I shake my head and laugh “What would I do without you Alice?”
“Let’s hope you never have to find out, Sugar. Now scoot! Go get ready to make that boy drool.”
Twenty minutes later I’m coming back down the stairs to the sound of Alice’s laugh coming up from the kitchen. As I pass Evans room, I poke my head in and see that he must have woken up from his nap while I was getting ready. As I reach the bottom of the stairs, I hear continued laughter coming from the living room. Walking through the arched doorway into the living room, I stop dead in my tracks at the scene in front of me.
Alice is sitting on the couch holding her sides with tears streaming down her face from laughing so hard. Evan is laid out in the middle of the living room floor surrounded by toys and babbling away making his adorable baby faces and noises. But what really strikes me is the hulking form of Sawyer crouching down next to Evan pulling faces at him and babbling right along with him like they’re having a conversation. As Evan answers back and gets more and more excited, I can hear Sawyer’s deep rumbling laughter fill the room and it makes my breath catch. Now that is a sound I could listen to all damn day.
I lean against the archway, watching the boys and their antics and I can’t help but join in Alice’s laughter. The sound of my laugh draws Sawyer’s attention and he looks up at me, a goofy smile on his face. His eyes widen when he sees me, taking me in. He continues to stare up at me, the smile fading from his lips, the twinkle of laughter in his eyes replaced by something darker and utterly consuming. Evan squeals, clearly upset to have lost Sawyer’s attention, and flails his arms. The stuffed airplane he’s holding smacks Sawyer square in the face and Alice and I both burst out laughing. Sawyer sputters and shakes his head before looking down at Evan, a bright smile breaking across his face as he laughs and tickles him.
“Someone was reminding you it’s rude to stare,” Alice cackles from the couch, tears still streaming down her face from laughing so hard.
“Well I’m sorry E-Buddy, but have you seen your momma? She’d make blind men stop and stare,” Sawyer says, glancing back up at me. Evan babbles and giggles back, twisting around on his play mat to look at me, screeching with laughter.
Alice wipes the tears from her eyes and stands from the couch with a clap. “Alright you two, get going so I can have my baby snuggles in peace!” she says, shooing Sawyer away and grabbing for my arm to drag me toward the door before bending down and scooping up Evan.
Sawyer gets to his feet and rocks back on his heels, his gaze trailing over me. It may not be the outfit Alice had envisioned for me, but it’s the best a single mother on the run can muster so it’ll have to do. A red t-shirt with the neckline cut so it slouches off one shoulder, light denim skinny jeans, and my chucks. Pairing that with the light makeup and soft curls I had managed, I’m pretty happy with the overall effect. I’m never going to be one of those girls in short skirts and skimpy tops, with an inch of pancake batter on their face in a vain attempt to impress whoever will give a shit. I like to keep things simple, and no matter what else, I am going to be me. If someone doesn’t like that? They can move the hell on. I’m done pretending to be someone I’m not.
Taking advantage of his distraction, I do some perusing of my own. He looks so good it should be a sin in his distressed denim jeans, tight gray Henley that showcases the defined muscles of his chest and torso even through the fabric. He once again has his leather jacket with his Cut over it, and what I am coming to recognize as the signature windswept toss to his hair. Sawyer steps toward me and I breathe deeply, inhaling his intoxicating scent and letting it surround me for a moment before I remember where we are.
Down girl. Not the time nor the place to climb him like a freakin’ tree.
He steps up to me and mummers in my ear “Damn Babydoll, you look good enough to eat.”
“Wouldn’t you like a taste?” I challenge.
“Baby, you have no idea how bad I want to taste you,” he rumbles back as I walk past him to grab my jacket from the front closet. His words send a shiver down my spine that I attempt to cover while tugging on my jacket. I turn to kiss Evan goodbye and remind Alice for the thirtieth time that I’ll have my cell with me and she can text if she needs anything. Alice assures me everything will be fine, they will have a perfect night, and to just go have some fun. When I attempt to give her another rundown on how to do bedtime, she looks over my shoulder and motions at Sawyer.
“Will you just get her out of here?” she laughs.
“I… Okay, okay, I’m going!” I give Evan one last kiss on the forehead, “bye sweet boy, be good and sleep well. Mommy loves you,” I turn and head to the door, refusing to let myself look back again.
Sawyer opens the front door with a chin lift toward Alice and as soon as I’m within reach he places his hand at the small of my back guiding me through the door. He keeps his hand at my back as we make our way down the front walk and to his bike parked at the curb. I go to climb on the bike but his fingers flex against my spine and his other hand comes up to grasp my nape.
“You look stunning Babydoll,” he breathes, eyes roaming over my face like he’s studying me. “Don’t think anyone has ever knocked me dumb like that before,” he mummers as he brushes the tip of his nose along the line of mine, his warm breath fanning across my cheek. I can’t manage anything but a small breathy squeak in response, my hands coming up to grip the edges of his Cut. He breaks into a sexy grin and huffs out a chuckle before capturing my lips.
His kiss is slow and thorough, unhurried. Sweeping his tongue against the seam of my lips, he begs for entry and I’m powerless to resist. I melt into him and he takes full advantage sliding his tongue against mine. Pulling away, he lets out a pained groan and rests his forehead against mine.
“I could get drunk on that kiss. Let’s go before I drag you back inside and get properly drunk on it,” he kisses the tip of my nose before releasing me and stepping back. With a steadying breath I turn and settle myself on his bike, fussing with the helmet he passes me.
What’s going on? I don’t want to get involved … do I? After everything, do I really want to let another man into my life? Into Evan’s? And so soon? Much less this big, scary, gruff… caring, sweet, tender… Biker.
Sawyer settles himself onto the bike and I wrap myself around him resting my head on his shoulder while trying to get a handle on my wayward thoughts. He grips my hands against his stomach for a moment before he takes off down the road.
It’s just after dark when we pull through the gates of the compound. Sawyer offers a guy in a blank vest, who can barely be out of high school, a chin lift as we enter through the gate, but doesn’t engage more than that. We pull into a large mechanic garage across the parking lot from the main building and Sawyer parks the bike in a spot at the far end. Before I can even get settled on my feet, he snags my wrist and pulls me into his chest, holding me close for a moment. After taking a deep breath that expands his chest against my cheek he leans back and looks at me, his warm brown eyes smiling down at me. Returning a shy smile, I loop my arms around his waist.
“Nervous?” he asks with a playful smile.