Pierce

Chapter Two

Pierce~

Several men had gathered on her side of the bar, but she was all business. Her expressions were kind, but not genuine and it was obvious that she wasn't enjoying their company.

Pierce was confident in his ability to melt the ice queen and chose a seat off to the side away from the love sick puppies swarming around her. He leaned forward onto his elbows at the bar as he waited patiently for her to come to him.

Her sweet scent permeated his senses before she entered his line of sight, letting him know she was finally approaching him and spiking his pulse. 

Flashing her a half smile he slid his membership card across the bar top toward her.

"Good Evening Mr. Lockland." She greeted him in her most professional tone after swiping his card.

"Another whiskey neat?" She asked as her eyes skimmed the screen.

"You have my drink order memorized already. You haven't been watching me, have you?" He flashed a flirtatious smile as he returned his card to his wallet.

"All a part of the Luxe experience." She swiveled her screen toward him and pointed to his name and previous charges.

"What else does the Luxe experience include?" he said slyly.

Her movements stiffened at his words and she set an empty glass down on the bar top before bringing her eyes to meet his.

"I've seen you here before and I know exactly what you're doing." She gave him a knowing grin.

"Oh really? Well enlighten me then, beautiful. What exactly am I doing?"

She sighed loudly indicating she was irritated with his line of questioning, but her eyes and smile told a different story.

"Every time you come in here you leave with a different woman, so if you're hoping that your Luxe experience includes my phone number or anything of that nature, let me go ahead and burst your bubble. It's not happening. I've got a boyfriend."

A wide smile stretched across his face and he crossed his muscular arms across his broad chest as they exchanged flirtatious looks.

"You certainly think highly of yourself now don't you? I'm just here for a drink." He said as he gestured with his head toward the empty glass in front of her.

Her mouth opened slightly at his response before she quickly finished pouring his whiskey and slid it toward him

"Will that be all Mr. Lockland?" Her tone was flat but the corner of her mouth was lifting into a smile that she was desperately trying to conceal.

"Pierce is fine. Considering you just came on to me I'd assume we were on a first name basis now."

Her icy blue eyes flashed with an emotion he couldn't place before she raised her voice in protest.

"What? I didn't c..." her voice trailed off, but she regained her professional composure by looking down at the bar briefly then squaring her shoulders at him with a deep breath.

She chuckled sarcastically to herself before speaking.

"You know... you are just like them," she said with a slight smile as she pointed in his direction first, then toward the group of pathetic saps and sleaze-balls who had just tried and failed to pick her up.

Her statement only made Pierce's smile widen.

She's a feisty little thing.

"Oh far from it, beautiful," he said as he stood to leave.

"Have a good one, Natalie."

The mention of her name caused her brows to furrow and she cocked her hip with her arms folded in an attempt to look tough.

How fucking cute is that?

"How did you know my name?" she demanded.

"All a part of the Luxe experience." He repeated her words back to her in a mischievous tone.

A quick glance at the screen revealed her name in big bright letters along the top which prompted an exaggerated eye roll and a flirty smile.

He shot her a wink before turning to leave and could feel her stare burning through his back with every step he took toward his teammates.

"Strike three buddy." Gunner said as Pierce reclaimed his seat at the table.

"You can't win em' all brother," Caleb offered with a quick slap on the back.

Pierce maintained his grin and sipped his drink, ignoring his friends comments.

"She still lookin' at me?" he asked unmoved with his back still turned.

"Yeah..." Caleb answered as he looked in her direction.

Pierce's grin spread into a full on smile before he peeked over his shoulder and stole a glance for himself, letting her know the feeling was mutual. Sure enough those bright blue eyes were still fixated on him and he was loving every second of it.

The two exchanged flirtatious glances all night, but Pierce kept his distance. He wasn't going to push the issue if she really did have a boyfriend, but her sweet smile wasn't professional courtesy, it was genuine. She would move around the bar serving patrons and making small talk, but every few minutes her eyes would search for Pierce. That had to mean something.

Pierce held his gaze on the bar the entire night despite the group of women who had surrounded their table. He didn't have eyes for anyone in that club except Natalie.

He tried to tamp down his jealousy when she served the men at the bar, but found comfort in the fact that the expressions on her face were lifeless and stale, nothing like the bright, flirty smiles she had blessed him with.

Standing at one end of the bar, she mixed a drink for a man in an over priced suit and greasy slicked back hair. The man was leaned over a little too close to Natalie for Pierce's liking and their closeness made the muscles in his jaw tick. 

His expression hardened as he watched the man reach out and touch Natalie's hand, prompting her to quickly jerk it from beneath his palm as if it had burned her skin.  Pierce immediately stood to get a better view of the situation that was unfolding, readying himself to intervene and pissed as hell that the asshole had the nerve to touch Natalie.

The sleaze-ball didn't take the hint and placed his hand atop hers once more, igniting a possessive fire within Pierce. Natalie scowled and attempted to jerk her hand away again, but her motion was thwarted as the man tightened his grasp, forcing her hand to remain in his despite her efforts to remove it.

Every protective instinct within Pierce flared as he charged toward the bar. 

Absolutely fucking not. Not while I'm around. 

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