Starting Fires by Makenzie Smith Page A

serving drinks. I walked up to the only open spot I could find. It was at the very end, right next to the bar trap. His hands were moving quickly as he grabbed a glass and scooped some ice into it. Next, they went for the bottles of liquor and I watched his forearms work with each movement.
    Sensing my stare, he looked over to me and smiled. I waved and sat down on the stool. His eyes kept drifting over to me while he finished the drink order and collected his patron’s money. Once finished, he walked over. “Hey beautiful, you thirsty?” he asked.
    My mind didn’t initially hear his question because I was so hung up on the beautiful part. Finally, it caught up and I giggled like an idiot. “Yeah. I could use another beer.”
    Without leaving the space in front of me, he reached down, grabbed a bottle from underneath the counter, and flicked the top off with his bottle opener.
    I took a tiny sip, and made an Mmm sound. He watched my mouth the entire time, the smile never leaving his. “What are you doing behind the bar?” I asked.
    “One of our bartenders is out tonight. I gotta fill in.”
    Charles walked up and squeezed in beside me. “We’re heading home, Bird. Gonna give your girls a lift. They’re so trashed.” I looked over his shoulder and noticed that they so were. Both Nicole and Lacey were stumbling and giggling uncontrollably as Wally twirled them around on the dance floor. “You ready to go?”
    I probably should. If they left, I wouldn’t have anyone to talk to. “I can give you a ride home if you want to hang out a little longer,” Lucas said.
    A choir of angels sang in my head and I beamed at him. “That would be great!”
    “I’ll be here another hour or so until the crowd dies down. That okay?”
    I nodded. He told Charles goodbye then went back to serving drinks. Bear squeezed my shoulders and placed a gentle kiss against my temple. “Be careful,” he whispered then walked off.
    Jeez… big brother much? What did he think I was going to do? Drop my panties as soon as we made it to the car? I’ll admit I liked the way Lucas made me feel. Every time he looked at me, I felt special, as if he didn’t see anything around him but me. Just me. My cynical side told me it was intentional, but it was still nice to feel that way.
    Lucas told the other bartender that he would handle my side of the bar while she took the other. This kept him close to me and we were able to make eyes at each other as he served the drinks. Unfortunately, they were busy and I didn’t get to flirt with him as much as I would have liked. Fontenot also spotted me sitting by myself and saw that as an opportunity to come talk with me again. “Where’d your friends run off to?” he asked as he sat next to me.
    “They left earlier.”
    He smiled and blew out a cloud of cigarette smoke. “Well, I’m about to get out of here. You look like you could use a ride.” The way he’d said ride made my stomach convulse, and I fought to keep my face from looking completely disgusted.
    “She’s got a ride.”
    I jumped as Lucas leaned across the bar, placing an arm on either side of me. His fingers ran down my forearm before curling around my elbow.
    “Sorry,” I shrugged at Fontenot.
    “Alright, Lo. See you around,” he whispered with a cocky grin.
    Lucas watched him walk off. “I hate that guy,” he said once he was out of earshot. I felt his fingers caress the sensitive skin above my elbow and I sighed. Still watching Fontenot, it didn’t seem like he was even aware that he was touching me. Once he was certain his apparent arch-nemesis was gone, he turned towards me. “I’ll be done in about twenty minutes. Tammy can close tonight. You good?”
    I nodded and thought about putting my hand against his face to bring his mouth to mine. He totally just went all possessive over me. Of course, I didn’t, but Lucas’s eyes drifted down to my mouth and, for a moment, I think he wanted to do the same thing. Instead, he