Page 13 of Tiger Bitten

She swallowed delicately. God, her glowing gold eyes were so pretty in the afternoon sunlight that filtered through the big front window.

He parted his lips to tell her she looked pretty, but the server brought their entrees at that moment, and he released her hand and relaxed back in his chair to make room for the food.

Across the table, Ren had clasped her hands gently and was rubbing the palm of the hand he’d held with her thumb. Her eyes were soft and vulnerable on him.

He cleared his throat and thanked the server, then ordered a shot of top shelf whiskey. He gestured to Ren. “Want anything? I’m paying. I owe you. That was awesome.”

The slow smile that stretched her lips was so damn gorgeous. “I’ll have what he’s having.”

He chuckled as the server bustled off to put the order in at the bar in the back. “Atta girl.”

“What, you didn’t expect me to shoot whiskey?” she asked, and there it was. The teasing was back in her voice, and the hard moment was over.

He was grateful. “You know, I don’t really know what to expect with you. First time I saw you, you were blowing up in a top-down bronco, hair in the wind. You’re fun.”

Her cheeks turned the prettiest shade of pink. “You…you think I’m fun?”

“Yeah,” he said easily.

She pursed her lips and straightened her napkin next to her plate primly, then poured a bowl of white rice into her chicken and broth. “It’s been a little while since someone has said that about me.”

“Mmm, you probably hang out with boring people.”

She giggled. “Not boring, we’re just getting older. My friends have responsibilities now, and I don’t, you know? It’s just paying bills and working and trying to peer pressure my friends to meet up for a night out every once in a while, when I’m feeling cooped up in this life.”

He poured the two extra servings of chicken over his noodles and smiled at the server as she set two shots of whiskey at the edge of the table for them.

He lifted his in a toast as Ren did the same. “To life getting less boring.”

God, her smile was something else. The way it reached her pretty eyes made it hard for him to look away.

“To an interesting stranger,” she said softly.

A dangerous stranger. Mars threw his shot back and reveled in the wince that Ren made at the burn of the strong liquor.

“Delicious,” she croaked out.

He laughed. She was funny and he liked the way his smiles came easily around her. He’d never been around anyone like this before. Even following a dark moment, she could make the room light again, and she made it look easy.

“My ex is going to be at my Uncle Ronnie’s wedding,” she said around a bite.

Mars swallowed down another growl and tried for nonchalance. “Uh oh. Are you excited to see him again?”

“Heck no. We didn’t end on the best terms.”

“Who ended it with who?” he asked, trying not to sound as interested as he freaking felt right now. The answer mattered so damn much to him, and he couldn’t figure out why.

“He broke up with me.”

Shit. He took another bite and waited for her to elaborate.

She swallowed and took a sip of her water, then said, “We wanted different things.”

“Like?” Mars asked.

“I wanted to settle down and get married, and he wanted to be wild still. He wasn’t ready. He set me free.”

“Set you free? What does that mean?”