Her gaze roamed the dark interior before landing on the familiar figure.
Everything faded away.
She had eyes only for him.
Gripping the cup tight, she separated from Kay and headed in his direction. Her breaths came fast as she took him in. Like the other bouncers, he wore a black shirt that had the word ‘security’ on the front. His biceps were on display when the short sleeves of the shirt slipped up.
Candi drank in the tattoos that lined his arms. She would give her left boob to be able to study them up close and personal.
His dark jeans hugged him perfectly. As if feeling her eyes on him, he turned away from the other bouncer, Tanner. His intense gaze slowly perused her body, and her breath escaped her.
She ignored the scream of her lungs. Her hips swayed a little more, she held in her tummy—not wanting to show off her slight pudge as much—and kept walking toward him.
Breathe! a voice screamed.
She inhaled deeply, and a slight shyness overcame her. What was her problem?
Biting her lip, she refused to look away. She was playing with fire. She wasn’t ready for anything with a man, but there was something about Dallas.
He was certainly different from her ex-husband. Just the thought of Lamont had her blinking, snapping her out of the trance Dallas wove over her. It was like having a cold splash of water being thrown on her. Her step faltered slightly, but she kept going.
What was it about men and their muscles that just drew her to them like a moth to a flame?
But Dallas was nothing like Lamont.
In her gut, she knew that.
Lamont was controlling. Liked to use his fists to show her he was more powerful than her. That he could make her do what he wanted with his fist.
But no more.
She’d finally got the nerve to leave.
It had taken a while, but she had done it.
The last time Lamont had put his hands on her, she’d ended up in the hospital with a broken arm.
That had been the final straw.
The nurses in the emergency room had been sympathetic and had stayed with her until the police had arrived. She had lost touch with who she was, and a reflection of herself in the bathroom at the hospital had changed everything. The person staring at back at her was a stranger.
She was tired of living her life in fear. Afraid that one small thing would set Lamont off. Scared that one day she’d be brought to the hospital in a body bag.
That night, her life had transformed.
She would take back control. One step at a time.
When the female police officer had approached her, Candi didn’t wait for her to ask questions.
“I want to press charges,” she’d whispered.
The woman had nodded and asked her the vital information she’d needed.
Snapping out of the past, Candi arrived at Dallas’s side, and all of the fear and worry she’d harbored just dissipated.
His dark stare took her breath away. His gaze dropped down to the cup in her hands, and his lips tilted up ever so slightly.
Her fear was completely gone.
Dallas was different.
“Hey, Dallas,” she murmured. She held the cup up to him.
He reached out and took it from her. Their fingers faintly brushed each other. She lingered for a brief second then pulled her hand back.
“Just the way you like it.”
“Thanks, Candi.” He took a sip of it, and his eyes fluttered shut for a second before opening again.
Her heart quivered at the look of contentment on his face.
“It’s perfect.”
“Where’s my coffee?” Tanner asked. He feigned as if he was hurt, clutching his chest.
“It’s still in the kitchen. You can go grab it when you want.” She playfully shrugged her shoulder. It wasn’t Tanner who had captured her eye. He was a nice guy and moonlighted at The Commoner like Dallas. He was handsome and always had women visiting the bar hanging off him.
“That’s just wrong. Dallas is the meanest son of a—”
