Chapter 7: I Said No Thanks
1587 Words
"From an admirer, miss," he said and winked.
Leya eyed the blue cocktail distastefully and asked him to send it back with her regards, but no thank you. She didn't think anything of it until someone grabbed her arm and spun her around in her chair.
"Hey, now, that drink was from me! Now, I'm sure you didn't mean to be rude. Let me introduce myself, my name is Alec, now tell me, did it hurt?" The young blonde man held her arm tightly in his grip. He reeked of alcohol, and his speech was slurred as he spoke. Leya yanked her arm back and narrowed her eyes at him.
"Look, I appreciate the gesture, but I'm afraid I don't take drinks from strangers."
"Well, okay now, Miss Goody-two-shoes, but you didn't answer me, I said, did it hurt?"
"Excuse me?"
"When you fell from Heaven?" he looked back at his buddies who were busy snickering and whistling from their end of the bar. Leya had enough of this nonsense. She dropped a bill on the counter and turned to the older couple she'd been chatting with.
"I'm sorry to leave so soon, you two have a nice anniversary," she said. Maybe bars weren't good places to start adventures after all, she thought to herself.
"Hey, what about me?" Mr. Grabby followed her across the floor and took hold of her elbow this time. Leya did not like that at all. She'd almost gotten away too! Ugh.
"Look, pal take your hand off me," she said and tugged her arm, but it was no good, blondie was stronger than he looked.
"Now, look here, you don't want to embarrass me in front of my friends. Come on, let's dance," he grabbed her hip with his other hand and tried to drag her against him.
"Ooh, hey, I don't want to dance with you!"
"Sure, you do, come on," he rubbed against her suggestively to the hoots and cheers of his pals.
"I said let go!" She yanked herself back with more strength than she realized. Oh crap, and that was when she lost her footing.
"Damn it!" She yelled as she tipped backwards, wind-milling her arms. The force of her pull with the strength of gravity all worked against her as she felt herself fall backwards, down the three stairs that led to the beach.
She closed her eyes and braced herself, but instead of the jarring impact she expected, Leya landed on something hard. Hard, but warm.
Day-um. Leya gasped and looked up into familiar brown eyes.
"Didn't I tell you to watch where you were going?" His teasing voice reached her ears, a low grumble over the sounds of the tiki bar.
The things that voice was doing to her! Oh my! Her rescuer looked down at her with an amused expression on his face. If it wasn't for the way his dark eyes raked over her body, she'd think he was laughing at her.
"Oh, um, I-"
"Hey, lady, damn, I just wanted to dance!" The blonde looked down the stairs in horror at her near miss and Leya scowled.
She lifted herself into a sitting position, but firm hands held her waist where she would have stood up. She ignored that. For now.
"Steady now," he murmured, his lips tickling her ear. She ignored the thrill that went through her and focused instead on the young clout who made her fall.
"I don't want to dance with you, you-" she was visibly shaken. Her rescuer spoke to her, close enough she felt his warm breath on her neck send shivers down her spine.
"Mind if I handle this?" he asked, and at her nod he turned.
She watched as his expression changed from teasing sweetness to pure threat. He addressed the cocky fool who'd grabbed her without moving her from her place on his lap.
"Son, you best turn around back to your friends if you know what's good for you," he said in a deep voice that practically growled in his throat and made her knees turn to jelly.
"No problem, man!" The younger man backed away hands raised.
"Well, this is cozy and all, but suppose we see if you can stand up alright?"
Leya felt her face heat up furiously. She was still sitting on the guy's lap, for Pete's sake! She was probably crushing him.
"I am so sorry! I must be hurting you!"
"Hurting me? A little thing like you? Darlin', I could sit like this all night. I just want to make sure you didn't get hurt when you fell," his gaze dropped, and she heard him suck in a breath.
"Oh, uh, no, I'm fine, but I am not little-" she looked down and saw why he was having difficulty breathing. Her elastic top was pulled down, and her breasts were almost completely bared to his and everyone else's' eyes. Yikes!
"No, baby, you are not," he growled.
She yelped and stood up quickly. Scrambling off his lap and tugging the fabric back in place. She didn't even realize the hand he kept solidly on her waist.
She tried taking a step back, but he stood up too. His hand firm and solidly on her body. The feel of him singed her through the layer of material. She didn't feel intimidated by him. No. She felt warm all over. She wanted to lean into his touch.
Oh Lord, Leya shook her head and looked up at him from her high-heeled sandals. The man was huge! He had to be well over six-feet tall, and twice her width! There wasn't an ounce of fat on the guy.
He looked like a bodybuilder or football player or something. He was so big. She actually did feel small standing next to him. That was a novelty in itself! One she would love to get used to.
"Um, thank you so much," she whispered, unable to break the spell of his intoxicating stare.
"I'm Marcus," he said. His eyes sparkled in the moonlight like onyx as he looked down at her.
"My name is Leya."
"Like the princess?"
"Yeah, sort of," she laughed even though she'd heard that one a time or two in her life.
"Your folks George Lucas fans?"
"Yes, well, my dad really, but my mother insisted the spelling be different. It's L-e-y-a."
"Beautiful," he said, and again her knees turned to jelly.
"Thanks. It's a cool name I guess."
"I don't mean your name, though that's lovely too."
"Oh."
The fingers on her waist became caressing, leaving little flames of excitement wherever he touched. She could feel the heat coming off of him through the thin layers of her dress as he swayed closer to her.
This was new, she thought, different and magical. She didn't have much experience with giant good-looking men, but she was definitely game to try.
The sound of the waves crashing drowned out the band from the bar. Or was that the sound of her blood pounding inside of her head? Leya didn't know, she only knew she felt hot and swollen all over.
Leya wanted, oh yes, she wanted alright. Him. She wanted him. She never did have much luck when it came to men, but for some reason, this man, here and now, felt so right to her.
She licked her lips and watched his eyes follow the movement. He seemed to tense. The rumbling sound from his chest increased. She watched as he closed his eyes and exhaled before pinning her with his gaze.
"Have dinner with me?"
"Yes," she said immediately.
She knew it was fast, fast and crazy, but it felt right. He took her hand in his large, callused one and together they walked towards the hotel.
"Do you like seafood?"
"Yes," suddenly she was reduced to one-word answers. You dope, talk to him!
"Great," he smiled at her.
It was one of those thousand-watt smiles she'd only ever read about, sexy and sinful. Full of secrets and promises. She felt her heart turn over in her chest. No one had ever looked at her like that.
He had straight, white teeth and a small dimple on the right corner of his mouth. His hair was a deep, dark brown and fell in rakishly handsome waves to his shoulders.
His eyes were darker by a shade and reminded her of the expensive Blue Mountain coffee she infrequently indulged in. The expensive drink was rich and sweet, lacking the bitterness of cheaper blends.
I wonder if he tastes like that. Smooth and rich. She felt her cheeks warm and realized she must be blushing furiously. He didn't seem to notice, thank goodness, as he approached the hotel manager.
He squeezed her hand, and ten minutes later they were seated in the hotel's most exclusive restaurant. She smiled in appreciation.
"Uh, what do you like?"
"Oh, well, obviously I like everything," she felt her cheeks heat up again and looked down at the table.
"Why 'obviously'?" he looked genuinely confused, and Leya could have kicked herself for her stupidity.
Now, wasn't the time to bring up her weight problem, though he could see for himself that she had one. Best just say it.
"Oh, well, I mean, you know, I'm not, I mean," she took a breath and looked directly at him, "It's obvious I enjoy food." Leya frowned when he sat there quietly as if waiting for her to continue. What more needed to be said?
- Writer
