The First Night Read Online Free Page A

I don’t remember much of what happened last night…after I left the bar for the second time.” Damn tequila!
    He snorted under his breath. “Yeah, you were pretty hammered.”
    She felt him soaking her in and turned so that her entire body faced his. Her gaze went to the scribe tattoo on his arm… Never Forget. She took a deep breath, mentally preparing for the answer to the question she didn’t want to ask but knew she needed to. “What happened last night?”
    “What do you mean?”
    Why was he insisting on specifics? Humiliating.
    “Between us?” He answered his own question while regarding the expression on her face, which she could only presume to be one of disgrace. “Let’s see.” He tilted his head, his right index finger lingering on his lips as if in deep thought. “First, you passed out on the table. Your orgy-loving friend, what is her name? Oh, yes. Sharon. She insisted on taking you home, but I struggled with trusting her. There was no way I was going to let her have you. So, I brought you here.”
    Let her have me?
    A sweet grin formed across his lips. “What’s wrong?”
    She wiped the look of confusion from her face. “Nothing. I’m just surprised, I guess. Is that all?”
    He laughed, his dark eyes sparking with light. “Oh, no, there’s more, but by the look on your face, I’m not sure you can handle it.”
    “I can handle it,” she said, though she wasn’t certain. She racked her brain, trying to recall any information that would shock her, but failed. There was nothing.
    The shirtless bartender stepped closer, and her breath hitched. He gave a glimmer of a smile. Sardonic maybe, she didn’t know. It was too fast to read.
    “As soon as we walked in the door, you tried to take me on the couch,” he said, his seductive eyes holding hers, and her heart thumped in her throat. His voice was low, mellow music in her ears despite him describing such horrific behavior. “I turned you down, and you got seriously pissed.” He shrugged as if what he’d just said were no big deal.
    Kayla stood there, jaw at the floor, eyes wide, and frozen, inches away from him.
    The right corner of his mouth turned up slightly. “And then you passed out…again.” The bartender reached by her to the partly eaten stack of pancakes, and with her fork, cut himself off a bite.
    Kayla moved past the embarrassment and found the strength to speak. “I don’t…I’m so sorry.” She dropped her head, face flushed and heated, hands shaking.
    “Hey,” he said, his voice soothing and apologetic. “Are you upset? I wasn’t trying to embarrass you.”
    “No. I mean, yeah. I am upset but only because I acted that way. I asked you to tell me. It’s my fault.”
    “When I first saw you last night, I never pictured refusing you. Hell, I never imagined you would end up in my apartment. But here you are.”
    Shit! Those are serious words. “Not by choice.” Kayla raised her eyebrows.
    “What else could I do? I don’t know where you live. And you were…look, maybe some of what I said wasn’t true. I didn’t know it would affect you so badly.” He put his head down and looked at her under his lashes. “I’m not sure I could have gotten that lucky. You know, you, tearing off my clothes.”
    Kayla’s face went serious, and she wanted to be angry, but looking at him—remorseful and oh so scorching hot—she did want to tear off his clothes. From the moment she first saw the bartender, there was something about him. Something that entrapped her free will. She found herself drawn to him like nothing she’d experienced before, and the fact he hadn’t taken advantage of her vulnerable state made her want him even more.
    She wasn’t surprised, nor did she attempt to stop her fingers as they inexorably traced the waistline of his pants. He took in a short breath at her touch, and she smiled. His skin felt as good as it looked—velvety, and warm, and wonderful. She looked up at his face. His expression was