I leaned down and made a play for that tongue. Her yip of surprise had me squeezing her even tighter as I dragged her lip away with my teeth before offering her a soothing kiss. “Ballerinas can get their legs behind their heads while standing up, right? That could be kinda fun.”
“They can. They’re all bendy and supple.” In one twist of her body, Ayda was straddling me as best she could in the small cramped space. “Before we go any further, is there anything else I should know before I go all contortionist and stick my foot in my mouth yet again?”
I grabbed her ass cheeks and pulled her closer, looking up at her and squinting. “I’ve covered the parents. I guess I should probably tell you about my twin brother, too…”
“What?” She blinked at me.
I kept a straight face for all of three seconds before I let my grin burst free. “Kidding. There’s only one of me, darlin’.”
Ayda covered her face with both hands and started to laugh. Dropping them to rest on my chest, she shook her head, a look of pure relief on her face. “The world couldn’t handle two of you.”
“Bet you’d like to give that a try, though.”
“Only if it was a clone. A twin would be someone different completely. You’re an original, Mr. Tucker. One of a kind and you’re mine.”
I dragged in a slow breath, blowing it all out as I said the only word either one of us needed to hear.
“Yours.”
Eventually, after much yawning from Ayda, I began to drive the two of us back to The Hut. The night had been pretty perfect. I didn’t want it to end as much as she didn’t. Her quiet protests and pouting were adorable as I started up the engine and gave her a sideways glance. She had no need to worry. I planned on making more memories like this with her for a very long time if she’d let me.
Averylong time.
I held her hand the whole way home, never letting go as I navigated us through the empty streets of Babylon. Even though I should have been concentrating on the roads, my eyes kept seeking hers, and the subtle smiles and the things we said in the silence made me feel even closer to her than I had before.
That was when the idea struck me.
When we pulled into the yard, I jumped out of the van and ran around to open the door for her. The old me—the one who fucked and ran—wouldn’t recognize this chivalrous fucker who wanted to sweep his leading lady off her feet. I guess the old me wouldn’t understand how the feeling of pure panic could change a man. The moment I thought I was going to lose her in that warehouse, I became someone else—someone who vowed to always treat her right should the two of us survive.
We did survive.
Now it was up to me to make sure welived. Living meant not waiting. Not waiting meant making things happen for her the moment she said she wanted them.
The bar was empty when we walked through the door of The Hut, apart from a few sleeping bodies draped over the sofas, and Harry who was slowly dragging his feet across to the bar to pour himself a breakfast whiskey.
He looked up when he saw the two of us smiling way too brightly for a couple of fools who had just spent the night cooped up in a cramped van.
“Look what the new day dragged in,” he announced roughly, his early morning voice making him sound twenty years older than he was.
“Good fucking morning, Harry,” I called back to him.
“Clearly is for you.” He smirked before turning his attention to Ayda. “Darlin’.” He toasted to her, raising his shot glass before throwing it down his neck in one swift move.
“You want some coffee to go with that whiskey, Harry?” Ayda asked, her eyes moving with longing to the kitchen where the coffee machine resided.
“If you’re making, I’ll drink it.” He slammed the shot glass down and sighed as he planted his hands on his hips. “The whiskey just helps with the sore throat and chest. The coffee’s what I need to help everything else wake up.”
I narrowed my eyes at him and shook my head. “You know what else would help with the chest?”
Right on cue, Harry pulled a packet of smokes out of his cut inside pocket before he placed one on the edge of his lips and smiled flatly. “What’s that?”
“You’re a fucking idiot,” I said, exasperated.
“My life. My rules.”
“Don’t say I didn’t try.”
“Never would, son. Never would.”
