It was insanely busy, but luckily, Lena had hired a few more girls so they were able to handle the increase of customers, but just barely, which was why Eden had been relegated back to her waitressing duties. The patrons were rowdy, their jokes were offensive and obscene, and once or twice she’d been peeved enough to smack at a few hands bold enough to touch her ass. With the harrowing pace of carrying out food and drink orders while dodging men with octopus hands and bad cases of BO, Eden had to put this night up there with not only one of the most stressful, but the most exhausting as well. The upside was that she hadn’t dropped anything, which she was sure Carver was very happy about. While waiting on her orders, Eden noted the gaggle of women at the bar and grinned drily.
Having sampled some of the food, she could affirm that that wasn’t the reason for the surplus of estrogen at the bar. And even though Mickey made cocktails like he was born to it, the women weren’t interested in his fruity concoctions. They were there for only one reason, the six foot one inch, tattooed man with the rock hard body and swoon worthy dimpled grin, drawing them in like moths to a flame. They hung on his every word, giggling like school girls, batting their garishly long lashes, and displaying enough cleavage that could’ve qualified them to work at his establishment. He had a wry sense of humor that some mistook for cockiness, but undoubtedly found sexy as they continuously returned for more. He probably had more contacts than most people had in their phones, certainly more than Eden that was for sure. Regardless of his demeanor, he always took someone home at the end of the night. He had a type: tall, slim, always blond, and always leggy, exactly like the woman currently monopolizing his time.
It would be lie to say that Eden didn’t find him attractive; there was an underlying roughness about him that called to the fairer sex with the promise of pure masculine power. He made Eden nervous in a way that was all racing heart and sweaty palms. The only other time she’d ever felt that way was when she was in Dominic’s company. And just like that, as though a mere thought had conjured him, he was there. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. He commanded a room when he entered it, and people naturally turned to stare, craned their necks to gape at the authority that swathed every inch of his powerful physique.
A sovereign among commoners, he appeared far removed from the common patrons of Carver’s, everything from the impeccable cut of his suit to the manner in which he carried himself, Dominic exuded refinement, a cool sophistication that set him apart. Standing by the bar and steps away from the swinging door of the kitchen, Eden stood rooted as she watched him looking over the crowd, clearly searching for her. While she wavered on whether to flee or remain where she was, her heart battered anxiously against her breastbone. She couldn’t believe he was here, at her place of work, but then Eden had known it would only be a matter of time before he’d made the discovery. What surprised her more was the length of time it had taken him. She’d expected him to break his promise about snooping into her life some time ago. When his green eyes finally landed on her, he cut an immediate path towards her, an easy feat as the throng parted for him like the Red Sea.
His eyes raked over her body with such thoroughness that color bloomed in Eden’s cheeks, exacerbated by the memory of what she’d allowed him to do to her not long ago. In her own immature way of dealing with the harrowing encounter of that evening, Eden had been avoiding him as much as she could, remaining in his presence only when absolutely necessary. Work had been her escape, but now he was here intruding on her space, her territory. Just a mere glimpse at his full mouth reminded her of how miserably she’d failed at rebuking his advances. Heat suffused her entire body at the memory of just how shameless she’d been.
“We’re leaving,” he directed brows furrowed in impatience.
He reached for her but she evaded his grasp, taking a furtive step back. “I’m working,” she replied firmly, hoping he was kind enough not to draw attention to them and simply leave. But Eden knew it was all wishful thinking on her part.
“Do not try my patience, Eden.”
“Go away, Dominic.” She had orders to take, drinks and food to serve, and by the incensed look Lena was sending her, Eden knew she needed to haul ass. Now. Her attempt to sidestep him only caused him to capture her arm; the grip wasn’t enough to hurt, but it did restrain her. “You can leave here of your own accord, or I can carry you out kicking and screaming, either way you will not remain in this place a second longer.”
“Is there a problem here?” Carver’s smooth baritone voice had Eden glancing to her left to find him standing there, big and bold, while carefully assessing Dominic, who, for his part, retained his hold on her arm, not at all ready to release her.
“It’s none of your concern,” he said dismissively, his cold tone would’ve put off a lesser man, but Carver stood his ground, more concerned for Eden’s safety than cowering beneath that derisive glance.
“I concern myself with all of my employees,” he replied evenly. “Eden, is everything alright?” Steel blue eyes searched her face for any sign of distress, his stance instantly on alert, ready to jump to her rescue if need be, regardless of the man accosting her. Doubling as owner and bodyguard of sorts, it was natural for him to want to protect the girls working for him. Customers at his bar were oftentimes unpredictable, add in alcohol and the situation turned volatile. Brawny as he was, Eden had seen him engage in a few scuffles since she’d come to work here, and he’d come out the victor in many of those cases. Of course that wasn’t to say Dominic couldn’t very well hold his own if the situation called for it. With the amount of testosterone jumping in the dead air between them, it could very well end up being something very ugly, very fast, and that certainly wasn’t something Eden wanted. “Eden?”
“Everything is good, Carver. Can I—”
“Consider her one less person you have to concern yourself with. She quits,” he announced prosaically, and without as much as a backward glance, he dragged Eden behind him with all the courtesy of an ape.
Chapter Fifteen
She was so angry that she could barely think straight, and though she fought futilely to be released, he refused to relinquish his hold of her wrist, forcing her to keep pace with his incredibly long, determined strides. It took her making a sound of distress before he deigned to stop, and Eden took the opportunity to wrench her wrist from his grasp. In a fit of absolute white hot rage, she swung her hand and it cracked satisfyingly with his cheek. Thunder rumbled in the distance, echoing Eden’s emotions. The late night crowd turned curious eyes to them but all Eden was aware of was the blood rushing between her ears and the intense burn radiating from the palm of her hand, throbbing from the sheer impact of the slap. But good God that had felt good! She’d never been one for violence and even as she saw the blistering red imprint of her hand on the side of his face she was instantly overcome with guilt, but that guilt turned into quiet triumphant as he looked at her in stunned disbelief. That one expression to Eden was worth her impromptu act of violence.
“You hit me.”
“It’s not less than what you deserved,” she rebutted, fire burning in her veins.
He said nothing for a time, but looked at her with an intensity that made her squirm; Eden however held her head high, refusing to be browbeaten. When he moved, it was with a fluidity that had her taking a step back, afraid that he would grab her again. But he didn’t, instead he marched the few steps that led to his car and smoothly held the door open for her.
“Get in the car.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” she returned, stubborn pride had her in a chokehold. “I have a shift to finish, and I have my own ride so you can just—”
“Please.” That one beseeching word, uttered so quietly it disappeared on the warm summer wind, sent Eden’s world skittering to a startling halt. She raised her lush lashes to gape at him, her golden gaze searching for a hint of the raw emotion she’d heard in that one singular word. And there, just beyond the scope of his too green eyes, amid the darkness that seemed so inherent in him, Eden saw his vulnerability. It was only for an eternal second, but it was there, hidden within the haunting shadows that barred anyone from breaking through the impenetrable walls that surrounded him. In all the years she’d known him, Dominic had shown Eden only one side to his personality: indomitable, overbearing and controlling on a constant cycle, wash, lather, rinse, repeat. So for her to catch this glimpse of this atypical emotion was startling.
His mother took everything away from him, including his humanity…
Lucas’s words played like scratched vinyl in Eden’s mind further adding to the difficulty of maintaining her resolve to deny him. It was with a long, deep sigh that she ultimately found herself ensconced in the luxuriant, deep burgundy leather of his sports car. Eden waited for him to say something, anything to break the suppressing silence that vibrated in the space between them, but he remained silent. As she tossed a perfunctory glance his way, she took in his hardened profile, and while tension tautened his entire body, she saw the effect in his bloodless knuckles as his grip around the steering wheel tightened considerably.