“Why don’t you go find another guy to drape yourself over?” he grated out.
Her eyes flew wide and then she pushed out her lips into a pout. “You know it’s you I’ve got a thing for.”
“The feeling’s not mutual. So go.” He didn’t wait to see some perfected act of sadness filling her eyes at his harsh words and turned for the door.
Outside, he pulled in a deep breath of fresh air. The tang of the Smoky Mountains that swept through Mersey filled his nose, but now in his deviant mind, the scent of nature blended with the musk of Aarica’s release.
Fuck. He had a man’s problems and no time for a schoolboy’s fantasy of seeing her again, like he was some goddamn John Travolta crushing over Olivia Newton John in Grease. He’d fingered her—nothing more.
He walked down the line of bikes to stare at the two that were the same exact model as the stolen motorcycle. How the hell was he going to clear his—and the Dark Falcons’—name?
“Aarica, would you mind trying to persuade Jay to eat breakfast? He refuses everything I make him.” Mrs. Post grabbed her handbag and slung it over her shoulder before leaning in to kiss her eight-year-old son Jay goodbye.
He dodged her affection and she offered him a gentle smile instead.
“Be good for Aarica, okay? She is the nicest babysitter we’ve had.” She smiled at Aarica and then backed out the door on her way to work for the day.
For a moment, Jay stared at the closed door. Aarica assessed the autistic boy’s mood and hoped he wouldn’t burst into horrible tears. She’d spent time with him off and on over the past few weeks, but today was their first day alone together.
“C’mon, Jay. Want to sit down and eat breakfast together?”
He turned his big green eyes on her and then shook his head.
“Aww, c’mon. I’m starved and I’d enjoy some company.”
He eyed her as though she’d force him to eat, but she knew from dealing with one of her female cousins on the autism spectrum that forcing them would be the worst end result. Coaxing was more her style.
She fixed herself a bowl of cereal and then set out another bowl and spoon on the counter next to hers. She took her seat on the high stool and lifted her spoon. From the corner of her eye, she watched Jay inch closer to the counter.
She took a big old bite, filling her cheeks and chewing loudly. Then she grinned around her food at Jay.
He grinned and rushed to the stool. He sat up and reached for the box of cereal. His first attempt at pouring a bowl left little chocolate balls rolling across the counter. She laughed and rolled one his way with her fingertip, and he picked it up and stuffed it in his mouth.
After they got his bowl filled with cereal and milk, they sat munching on their breakfast together. No surprise Jay finished first. If he gave his mom such a hard time eating, he was probably starved.
“Can you carry your bowl to the sink? Just set it on the side and I’ll wash it later.”
He did, but the bowl dropped hard onto the counter with a clash that made him plaster his hands over his ears. Aarica jumped off the stool and hurried to him. She placed her hands atop his and looked into his eyes. “That was loud, wasn’t it?”
He nodded.
“It’s okay now. The sound is gone. See?” She looked around as if searching for it.
Slowly, he pulled his hands out from his ears, and finding the noise that startled him now gone, he lowered his hands to his sides. Good—crisis averted.
“What would you like to do this morning? Read a book together? Roll a ball outside?”
He shook his head and then pointed to the living room.
“Show me.” Ignoring the breakfast mess and the few bits of chocolate cereal that hit the floor when Jay poured, she led the way to the living room. He pointed to the TV and then wiggled his thumbs.
“Ohh, you want to play video games.”
Grinning that she understood him so easily, he bobbed his head and then plopped on the floor in front of the big screen. She wasn’t much of a gamer, but with five older male cousins, she could hold her own with a controller. After setting up the system and allowing Jay to select the game, she settled next to him to play.
Turned out the kid was a whiz with games. They played two and he kicked her butt both times. Laughing hysterically, he pointed at her to poke fun, and she held up her hands in surrender.
“You beat me good!”
He pointed to the games on the shelf again, and she shook her head. “It’s sunny outside. Let’s go out and find a ball.”
She placed the controllers in a safe place and helped her ward through a bathroom break before they headed out the kitchen door. It led to a deck, and the scent of fresh-cut lumber and new stain hovered in the air. The fenced in back yard was ideal for her to really let loose with her ward without fear of him running in the street in front of a car or harming himself.
When she found a big red playground ball, she set Jay up across the yard from her. With a few feet between them, she proceeded to roll the ball. He retrieved it and rolled it back. She had to run for it a few times when it went far out of range, but that only made Jay laugh at her more.
“You like making fun of me. I see how you are now.”
He chuckled more.
“What you don’t know is I have five boy cousins who always make fun of me.” She rolled him the ball. At that moment, she heard the thumping coming from the garage roof. The newly built garage was just being roofed today, and Mrs. Post told her to ignore the construction going on, but if the noise began to agitate Jay to take him inside and put on some of the music he enjoyed in order to drown it out.
Aarica swung her gaze to the roof and the workers and then to Jay. He stared at the source of the noise too but didn’t seem to care at the moment. She waved her arms, encouraging him to roll her the ball.
He bounced it instead, sending her running after it while he laughed at her.
So happy to see him in good spirits and tolerating the pounding on the roof, she bounced the ball soft enough that the toy came within his range and he didn’t have to chase it very far.
They went back and forth a few more times, but then Jay froze with the ball in his hands, staring at the roof. The workers were calling out to each other, giving directions about where to pick up when the other left off.
With a scream, Jay threw the ball at the fence. Alarm bells sounded in her brain, and the workers on the roof stopped what they were doing and looked down at them.
She corralled Jay toward the house, but then she stopped dead as one crewman straightened to his full height and his gaze burned into her from above.
With the noise stopped, Jay seemed okay for the time being, which gave Aarica a long heartbeat to stare back at the man…the man from the campground who haunted her dreams.
Patriot. Logan. The gorgeous biker who she still throbbed for whenever her thoughts touched on him.
Dizziness washed over her, and she realized between Jay and Patriot, she hadn’t taken a breath in too long. Sucking in a wobbly breath, she continued to stare at him. She never thought she’d see him again, let alone standing on the roof at her new job, body glistening in the sun. Did he recognize her? Only days had passed since their strange and lust-filled meeting in the mountains, but it had been dark then.
Their eyes locked, and she saw that he did know her. And her body remembered his like her body recognized the air now burning in and out of her lungs with each labored, needy breath.