“Much better, thanks.”
“I’m glad.” He set the clothes on the counter. “I’ll just leave these here and wait for you in the other room.”
I thought about dropping my towel and seeing what happened, but he was trying to be a gentleman, and I didn’t want to add to his struggle. At least, not yet. I should probably give my body another day or so to heal, first. He walked out, and I dressed. When I emerged from the bathroom, Tap was sitting on the sofa.
He gave me a sheepish smile and said, “I came to get you and take you upstairs.”
“Into your house? I thought that was forbidden.” I wondered just how bad of a beatdown Doris had given him. Tap and I were making progress and I really liked the guy. I didn’t want to shove him out of his comfort zone and make him resent me. “You don’t have to do this. I know you have your secrets, and I’m perfectly fine down here. In fact, if you can get me a couple of books to read and maybe a pen and paper to organize my thoughts, I’ll be all set. In fact, now that I can walk, I can leave if that makes this easier.”
He tensed, his expression darkening. “That’s not gonna happen, Sasha. You need to heal before you go back to him.”
Was he jealous? Of Breaker? “You mean back to the girls. They’re my mission. Breaker is a means to an end, and I hope to take his ass down along the way.”
He sucked down a breath and his shoulders relaxed a little. “I know, I’m sorry. I… Mama insists I take you upstairs. She says it’s rude to keep women in my basement.”
Wondering if Doris had given him the same stare-down she’d given me, I bit my lip to keep from smiling. “I have heard that locking women up in general is frowned upon.”
“Some would consider a mom snooping in her grown son’s basement where she doesn’t belong as equally rude.”
“You told her that?” I asked, somewhere between appalled and impressed.
“Hell no! Think I’d still be alive if I had?” He smiled and my heart flipped in my chest. Tap had the kind of smile that made women want to do stupid shit. You’d think after all I’d been through that I’d be immune, but I’d drop my pants the second he showed interest. Hell, I was tempted to try it now.
“No. Your mother would have kicked your ass from here to Portland if you talked to her like that.”
“You know that’s right.” He chuckled. “Sorry about locking you down here. In hindsight, it was kind of a dick move. But for the record, I would have known if you needed something.” He slid a baby monitor out from under the sofa and showed it to me.
Shocked, I stared at the intrusive device in his hand. “You baby monitored me?”
He took in my expression and his eyes widened. “Just in case you needed me.”
“Uh…” I had to remind myself that monitoring people was Tap’s job. He wasn’t doing this to be creepy, he was doing it to keep everyone safe. It was kind of sweet in a really freaking weird way. “Maybe next time… warn a girl?”
“Next time? Do you think this is a common occurrence for me?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know your life.”
“Good point. Well, for starters, I don’t lock random women in my basement, and social niceties aren’t really my thing.”
“Good to know, and no, they aren’t. But you are the nicest veteran-biker-stripper I’ve ever met. You didn’t hear me snore or anything embarrassing like that, did you?”
Shaking his head, he chuckled. “No. I had it on low and the sofa muffled most sounds. You were asleep when I brought it down here the first night or I would have told you. Then I forgot about it until I went to bed last night.”
He let out a breath and his expression grew somber again. There was something he wanted to tell me, but he was holding back. He seemed even more sketched out about me seeing his house than he’d been about watching Havoc stitch up my leg.
“So… what am I gonna encounter up there?” I let my gaze drift to the ceiling. “There’s no dead bodies or rabid beasts or anything, right?”
“No.” He sucked in a breath. “But I do have a daughter.”
That was unexpected. It knocked the wind right out of me. “A daughter?” I asked after I recovered. “How old is she?”
“Three, and fair warning, she asks a lot of questions.”
“I hear that about three-year-olds. I also hear their questions don’t stop until they become moody teenagers who barely talk to their parents at all. Will her mom be up there as well?” Even asking that made my stomach tie in knots. I didn’t want Tap to have a baby-mama. I wanted tobeTap’s baby-mama. Maybe that was irrational considering I’d only known the guy for a couple of days, but it was true. Everything about him made my ovaries hum and my lady parts tingle.
“No.” He gave me a funny look like he was surprised I’d even asked the question. “If I was in a relationship, I wouldn’t have spent all day yesterday down here with you. I’m not much of a people person, and I don’t generally do shit like that. But it was fun, and I’m glad I got the chance to hang out with you.”
Well, that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
