I tried to read the ingredients of the can in front of me , but our kiss occupied every space in my mind.This could be very dangerous,I scolded myself silently. Unfortunately, even the reminder wasn’t enough to stop that needy flutter.Dangerously good.
I heard him chuckle and I turned around to find him watching me with eyes full of restrained lust glimmering with humor.
“Your face is still pink,” he commented.
“I’m aware. What’s so funny?”
He smirked before placing a finger to his lips. “I’ll never tell. Come on, let’s get this mundane task over.”
With a sigh and nod, I followed alongside him down the aisles, grabbing what I needed as we passed until it was time to check out. The woman working the counter was staring at him cautiously as he placed the basket on the conveyor belt.
“Evening, Taffy." I greeted her warmly despite my somewhat still flushed appearance. She hummed in acknowledgement before looking up at me. When she realized who it was, she dropped the harsh look and replaced it with a warm smile. Taffy was actually Alyssa Robbs and had graduated with Jeremy, but she remained here instead of advancing to college.
Her mother was blind and required assistance in her elderly age so Alyssa helped where she could. She was a sweet person who always tried looking out for those around her. But she definitely judged books by covers rather than contents. I knew she was already making her judgments about Lucien.
“Evening, Mel. I see you brought some new meat into our little town. Where did you pick him up at?” she asked while scanning the food with more care. “Looks city.”
“He’s actually Agatha’s grandson," I answered.
She eyed Lucien up and down with a whistle of surprise. “Well, slap butter on me and call me mashed, I see it now. It’s those eyes. Born with those balls?”
Lucien blinked a few times as he tried to register her question. Unable to decipher, he looked at me for an explanation.
“She’s asking if you were born with that eye color. And yes, he was. His sister has them too.”
“Hers aren’t nearly as gold as mine,” he beamed. I snorted at his response, rolling my eyes. He didn’t seem to appreciate it and poked my cheek with a glare. “What? I don’t see the humor in what I said. Is this a mundie thing?”
“Nope, just amused at your ego,” I responded while running my card through the machine. “How’s your mom doing, Taffy?”
“Much better. That fall she took last time was pretty nasty. Oh, and Mel?” she spoke hesitantly at the end, holding out the receipt to me. When I took it, her hand grasped mine firmly. “I don’t believe those nasty rumors. Jeremy was your safe space and Agatha was like family to you. You would never hurt family and I know that. These idiots know it too, but they won’t admit it to themselves.”
“Thank you, Taf.”
“Stay strong, Mel. There are many in this town who have your back.”
She released my hand and Lucien took it in his own to pull me out of the store, the bags in his other hand. When we got outside, I looked up at him in confusion.
“What was that about?”
“I didn’t like seeing someone hold your hand.”
“It was Taffy, not some random person.”
He held up our joined hands with a huff. “This is mine. Just as mine is yours—.” He paused with a humorless laugh anda shake of his head. He released my hand. Throwing the bags into the back of the truck. “Damn, you’re already turning me into one of those pathetically overprotective guys.”
I watched him struggle internally with something, finding the image of him stressed out like this entertaining. He decided to opt for not speaking at all as we drove back to the house, but returned to holding my hand.
Arriving home, I noticed my father’s truck was there and my heart plummeted into my stomach. Looking over at Lucien, I quickly went to work on making him presentable.
“Give me your jacket,” I demanded with an outstretched hand.
“Why?”
“Whoa, are you embarrassed?” he asked teasingly.
“More like I’m scared for your safety. I’ve never brought a guy to meet my dad like this so I have no clue how he will react. Honestly, this could break him if you come in looking like the pierced and tatted bad boy you are,” I answered honestly. My eyes ran over his half exposed forearms with tattoos pairing the image with his lip piercing and small hoops on his ears made him look like bad news.
I almost don’t want to go inside. I want to see what else he could be hiding under those clothes, I thought to myself with a delighted shiver.
