Black as the Forest (All the Hounds of Hell #1)

“Don’t look now, but that guy over there has been staring at you nonstop for the past hour or so.” Sally, Nora’s best friend whispered into her ear, giggling and staring at someone to the right of Nora. Of course, Nora instinctively turned and glanced in the direction in which Sally was looking, causing her friend to groan inwardly. She found herself staring at the hottest man that she had ever met, at least he looked smoking hot from here.

“Isn’t he hot?!” Sally exclaimed, clapping her hands over her chest dramatically.

“He sure is,” Nora mumbled. She was feeling the effect of several glasses of booze that she had had earlier and was feeling no pain at all.

“Come on, show some enthusiasm. Come to think of it, I’m not really sure if he is actually staring at me or you.”

“Who cares?”

“You should. If …”

“You know, you’re actually right. Sam can go screw himself. I mean, telling me that I’m not even that hot, just because I confronted him for cheating. He’s out of his goddamn mind! That guy is waaaay more handsome than he is.” Nora said, giggling and swaying a little.

“Exactly. You should stop taking what Sam said to heart. Oh, crap! Speak of the devil and he will appear. Here comes Sam. Act natural.” Sally suddenly said, glancing worriedly at Nora. Nora looked over immediately, fury overcoming her at the sight of her scumbag of an ex, but she tried her best to keep herself calm, something that was very difficult to do.

“Hello, ladies,” Sam said, coming over to where they were sitting at the bar and drinking.

“What do you want, you asshole?” Sally asked belligerently.

“Look, I know Nora must have told you what happened, and I swear, it wasn’t my fault at all. I…”

“Hello, honey.” A melodious feminine voice sang and before one could say ‘Jack Robinson,’ long arms with fingernails which were painted a very bright pink, wrapped themselves around Sam’s neck, and a blonde head appeared from behind him, and placed a wet kiss on his cheeks, causing him to blush and stutter.

“Are you freaking kidding me?” Sally screeched, guessing that this was the same female that had caused Sam and Nora to break up from the look on Nora’s face.

“Look, I can explain, okay?” Sam began, but Nora cut him short immediately.

“Oh, hello. It’s nice to see you two. However, I’m sorry I can’t stay. I have to go meet my boyfriend.” She said, and without waiting for any of them to say anything, she sashayed off to meet the guy who Sally said had been staring earlier.

Now that she had left the repulsive scene that involved Sam and the woman that she had seen him pounding on all fours, Nora began to regret her impulsive decision. The guy was still sitting where he had been sitting, drinking alone.

Up close, Nora realized that he was even hotter than she had first thought. He looked her up and down appraisingly and turned back to continue with his drink without saying anything, causing Nora to wish that the ground will open up and swallow her. He had obviously been staring at Sally and not her, which was why he did not bother to acknowledge her. Still, she was here, so she had to continue with her act.

“Hello. Mind if I sit?” She asked. At first, it was almost like he was going to ignore her question, at which point, Nora was sure that she would have to burst into tears, but he replied after a while.

“Of course, you can sit. It’s a free world. I’m afraid I won’t be much company though. I’m already tipsy as it is, and I plan to get as drunk as possible.”

“Why? Did someone break your heart? I know the feeling because my heart was broken not too long ago. In fact, I lied to my asshole of an ex, who showed up here tonight with his new girlfriend, that you’re my boyfriend. So if perchance, he happens to come over, can you please pretend to be my boyfriend? Thanks. Did I mention that I caught him banging the said girl and he…” Nora continued to babble but was caught off guard when the guy leaned in slowly toward her.

He was staring at her with smoky eyes and a sexy expression on his oh-so-handsome face but was leaning in slowly, giving her ample time to pull away if she wanted to. Nora knew that he meant to kiss her, and for the life of her, she couldn’t move away, which was strange because on a normal day, she would have told him off immediately.

“Your boyfriend, or rather, ex, is looking at us right now. If you want me to kiss you, I will. If not, I think our close proximity to each other right now is enough to convince him that we’re truly together.” He told her in that deep baritone that had no business sending shivers down her spine, considering that he was a total stranger whom she had only known for all of what, ten minutes. She didn’t even know his name for chrissakes!

What she did next was totally out of character for her, and she would have liked to blame it on the alcohol, but deep inside her, she knew that she was only lusting after this guy, or maybe she wanted to give Sam a taste of his own medicine. Whatever the reason, Nora found herself closing the small gap that was left between them and planting her lips against his.