Maddie stood inside the entrance to Hegarty's, scanning the cool interior as the door closed behind her.
At this late hour there were a few dozen people filling the tables scattered around the room, with several more sitting on stools at the bar. The raucous conversation taking place between four young guys in the corner competed with the rock music flowing from the chrome and glass jukebox. A drunken woman stumbled alone to the beat, her high heels clacking across the wood floor.
Maddie smiled at the sight and turned her attention to Dean Hegarty, who stood behind the bar pouring a beer. Caught up in conversation with the older guy seated on the stool in front, he hadn't noticed her arrival yet. She let out the breath she'd been holding and took the time to enjoy the view before his gaze swung her way.
His short dark hair was fashioned in its usual scruffy style, matching the permanent stubble on his jaw. He wore a grey t-shirt over his broad chest, and she didn't need to look behind the bar to know a pair of worn jeans would be covering the lower half of his body. His strong hands were quick and capable as he worked, his attention flicking between his customer and the rapidly filling glass.
She wanted those hands on her. It was the only reason she ever came here anymore.
He slid the beer into the man's outstretched palm and glanced up as if he'd sensed her presence. When his brown eyes met her grey ones, Maddie watched the change come over him.
A frown marred that gorgeous face of his, then he checked her out with a cursory glance and returned his attention to his customer. If she didn't know better she would have been under the impression he hadn't noticed the effort she'd put into her appearance tonight, but that flare of heat she saw in his eyes just before he turned his head gave him away.
Her light brown curls flowed loosely down her back and her long legs were bare, ending in a pair of silver stilettos that displayed bright pink toenails. She wore a black mini-dress that dipped low in the front, with just a pair of black lace panties underneath. When she strolled toward him Maddie felt the subtle sway of her breasts with each step.
She took her place on the barstool two seats down from the next occupied one, watching as Dean said a few parting words to the other man, then made his way over to her.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, looking her over. He didn't sigh but the tone of his voice suggested he might as well have. "Wait—scratch that, I know what exactly you're doing here. I don't have time for this, Maddie."
She fought the urge to roll her eyes, knowing it wouldn't do anything to help her cause. With her elbows resting on the bar she leaned forward just enough to have her dress gaping at the front. "Sure about that?" she asked, giving him an eyeful.
His attention lingered on her cleavage a little longer than necessary for someone who was trying to give the impression he wasn't interested. He met her eyes again and shook his head, huffing out a reluctant laugh. "Really subtle. Nice work."
She grinned despite his moodiness. "Thanks. Just out of interest, why do we have to keep going through this same routine?"
Maddie couldn't decide if she wanted it to be different or if the challenge had become a big part of what turned her on. The only thing that bothered her now was that each new seduction took more effort from her with further resistance from him. His apparent loss of interest in this game they'd been playing for the last seven months had begun to concern her lately.
"I show up here," she said, "you pretend you don't want anything to do with me anymore then we go upstairs to your apartment. Can't we just skip to the fucking part?"
The man sitting nearby let out a guffaw. Maddie shot him a look then returned her attention to Dean.
She waited while he considered her for a few long, uncomfortable moments. Any previous signs of amusement disappeared and the muscle ticking in his jaw made her heart thump. She opened her mouth to fill the uncomfortable silence but the expression on his face stopped her. The tension built between them until she felt the need to brace herself, then he finally put her out of her misery. "You've gotta go," he said.
Surprise came over her and her eyes widened. "Why?" She tried to ignore the twinge of desperation in her stomach.
"I'm done. The last time... that was it for me. I'm tired of being your personal sex toy."
Her pulse fluttered in her throat. Maddie stared at him, not sure where to go from here. He'd never mentioned anything when they were last together. They'd spent their usual couple of hours fulfilling each other's physical needs while touching on none of the emotional ones, then she'd left his apartment while he slept to avoid the awkward goodbyes—just like every other time.
"What? So... that's it?" she asked. It felt like a door had been slammed in her face. She wanted to crumple before him but forced herself to keep it together.
He met her eyes and nodded.
"You can't. We—I... " Emotion welled up inside her, her confusion only making things worse. She glanced around in a futile effort to find something to anchor to but it only left her feeling more alone. Why did she care? There had never been anything between them beyond the physical. They'd made no promises to each other or discussed the idea of turning this casual connection into something more permanent. In the back of her mind she'd known it would have to end at some point. She'd just hoped it would be later rather than sooner.
Maddie swallowed and forced herself to remain calm, but she couldn't stop herself from wanting to inflict a little hurt on him in the hope it might lessen some of hers. "I'll find someone else," she said, then it hit her all of a sudden that there would never be anyone quite like him.
His gaze remained locked with hers. "I know."
She twisted the strap on the small handbag tucked under her arm, wondering how it had come to this.
They'd first met when she worked at her previous job in an office building just a block from here. The staff had come in to Hegarty's every Friday night to wind down at the end of the busy work week. Even though three Fridays had passed before she and Dean finally got together, there had been something between them right from the beginning.
She still remembered the way he'd held her gaze, his mouth kicking up at one corner while she tried her best to hide her flustered reaction. He'd made her heart thump faster just being near him, but when he'd touched her that first time... God, he'd filled her body with a jumble of sensations she could still clearly remember now.
Maddie had stopped coming here on Fridays, and now her only visits were whenever she experienced the craving that only Dean seemed able to fill. She'd been under the impression the arrangement worked for both of them but his expression had a look of finality about it that made her want to beg him for just a little more time.
It occurred to her that she may have been replaced. The idea stung, and she struggled to keep the hurt from her voice. "So... which one of the bar staff are you seeing?" she asked, glancing at the young redhead currently flirting with a customer at the other end of the bar. Maddie knew there was a pretty blonde, too, but she didn't appear to be working tonight. A guy she'd never seen before had taken her place.
Dean let out a controlled breath. "None of them."
"So... you have a girlfriend. Anyone I know?"
"That falls under the category of none of your business."
"Dean."
"Maddie." He gave her a look filled with such patience it made her feel petty and small.
If she wanted to keep her pride intact, Maddie knew she had to let it go for now, but she couldn't bring herself to leave because he'd think she was running away. Since she'd done nothing wrong, she raised her eyes and blinked a few times while she took a calming breath. "All right," she said, meeting his gaze again. "Are you going to frogmarch me out of here or can I stay for a drink?"
His lips moved with a barely noticeable quirk. "Stay if you want. We're closing in an hour-and-a-half."
He turned away from her and went about serving up her regular drink as if she was just another customer, one who'd never shared all those intimate moments with him. She watched his back as he worked, wanting to ask why he'd had a change of heart—or mind since there'd obviously been no heart involved from the outset—but there didn't seem to be any point.
He came back and placed her drink in front of her. A look came over him that made him appear as if he had something more to say, then he seemed to think better of it and tapped the counter with his fingertips. He gave her a quick, closed-mouthed smile then moved down the bar to serve another customer.
Maddie let out a long sigh and rubbed her thumb over the condensation already forming on the glass. She couldn't figure out why it bothered her so much that he didn't want her anymore. She loved men, she enjoyed their company... the pleasure they gave her, but she never got attached to them.
Her fingers wrapped around the glass, and she raised it to take a couple of deep gulps. When she discovered how strong he'd made the concoction, Maddie couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry.
Her gaze drifted around the room, taking in the rowdy guys in the corner. The dancing drunk woman had now draped herself over a seated man who looked as if he couldn't figure out if he welcomed the attention. She watched the woman trace the shell of the man's ear with her fingertip and him squirm in response. Maddie smiled absently and turned back to the bar, searching for Dean.
She found him laughing with a male customer and the female bar attendant. The young woman was in her early twenties at most, with her red hair pulled into a ponytail and a belly ring glimmering from the pale skin revealed by the hem of her too-tight t-shirt. She touched Dean's arm and sent him a look that appeared much more intimate than one an employee would normally give her boss.
Maddie had never felt the quick stab of jealousy before when it came to men... or one man in particular. She realised what it meant, and the thought made her heart pound. She watched Dean for a while longer then glanced away and took another long drink, surprised to find that the next mouthful left her glass empty. She set it on the counter and gestured for another.
