Page 21 of Sun-Kissed Fangs
But it wasn’t a big dent. After Darryl’s cut and paying for the water-damaged studio she was stuck with until the end of the month, her earnings were negligible.
Pulling her robe around herself, she headed for the corner bar. Given the steady flow of traffic going in that direction, Patricia had replacedoneof the useless people on payroll.
Harper rolled her eyes. Of course Darryl prioritized the bar. A lot of his profits came through his alcohol license.
Keeping her scowl in check, she eased onto a barstool. “Hey, can I get—”
Her tongue froze. All of her froze, including her limbs, gaze, and even her breath as the bartender turned her way. Revealing delicate features and gorgeous golden-black eyes.
Maya smiled. And it was just as voice-stealing as the first time Harper saw it.
“Hey, Harper.”
Harper kept staring. And Maya kept smiling. When Harper realized her jaw had actually dropped, she clamped her mouth shut so hard her teethclattered.
“What are you… You’rehere. Why are you here?”
“I’m working. This is my first shift. Pretty quick turnaround, too, since my interview was only a couple of nights ago.”
Maya slung a dish towel over her shoulder. She was in a black t-shirt, her wrists covered in leather bracelets and a single one in the shape of a steel chain. She seemed at ease, as though it was completely normal to see the woman she’d all but rescued a few nights before working in a strip joint.
Harper’s mouth dropped open again. “When you were near the parking lot… Oh my God. You were interviewing for this place.”
“You caught me. I’m not as heroic as first impressions might have suggested. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time.”
Remembering whatwrongshe was referring to, Harper’s brows furrowed.
“Wait. You said you had a boss. That’s how you knew…”
“I should have saidpreviousboss. The bureaucratic problems they’re involved with are quite serious affairs.”
Her eyes drifted to Harper’s cheek. It looked like her arms tensed, but it may just have been a trick of the light.
“Kieran hasn’t bothered you again, has he?”
The question took a moment to register. Partly because Maya’s disposition had changed from amused to serious in a single breath, but also because Harper still wasn’t over that Maya washere. Had beenhereall night.
People always had reactions to learning what she did for a living, and they usually involved either judgment, disgust, or pity. But there wasn’t any of that in Maya’s eyes. They were just settled on Harper’s, despite how she was dressed. In fact, since Harper had sat down, they hadn’t gone anywhere else.
“Haven’t seen him around. He’s been shockingly quiet for the past few days, in fact.”
Harper glanced over her shoulder. When she was sure no one was within earshot of this unfortunate topic, she leaned over the bar, making Maya do the same.
The sudden proximity made Harper forget why she’d leaned in at all. They were so close that she could count all the spots of gold shimmering in Maya’s dark irises. That she could pick up the fruity notes of whatever perfume Maya was wearing.
Maya grinned. “So? What are we conspiring about?”
Harper blinked, yanking herself back to the present. She was supposed to sell fantasies, not fall victim to them herself, and her mind had sprinted off in a highly impractical direction.
“You didn’t tell Trish anything, did you?” Only a couple of people could call Patricia by her full name, and Maya wasn’t one of them.
“About what happened with Kieran? No. Figured it wasn’t my story to tell.”
Harper sighed with relief. “Can you keep it to yourself? She has enough to do without adding worrying about me to the list.”
Maya’s eyes narrowed, but the reaction lasted less than a second before her expression relaxed.
“Sure. Your secret is safe with me. I know that the bar doubles as a confessional and to keep my mouth shut about what I lend an ear to.” She gestured at the wall of alcohol behind her. “You sitting down suggests you came over here for a particular reason. What’s your poison?”
