He let out a frustrated groan. “I’m not havin’ this argument with you again. You’re too goddamn tired to drive. Now you can either get in the truck yourself...” he paused, a heated look flashing through his eyes that made the blue darken. In my tired state, that look felt like a dark promise that sent a shot of heat through my body as he scanned me from top to toe. It had to have been the exhaustion messing with my head. “Or I’ll put you in it myself. Your call, Chaos. What’s it gonna be?”
Any other day I would have gladly continued arguing like my life depended on it, but I could feel another yawn building up and I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of being right, so I spun on my heel and stomped to his truck, stopping at the passenger door with a pout firmly in place as I reached up to yank the handle. Of course, the damn thing was locked.
I tapped the toe of my shoe and crossed my arms as I shot him a glare I hoped successfully telegraphed a warning that Iwould have loved nothing more than to chop him into tiny pieces and feed his body to our pigs. From the cocky smile on his too-handsome face, he was reading me loud and clear and wasn’t the slightest bit worried.Jerk.
He moseyed toward me like he had all the time in the world, intentionally pushing my buttons. It wasn’t until he was right in front of me that he bothered to pull the keys from his pocket and beep the locks. He moved, reaching out with his free hand to open the door for me before I could do it myself. As much as I hated to give him credit for anything, I had to admit I’d always loved how chivalrous he was. It was something his oldest sister, Gypsy, had instilled in him and the rest of his brothers while she was raising them, and it never failed to make me all melty inside.
I ignored the butterflies swirling in my belly at the gesture and climbed onto the passenger seat. He placed Havoc in my lap before tugging on the seatbelt and leaning in close so he could reach across my body to lock it into place. The smell of leather and sweet pipe tobacco invaded my nose, leaving me lightheaded. I opened my mouth to tell him I was more than capable of putting on my own seatbelt, but the argument died on the sharp gasp that tightened my lungs when his forearm brushed dangerously close to my left breast. That was what I had been reduced to. A pathetic, swooning mess who nearly fainted at a little side book graze.
My mouth went as dry as the Sahara when his head twisted in my direction, those blue eyes like lasers as he peered into me. The temperature in the cab of the truck grew sweltering, and time seemed to come to a stop as we stared at each other.
My brain short-circuited when his gaze slid down to my lips as he leaned in closer, and I could haveswornhe was moments away from kissing me. Fortunately—or unfortunately, depending on the state of my sanity—Havoc lived up to his new name and let out a sharp bark, yanking us both back into reality.
I let out a slow, shuddering breath as Raylan blinked and pulled back, giving his head a shake. Wordlessly, he shut the door and strode around the hood to the driver’s side. I took those precious few seconds to shake off the lingering effect of his closeness.
I stared straight ahead as he climbed behind the wheel and started the engine, the power of it making the seat vibrate beneath me.
“I have work tomorrow. How am I supposed to get back here without my car?”
“I’ll take care of it,” he said in that deep rasp of his. That was it, no elaboration or explanation, justI’ll take care of it. The certainty in that one sentence was enough to leave me without any other questions. I didn’t know how the hell he was going to do it, but I trusted that my car would be waiting for me the next time I needed it.
I shifted my focus out the passenger window, staring at the darkness beyond while I tried to get my heart rate back down into a normal range. I hated that I was still so affected by him, even after everything that had happened. My stupid, traitorous body still hadn’t gotten the message that there had been a dynamic shift between us. We weren’t friends any longer, yet it never failed to light up like the Fourth of July every damn time he was near.
Silence enveloped the cab of Raylan’s truck as he navigated the streets, leaving downtown Hope Valley behind and heading toward the ranch on the outskirts of town. For a while, I thought that maybe he’d forgotten about the whole secret admirer thing. Unfortunately, my relief was short-lived.
“Tell me about that note and the flower.”
I rolled my eyes, not that he could see it in the dark. “There’s nothing to talk about. Like I said, it’s not a big deal.”
I could feel his eyes drilling into the side of my face but didn’t bother looking over to see the glower he was throwing in my direction.
“Lennix, some creeper is leaving funeral flowers and weird-ass notes on your car. That’s abig deal.”
“You’re thinking of calla lilies.”
“What?”
“Funeral flowers. You’re thinking of calla lilies, not tulips. Easy mistake.”
His expression was flat while he stared at me silently for a few seconds before he was forced to shift his attention back to the road ahead. “Whatever. It’s still not normal.”
“It’s probably some harmless, shy kid with a crush.”
A sound of displeasure rumbled its way up Raylan’s throat. “It’s probably that walking steroid who works for you.”
My head twisted in his direction, my mouth drawn into a confused frown. “Who?”
“Oh, don’t play dumb. You know exactly who I’m talkin’ about.”
I wracked my brain for a few seconds, trying to imagine who he could possibly mean. Then it hit me as we turned onto the gravel road that cut through the ranch and past the main houses and barn. “You mean Davis?”
He let out a snort. “Davis. What kind of fuckin’ name is that? Everything about that asshole screams dumbass gym bro.”
The corners of my eyes creased as I narrowed them. “It’s a perfectly normal name. And he’s a nice guy. He’s not a walking steroid or a...gym bro.” He did, however, spend an excessive amount of time at the gym. At least in my opinion. But Raylan didn’t need to know that.
“He wants to fuck you,” he grumbled.
I burst out laughing, the hilarity dragging on until tears formed in my eyes and my stomach muscles started to ache. “You’re being ridiculous,” I gasped as I tried to catch my breath.
