The Soldier - S.R. Jones Page 0,23

her colleagues approaches the café, about to start his shift. He slows when he sees her, gives her a huge grin, and pulls her into him.

“Congratulations, Cassie,” he says as he pulls her in for a hug.

I want to break his arms for touching all that flesh I covet. Her tiny waist and flared hips make my mouth water. He’s got a hand on her lower back, and I swear he’s purposefully brushing close to the top of her pert, round ass.

“Thanks, Marty.”

“New job and engaged all in one week. You’re not wasting time, are you?”

Engaged? What the fuck?

My stomach sinks.

Shit.

Fuck me, this is bad. Not only her getting engaged, but my reaction tells me I might feel something a bit more than mere lust for Cassie. I don’t recall the last time I felt such a punch to the gut.

I tell myself it’s because I worry for her, even though I barely know her. She’s only in her very early twenties; I remember her telling me as much. I glance down, and sure enough, on her left ring finger is a small diamond. It’s shitty compared to the one I’d have given her.

I recall then, her telling me a while ago she was seeing someone, but she’d made it sound casual, and he sounded like a loser. He didn’t like to travel, she told me, or like dogs, and he loved his routines. Is that who she’s given herself to?

What. The. Fuck?

The fact I’m ruminating on the kind of ring I’d buy the girl pulls me up so short I don’t move. I’m glued to the spot and only realize I’m blocking the way when Marty steps around me with a puzzled glance as he heads on his way.

Why the fuck did I think about buying this girl a ring?

“Congratulations, Cassie,” I say, the words bitter and sharp, like gone off food turning rancid on my tongue.

She glances at me from under her long lashes and flushes a nice shade of pink. “Thank you, Konstantin.”

I swear the girl is attracted to me, but hey, if she’s just got engaged, maybe I’ve been reading her all wrong.

“When’s the wedding?” I ask.

“Oh, not for a long while. We decided to go for a long engagement.” Her voice is low and husky. Sexy as hell.

Her partner must be a fool. If she were mine, I’d have her down the aisle immediately. Take all that delectable flesh off the market straightaway.

Fuck it, if she were mine, I’d probably steal her away and lock her in a castle, or my huge house in Paris. I don’t own a castle. I could, if I wanted to. Far too cold and creepy for my tastes. I don’t even like that old house my friend Andrius owns. It’s beautiful, but it’s dark, and the upkeep alone gives me nightmares.

Maybe, though, I’d buy a big house, in the middle of nowhere, and take her and put her in it. Something nice, pure, and golden just for me.

She is too golden. Cassie lights up my day like the sun, and how much of a cliché am I thinking such sappy thoughts. My own little ray of sunshine, but now she’s going to shine exclusively for someone else.

I push my way through the doors of the shop and order a coffee from the skinny guy behind the counter, my mood soured. I’d come here to feel better, and now I feel worse.

Logically, I’ve no right to be pissed at Cassie, but I am.

Ten minutes later, as I’m nearly done, she comes in and heads to the counter. She grabs herself a tea, and then comes and sits at a table three down from mine. She gazes out the window as she takes a break and sips at her drink.

I study her, really look at her. The girl isn’t perfect. Her nose is crooked slightly near the top. Her mouth has a slight downturn in repose, which shouldn’t be, but is as cute as hell. A dog walks by the window, and she smiles at it, and my heart honestly beats a little faster.

Her smile is gorgeous. She has dimples either side of her mouth, but one side is much deeper and bigger than the other. Her teeth are white but not perfectly even, one of her incisors, on the right, is slightly crooked and crosses over the other tooth, giving her a charming smile.

I contrast it to Liza’s ten-thousand-pound smile; big, totally even, and so white it looks blue in