Chapter 2

Sulking alone while seated at the bar, Joslyn sipped from a glass of water as she scrolled through her phone; precisely through the international dates and times application.

Oddly, Joslyn sometimes liked to see how different countries in different regions and varied hemispheres had distinct times from one another. She didn't know if it was as a result of always traveling around, but the idea of the dissimilar time zones between countries always intrigued her.

She had just finished informing her parents and twin brother, Joshua who was serving in the Canadian Marines but was currently on one of his rare military leave, of her arrival in their resident city, Vancouver, when the air suddenly shifted and she vaguely noticed someone settling two barstools away from her.

From her peripheral vision, she could make out the person's figure; it was a guy or perhaps, a woman who had spent way too much time in the gym to possess such bulging muscles and towering physique even while seated.

Before she could confirm their gender, her phone vibrated and lit up in her hold, signaling the entry of a message and she couldn't smother the urge to roll her eyes when she saw it was yet another text from Sigourney.

So far since they'd separated after Wesley's arrival, her best friend, under the guise of coming to fetch a drink, had come twice to speak with her—or better yet, threaten her—to have fun and now, this marked the tenth text from her. However, it didn't contain the same threats or cusswords the previous ones had.

'Ahhh!' The first word read, followed by a series of OMG stickers. 'He's hot as fuck!!!' Joslyn raised a brow at her repetitive use of the exclamation mark with a chain of fire emojis trailing behind.

'Oh my fucking gosh, Jos! You mustn't let that sex on legs of a man go, or I'll murder you myself!' came the rest of the message.

Mildly amused, Joslyn's brows shot up her forehead as she looked up from her phone and toward the general direction her friend seemed to have walked from and headed back to on her short visits to the bar. She tried to make out the familiar face or at least, the slender figure of her friend or her friend's boyfriend but to no avail; their side of the club was too dimly illuminated.

With furrowed eyebrows, she returned to her phone, replying Sigourney's text. ‘Shouldn't you be focusing on Wesley, AKA 'your boyfriend'?’ She emphasized then continued, ‘Plus how can you see me from there? I don't even know where you are.’

She didn't have to wait for long before Sigourney's reply came in. ‘FYI, Wes is currently reading our conversation *makes out with him* and he's totally cool with it.’ Joslyn rolled her eyes as she faked a gag into the air, hoping Sigourney could see her from wherever she was.

It worked.

'I'm gonna get you back for the gag and regarding why we can see you but you can't see us—we're in the shadows but the lights from the bar are reflecting on you.’ Instinctively, Joslyn looked up at the pendant lights hanging overhead. True.

'That doesn't explain how you know this so-called guy is hot? I'm pretty sure it's his dorsal view you can see from there.’ She was genuinely curious about what preposterous reply her best friend would give.

'Oh, that's easy. I'm a pretty good judge of an individual's—especially a man's—drool-worthiness from the view of their ass.'

Joslyn, who had resorted to taking a sip of her water while awaiting her friend's response, immediately choked and let down the glass, having to force down a spit-take before laughing and coughing at the same time. She was certain she appeared crazy with her tomato-red face but she couldn't care less.

She was still attempting to get her laughter under control when her phone beeped with another message. 'How'd you think I met Wes? His ass was just so beautiful and flat and I tell you, I made the right choice. That baby boo is so fucking hot and taut and deliciously smack-able!'

Joslyn was, by now, letting out a full guffaw and not giving two fucks about the people around her at the bar. Majority of them were already drunk out of their minds, anyway. What hit her next, however, shocked her out of her amusement.

'Anyway, I'm not going to tell you where we are, but just in case the guy turns out to be a kidnapper or perhaps, a rapist, don't worry. We've got your back.'

Joslyn's eyes widened and she was about to protest vehemently when another frantic text entered. 'Stop texting me! He's about to talk to you!'

And truthfully, immediately her eyes landed on the exclamation mark indicating the end of the message, Joslyn heard a deep voice speak, "Water? At the club?" She could vividly hear the amused tone in the unknown voice.

With stubborn eyebrows raised and voice thickened with unbridled annoyance, she replied without looking up at him, barely acknowledging him as she lifted said glass of water and brought it to her lips. "And is there a law against drinking just water at the club?" She sassed, then sipped.

A rich manly chuckle made its rhythmical pathway into her ears. The water got stuck in her throat at the sound, but there was more. "I guess not," he said again in his deep and husky baritone voice. Gulping, Joslyn willed her eyes to stay glued to the stickers of different country flags shining vibrantly on the back of her phone.

"So what is a beautiful woman as yourself doing all alone?" He spoke again when she made no move to initiate a conversation. Irritation and slight disappointment sparked in Joslyn at his cliché pickup line.

All spine-tingling husky baritone voice yet as lazy and egotistical to put in the efforts to get a woman as most men; players.

Joslyn fought to stifle an eye roll as she finally raised her head to look at the intruder who had still refused to let her be after her clearly showing signs of wanting to be alone. Her honey coloured orbs immediately collided with vibrant greens and blues which appeared to scintillate like the stars sparkling on a dark night. They were like twinkling turquoise gems against his shadowed face half cast in darkness.

Getting fascinated by the swirls of colours and the iridescent effect the overhead bar lights had on his eyes, Joslyn tilted her head in fascination and couldn't seem to stop staring.

Gabriel smiled, allured and amused by the scrutinising look the woman before him addressed him with. He watched her eyes go slowly down his body before making a trip back up again and although it appeared like an harmless gesture, Gabriel couldn't help but think of how fucking seductive she looked at that moment.

He stared directly into her eyes, attempting to plumb all of her complexities. So many women had looked at him with lust and desire in their eyes and it had proven to be a marvelous harbinger of the amazing (or not-so-amazing) one-night stand that was sure to happen.

But this woman, after assessing his features, only gave him a blank stare before looking away. Gabriel's eyebrows raised in pure shock, yet his lips couldn't resist the urge to pull up in a challenging smirk. It was either she was playing hard to get or he just wasn't playing his game well.

No one had ever resisted his charm.