Just how many houses had he gone to that night? You know what? I didn't want to know. God, of all the people in Austin—hell, in the Gulf Coast, that I couldhave grown feelings for, it'd been Dex. I was a total idiot.
"The redhead," I probably snapped a bit more harshly than I would've liked. "Sky-something."
Dex's lips turned down just a fraction, the lining of his forehead staying in place. "When?"
"That day you were planning on skinning mealive." I might have glanced down at Uriel—not his pierced nipples—again.
He looked at me like he didn't believe me. "Why?"
Why? "She said you left it at her house the night before." Crap, I really did sound a lot more crabby than I wouldhave liked.
At the sound of my tone and the words that had come out of my mouth, Dex pulled the red toothbrush out of his mouth and spit in the sink. He glanced up once before rinsing out his mouth, quirking an eyebrow in my direction. Slowly, he straightened up, thosesootycobalt eyes lingering on me for longer than I was comfortable with.
He narrowed his eyes. "Why do you sound so pissed off?"
"Because you left me alone here all night," I replied just a little too fast. It wasn't because he'd spent the night with a pretty redhead. No, siree. "I kept thinking someone was going to break in and murder me since we're in the middle of nowhere."
"I wouldn't let that happen, Ritz."
I almost rolled my eyes. How would he have stopped that from happening if he hadn't even been around? "All right," I said a little more sarcastically thanI intended.
The line of Dex's unshaved jaw twitched. "I wouldn't," he insisted.
"All right," I repeated myself. "It's fine."
I had a sickening feeling that he didn't exactly believe me. "You sure?"
Still, my response of a nod was too instinctual to be played off as cool and distant.
Dex kept that heavy gaze on me as he crossed his darkly tattooed arms over his chest, muscles and colors popping with the movement. He was watching carefully, way too carefully.
Suddenly, I didn't want to keep standing in front of him like I was waiting to go to trial. One foot out of the door, I rolled my eyes at myself for being so dang transparent. "Your thing is at Pins, and I'm going to shower real quick and get dressed."
"Bathing suit, Ritz!" he called out after me.
Like I could forget.
~ * ~ *
The only positive thing I could think of while Dex drove my car down the dusty road that led toward the lake, was that I was extremely grateful I'd been a Floridian before coming to Texas.
I'd grown up a short drive from the beach. I'd lived most of my life right by the ocean. And when you're broke as a joke, you can always go to the beach for free. So it was inevitable that I had almost as many clothes for sand and water as I did for a normal day. Specifically beach wear that could cover me up.
Dex and I had to make a stop at Sonny's to get my things because I hadn't brought anything to his house that was water-friendly. I found a really thin long-sleeved beachdress—plus shorts—to cover myroyalpurple two-piece.
I'd come up with my game plan somewhere between Sonny's and the toy store for going undetected. I could either simply not get into the water, or I'd just make sure to keep my arms down constantly. I'donly done that a few timeswhile at the local beach back home but that was because the strangers that saw my scar were just that—people I'd never see again.
But Dex? And his family?
My secret was better off safe for a while.
"Chill out," Dex murmured as he maneuvered the car toward a grouping of cars the furthest away from the entrance to the state park.
"I'm fine." Lie.
He chuckled low, turning the wheel into the first spot he found by his family's collection of cars. "Babe, you're all tense. Quit worryin'. My sisters are all right, and my ma's been houndin’me to bring you around since she found out you worked for me." He flashed a little grin over. "The worst you gotta worry about is Han not likin' her present."
"I think you should be worried about your sister when she finds out you got her a karaoke machine." I'd gotten Hannah, Dex's youngest niece, an alarm clock of that kitty character that she supposedly really liked. The big brute had spent an arm and a leg on a pink karaoke machine with two microphones that he swore the little girl would love.
