Faith turned too, taking a deep breath and flexing her hand, somehow feeling like the whole thing was tingly from his touch. Which was insane.
"Friends," she said, reaching for glasses under the bar.
"Friends," Danny repeated with a grin, looking way too excited at the prospect. "Funny, Faith acts like she'd rather have her fingernails ripped out than socialize."
"Fuck off," she growled at him, pouring whiskey for all three of the men.
"Aw, sweetheart, who wouldn't love such a sweet mouth like that?" Xander asked. Xander Rhodes was a private investigator who was one of the scariest people she knew. And she knew a lot of scary people. He was a giant wall of a man with dark hair and eyes and a scar down his cheek. He was a walking, talking badass she had a lot of respect for.
"If you pour me whiskey again, I am going to have to start going somewhere else after work," Corey said when she moved to stand in front of her to grab another glass.
Corey owned a club across the street from Lam called Limits. It was a fetish club and she was the kind of strong, fierce female who could pull off running such a place. She was also insanely gorgeous- tall and curvy with long, straight black hair, light, almost see-through gray eyes, and a face that was perfectly feminine and exotic at the same time. Straight from work, she was still in her club wear- a skintight black body con dress that was square-cut and low in the front and short of hem with knee-high black stiletto boots. She had that sexy dominatrix vibe to her.
"How about something sweet?" Danny suggested, shouldering her out of the way to lean his arms on the bar and talk to her more personally.
And for some reason, that ticked off Faith too.
Luckily for her, K used that opportunity to catch her eye, jerking his head to the side to get her to come over toward him.
K was the newest member of their little group, only moving to the city after Xander helped a client of his finally get free of an ex of hers. After which, he had moved across the country and opened what was, on the outside, just a normal boxing gym. And it was that. But it was also the place he conducted his real business- he saved women. There was no other way to put it. When a woman found herself in a situation that seemed hopeless, usually a violent man she couldn't get free from, they went to him and he handed them all the skills they would need to defend themselves and start over in a new life.
K was tall with wide shoulders, a compact, unmistakable boxer build, dark skin, bald head, dark eyes, and a handsome face. The entire time she had known him, she had never seen him wear anything other than an expensive suit. That night was no different. He had on black pinstripe pants, dress shoes, and a white, tucked-in, wrinkle-free, and perfectly tailored white shirt. An expensive watch was on his wrist and two cells were sitting on the bar.
"What's up, K?"
"What's up with him?" he shot back.
"New bartender."
"We're gonna sidestep the fact that you two got some sexual chemistry hot enough to set all these bottles of alcohol on fire and head right into- there's something about him I can't put my finger on but I don't like."
K seemed positively psychic at times. That was how good he was at reading people. That was what made him so good at his job. And, in this situation, she was glad for it as well. Because she was starting to think there was something wrong with her for feeling weird about him considering he hadn't shown anything suspicious so far.
"Right?" she asked, leaning forward, closing in the conversation. "And he did a disarming technique like a pro last night on Anthony. But he's a bartender."
"Sweets," Xander interrupted, leaning closer. "You're a bartender who can disarm anyone with a weapon."
"It's different," she insisted.
"How so?" Gabe asked as Corey's throaty, sexy laughter drifted their way.
"I don't know. I just get a vibe on him is all."
"Yeah, well, it seems like he gets a vibe off you too," Gabe added, shrugging. "Know what I'm thinking? I'm thinking the vibe you two are mistaking for weird is actually just sexual frustration. Maybe it's been so long for you that..." he started, stopping when she reached under the bar and grabbed the corkscrew she had threatened Danny with a few moments before, holding it up with a raised brow.
"Alright. I think you should step away from instruments that can possibly used for impalement," Danny said, moving in behind her and wrapping his hand around the corkscrew and, in turn, several of her fingers, the unexpected sensation making her jolt visibly, having Gabe and Xander smirking while K showed no reaction because his gaze was on Danny's face, not the interaction between them.