“I think I’m tapped out for the day,” she murmurs, and she’s looking down the road. I frown. Is she looking down the road wondering when the club will be here to pick up my bike? I don’t like that shit at all. I like this woman in a way I can’t remember ever liking another person—let alone a woman. When I first broke down, I pushed my bike to the driveway of the shelter, not knowing I’d find a woman who would shake my world on its axis, but that’s exactly what I’ve found. So, the fact that she might be looking for the people that are coming to pick me up is something I find more than a little annoying.
“What about the cats?” I ask her.
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t you bath the cats here, too?”
She stares at me for a minute and then shakes her head after giving a small laugh. “You’re volunteering to bathe the cats?”
“Why not? I’d rather wash your pussy than anything I can think of right now,” I reply with a smirk.
“Oh Lord, you can’t be real.”
“Women say that to me all the time, but I am, Red. I’m real and all man.”
She just shakes her head, but the phone rings and when she picks it up to read the number, her lips purse in reaction, making them even more tempting.
“I was wondering when you’d call,” she laughs. She stops and it’s clear someone is talking on the other side. Right now, it’s damn annoying that I can’t hear what is being said on the other end—or who it is. Suddenly, and for the first time today, I’m beginning to worry there’s a man in the picture. It stands to reason. She’s hot as fuck, she’s funny and she’s not afraid to be herself. She’s everything I ever wanted in a woman and didn’t think existed. Hell, the closest I’ve seen is Shaft’s Bree, and even she’s annoying at times. “I figured that was the case,” she says, and I find myself studying her face. She’s happy. Whoever is on the other line—she likes him.
“You talking to your old man?” I ask.
The woman’s eyes go wide as she looks at me in surprise. She smirks. What she doesn’t do is answer me.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Okay, honey. You too,” she says and that flash of jealousy that had begun, explodes. “Who was that?” I ask when she hangs up the phone.
“You’re really nosy, aren’t you?”
“I just need to know if that was a man you were talking to,” I tell her, and I can’t keep the slight edge out of my voice.
“And if it was?” she replies, saying it in such a way that I know it was a man on the other line. This is new territory for me, but I decide to lay my cards down. I’ve never been the kind of man to question anything I felt I needed or wanted. I feel both of those when it comes to this spicy, little redhead, so I’m not about to hold back now.
“Then I’d need to know if you love him,” I tell her flat out.
“Why would you need to know that?” she questions. At this point, she doesn’t even seem irritated. It’s not amusement on her face either. She looks… thoughtful.
“Because I want him gone.”
Now she laughs.
“Oh God, you’re hilarious,” she says, as we both get up. I’m a little pissed that she’s not taking me seriously.
“Where are you going?” I all but growl.
“I’m fixing Larry dinner. He’s also bringing some friends, so that means I’m cooking dinner for several people,” she says, not bothering to turn around. The dogs are barking as she gets closer to them. I can’t see her face because I’m walking behind her—watching her ass, if I’m honest. Still, I’m positive that she’s smiling at them. “I’ll bring you a treat later, babies,” she coos, and shit… I want her to bring me a treat.
“Do I get dinner, too?” I grumble, getting pissed at myself. It’s bad enough that I’m getting jealous over some unknown guy named Larry, now I’m jealous over damn dogs!
“I thought you were leaving soon?” she says, turning around to look at me. Her eyes are twinkling, and hell, she’s too beautiful for my sanity.
“I’m not gone yet. I’ll get them to leave me a bike,” I grumble, hoping like fuck they bring an extra bike and not just a cage or tow truck.
For some reason that makes her cackle. It’s a good laugh, so I don’t mind. She opens the door to her house and as I stand on the porch, I frown, watching her.
“Then, I guess you can stay for dinner, Stud. Larry will probably get a kick out of you.”
“I doubt it, because I’m not going to hide the fact I’m staking my claim on you, Red.”
“I’m really starting to worry about your sanity,” she laughs.
“If that’s so, then aren’t you afraid to let me in your house?” I ask her, voicing what I was thinking about earlier.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re a woman alone. You don’t know me.” I shrug, watching her face.
“I think I can take care of myself, Stud. Now, either get in here and peel the potatoes or stay on the porch,” she says, going inside. I follow her in, and I begin plotting out ways to get rid of some schmuck named Larry. I don’t know him, but he’s clearly not watching over his property like he should and it’s time a real man shows him how it’s done.
That thought makes me grin almost as much as watching the way Red’s curvy ass bounces when she walks in those damn pants she’s wearing.
3
Finley
“You cook a lot.”
I turn to look at… I grin. I still don’t know his name. I’ll find it out soon enough. To be honest, I kind of like the game we have going with one another. I can also admit that I’m extremely attracted to him… damn it.
“Excuse me?”
“I can tell you cook a lot.”
“I’m almost twenty-seven. I’ve had to learn how to cook if I wanted to eat.”
“You could eat out?” he laughs. “That’s what I do.”
“I cook better than take out,” I tell him honestly, secure in my ability. There was a time I thought of opening a restaurant, but it just never worked out.
“That you do, Red, but you fried enough chicken to feed an entire army.”
“Larry likes my chicken, Stud.”
“I bet he does,” he growls, sounding irritated. “I think I like when you call me Stud better than Einstein,” he adds, changing the subject—which amuses me for some reason.
“Oh yeah? Why is that?” I ask, finishing the frosting on the cake I made earlier. Larry would whine for days if I didn’t have his dessert. He’s the reason I ended up in Sweetheart, but as much as I love him, I haven’t been able to find a home in Stillwater or Sweetheart. I’m actually starting to think Colorado in general isn’t for me. It’s pretty, but it just leaves me wanting something different. The thought makes me sigh. I had hoped things would work out. Larry and I both hoped it would.
“Because that means you’re thinking about my dick now. It’s exactly what I want. Poor old Larry boy doesn’t have a chance now,” he jokes, making me laugh.