His voice still seemed to strike some sort of chord deep within her, but it had softened at the edges. Like a touch.
“Why now? You know, as I do, that it’s always been there between us. But when you first came along there was Rada so I would not allow my thoughts to go any further than flirtation.”
“And now there’s no Rada.” Thank goodness.
He laughed and she found herself loving that sound. Wanting it more as she always had.
“But after Rada, you didn’t come for me.” She thought of the women he’d chosen over her and wanted to growl.
He winced. “I had some things to get out of my system. I wasn’t ready to come for you until I could get past the fact that I am your boss. I’m there, in case you wanted to know.
“And tonight, I came out of my aunt’s house and you were there. You called my name and I came. It seems this has been my path from the moment you hurtled into the shop two years ago.”
It made her feel...special that he’d said such things to her. And wildly flattered and beautiful.
“Oh. Well. That’s good. I mean, yeah. I like that.” She flapped a hand.
“Have I rendered you without coherent speech?” he teased.
“Don’t worry too much,” she managed, “it never lasts very long. My will to talk is pretty strong.”
“That’s been my experience.”
She sent him her own version of the raised brow.
He just smiled at her.
* * *
HE’D BEEN ESCAPING the house. Needing to be the hell away from the stupid drama of the evening.
Alexsei had managed to drag his mother back from the edge while Cris reined Seth in. Things weren’t totally settled, and he wasn’t sure they’d ever be. But for the time being they’d all survive to fight again another day.
But then there’d been a card game and Alexsei had headed out the back door, intending to walk around the block a few times when he’d heard his name and she’d been there.
And then she’d drawn him inside, into the heart of her home. He’d been moved by that. Nearly as much as the way she blushed when he spoke to her.
The placed smelled of her. Spicy sweet. He’d been expecting...well, he wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting but it hadn’t been the feminine blue walls and the mounds of pillows and soft blankets on her—made—bed.
A mess with piles of clothes and books, now that was what he’d envisioned. The books were there. Hell, books seemed to be everywhere in the room. They lined shelves with framed pictures and a lot of art tucked here and there.
She’d shown him her truest self and he’d been unable to resist, though he hadn’t tried very hard, when she’d said she wanted a kiss.
Kissing that mouth had been something he’d put a great deal of thought into over the last two years. He’d wondered what the piercing would feel like and he’d discovered it felt fucking awesome.
Sexy. Like most everything about her.
It was better than his wildest dreams. Her taste still rang through him. They’d clicked in a way he’d never quite experienced before.
“So. Now it’s your turn. Tell me something,” she said.
“What do you want to know?”
“Why did you break up with Rada?”
Surprised, he gave her an assessing look. “Neither of us really wanted to be with one another anymore. The wedding planning had started and I realized I couldn’t go through with it. Even to make our families happy.”
“So you’re still friends now?” She winced, obviously not intending to sound so nosy about his status. But he liked it because he knew she was truly interested.
“Not as such.” Though they’d known one another for years, they hadn’t had much in common outside of that connection. And once they’d stopped having sex, they’d lost the last threads holding their relationship together. There wasn’t anything between them to hold a friendship beyond romance and sex, despite the fact that he’d known her as long as he had.
“She’s close with Evie—Vic’s little sister—so I see her frequently enough but we’re not what I would call friends.” She was simply part of the family, though not his fiancée anymore.
“Because she’s so helpless and annoying?”
He began to argue but it was impossible to do so with a straight face so he didn’t bother. Rada was smarter than a lot of people gave her credit for, but she did expect things to be done for her. To be taken care of. “Not all women are like you.”
“Lucky for you, then, I guess.”
“I can’t find fault with that statement. Family visits notwithstanding.”
“Look at you. I’ve been watching you as you took a dip in the sea of pussy since your broken engagement. You didn’t turn this level of game on any of those ladies. Not that I saw. You just gave them broody, sultry and mysterious and they hopped aboard. And who could blame them?”
He shook his head. “Sixty percent of whatever you say makes no sense at all. Are you aware of this?”
“I totally make sense! You’re really going above and beyond here is what I’m saying. I like it that you’re bringing everything you’ve got to the table and not just relying on that face of yours. And the accent of course. Man oh man. And the way you smell and look in general. How is that not making sense?”
“How do you know I don’t have game with them behind closed doors?”
Her grin was quick and bright. “I’m sure you know what to do with your cock. In fact, I’m counting on it.”
“I find your bluntness when it comes to sex quite delightful,” he told her, meaning every word.
She blushed again, ducking her head a moment before speaking once more. “Anyway, if you spoke to any of those women the way you have to me tonight, they’d be at the shop every day making cow eyes at you. Nah, you give ’em the accent and you give ’em a ride and then after a few weeks they’re gone.”
The truth was, he hadn’t said any of this to those women because it wouldn’t have been true. And he didn’t need pretty lies to get between a woman’s thighs. All the sex, and the fucking around, had been about burning off energy. The women he’d been with knew that and had been as into it for the sex as he had.
“Does this mean you’ll be making cow eyes at me now?” he teased—albeit a little hopefully. She was not the same as anyone he’d been with before. What he felt when he was with her was not the same.
“Depends on what else you do when you sex me up. I mean, if you’re magic or something, I might have to.”
“Being with you is like riding a roller coaster.”
“Do you like roller coasters?” she asked.
He nodded.
“All right then.”
He stood, meaning to settle on her bed with her until his phone buzzed in his pocket and he remembered he was only going to take a walk and he’d been there for at least an hour.
And a look at the screen told him he was correct that they’d noticed his absence.
“Is everything all right?” Maybe asked as she stood as well.
He typed that he’d be right back and put the phone away before taking her face in his hands and kissing her.
He didn’t want to go back over there. He wanted to stay here, with her scent all around him. So he could watch her face