"Why bother?"
"Because it looks good?" he asked, brows drawing together. "Because it makes the bar money."
"Trust me, the bar makes plenty of money," she said, shaking her head. The bar didn't even need to make plenty of money seeing as it was more of a way to launder Vin's dirty money than something he relied on for an income. "And if you think Vin is going to pat you on the back for it, he won't. I do the books and the ordering. He just signs off on your paycheck, Danny. You don't need to put on the good guy show."
"Who says it's a show?" he asked, moving over toward her until the tips of his feet almost touched hers, making her have to tilt her head up to keep eye-contact. "Who says I'm not a good guy?"
"You're not a good guy," she said, lifting her chin a little. If she wasn't sure of that fact before, she was damn certain right then. Good guys, bonafide help-you-move-to-your-new-apartment, rubs-your-feet-after-a-long-day good guys, yeah, they didn't do the alpha move he was doing right then- getting in her space with challenge in his eyes.
"Aw, sweetheart, that hurts," he said, lips twitching as his eyes dipped slightly, looking over her lower lip.
So, yeah, she was human. She was a red-blooded, hormone-filled woman just like any other. His appeal was not lost on her. Especially in close proximity. It was a real test to her willpower to keep things casual that she had managing to keep her libido in check all night. Because Danny, the bullshit artist, the people-person, the model employee, yeah, he was also a touchy-feely guy. Meaning, anytime she was standing in front of the well when he needed some of the booze there, he wouldn't tell her to scoot or hip check her. Oh, no. He would move in beside or behind her and reach around her for it. His hand had found its way to her hip at least a dozen times over the course of their shift. That wasn't even counting the times it found her shoulder, lower back, and, once, her hair.
She liked physical men. She liked casual touches from someone she was interested in or seeing.
So she was really liking him touching her. If he was too young or too not her type, she could have overlooked it, called it a quirk of a bartender used to a smaller bar than the one at Lam. But he was her type. In fact, he was an exact, flawless reproduction of the man she fantasized about when she was between men and needed a mental image to make going solo at least a halfway realistic experience. He had it all. He was tall and dark haired. He had a masculine face, all jaw and forehead. He had the dark eyes she always found herself attracted to and the wide shouldered, fit physique that all women liked. Hell, the man even had perfect hands. Hands. They were wide and strong and scarred and manly.
That wasn't even factoring in his unshakable confidence, the easy way he carried himself. She had known enough men in her time to know when a man's confidence was bolstered up to hide a bigger, uglier inner insecurity and when it was just natural, was based on a perfectly accurate estimation of how good looking, interesting, and capable they were.
Danny wasn't faking it.
To sum it up: he was her type and that could be problematic if he kept getting all in-her-face alpha on her.
"You'll survive," she said, reaching up to put her hand on his chest and push him out of her way. Her hand met firmness. Of course. He didn't have an inch of fat to pinch anywhere.
But the second her hand landed, his grabbed her wrist and held it there, prevented her from pushing him or even pulling away. "Faith, baby, if you wanted to touch me, all you had to do is..."
"Oh, what's going on here?" a deep, smooth, masculine voice asked from right behind her.
She'd know that voice anywhere.
K.
And, damn, did that man have good timing.
"Faith here has been looking for excuses to touch me all night," Danny said, completely reversing their roles and surprising her enough to wipe her mind blank of her usual snarky comeback.
"What? I was working my long game on you, honey," another familiar voice called. Gabe. That was Gabe.
"Yeah, shit, man. I made more than a handful of moves too," a third voice said, deeper, rougher. Xander.
The whole gang was there.
That was just lovely.
Faith swallowed hard, looking for what was left of her dignity. "Get your hand off me or you will become familiar with what a corkscrew up your ass feels like."
"Oh, kinky," a fourth, this time feminine, but in a husky way, voice said.
Corey.
Danny's eyes held her gaze as his hand held her wrist for a long minute before slowly releasing her. "Who do we have here?" he asked, addressing the group at the bar.