“Hotel?” Tundra asked.
Beast frowned and nodded. “Yeah. We aren’t gonna make it back home tonight. After I call Janie, I’m gonna check in with Volt. Tomorrow, we’re confronting this Brantley asshole.”
“Awesome,” Rafferty whispered.
“What about the drugs? I don’t want either of you getting caught with it,” I said.
Beast reached out and squeezed my shoulder. “Raff already gave me the coke. I’ll take that baggie of meth, and handle it.”
“Handle it?” I asked.
“The less you know, the safer you are,” Tundra said.
“Right.”
After a quick shower, I came out of my bathroom wearing my teal leopard-print sleep tank and shorts. I had my hair twisted up on top of my head since I didn’t feel like running the blow-dryer. My body froze when I entered my room.
Rafferty lay shirtless in my bed with the covers bunched around his waist and a paperback in his hand. He truly was a living, breathing work of art. All that colorful ink beckoned to me.
“Stop staring and get over here, woman,” he said, tossing the book on the nightstand.
As I approached the bed, I noticed his hair was still mussed from his earlier shower. “You could have used the blow-dryer.”
He whipped the covers lower on my side of the bed for me. “And miss the way you stare at my wet hair? Not a chance.”
I rolled my eyes. “When did you get so cocky?”
He patted the bed next to him. “When did you get so timid?”
I climbed into the bed. “Not timid, more like, bashful.”
He slid his arm behind the small of my back and tugged me closer. “I want you to think about something.”
I put my hand on his bare shoulder, my chest resting against his. “We did this yesterday, and I agreed.”
He smirked. “No, this is something different. I should probably give you a day before bringing this up, but most places are understanding when there’s been a death in the family.”
My lips drew together and I resisted arguing with him. Ines wasn’t family, but at the same time, she was part of my extended family.
Rafferty watched me war with my thoughts. “You know she’s your family. Hell, we both know a thing or two about finding family for yourself. You tell that dentist that you need next week off, you can come back to Jacksonville.”
I opened my mouth to inhale and he cupped my cheek. “I’m asking you to think about it.”
Twisting my head, I quickly kissed his palm. “Yeah, and I will, but I have questions.”
He suddenly pushed forward so I was flat on my back. His eyes burned with intensity and surprise. Then he lowered his lips to mine and kissed me, long and lingering. I got into the kiss and let my hands rove his body.
He grabbed my hand before it went down to his ass and he broke the kiss. “What are your questions?”
That kiss had distracted me and I gave my head a short shake. “What’s the point of going back to Jacksonville? I mean, how is a week that much different than a four-day weekend?”
He let go of my hand. Ever-so-slowly, he dragged his fingers up along my arm to my neck, and slid his hand into the hair at the side of my head. “My gut says certain people don’t know who you are right now, but that will change once word gets out that Ines is dead. You got a chance to get out of town, and I think you should take it. I might be paranoid, or maybe I’m selfish, but having you in my bed for nine days will beat the fuck out of just four.”
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had nine days away from school or work. The closest might have been the four-day weekend I spent with Simone at Bike Week, but that was well over a year ago. And I’d cut my time in Daytona short because I knew Rafferty was hanging with the brothers. Nine days off sounded like heaven.
His words replayed in my mind and I shot him some side eye. “Wait.Yourbed? You said you were planning to move, so where are you even staying? Do you have a room at the clubhouse?”
He stared at me for a beat. “Would it be a problem if my bed were at the clubhouse?”
