I didn’t know him. I hadn’t phoned a friend for help. Nope. He’d just appeared out of thin air like some kind of knight in shining armor. A miracle. I mean, only God would have sent someone so finely packaged, right? Because damn, this guy was something to look at.
With his thick jet-black hair and matching goatee beard, he gave off a bad-boy air even without the broody eyes that had checked me out. But once you added those, the unsmiling lips, and the leather jacket, he was enough to make anyone do something stupid—you know, like leave a crowded bar and head outside alone with him.
Nothing bad would happen, though. He was my miracle. My knight.
“Hey, wait up,” I called out as the door slammed shut and I stepped out into the cool night air. He didn’t seem to hear me, though, because he kept right on walking. I took off after him, until he headed around the corner where that lamp from earlier had flickered and died at some point, and my feet ground to a halt.
I needed to be smart about this. I needed to think for a second. I didn’t know this guy. This neighborhood. Yeah, he’d saved me inside, and the polite thing to do would be to thank him. But did I really want to go venturing into a dark, desolate street to do it? Not particularly.
I glanced over my shoulder, back to the main street, and when that didn’t look any more inviting, I was about to text Jude and tell him to get his ass out here. That was when the deep, throaty rumble of a motorcycle caught my attention, and a headlight came on and lit up the street.
Wow. If I’d thought this guy was sexy when standing beside me at a bar, that was nothing compared to him straddling the sleek chrome bike currently between his legs. It was that—plus the lit street—that had my feet moving again. Before he disappeared out of my life for good, I called out and jogged over to him.
“Hey,” I said over the throb of his motorcycle’s engine. “I didn’t get a chance to thank you.”
As if he’d just noticed I was standing there—or realized there was no way to pretend otherwise—his hands stilled where he held his helmet.
“No need. It’s all good.”
When he looked about to leave it at that and put his helmet on, I got a few steps closer to him, in an effort to keep him there a little longer. “No, really, please wait.”
He cocked his head to the side, and with the headlight reflecting off the bricks of the building, his face took on an even edgier look than it had under the dim lights of the bar. His cheekbones were prominent and added wicked angles to an already striking face. When he let out a sigh and cut the engine to get off his bike, I realized I’d been staring a little longer than was probably polite.
“Your name’s Jameson, right? That’s what you said back there?”
He hooked his helmet over the handle closest to him and gave me a slow once-over. But I got the distinct impression this time around that he didn’t approve of me or my outfit.
“That’s right.”
“I thought that’s what I heard. It’s just—that’s an unusual name.”
“Is it?”
“Compared to an everyday Ryan? Yeah.” I chuckled and held out my hand. “That’s me, by the way—Ryan.”
When he merely looked at my hand, I slipped it into my coat pocket. Yep, there is a definite sense of disapproval here.
“Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for what you did for me.”
“Like I said, it was nothing.”
“Are you kidding? It was everything. I was just about out of ideas on how to politely get rid of Mitch, but you—”
“Why were you being polite?”
His question caught me off guard. “Uh, why wouldn’t I be?”
Jameson looked at the building behind me, then arched a cool brow. “Have you forgotten where you are, GQ?”
GQ? “It’s Ryan, and no, I know where I am.”
“Then you should know that being ‘polite’ isn’t going to get you anywhere in that bar.”
Okay… “So what was I supposed to do? Punch him in the face?”
“Yes.”
Jameson’s blunt answer made my eyes widen. I’d never punched a single person in my life. Never even thought about it.
“Look,” he said as he walked toward me. “It’s clear you’re not from around here.”
“Really? What gave me away? It was the suspenders, wasn’t it?”
For the first time since we’d stepped outside, a smirk crooked Jameson’s lips, and I felt somewhat triumphant. I had a feeling he didn’t do that a lot.
“It’s everything,” he said. “Everything about you gives you away. The way you look, the way you dress and talk. Hell, even the way you smell.”
My mouth fell open, and I immediately turned my head, trying to get a whiff of myself. Had Mitch’s odor seeped into my clothes, making Jameson think it was me?
“You don’t smell bad.” Oh, thank God. “You smell rich, which is worse. That’s also how you look, especially to everyone in that place. So the next time you decide to come sniffing around this part of town and the local drunk starts flirting with you so he can pick your pocket? Do yourself a favor and punch him in the face.”
Pick my— Oh shit. I quickly felt around for my wallet and sighed when I found it was still in my pocket.
“You’re right. I should’ve realized something was up and put a stop to it more forcefully. I was just—”
“Out of your element?”
“I…I guess so, but then you came along and everything worked out fine. So I guess I was lucky too.”
Jameson’s brow furrowed. “Right.”
“You don’t think so?”
He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter what I think. Night, GQ.”
As he turned to leave, a sudden sense of urgency took over me. That was it? Really? Here I was standing in front of the sexiest guy I’d talked to in days—hell, maybe ever—and he was about to leave with no way for me to contact him again?
“Wait, you can’t just leave. You have to let me repay you. I won’t feel right otherwise.”
Jameson pivoted to face me. “I told you, it’s not necessary.”
“I know it’s not necessary, but I’d like to anyway.” I racked my brain, trying to come up with some way to see him again. “Maybe I could, I don’t know, take you to dinner?”
“I don’t think so.”
Again, he went to turn away, and before I could think better of it, I reached out and took hold of his arm. “Why not? You have to eat, don’t you?”
Jameson looked down at my hand, and while I knew I should let go, I couldn’t seem to bring myself to—not yet.
“Yeah, I’ve gotta eat.”
“Then why not do it with me?”
Jameson licked his lower lip, and my pulse skipped a beat as he began to slowly walk toward me. There was something almost predatory in his stride and focus, making me automatically retreat. When I ran into the brick wall behind me, my breath got caught in the back of my throat.
This was insane. What the hell did I think I was doing standing out here in the dark alone with this…this…incredibly sexy stranger who I’d all but chased down? I had no idea. But if my brain could somehow relay to my cock that it shouldn’t be this excited by the air of danger I’d potentially put myself in, that would probably be for the best.