“Randy sent his girlfriend to pay off his debt?” He was more of a coward than I thought.

The beauty by my side cringed. “Hell, no. I am not his girlfriend. Ew.”

I chuckled and moved my arm back, sliding a tad bit closer at the same time. She was grossed out enough by the comment that she didn’t seem to notice. I took advantage of that fact and went a step further. I lightly began to brush my fingers through her long brown hair. It felt better than imagined. 

“Then who are you?” 

She grimaced again. “His sister.”

“Ah. So, the little brother got himself in too deep this time and went running to big sis to rescue him. Must have been quite the shock for you.” The look on her face was telling. It was subtle, but the small grimace behind the eyes was there. “Or was it not a surprise?”

She blew out a breath and melted just a bit as my fingers slowly started working closer to the back of her neck. Somebody needed a good massage. 

“Not a surprise, nor am I the older one. Not physically anyway.”

My hand froze. “Randy went to his little sister to bail him out? How bad was he hurt to do that?” Pathetic. That’s what Randy was. Pathetic.

She turned her head away, facing another direction. This enigma of a woman felt guilty for something. 

I lifted my right hand and stroked the edge of her jaw with my knuckle, bringing her face back to me. Her breath quickened as she filled my silent request. I had a feeling the challenge wasn’t going to be between her and me. More like her against herself. She was stubborn, that much was obvious from the way she stormed in here. There was a desire for more though. 

For someone to really see her maybe?

“This isn’t the first time you had to bail him out.” I stroked her chin a few more times, then slowly dragged it down the middle of her neck. I would have dragged it down her chest next, lightly brushing her… but that dang purse was in the way. My movement brought her out of whatever stupor she had fallen into, and her strong facade was back. 

She cleared her throat and straightened her back. She used one hand to pull the bottom of her skirt down, like she was making sure it hadn’t come up when she moved. Oddly, the movement brought her a little closer to me. I didn’t care if it was on purpose or not. Now there was barely an inch of air between our legs. One small move and I could have that chest next to mine. 

When her eyes met mine again, she seemed a little surprised at how close we were suddenly. I grinned. 

“Um, no. It's not.” She was a bit breathless, which made my grin grow. She scowled at me for that, which didn’t help me not smile at her. Even her scowl was sexy. 

“No? So, you often have to hunt down those he owes and pay them off?”

She half-heartedly snorted. I was pretty sure she was suddenly feeling off her game tonight. Good. 

“No, this is the first time since high school that I have personally paid off his debts. And that time was only because I stopped the guy from beating him to a pulp.”

It was my turn to frown. “You’ve been paying off your older brother’s debts since high school?” I was pretty sure our ages weren’t that far off, which meant high school wasn’t exactly yesterday. 

“Sadly, yes. I didn’t trust him this time, not after what happened the other day. He told me he only owed you 5,000, which I now know was a lie. I’m sorry he got hurt because of it, but I truly hope he learned from it - although I doubt it.” She sighed sadly. “Look, can I just give this to you and call it a night? I literally came here from work and I’m tired.”

I believed it. She looked tired. But not just from working all day. She needed the break from reality as much as I did. A change of pace. 

Pushing the limits, I moved my right hand down to her knees and played with the rim of her skirt. Her eyes locked on mine, but she didn’t say anything. Not verbally anyway. Her eyes lit on fire, begging me. I buckled to their beauty and slowly began sliding my hand between her legs, which parted slightly for me. 

As my hand made its way further North, I leaned in and began kissing her jaw. “Are you sure I can’t convince you to stay for a while. I know a great way to help you relax.”

“N… no. I don’t find clubs all that relaxing.”

“Oddly enough, I was thinking the very same thing before you showed up. We can leave, go somewhere more private.” I moved down her neck, which she graciously made available to me.