Darkest Desires

One Night Stand: Part Two (Trial #16)

When Steven saw her from across the bar, he knew he was going to sin tonight.

He was a charmer at heart, and a genuine one at that. How he'd ended up at a bar he'd never know, but he felt fluffy and silly. Everything felt generic and strange, but he was having a good time people watching and joking with the bartender until he saw her.

She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in every lifetime he'd ever lived. She was bold and confident and bratty, he liked the latter the most. Something about her said she was brave and wild, he liked that in a woman.

"What about this one? It's country," Steven said turning up the radio.

Connie gagged and slumped over in her seat. "I hate country. But fine."

"You're lucky you seduced me otherwise I'd kick you out," He teased her as her eyes met with his. "Country is stellar."

Her jaw dropped indignantly. "I did not seduce you. You were the one saying you were gonna pimp me out!"

"And yet you're sitting here next to me, in my car. I could be taking you anywhere I wanted to." Steven threw her a mischievous grin.

She regarded him and smiled the prettiest smile he'd ever seen. "You invited me. So I'll go where you take me, and kick ass if I need to."

"Why are you so gorgeous? What's that about? Are you an axe murderer?" He was kinda serious. What the hell was up with those dips and curves calling his name?

Connie groaned and tugged at her hair in disappointment. "Ah, crap! I forgot it in the trunk of my car! I was supposed to drive you to a dark alleyway..."

"Poor girl. Maybe next time." He pulled the car into the hotel parking lot, but neither made a move to get out.

"This song is so shmaltzy," She said after a pause. "Are you sending me mixed messages?"

"No." Maybe. "What Ifs is beautiful. All those worries about hurt coming from love are totally valid but... there's also the other stuff people don't focus enough on. What if it just works?"

Connie tucked her hands between her thighs and sighed heavily. "You got me. I do like this one. It's sweet."

"Whoa did you just compliment me?" Butterflies filled him, his entire life felt complete and they hadn't even stepped foot in the hotel yet. He wanted this girl to like him so badly it was making him eager. "That calls for an actual drink. Come on, short stack. I'm gonna show you how the Universe parties."

"I could still kick your ass," She told him emphatically. "Don't think you could overpower me if I didn't want you to."

Steven sucked in a quiet breath and locked eyes with her. "Let's put that theory to the test. The first part."

"Is this... is this the Swinton Inn?" She whispered in horror as they got out.

Steven nodded carefully. "Yeah, why?"

"You're loaded, aren't you? I walked into a reverse princess story." Her giggle was so cute he laughed too. "Alright, prepare to see barely socialized girl gawk at everything."

He fought back 600 dirty comments and smiled. "It'll be nice to see you all wide eyed instead of at my throat with an axe."

She didn't say anything at first, only looked up at him with a knowing look for long enough to make him bite the inside of his cheek. "I wish I had a mirror so you can see how you're looking at me."

"And how exactly am I looking at you?" He asked with a chuckle. "M'lady." He held her door open and motioned her inside.

"You're looking at me like I'm a steak dinner. Which is... cute and all, but I'm worth far more than a mere cutlet." She grabbed the other door and walked into it instead, leaving him completely speechless.