Buttercup (Spell Library #10) - Helen Scott Page 0,11

on me the whole time even though people were calling for him from the other end of the bar. I repeated the same series of actions before sliding the salt, empty shot glasses, and used limes across the bar. Logan scooped up the napkin with the limes on it and threw it in the trash before looking at me with concerned eyes.

"Is everything okay, Buttercup?"

"Yeah, Iris wants me to dance with her, and, as you know, I'm not the best dancer. A little liquid courage is all," I replied with a smile.

I started to turn away but his hand landed on my wrist and I turned back and looked at it, as soon as my eyes landed on his skin he acted like I'd burned him and pulled his hand away faster than he'd run into my store the other day. "I just wanted to say...you're a good dancer. Don't let anyone tell you any different. Go out there and shake that fine ass of yours." He started out sweet and almost quiet, but by the end he seemed to be back to the bartender persona he wore like a mask. He threw me a flirtatious wink and disappeared to the other end of the bar.

When I got back to the table, I barely had a chance to set my glass down before Iris was grabbing my hand, along with Jasmine's, and dragging us out to the dance floor. The thing was so packed that there was hardly anywhere to go so we just stayed on the edge, that way we could keep an eye on Lupine as well, and hopefully I'd be able to make a hasty retreat as soon as Iris and Jasmine were distracted enough.

The music was infectious once I was moving to it though, and I quickly forgot all about my retreat. My body seemed to take on a will of its own as it swayed and grooved to the beat. I wanted to say it was sexy, but I honestly had no idea. If I didn't know any better, I'd be worried that someone had spelled my drinks, but Julian wasn't around and I'd heard all about his pumpkin spice lattes, so I wasn't worried. It was more likely just the tequila working its magic.

No matter the cause, I didn't seem to care who was watching me anymore, I just wanted to let go and enjoy the thump of the bass coming up through the floor and rumbling through my whole body. Add to that the lights dancing over my head and I felt like I was almost in a trance. Even though I probably looked more like one of those dancing babies than a sexy woman who was killing it on the dance floor.

Of course, as I thought that I felt someone's eyes on me. The way they traveled over my body was like a lover's caress. I shouldn't be so aware of something like that, let alone actually feel it.

My eyes searched the crowd as I moved in a slow spinning circle, my hands waving around in the air, like, well, I just didn't care. Finally, they landed on this mountain of a man, and I had to fight to keep my jaw from hitting the floor. He was standing with a couple of other guys, one who was so clean-cut and had such an angular jaw it looked like I could cut myself on it. And the other looked so bland that my eyes seemed to just skim right over him. But the man staring at me? He was just straight up gorgeous. I'm talking sex on a stick.

Long, thick, sandy blond hair was being held out of his face by a bandana under a backward ball cap. A dark blue tee that was stretched over his muscles and some jeans that fit him just right was all the outfit he needed, especially with the tattoos he was sporting. A couple necklaces hung around his neck, and a short beard covered the lower half of his face. I couldn't stop myself from checking him out.

When he walked over to me, a beer bottle swinging slowly between his fingertips, I suddenly regretted my blatant checking out and clear approval. I was so not prepared to talk to someone like him, not after two shots and two long islands. Yet I couldn't bring myself to walk away.

5

Buttercup

The man didn't stop as he approached me, didn't introduce himself, didn't ask if he could buy me