“Yes,” she said hesitantly.
“Yeah. That might be the new girl effect, but day strippers don’t make that kind of bank on a Tuesday.”
“Well, Desiree was—”
Punc shook his head. “No. That wasyou. And that’s why they’d get rid of me before you.”
She tried to pull her feet away, but he held them in place. “Then wereallyshouldn’t be doing this. I don’t wan—”
“Savannah, chill out. It’s just pizza,” he said, leaning toward her and nudging her shoulder.
She stared at him for a beat. “Fine. For what it’s worth, if you are forced to quit, you could always work as a masseuse. You certainly know what you’re doing.”
He shot her a small smile. Thoughts about how quickly things changed invaded his mind, as one of the worst nights of his life came back to him. His mom getting shot when he was thirteen had left an indelible impression. It never failed to crop up at the most random moments. Mom survived the shooting but never recovered full use of her left arm. He should have done something to prevent it, but being thirteen, he’d expectedDadto do more to protect his wife.
“Mom used to get phantom pains from her injury. I learned how to give her relief this way.”
“With foot rubs?” she joked, reminding him she knew about that history.
He aimed a fleeting grin at her. “No, woman. Arm massages. Said it worked wonders. Though I always thought she was blowing smoke.”
“Not a chance. Your mom’s always been a straight arrow. And, really, you certainly have talent.”
He left that comment alone, even as he wished he could banter with her because everything with her came so easy. Taking care of her, chatting with her, being with her and her sister.
Maybe this hadn’t been such a brilliant idea after all.
Worse than that, if he left now it would be too obvious that he was running away.
He focused on her other foot and kept his gaze on the television.
Savannah paused the show before the next episode auto-played. “In case it got lost with my sister carrying on - I appreciate you bringing by pizza and wine tonight.”
He grinned and stood. “It was my pleasure, Smythe. Now you’ve got a new series you can binge.”
She nodded, but from the look on her face, he suspected she wouldn’t binge it. He didn’t mind that since it gave him a reason to come over again…or have her over to…
He forced himself not to think that way.
She was a good girl. Way too good for a man like him, and she definitely deserved better.
He opened the front door and noticed she’d stepped out to follow him.
He turned back to her. “Stay inside, Savannah. No need to walk me out. You on tomorrow?”
Her head wobbled. “I’m training more, I think. Same thing as today, but unless something changed, I’m on for five hours instead of three.”
At the sight of her barefoot in the doorway wearing shorts and a t-shirt, another urge struck him and for the second time he yearned to kiss her, but giving into that urge would be even worse than giving her a foot rub. Because he wouldn’t stop with just a kiss.
He nodded. “I’ll see you there. Later.”
It took him a moment before he backed out of the drive. His dick had been hard before he got up from the couch, and somehow, he’d hidden that from Savannah. He adjusted himself and after a minute, he drove to his apartment.
On the way home, he reminded himself this was his sister’s best friend. He couldn’t go to her house again - no matter howmuch he wanted that. They were both tight with Alanis, and that made it too risky.
They were co-workers - another reason he needed to stay away. She needed to make money, and he didn’t want to get in her way.
The biggest reason he had to stay away was that he couldn’t bring her into his world. Sweet Ava didn’t need to deal with his rough edges and occasional club business. It was yet another reason life with the Riot MC appealed to him. He wasn’t going to settle down, and hook-ups at the clubhouse suited him just fine.
