“Are you even legal, darlin’?”
“I’m twenty-five.”
“Baby.”
I hated his mocking tone. “It’s okay, Grandpa,” I taunted. “You couldn’t keep up with me.”
“You wanna bet?”
The carnal promise in his voice was so unexpected I couldn’t stop the shiver that raced down my spine. I stared out the window and pretended he didn’t affect me. That was the last thing I needed. Getting involved with one biker president while trying to run from another.
“I don’t like grumpy men,” I huffed.
“Maybe not. But you like me.”
“I do not.”
Colt’s gaze dipped down my body and lingered on my breasts. “Then your nipples are liars.”
“You’re crass. And an asshole.”
His smile was slow, heated. “Yeah. And you definitely like it.”
We drove to Colt’s home in silence. After he’d commented on the state of my nipples, I was feeling a bit exposed. My wrist was in a cast and I had a cut along the apple of my cheek. I was feeling needy and he’d called me a burden.
I peered at Colt out of the corner of my eye, trying to discreetly study him. He was attractive, there was no denying it. Coffee colored dark hair, brown eyes, stubble for days. Not to mention his body. Tall and broad. Tatted. Muscled. He smelled like woodsmoke and something else …something entirely uniquely him. I’d tried not to pay attention to his scent, but the man had carried me several times and it was impossible not to notice.
Colt turned his head and caught me staring at him. I couldn’t see his eyes behind his aviators, but his grin said enough.
“Almost there,” he said.
“Good.”
He chuckled but fell silent again.
We were twenty minutes outside of Waco when he turned off the main road onto another path. After a few miles of windy gravel, we arrived at his place. It was a two-story white home that looked like it had been built in the forties. The lawn was well-kept, and the trim was newly painted. There was a swing on the wraparound screened-in porch. It was the perfect spot to curl up with a good book.
“You live here?” I asked in surprise.
“Yup.”
I glanced at him. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but it seems…out of character.”
“And you think you know my character?”
“I think I have a pretty good grasp on it, yeah.”
He gave a slight smile. “I like space. Big guy like me can’t do an apartment. This house was falling apart when I bought it a few years ago. I wanted to fix something with my own two hands. Something that wasn’t a bike or a car.” He cut the engine. “I can sit on the porch, watch the sunset, listen to the cicadas.”
“I like that you restored it instead of tearing it down.”
Colt stared at me for a moment and then said, “Nowadays when things break people don’t fix them, they just throw them out.”
I nodded. “Disposable.”
“Yeah.” He looked at the house. “Didn’t want it to become just another pile of wood and nails. I wanted it to have a life again, you know? I needed it to have life.”
It was the most Colt had ever said in one go. I wasn’t sure what to say. It felt like he was talking about one thing but meant something else entirely.
He had given me something honest, and for some reason, I felt compelled to do the same. “My home hasn’t felt like a home in a while. Not since my grandmother died. No place like home as they say, but what really makes a home? People, I think.”
He looked at me for a long moment and slowly removed his sunglasses. He continued to stare at me. His jaw was clenched and I wanted to know why. What was he holding back? Colt didn’t seem like the type to hold anything back.
“Come on, let me show you the place,” he said.
I was glad he brushed past the moment between us.
The living room was large and open, decorated in taupe and shades of brown. The kitchen was modern with white cabinetry and an island. We headed upstairs, and he led me down the hallway.
He opened a door. “Guest room.”
“It’s nice,” I said as I stepped through the doorway.
Colt leaned against the doorjamb. “Bed’s pretty comfortable. Got a new mattress for it a few months ago.”
“Yeah?” I turned to him. “Great.”
His gaze traveled down my body, his eyes warm and inviting.
“Hey, eyes up here,” I stated, snapping at him and then pointing to my face. “Let’s get something straight.”
“What’s that?” Humor radiated off of him and it was nearly my undoing. Surly Colt made me want to keep my distance. Happy, smiley Colt made me want something else entirely.
“I’m leaving town—”
“How do you expect to get out of town without your truck? And don’t forget that the doc told you not to drive.”
“Zip will get my truck when the coast is clear. And the doctor advised me not to drive. He didn’t forbid it.”
“Is it a stick?”
“What does that matter?”
“Color me curious.”
“Yeah, it’s a stick.”
“That’s hot, by the way. The idea of you driving a stick.”
“Stop flirting with me,” I snapped.
“Why? Does it make you uncomfortable?”
“If I said yes would you stop?”
“Probably not.” He grinned. “What are you going to do about money?”
“I have money. I just don’t have access to it at the moment because I left my bank card in my wallet which is still in my house.”
“So you don’t have money. Okay, what about clothes?”
“Stop asking me questions!” I groaned. “You’re such a pain in the ass.”
He barked out a laugh and pushed away from the doorframe to come toward me.
Damn, he was tall. And huge.
“What are you doing? Stop right there.” My hand shot out to halt him, but he kept coming and eventually my fingers hit his expansive, muscled pectoral.
“Are you afraid of me?” he asked huskily. He covered my hand on his chest with his, effectively ending the futile struggle.
I swallowed. “No, I’m not afraid of you.”
“I think you’re a liar.” He shifted his stance, bringing himself into my space. He was so close that his leather cut nearly grazed my pajama tank. I wanted to draw him closer. I wanted to touch him, stroke the skin of his neck to see what it felt like against my fingertips.
“If you’re not afraid of me,” Colt continued, “then look at me.”
After a moment, I forced myself to gaze up into his face. His eyes were dark with desire.
“I can’t figure you out,” I admitted. “One minute you’re cold, the next you’re laughing at me.”
“I can’t seem to help it,” he said with a wry grin. “You make me smile. What can I say?”
I dropped my eyes from his to stare at his chest when I said, “I don’t like having to rely on anyone.”
“It doesn’t mean you’re weak if you need help.”