Aspen chuckled and knocked his knee against mine under the table. I hissed, and he squinted in concern.
My belly warmed in an odd way with him giving me that caring look, and I took another bite of my eggs, this time being careful about it. I chased each mouthful with water until I was halfway done, then leaned back, satisfied. Aspen had dragged a newspaper over in front of himself, perusing the politics page.
“I never saw yer Corbin impression.”
He said nothing, only lifted his eyebrows. I stared at him again. I liked that Aspen didn’t talk a lot of bullshite, but every once in a while, I wished he was a wee bit easier to read. Today I would love to get inside his head.
“Vail called too early this morning, poutin’ that pretty mouth of his at me because I was hurt.”
“Where’s my thank-you?” He nudged my arm, and I knocked my elbow against his.
“Ye serious?” I asked, outraged.
He shrugged. “You know you love it when he’s worried about you. He comes to kiss all over you and fuck you better.”
Slamming my fists on the table didn’t get a rise out of him, and he didn’t so much as budge. “Ye want another fight on yer hands?”
“Oh, you think you’d win?” He didn’t even glance at me, and my blood pressure shot through the roof. “How’s that ass this morning? Delicate?” His nostrils flared and the twinkle in his eye meant the arsehole was laughing at me.
My face burned and I flipped him off, which finally won me a snort of laughter.
Jamie startled me when he went around the table and pulled out a chair across from us. His bouncy brown curls were still dark with water from his shower, and he brought a fresh earthy scent with him. Rather than wearing a suit, he had on a nice red short-sleeved button-down and crisp tan trousers. I considered maybe with the heat we could get away with more in the wardrobe department, but years of working so close to the boss wouldn’t let me branch out much. Sloan liked to see us in suits.
The smile on Jamie’s face had me sighing because it was the kind that let me know I was about to take a ribbing. “I don’t want to know what ya were up to last night.”
My cheeks scalded and I cleared my throat. “I don’t put my arse in the air for no one, not even Aspen.” I pointed at Jamie. “So, get that out of yer mind if it was in there. We were talking about something else.”
Jamie chuckled, showing all his teeth. “Ya got some issues, lad. Also, sounds to me that you’re making your life boring. Hunter has fun with me arse. He’s such a sweet thing, ya wouldn’t think it, but those bikers move with their motorbikes. Their hips know how to roll with the road, ya know what I mean?”
Staring at my half-eaten food, I let my mind drift to the blond I’d seen with him. Sometimes he was in suits the same as a Company man, but others he wore dirty jeans and a black leather jacket. “Ye let him....”
Jamie cackled until he was red in the face, and I was fuming. “Aye! Why not? Life’s too short, and sometimes I’m knackered at the end of the day. It’s nice to treat yourself.” He waggled his eyebrows at me like an arse, and if he wasn’t technically my boss here, I might’ve gutted him.
“That’s what blowjobs are for.”
He shrugged. “Not judging, mate. Just letting ya know there’s all sorts of horizons out there, if ya look to broaden yours.”
Corbin came in and snatched the newspaper away from Aspen, who sat back and crossed his arms, but the short, plain man didn’t seem to notice or care about the death glare he received. His brown hair was combed to the side, and as usual, he hadn’t dressed up or down. His white polo shirt was as forgettable as his round face. He’d told me once that he aimed to be unremarkable so no one would ever remember him from a job.
“Jamie’s been trying to convince me of the virtues of getting tossed for years. Don’t mind him. Can’t tell him birds are better, neither. I’ve tried.” Corbin smiled around at us before he settled down at Jamie’s side and opened the newspaper.
Groaning, I shook my head. “Blokes are more fun. He’s right.”
Corbin lowered his paper long enough to purse his lips in my direction, then went back to it. “I’ll never understand that.” He didn’t sound put off, only factual, so I took his words for what they were, a simple statement rather than a shite comment, like it might’ve been coming from someone else.
Aspen smirked at me.
“What?”
He laid his arm across the back of my chair. “When did you decide you liked guys better? You never told me that. Was it when I had my hands on your—”
“Look, listen,” I said, leaning toward him. He slid forward to rest his elbow on the table and dropped his chin on his palm. “I headbutted ye once and I’ll do it again.”
“You can try.” His lips twitched toward a smile, and heat settled over my front half so that my body was ablaze on all sides.
Corbin cleared his throat, and we both snapped to attention, focusing on him. He set aside the newspaper and handed across several documents to us. I flipped through my stack. It appeared to be a neighborhood map and blueprints for a simple building of storage units. Aspen studied his pages with care, and I quickly grew bored of it, tossing my papers on the table.
Shifting in my seat to try to take the pressure off the more tender spots on my arse, I tapped the map that had ended up on top of my pile. “What’s this?”
