her arm away. “Doesn’t take much to get in me. Not many can get on me.” Sort of true and this guy didn’t need to know anything about her, anyway. Ava had spread pretty easily for Clint, her ex. He’d broken her heart, but she’d decided that was her own fault. In the end she figured it wasn’t opening her legs that was the problem, it was opening her heart.
    Guys were good for a ride or two, but you had to get off... and then get off. At least that’s what they did.
    His hand slid down her arm and fell to her hip. The thump of the music in the other room vibrated the wall he had her pinned against. Maybe that was why he started to lean in close, to make sure she could hear him. Ava decided she didn’t care why.
    He pushed her hair to one side and ran a finger down her jawline. “How old are you?”
    Put off by the question, she pushed on his chest. He didn’t back away, though. “Old enough,” she insisted.
    He was unimpressed. “And how old is that? Exactly .”
    “Twenty-one.” She hoped he believed her. Being kicked out of the bar would be humiliating, to say the least.
    He snorted. “If that.”
    Ava jutted up her chin. “Twenty-one,” she said more firmly. “You wanna check my driver’s license?”
    He grinned at her. “You have one, chica? I’m shocked. Seems like RCPD would’ve taken it away by now.”
    “Oh really? Did they take yours?