“Maybe that’s why you’re so damned hot all the time,” I mused. “All that testosterone.”
His voice lowered, and he rasped, “Baby,” in his husky voice.
A warm shiver ran down my spine at his deep, sexy tone.
I loved it when he used that tone with me.
Pagan had a great voice, deep and rumbly. In the beginning, if I said something cute, he’d look at me and growl,baby, and it made me lose my breath. It used to happen all the time, but lately, not so much.
It felt like he was pulling away from me, and it was confusing because I thought we were getting on well, but it seemed like the closer we got, the more he shut down.
At the beginning, he’d pursued me relentlessly, but the instant I opened up to him, he stopped trying. It went from him chasing me to me being needy, like he’d suddenly become the ultimate prize, and I was lucky to get his attention. The distance between us hadn’t just been about geography lately, so after all the mood swings that low, raspy ‘baby’ sounded like nectar to my ears.
“I’ll come to Denver,” he relented. “Even if it’s just for a night.”
The tension left my shoulders. “Why don’t you fly down?” I suggested. “It only takes an hour from Rock Springs, and I can pick you up from the airport.”
“Don’t do cages,” he cut out.
“It’ll save time,” I pointed out. “And you won’t have a five-hour ride to Denver and back in the cold and snow. It worries me when you ride in bad weather.”
There was a brief pause, then, “Maybe I can arrange to borrow a bike.”
My lips curved. “Okay, honey.”
He must’ve heard the smile in my voice because he warned, “Don’t get cocky,Dubheasa. I’m already pissed at you. Be grateful my boys are here, ’cause if they weren’t, I’d ride down there and kidnap your ass, just so I could tan it.”
My tone dropped. “Is that a threat or a promise?”
Usually, he’d come back with some quip or a few dirty words that would make me giggle, but instead, silence stretched between us, and it reminded me again that something was off.
We hardly saw each other, and he hadn’t touched me since we were in Mam’s garage. We slept together when the occasion allowed it, but after holding me for what seemed like an appropriate amount of time, he kissed my forehead, rolled away, and gave me his back.
When I woke in the morning, he was usually gone. I wasn’t even sure if he slept in the bed with me or just waited until I fell asleep before he escaped.
He said he wanted to respect my decision about sex before marriage, and I appreciated that, but I still needed some kind of intimacy, or else what was the point? It was glaringly obvious to me that something had changed between us, but every time I tried to broach the subject, he just told me to stop nagging.
I needed to think, and to do that, I had to get some space.
Maybe it would be for the best because he’d either miss me or realize he didn’t, and that would force him to make a decision, and either way, at least I’d know.
Mom had told me what to expect, and I was trying my best to be patient and wait for him to snap out of it.
I just wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold on.
CHAPTER 12
PAGAN
Igrinned into my menu at Rex and Rome, shooting the shit as we sat in a booth at the diner in Coal Creek.
My two boys were me in teenagers' bodies, though Rex probably had way more swagger than me. At fourteen and sixteen, they were already hitting six feet, and they were both ripped from track and playing sports.
Back when I had hair on my head, it was dark brown. Rome had inherited that from me, whereas Rex had his mom’s black hair. Both my sons had my eyes, my nose, and my smirk.
Luckily, they didn’t have my shitty attitude, at least not with me, though I was pretty sure they were little shits when my back was turned. My boys were also good-looking dudes, as evidenced by the entire teenage girl population of Coal Creek mysteriously showing up and packing out the diner within five minutes of us sitting down.
News traveled fast in Coal Creek, especially amongst teenage girls, obviously.
