Those Caribbean Sea green eyes turned very dark and heated. “You learn from that mistake?”
“Mmm hmm.”
“What d’you learn?”
“That I really liked what we did to make that wet spot.” Truth be told, she would love to make another one.
“So, it’s a mistake you’re willin’ to make again?”
“Mmm... maybe.”
“Thank fuck,” he murmured against her lips, then took her mouth.
She groaned as his tongue tangled with hers. She grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him deeper into the kiss.
A few seconds later, and with what felt like a steel pipe pressing into her belly, he pulled back. “Keep temptin’ me like that, you’re gonna end up naked in your foyer, so if your girl or sister wakes up, they’re gonna get a sight they might never fuckin’ forget.”
“It’s probably a good idea if we move, then,” she whispered.
“Yeah.” He stepped back and they both dropped their hands. She already missed his heat against her. And that hard-on which was making the crotch of her yoga pants damp.
If she didn’t know better, she’d think she was having a hot flash.
“Where we goin’?”
To her bedroom if it was up to her, but she’d be afraid of waking Daisy. And he wasn’t here for that.
Or was he?
No. He’d been ticked she’d left Sunday morning without a word. That was why he was here. Right?
Though, he was a big, bad biker, why would he care about that? “Do all the women you sleep with say goodbye before they leave?”
“If I give ‘em a chance. Sometimes I’m kickin’ their ass out the door so fast, they’re lucky they’re wearin’ clothes.”
Cassie stifled her laugh. “That’s rude.”
“Yeah? They know the deal.”
Suddenly, what he’d said wasn’t so funny. “Do they? How would they know?”
“’Cause they’re...” He grimaced. “’Cause they do.”
“Because they’re what? Hookers?”
His brow rose. “Hookers?” Then he dropped his head and shook it. When he lifted it again, his face still held amusement. “Never had to pay...” He frowned. “No, that ain’t right. Had to pay once, but never got what I paid for.”
“You paid a hooker?” she practically squeaked.
“Not a hooker. Just a whore. A patch whore who was willin’ to pop my cherry.”
What? First of all, what the hell was a “patch whore” and secondly... “Pop your cherry? How old were you?”
“Old enough to want a taste of pussy, young and stupid enough to be willin’ to pay for it.”
“And it never happened?”
“Let’s just say it was for the best. Bitch had crotch rot that could burn your fuckin’ nose hairs.”
Cassie slammed a hand over her mouth. She wasn’t sure if she should find that funny or appalling. Or maybe a little of both.
After a second, when she could breathe again without wheezing, she dropped her hand.
He grabbed it. “Where we goin’?”
“Somewhere we won’t wake Daisy.”
“We gettin’ loud? Not opposed to that, just to be clear. Got my Ford out front, no one’s gonna hear us in there.”
Her eyes slid toward the door, tempted.
No, she couldn’t leave Daisy alone in the house just so she could scratch an itch. That wouldn’t get her a Mother of the Year trophy. Not that she had a mantle to put it on, anyway.
“Living room, I guess.” She used the hand he didn’t have a death grip on to point in the direction they should go.
“Your sister got one of those plastic-covered couches like my gramma had?”
It took her a second to figure out what he meant. “I thought you were here to talk.”
“Yeah, ‘til you said you don’t mind makin’ mistakes. Thinkin’ since I’m a big one, you might wanna try again.”
When they entered the dark room, she flipped the switch as they passed it, turning on the lights. He collapsed onto the not-covered-in-plastic couch—which actually creaked under his weight—taking her with him. Not quite pulling her onto his lap, but close. As she tried to make some space between them, he yanked her closer.
She was going to have a hard time having any kind of conversation with this man while being pinned against him. “My daughter’s upstairs.”
“She asleep?”
Good lord, Cassie hoped so. “Why are you here, Judge?”
“Been thinkin’ about your problem.”
“Welcome to my world, that’s all I think about.”
“Even the other night in my bed?”
Heat filled her cheeks. “No, not then. But I’ve been thinking about this, too... I want to hire you to find Dennis. Since you now know he’s not coming here to Manning Grove, I know he’s no longer on your radar. Since you were only supposed to capture him if he showed up here in this area, correct?”
“Still on my radar since he ain’t caught yet and that don’t mean he ain’t gonna wanna see his girls. Fugitives can be unpredictable. But even so, bail bondsman up north is still lookin’ for ‘im.”
“But he hasn’t found him, and I... You’re good at finding people, right? That’s your job.”
“Ain’t my main job. My job’s bailin’ people out, which is basically loanin’ people scratch to get their asses outta jail. Get paid well to let ‘em borrow that scratch. Only gotta chase their asses down when they skip town or miss their court date. Truthfully, when it comes to findin’ people, Deke’s better at it than me. He’s good at skip tracin’.”
“Which is what Dennis did. Skipped. Can I hire Deke to find him outside of Manning Grove?”
He leaned back against the couch and twisted his big body to face her. “You hire him, you get me. Package deal.”
“I don’t think I can afford both of you.”
“Don’t think you can afford either of us.”
Well, that was a bucket of ice-cold water thrown in her face. “You’re right.” She squeezed her eyes shut and curled her fingers against her thighs. “I can’t even afford to move the hell out of this house and get out of Heather and Ty’s hair.” Her voice caught. She kept her eyes shut until the sting subsided somewhat.
Fingers on her chin had her reopening them, but she focused on her lap. He jerked her chin up so she’d look at him.
“Why’d you turn down the extra shift at Pete’s tonight?”
She hadn’t wanted to. She needed every dollar she could get. “I didn’t have anyone to watch Daisy.”
He frowned. “Where’s your sister and her man?”
“Gone.”
His head snapped back and his scowl became somewhat scary. “What d’you mean, gone?”
“While we were...” she flapped a hand around, “the other night, they got a call from Tyler’s mother. His father broke a hip and they’re headed down to North Carolina to visit, help his mom, and then spend the holidays there instead of doing it here since his parents will no longer be able to travel.”