Her eyebrows went up. “You foundRoast n Toast, didn’t you?”
“I googled coffee shops in the area and found that they had the best ratings. Really cool little place. Love the coffee cups onthe wall outside,” he said and shrugged, leading her back around the building and through the garage bay door.
Shaun laughed, nodding. “It’s my favorite place for lunch. I actually think Jodi has a picture of me trying to ‘drink’ from one of those cups, absolutely blitzed on my twenty-first birthday.”
Kasey laughed, and five grown men rushed to look like they were working as the two of them came into view. Brad, a big bear of a man with a thick, dark beard threaded with silver, sidled over, sticking his hand out to Kasey.
“You’re K.C.,” he said reverently, his deep voice rumbling, and Shaun rolled her eyes. “Love watching you race, man. Absolute dynamite on the track.”
Kasey grinned and said, “Thanks, the team works very hard to make sure my job is real easy.”
Brad stepped back and his hazel eyes bounced from Kasey’s face to Shaun’s and back. Gesturing between the two of them, he asked, “Uhh, so how did you meet our Shaun? You uhh, treating her right? We would have some words if you’re not.”
Groaning inwardly, she pinched the bridge of her nose between her finger and thumb. “Oh my god.”
Kasey chuckled, draping his arm over her shoulders, and tugged her close even as she protested weakly, her face flaming. Jake, Ben, and Nick had all walked closer, listening in on the conversation. “I met Shaun last year at my cousin’s wedding, but in respect for her relationship at the time, I didn’t pursue anything further. At least not until last weekend. The Colorado Rockies can be such a romantic place, can’t they?”
“Oh my gawd,” she groaned again, elbowing him in the side of the ribs. He grunted but didn’t move his arm from around her shoulders. “You are the absolute worst human being.”
“Alright guys, if we’re all taking breaks, punch out for lunch,” Ben called over, though his tone was light. When Shaun glanced over at him, he winked. “I don’t pay you for social hour.”
THIRTY-SEVEN
“So then, Ben pulls me into the office and tells me that he sent Nate home for the remainder of the day, and that he is on a weeklong suspension, with a formal write up,” Shaun said, rounding the corner of the couch to sink into it. Raising his arm, she settled into the crook of his body, leaning with her back angled against his side and chest. Steaming bowl of chili piled high with diced white onions, a dollop of sour cream, and a handful of cheddar cheese balanced in her hands, she wiggled back, lifting her legs to tuck them beneath her crisscross. Her hair was damp from the shower she’d taken after she’d gotten home, and she’d only pulled on one of his shirts afterward, the hem riding up as she sat cross legged. She turned her head to look back at him. “I know I shouldn’t, but I feel bad for him getting in trouble.”
His own empty chili bowl sat on the coffee table next to them. Picking up his beer, he took a drink before responding.
“You have this very misplaced sense of guilt,” he murmured, sweeping her curls away from the side of her neck as she took a bite. “First Tommy, now this asshole. You shouldn’t feel bad at all. His own actions got him into hot water. He could have been a decent human being and taken the first no as an answer.”
Craning her neck around to fix him with a dubious stare, he let his mouth tilt up in a half grin as she muttered dryly, “Youdidn’t take the firsthundredno’s as an answer.”
Leaning forward, he pressed a quick kiss to her mouth. “No, I didn’t. If I’d thought any part of you actually meant it, I would have left you alone, darlin’. But I knew the first time I laid my eyes on you; we would end up just like this. I just had to convince you, first.”
He felt her body stiffen where she was pressed against him and knew before she opened her mouth that the protest was coming and braced for it. She set her chili in her lap and half turned to face him.
“Kasey—”
“Don’t, please. Just… Don’t.”
Her dark, raven’s wing brows drew close over those deep sapphire blue eyes as she stared at him. “Don’t what?”
“You’re getting ready to run again. Don’t,” he murmured, his voice low, raw.
“This is my house, I have nowhere else to run to,” she said, her tone sharp and defensive. She shook her head then, rolling her eyes. “I’m not running.”
“Physically, no,” he said gently, running his fingers down her arm where his still lay across her shoulders. “You’re either going to push me away or pull away yourself. Don’t, please. Let us have this.”
“You’ve been here over two weeks already, Kasey,” she stammered on a sardonic laugh. Exhaling roughly, she turned her head back forward, her hair falling over her shoulder again. “You asked me to give you the weekend, the week, which we had, plus some. What more do you want?”
“Exactly that. I want more.”
“More what?” she asked defensively, uncrossing her legs and swinging them over the edge of the couch. The shirt rode up higher, giving him a glimpse of her ass in the cheeky thong she had on. Setting her chili on the table in front of them, she twisted so that she was facing him more fully. Goddamn she was beautiful when she got riled. “More time? More blow jobs? More what, Kasey?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake— Why is it so impossible for you to just accept that maybe I like spending time with you?” he asked, sitting up straighter on the couch himself. “I like you, Shaun. Afucking hell of a lot. No,morethan a hell of a lot, and I like whateverthisis that we’re doing right now. At least I did until thirty seconds ago.”
Rolling her eyes and blowing out an exasperated breath, she stood, picking up her chili bowl and heading to the small kitchen. He followed.
She set the bowl down on the counter with a loud thunk, the spoon clattering out onto the counter noisily. Rounding on him, she placed her hands on her hips and glared up at him, the movement causing the shirt to ride up higher on her bare thighs. He could just make out the splash of red that were her panties at the junction of her legs.
