Provocation SAMPLE (Book 3 of The Conquest Series)

Chapter Six

This is probably a mistake, Leila thought as she closed her car door.

Much to her own dismay, she had called Nate's friend Russell. After her last date, she had been feeling a little off-kilter and needed some fun. It didn't have to be a dick date, just two people who may or may not get along well enough to screw later on down the line.

The line possibly being tonight.

The two had made plans a few days after the argument at the bar, and she tried to tell herself that this date had nothing to do with sticking it to Nate, though she had to admit she was probably only fooling herself.

Walking into the lowly-lit tavern, Leila's eyes scanned the room for Russ, and she found him in a corner booth in the darkest recesses of the establishment.

She strode with a purpose she didn't feel over to him and—gentleman that he was—he stood to greet her, holding out a hand and kissing the back of her knuckles. It was a sweet and surprising gesture, and one Leila was ultimately unaccustomed to. By any men she had fucked or otherwise.

"Leila, how have you been since I last saw you?" Russ asked her after he took a seat across from her.

"I've been okay," she replied airily. She shrugged her shoulders, not being much of a fan of small talk. "And you?" It was only polite to ask back.

Ugh. She hated that awkward first few minutes, even if she had met this man before.

"Doing splendidly," Russ told her, all rakish half-grin and twinkling eyes. "I leave in another week and am heading back home. Nate's been particularly distant lately, so I've been left to my own devices for the most part."

"Are you staying with him or did you rent a hotel room?" she asked. Might as well get that out of the way. She was not going to head home with him if he was bunking with the Charleses for the duration, and she tried not to bring anyone home to her place. She'd been burned before when a date got too attached. There was no making that mistake again.

"Airbnb," Russ told her as a server came over to take their drink orders. "Jack and Coke and...Leila?"

"Uhm, I'll have a Cosmo," she told the server, a man who looked to be in his early twenties. "Skyy vodka, please," she specified.

Making his notes, the server left, and Leila's gaze fell back on Russ.

"You don't strike me as one for girly drinks," he told her.

"I'm flexible, and I'm not in the mood for beer," she stated before scanning the bar. It was not one she frequented, and she didn't recognize any of the faces there.

That was actually good.

"So, what's the deal with you and Nate?" Russ asked, eliciting a scowl from Leila.

"Must we talk about that devil? He's not here, so I don't see why the topic of that asshole should come up so soon in conversation. At least let's get a drink or two in me before you bombard me with questions about him."

"Well, I just figured we'd get all the unpleasantries out of the way first," he replied with a wink, seemingly unaffected by her sass. "Then we can touch on much firmer and—well, more comfortable ground."

Smiling, Leila thought about that. It would be a good icebreaker for their conversation, and he did have a point. Working up to the nastier topics could put her off her game if they came up later. This way, they could get it out of the way and get down to the good stuff.

"I suppose you have a point," she said him, nodding. "What do you want to know?"

The server came back with their drinks and placed them down onto napkins before Russ gave the man a large bill, telling him to keep the change.