I watched her until she was safely inside. Diego had brought my bike out for me when we pulled up. I wasn’t sure how, but this new life was becoming more than just a job to me. I didn’t want to think about how hard it would be to let it go when it was time.
Once I somehow managed to get my bags secured to my bike, which was no easy task, I headed home.
Back at my apartment, I tossed my keys and helmet on the stand next to the door before kicking off my shoes. Running a hand through my hair to loosen it from the braid it had been in all day, I headed towards the kitchen in search of dinner. That pizza seemed forever ago, and I had the post-shopping munchies. Speaking of, I wondered where my things were. I’d assumed they would be here by the time I got back. I found some ramen noodles in the cabinet and decided that my missing bags was an issue for full-belly me. While my noodles cooked, I changed into apair of fuzzy shorts and an old tank top.
Hot cup of noodles in hand, I settled on my worn brown couch before flipping on the TV. I had just settled on my usualFull Housereruns when there was a knock on the door. I paused, fork halfway to my mouth, and frowned. I’d literally just sat down, for Christ’s sake! I briefly contemplated shanking whoever was at the door, casting a sad look at my abandoned dinner.
“This better be important ‘cos you just interrupted some serious me time!” I hollered at the door before swinging it open, and then my jaw dropped. Mac was there, leaning against my door, and even more surprisingly, he was laughing at me.
“What are you doing here?”
“Sorry to interrupt your evening, Vixen.” Those dark blue eyes roamed over me, taking in the old tank top that showed more than it covered, and the fuzzy shorts with rainbow paw-prints all over them. Said shorts barely covered my ass, and I fought the urge to yank them down.
I spluttered, trying to find a smart response, but then he said, “So red lace isn’t your thing. Too bad.”
I managed to string my thoughts together enough to say, “I prefer green. And lace isn’t worth a damn if you don’t have a man with good, rough hands to take it off you.”
Holy shit. I was flirting with Maverick Mills. Oh, this was a bad idea. Bad, bad, bad. But my heart wasn’t on the same page as my head, and seemed to be in complete control tonight.
My words made his blue eyes turn almost black, and he tilted his head as he ran his hands through his hair. I started chewing on my bottom lip, and he tracked the movement like he had that first night. Searching for anything to break the silence, I looked around, and that’s when I noticed the absence of brightly colored bags.
“Wait, if you’re here to drop off my stuff… then where is it?”
At that moment, the elevator dinged, and Dalton stepped off it. He was too busy cursing his brother andcalling him every name under the sun to notice me at first. But when he dropped my bags to the floor, and some of the heavier ones landed with a light thud, I said, “Hey! Be gentle!”
He turned to me with a grin, and then there was another pair of blue eyes making my knees shake as they lingered on the curves of my body.
“Well, hello, Vixen. Gotta say, this might be better than lace.”
I rolled my eyes but smiled. “Like I said, you’ll never know.”
Mac grunted. “Actually, what you said was that you weren’t putting on lace unless you had someone to take it off of you.”
Dalton’s eyes darkened in a way similar to his brother’s, and my breath hitched.
“That a challenge?”
I shook my head vehemently. “No. Nope. Absolutely not. This isn’t happening.” I stepped into the hallway and bent over to grab my things. “I have a bowl of ramen on the table getting cold, and DJ has probably cracked at least three good jokes by now.”
I heard Dalton laugh, and Mac stepped towards me as I straightened up. He was close enough that my chest brushed his, and I wanted so badly to see what he would do if I leaned in and kissed him. How would he taste? Probably better than I could imagine, but I reminded myself I wasn’t here to go galivanting with two blue-eyed bikers.
Dalton watched the two of us as his brother tucked a strand of red hair behind my ear. He cupped my jaw and gently brushed my cheek with his thumb. Then suddenly, he stepped back, and I felt his distance like a frigid breeze.
Friends, I reminded myself. Just friends. “Goodnight, Vixen. See you Monday.”
Without waiting for his brother, he got on the elevator and left.
Dalton frowned at me, and I shivered. “What are you doing to us, baby girl?” he said, whispering so quietly I barely heard him.
I wasn’t about to reply to that—not sure I could,even if I wanted to. Instead, I said, “I got you something while I was out with Maria and Holly today. If you’ll come in real quick, I’ll dig it out.”
Without waiting for an answer, I walked through my apartment, past my cold noodles, to my closed bedroom door, and put everything down. Dalton followed me, quiet for once. I found the small book and handed it to him. He looked from me to it, then started thumbing through it.
“It made me think of you. You said you liked the classics. I’m not really a reader, so I’m not sure what counts as a classic, but I visited his house once, ages ago, and he was evidently a real good author. I figured deceased yet still famous equaled classic?” I realized I was rambling and quickly shut up.
He slipped the book into a pocket on the inside of his jacket, and then startled me by reaching for me. Taking me by the waist, he pulled me close and rested his chin on top of my head before planting a kiss there.
“Vixen, no one’s gotten me a gift in a real long time. It’s perfect. Thank you.” I relaxed into his hold, wrapping my arms around his neck, and for a moment, we just stood there. He pressed one final kiss to my head and then let me go. “I’d better get going. Eat your dinner, get some sleep.” He smiled at me, and then was gone—leaving me wondering just exactly how this whole thing was going to turn out.
