Placing an elbow on top of the Plexiglas, he sighed. “Okay, I’ll play it your way. What can I do for you?”
Eyeing the dark man’s smirk as he leaned on the counter, Grace sifted through her brain for what words to form. She came up empty, so she improvised. “Actually, I thought you were someone else. My mistake.” She turned to go back to her friends.
“Hold up,” he said, gripping her by the elbow. “I didn’t catch your name.”
Anger rushed through her as she glared at the hand wrapped around her arm. Who did he think he was? She didn’t give him permission to touch her. Yanking her arm free, she channeled all her anger into pinning him with her stare. “That’s because I didn’t give it.”
Surprised, he stood at full height, and backed away from the counter. “Whoa. Okay, I’m sorry.”
She stepped back up to the counter, feeling silly for overreacting. “I’m sorry. I—”
“Don’t bother trying to get her name,” someone behind her said, then leaned on the counter next to her. “She won’t give it.”
Caught off guard, she gawked at the owner of the mystery voice. She snapped her mouth shut and forced a nonchalance she didn’t feel as Darius stared down at her with his intense green eyes and a slight upturn to his mouth. Inside, Grace frowned. She wanted his mouth turning up for different reasons. At her expense wasn’t what she had in mind.
He was teasing her.
She bristled. “Not to strange men yelling at me from a dark street corner.” Flirty and mysterious was what she was actually going for, not hard to get. But whatever.
“Well, I didn’t yell at you from a dark street corner,” the guy behind the counter said. “And I still didn’t get your name.”
Grace gripped her hips with angry hands. “No, you put your hands on me. That’s not okay.”
The guy threw his hands back in the air. “Hey, I said I was sorry.”
“Let’s play nice,” Darius said, staring down at Grace. “I’m Darius, in case you forgot.” The corners of his mouth hooked upward again. Seriously, how could she forget? “This is Mathias.” He waved a hand in Mathias’ direction. “Mathias, this is—”
He held out a hand expectantly as they both waited, anticipating a name. She had to give Darius credit for trying. The sexual menace he threw off made every nerve ending zing, reminding Grace why he was hazardous for her health. He’d probably played flirty little games countless times before. Grace couldn’t deny the draw to him, or the way his voice made her want to give everything over to him, but she couldn’t afford another compound fracture to her heart. Lately, her heart resembled a patchwork quilt, held together by minor repairs to the stitching.
The stitch of hope wouldn’t hold her heart together forever though. Grace thought it ironic she’d literally held hope in her hands at the bank the other day, and yet she wasn’t sure if she could truly believe in it. All week she’d hoped she’d see Darius again, but hope of a different kind had her turning to walk away. She surprised even herself. “Nice try. I have to get back to my friends.” For the second time, she tried to get back to her seat, but Darius stepped into her path.
“Are you seriously going to make me beg, because I’ll get down on my knees right here if that’s what it takes.”
She watched in embarrassment as he kneeled on the ground before her, hands together in a prayerful, pleading clasp. “Please—”
“Alright,” Grace forced through tight lips, tugging on the shoulder of his shirt. “Get up!”
“Alright what?” His lips turned up with sexual promise.
She glowered down at him. “Alright, I’ll tell you my stupid name if you get up.”
Darius stood, smirking victory as if getting what he came for. Her glare followed him upward. After a couple of very long and awkward minutes, he moved like he was about to get back down on his knees.
“Okay! Geesh.” Irritated, she stared past him, settling on the front door. Nothing angered her more than being told what to do, except for being manipulated. He was definitely yanking her chain. Obviously, Darius had played the game before, like she figured. In her peripheral vision, she could see his hands rise from his sides, joining together in another plea. As soon as her eyes met his, Grace knew she was in trouble. Unable to control it