“Like what?”
“Beneath me. All glassy-eyed and covered in my cum. Like mine.”
I knew in that very moment I was screwed, because Iwashis. And I had a feeling I always would be, whether he felt the same or not.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Lennix
For the first time I could recall, I wanted to ditch out on work. This place that had always been like a second home to me suddenly felt more like a holding cell. All because I was desperate to get out of there so I could go home to Raylan.
It was becoming a sickness, my growing desire for him. We’d been together nearly two months now, and I was still as addicted to the man as I was in the very beginning. A small voice in the back of my head told me that was a problem, but I couldn’t seem to bring myself to care. I’d promised a day at a time and I was determined to do exactly that. Fortunately, as the days passed, it was getting easier to push that uncertainty deep down. I could pretend I wasn’t constantly wondering where this thing between us was going or that I feared it would all eventually blow up in my face in an epic fashion.
I knew suppressing my feelings like that wasn’t healthy—hell, nothing we were doing was healthy—but I couldn’t get enough of how he made me feel. How I never failed to melt under his touch. With Raylan, I felt cherished. Beautiful. I couldn’t get enough ofwatching the gunmetal in his gaze darken with need and desire every time he looked at me. And I could have sworn, I’d caught him looking at me like I was his reason for existing more than once. He’d wiped his expression clear every time, but I knew what I’d seen.
A tiny yip pulled me out of my daydream, and I looked down as Havoc latched onto the hem of my pant leg, emitting what he probably thought was a vicious snarl as he tugged and jerked his head around. He was still a tiny little thing, probably the runt of his litter, but he was on puppy food, and Hardin assured me he was healthy and thriving. He’d adapted to the rest of my brood as well as I knew he would, becoming a little tag-along for Ziggy and another pain in the ass for Pirate. He was like a tiny, ferocious missing piece to our menagerie puzzle.
I could have left him at home instead of bringing him to work with me, but I’d gotten used to having him with me while I worked. He provided the perfect company. He wasn’t mouthy or loud. He didn’t throw his opinions around like fact, and he didn’t interrupt at the most inconvenient times. That was one of the reasons why the company of animals felt far superior to that of humans.
“Are you causing problems again?” I asked, smiling down at him while I wiggled my foot to give him something to play with. He yipped again, hunching down on his front legs while his back end stayed in the air, his tail wagging like crazy. “Yeah, you’re a little ball of anarchy covered in fur, aren’t you?”
His rump hit the floor, his tail swishing back and forth. His tongue fell out of his mouth and his head tilted to the side in a way that almost made it look like he was smiling. “You’re ready to go home, aren’t you?”
Havoc began to pant, so excited at the word home, his tiny butt wiggled manically, making me laugh. That was all the excuse I needed to shut things down and call it a night.
I hooked my purse over my shoulder, gathered the squirming ball of fluff in my arms, and headed out, locking up my office as I went. Instead of going out the back like I usually did, I headed to the front so I could run some things by Sam before I left.
Davis waved a white dish rag from his place behind the bar as I passed by. “You ducking out early, Boss Lady?”
I shot him a smile, speaking as I kept moving. “Yep. Decided to play a little hooky since I know you guys have it covered.” It wasn’t reallyearly, given that it was already dark outside, but I usually stayed until closing, so I’d be home several hours earlier than I normally was. I felt like I’d earned it.
He chuckled and went back to making drinks as I closed in on my shift supervisor. “Hey,” I waved to catch her attention as she slammed the drawer of the till closed and passed the customer his change.
“Hey.” She spotted Havoc in my arm. “You leaving?”
“That I am. But you know the rules.”
She smiled brightly and brushed her braids over her shoulder. “Yeah, yeah. I know. If we need anything, you’re just a phone call away.”
Even when I wasn’t at the bar, I wanted my staff to know I was available to them whenever the need arose. It had been important to maintain the atmosphere my parents, and grandparents before them, cultivated of everyone at the Tap Room being like family. I would always have their backs in anything.
“Go,” Sam ordered, lifting her arm and pointing toward the door. “Get out of here and go have a life, would you? You work too damn much. Have fun. Go crazy.” She arched her pierced brow, the metal of the barbell standing out against her flawless dark brown skin. “In fact, go get yourself laid, would you?”
“I volunteer as tribute,” Davis declared . . .loudly.
I shot him a look before cutting my gaze back to Sam. I did my best not to blush. That would give too much away. I’d never had a problem with that before this whole... thing with Raylan. But now that I’d started, I couldn’t make it stop. My cheeks seemed to heat on the daily lately.
“I’m perfectly capable of handling my love life on my own, thank you very much. I don’t need help from either of you.”
Davis snickered and moved down the bar as Sam propped one hand on her hip and the other on the scarred patina of the bar top. “You spend so much of your time looking out for us, I think it’s only fair we return the favor.”
I smiled, my chest feeling light and warm. “I’m good, hon. I promise.”
Her eyes moved, scanning me from top to toe before a tiny smirk curled the corner of her mouth upward. I had a feeling I knew exactly what she saw. Something told me I was glowing like a woman who was getting it good on the regular. She was not wrong, but I needed to do a better job of hiding it or people were going to start asking questions, and everything would go up in smoke.
“See you tomorrow,” she said with a cheeky wink.
I rolled my eyes on a small giggle and made my way to the door. I lifted my face to the sky, pulling the cool, pine-tinged air into my lungs. To me, that was one of the prominent smells of home, and it never failed to slide through me like a calming balm.
