"So what happened with Crickets?" I could tell by her breathing that she was moving around, probably filling drinks.
Being reminded of Crickets pissed me off, but it wasn't Candy's fault. "It fell through. I'll tell you about it tomorrow at work."
"Okay, see you at four."
From the background noise, I could tell that she was busy. "See you then." As we disconnected, I realized that I would need to call Annabelle too. Lord, if she couldn't continue to watch Ava I didn’t know what I was going to do.
I found myself in the kitchen. I would have given anything for a glass of wine, but I was still giving Ava breast milk. It wouldn't be long before she was strictly on the bottle, but I could still pump milk for her.
I opened the fridge, my gaze landing on the three full bottles before finding the water I was looking for at the back. I reached for it, changed my mind, and snatched an apple instead.
The house seemed too quiet now that Ava was asleep and the TV wasn't on. It was times like now when I was reminded of how far from it all we lived. I liked the peace and quiet, but the fact that there was a member from Desert Rebels standing guard across the road made me nervous and hyperaware of the dangers that lurked there.
I pulled back the curtain and looked across the road, taking a bite of my apple. Frenchie had been replaced with Jolly and Morton. Both men were sitting casually on their bikes, smoking, and I had to wonder how they were going to get through the night like that. At least Frenchie had gotten a break during the day when he’d followed me to the park with Ava.
Jolly noticed me watching them from my window and waved. Smiling, I waved back, and then let the curtain fall back into place and moved away. No sooner had I turned around when I heard the sound of a motorcycle coming down the road. Frowning, I peeked out the window again.
It was Sax.
Finally! I'd texted him three days before to let him know that I had the DNA kit and needed his sample. He had said he would come later that day but had been a no-show. Not even a call to let me know that he wasn't coming. I went to the door and opened it before he had a chance to knock.
His eyes raked over me with familiarity, bringing an instant rush of heat to my core. It wasn't just a look, it was a visual caress that my entire body felt and responded to in a big way. I took a bite of my apple to hide my reaction from him.
"Sorry I'm late." He moved past me into the house. "Something came up the other day."
I closed the door. "I figured that. Still, it would have been nice if you'd called."
He turned to me, and his eyes dropped to my mouth as he watched me chew for a minute. My tongue came out to catch the sweet juice at the corner of my lip. The next thing I knew, Sax grabbed the apple out of my hand and took a bite.
"Haven't eaten today."
"It's seven o'clock."
"Know what time it is." He seemed grumpy. "Been busy." He took another bite, chewing with a slight frown between his eyes. "You walk around like that when my brothers are parked outside?"
I glanced down at myself. I was wearing a lot more clothing than I would have at the beach. My tank stopped below my breasts, revealing a strip of flesh to where my boy shorts covered up my lower half. It amused me that Sax was worried that I was giving his brothers a show. "I didn't know they had x-ray vision," I said smartly.
He grunted. "Where's Ava?"
"Down for the night." My gaze ran over him. He looked as if he'd been on the road a few days. Dirty. Tired. In a mood that said, “don't fuck with me.” "You need a shower," I said, noticing that his usually pleasant scent of worn leather, smoke, and the outdoors was spiked with the sweat of a man who'd worked some long, hard hours.
"You offering?"
I blinked for a few seconds. Was he serious? He'd only come to give me a sample, but suddenly I wanted to turn it into something more. I'd missed him, even though things had been strained between us lately. Seeing him like this reminded me of all the times he'd come home in the same way he was now, needing the comfort and attention that I'd gladly given him. But in those days he would walk through the door, sweep me up into his arms for a long, hard kiss, cop a feel, and then head off to the bathroom.
"I don't mind if you want to get a shower, Sax. I can toss your clothes into the washer so you don't have to put dirty clothes back on."
I wondered what he was thinking as he stood silently staring at me. God, I wanted to see his face soften towards me like it used to. Maybe he just wanted to do what he’d come there to do and then leave. Damn. I felt the sting behind my eyes that warned me I was getting emotional.
"You got something I can put on?"
I thought about the old pair of sweats of his that I'd claimed and couldn't bear to part with. "Yes." I turned to walk away. "Leave your dirty clothes outside the bathroom door."
By the time I'd dug out the sweats and reached the bathroom door, Sax's clothes were on the floor where I'd asked him to leave them. I could hear the shower running, and I opened the door just enough to slip the sweats in and leave them on the counter by the sink. The tiny room was already steamed up with the scent of my feminine body wash, causing a smile to spread across my face.
I backed out and scooped up his clothes. I set his cut on the washer and put his clothes inside before heading to the kitchen to make him something to eat. Just like old times, and I had to admit that it felt good. I took out the hamburger that I'd defrosted for spaghetti sauce that I planned to make the next day, and made him two huge burgers. The frozen buns wouldn't take long to defrost in the microwave. By the time I'd topped his burgers off with mustard--he didn't like ketchup--lettuce, cheese, and tomato, he walked into the room, bringing with him the fresh scent of rose and vanilla.
I set his plate down on the table. "Eat."
"You didn't have to go to the trouble, but thanks. I'm starved."
We made eye contact briefly when I turned to go back to the kitchen to get him a beer. God, he was sexy, standing there in nothing but low-hanging sweats, his muscular chest and washboard abs beckoning me to reach out and touch him. My eyes followed the enticing v-shaped muscle to where it disappeared in his pelvic region, bringing attention to the prominent bulge of his cock. I didn't even try to pretend that Sax didn't affect me. His rugged handsomeness would turn any woman on, and we had too much history, Years of learning each other’s bodies and giving in to the intense, mutual attraction.
By the time I set a beer down next to his plate, he'd almost finished one of the burgers. I smiled and went to the front door, opening it. "Would either of you like coffee?" I called out, loud enough so the guys across the road could hear me.
"Thanks, that'd be great!" Jolly yelled back.
"You're poking the bear, Baby."
I glanced back to see Sax's smoldering gaze run down the length of me. I rolled my eyes and returned to the kitchen to put on a pot.
"They're here to keep you and Ava safe, not for you to wait on them," Sax said before taking a drink of his beer. "Or show them your tits and ass."
That last part was said so low, I'd barely heard him. "I'm decent enough." I pulled down two cups, keeping my back to him, grinning when I felt my shorts pull up to expose more of my butt. His growl told me that he'd noticed. "And it's just coffee, Sax, it'll help keep them awake."