Destroy You (Destroy #3) Read Online Free Page A

were a couple to people who didn’t know Jeremy was gay.
    I didn’t want this guy to think I had a boyfriend, though. “He isn’t my boyfriend,” I replied.
    He smiled, and my eyes were drawn to a small silver ring in the corner of his bottom lip. I never thought I’d find facial piercings sexy before, but his plump lips were made more masculine with that small piece of metal.
    “Well, Birthday Girl, what are you doing all alone tonight?” he asked.
    “I’m afraid the answer to that question is going to require a lot more tequila,” I evaded.
    He set another shot in front of me and opened his mouth to say something, but someone shouting for his attention down the bar interrupted him. It wasn’t like he was the only one working or that the bar was that busy. It was the summer, and most of the regular customers were at home for the break.
    “We aren’t done,” he said before walking away.
    I took the opportunity to study him while his attention was on another customer. He was tall, like maybe six foot one or two, shorter than Aiden and Reed but close to Jeremy’s height. His dark hair was cut close to his head.
    He moved with leonine grace. His muscles pulled and tugged against the soft-looking fabric of his black T-shirt. His jeans were a relaxed fit, not the disgusting, overly tight style that was unfortunately the trend for guys now. Even so, his firm ass and rock-hard thighs were perfectly showcased in the faded blue material.
    After assisting a few more customers, he started to work his way back down the bar. I felt like I was taking him away from his job and stood to say good-bye once he made it back to me.
    “You aren’t leaving already, are you?” he asked.
    I shrugged. “My friends are gone, and I realized I haven’t eaten dinner. Drinking more probably isn’t a good idea.”
    Irritation flashed in his stormy eyes. “No one took you to dinner on your birthday?”
    “I was supposed to go with my boyfriend,” I began. His expression fell a little, and I rushed to continue. “But that was before I caught him screwing someone else when I showed up at his house. It’s been a horrible day.”
    “Let me take you to dinner,” he offered.
    I checked my watch. “Now? It’s late.”
    “There’s a twenty-four hour diner that doesn’t suck. I promise the food’s better than I made it sound.”
    “I don’t even know your name,” I argued.
    He held his hand out to me. “Trent McKenzie.”
    I took it. “Antonia Padilla, but everyone calls me Toni.”
    “Now can I take you to dinner?” he asked.
    I looked around the bar. “Aren’t you working?” It still had a decent amount of customers, but they did have two other bartenders behind the bar and some waitstaff out on the floor.
    He set down the bar rag he was holding on the counter. “As it happens, I just got off work. Lucky, huh?”
    If one of the guys were here, they would try to run a background check on him before I could even say two words to him. They weren’t wrong, though, and no matter how sexy the guy was, I wasn’t about to get into a stranger’s car.
    “Where is this place? No offense, but I’m not getting in your car,” I said.
    Trent rolled his lip ring with his teeth, looking like he was trying to keep from laughing. “It’s down the block. We can walk.”
    “Okay, then. I’ll have dinner with you.”
    We were stopped several times as we made our way through the bar, mostly by women. They batted their overly made-up eyes and shoved their breasts forward in an effort to steal his attention from me. I was irritated, but I didn’t show it. I’d just met him, and I knew well enough that a dinner invite wasn’t a commitment. Hell, a commitment didn’t seem to prevent a guy from getting his rocks off with any willing slut, either.
    “Sorry about that,” Trent said as soon as we were outside. “The women that come into the bar think they know me, and they get a little possessive.”
    “That probably gets