I jerked my attention to the guy holding my arm. Typical for this time of night. Young. Dumb. Broke. My tip would be whatever change was left after he’d paid his bill, assuming he didn’t dine and ditch.
Drunken brown eyes stared back at me as he slurred, “Well, hello there, gorgeous.”
“Dude, let her go,” his buddy laughed.
I snatched my hand back, but his grip stayed tight.
“You should really listen to your friend,” I warned.
“Clare?” he purred, reading my nametag. “Sweet name for an even sweeter ass.” He snaked his grimy hand around and grabbed my butt.
My body jerked. This wasn’t the first time some douchebag had put his hands on me since I had taken the job. At three a.m., the customers were always the same—intoxicated. But, if I wanted to keep my job, I could only do so much—well, besides rolling his dinner around on the bathroom floor.
“What can I get you, boys?” I gritted through clenched teeth.
“Oh, trust me. I ain’t no boy.” He gripped what would probably be the world’s smallest dick through his filthy denim.
I arched an eyebrow. “A eunuch then?”
He smiled, showing off a mouth full of crooked teeth. “Does that mean big cock? Because hell yeah.”
“It means no balls, you dumb fuck.” I pulled a steak knife from my apron and pressed the tip into the laminate tabletop. “Now, let me go before I make it your new reality.”
His smarmy grin fell flat, and his friend barked a loud laugh.
“Bitch has jokes,” he mumbled, finally releasing my arm
I smiled to myself, but it was short-lived. Not a second later, he caught me around my waist and dragged me down onto his lap.
“Hey!” I shouted, struggling against him.
A deep, raspy voice came from behind us. “Let the lady—”
He didn’t have a chance to finish before I slammed my elbow into the douchebag’s nose.
“Oh fuck!” the asshole yelled.
“Don’t you ever touch me,” I seethed, the busy restaurant getting quiet as everyone looked our way.
“Stupid bitch,” he growled, grabbing napkins off the table and trying to stop the blood pouring from his nose.
I snatched the rag from my back pocket and threw it at him. It hit his chest before falling into his lap. “You can call me stupid, but I’m not the bitch here. Clean up after yourself, and then get the fuck out of my restaurant before I call the cops.” I turned on a toe and marched back behind the counter.
When I heard the last of his curses and the bell on the door noting his departure, I allowed my shoulders to slouch forward. Jesus, I had to get a new job. My bills were not going to pay themselves. I’d lived in my car for a few weeks after my dad had passed away the year before, and there was no way I was going back to that crap. But even the pits of Hell had to be better than this place.
I was wiping the counter down when a man’s large frame filled my peripheral vision. Out of habit, I didn’t even look up before setting a napkin and silverware in front of him. “What can I get you?”
“Your number,” he stated confidently.
I internally groaned. Not this bullshit again.
I glanced up, my mouth locked and loaded with an attitude that would probably get me fired, but not a single syllable came out.
Dear heavenly father, he was beautiful.
Wearing a fitted, black suit that cost more than my car and a smile so sexy that I nearly broke a sweat, he was nothing short of perfection. With thick, dark hair and eyes so green that I swear they glowed. I was awestruck.
His smile grew as I gaped at him. “You know, you really made the whole Prince Charming coming to a damsel in distress difficult on me back there.”
“Sorry,” I apologized breathily.
He chuckled. “It’s okay. I really like that you can handle yourself.”
My cheeks heated as his gaze dropped to my mouth.
“So, your number?” he prompted.
“I, uh, don’t have a phone,” I admitted, more than a little embarrassed.
His eyebrows shot up in disbelief, but his smile never wavered. “Okay, then I guess we’ll have to set up our date now.”
“Our date.” I had intended for it to come off as a mocking question, but I’d failed. It had been spoken in total agreement.
“How about this?” he said, pulling a card from his wallet and sliding it across the counter. “Call me when you get off. I’ll meet you up here and then take you out for breakfast.”
I worked at a restaurant and got free food at the end of every shift, but there was no way I was turning down an offer from a man like him—money and power oozed from his gorgeous body.
I was dead on my feet, but as I took his card, our fingers brushed, awakening me with a single touch.
“Okay…” I drawled, asking him for his name.
“Walt.” He paused, smiling salaciously as he grazed his brilliant, white teeth over his bottom lip. “Walter Noir.”
“Sounds like a plan, Walter Noir,” I replied breathily.
That was the moment my world tilted on its axis and everything I thought I knew about myself was thrown off balance.
And, as the days passed, I feared I’d never find solid ground again.