Hayden glanced up and immediately tore his eyes away. But it wasn't fast enough. Not fast enough to not take in the exquisite detail of her round ass gently swaying back and forth as she climbed each step.
His jaw clenched. He was acting no better than those lowlifes, dammit.
Glancing back up at her, he tried to look beyond the round swell of flesh and up the dipping curves of her hips toward the long column of her back. Damn, she was beautiful, though, Hayden thought with a scowl. No, she was more than beautiful. With her tawny brown skin and golden streaked coffee curls, she was a breathtaking star in a sea of blackness. Of course, someone like Tyler would want her, any man with the ability of sight would.
"Okay, this is it," Joel announced as he opened the door to the second floor and stepped onto the landing.
Stepping up from behind her, Hayden watched as her eyes scanned her surroundings.
Directly in front of the landing door to the stairs was another door that led to Joel's bedroom. Turning sharply, they walked down a narrow hall sandwiched by the wall to the stairs, which led to the third floor and a wall with two other doors concealing the bathroom and his room. He could see her tired gaze perk up a bit as she followed Joel and stopped in the large kitchen and living room. Hayden cast a glance over the open, loft-style room and tried to view it as she was.
Thirteen-foot ceilings, large windows, exposed brick and beams, along with their hodgepodge collection of furniture and kitchen supplies. The whole room was shaped like a fat L, with the little tail end stopping in the hallway they were standing in, bordered by the second set of stairs. The larger part of the room, which was both their living area and kitchen, always reminded Hayden of a factory breakroom more than anything. The two completely different sofas lining two walls screamedfound on the street, while the flat-screen with a tangle of cords jutting off to the side sat by itself on a beat-up tv stand.
Hayden looked to Sapphire, expecting her beautiful, proud face to hold a note of disapproval at their lack of decent furnishings, but her eyes were focused on the kitchen.
Seeing where her attention was, Joel waved a dismissive hand at the restaurant-grade counters and sink. "Yeah, we had more supplies from the restaurant leftover, and so we brought it up here," he explained as he turned toward the second set of stairs leading up. "Come on. Your room is up here."
Slowly, she pulled her gaze from the barebones kitchen set up and followed Joel up the stairs.
At the top, they all stopped at the landing. There was one naked bulb sticking out from a sconce giving the dark hallway a bit of gloomy yellow light. There were four doors on this floor. With mostly the same layout as the second floor, the first three rooms were identical to those below: one bedroom directly in front of the stairs, then a bathroom to the right, and then another bedroom. Yet where the large open kitchen and living were downstairs, this floor held two more bedrooms in its place.
"The other bedrooms are filled with tons of crap," Joel said as he opened the door directly off the stairs. "But this room and the bathroom up here are in working condition."
"The bathroom is missing a shower curtain," Hayden reminded him gruffly.
Joel laughed and hit the light switch in the dark room. "Okay…somewhat working condition," he amended.
The sad yellow light coming from the overhead ceiling fan didn't do the room much justice. A bare queen-sized bed sat directly in front of the door while the far-right wall was lined with boxes. Besides the beat-up dresser next to the closet, there was no other furniture in the abandoned room.
Hayden could see Joel stiffen at the sight of the place. Neither one of them had been up here since Vic left. Hell, even when he was here, they never really had a reason to come into his room. Save for the few glances inside when he left his door open from time to time, they never really got to see inside. Now he wished he had, Hayden thought, as both he and Joel looked around the bleak room as Sapphire did the same.
Taking a few hesitant steps forward, she walked to the bed and stopped. Hesitantly, she put her backpack on top of the quilt folded at the end. She turned and looked back at them, her striking face holding no sign of dissatisfaction. Instead, her usually sharp eyes seemed wary as she looked to the bed and back to them.
"Are you sure Vic isn’t coming back?" she asked, her eyes darting to the pile of cardboard boxes stacked in the corner of the room.
Hayden shook his head. "He's got family stuff he's taking care of. He's staying on his dad's farm."
Joel checked his watch before looking back to Hayden. "Yeah, and now he's at the bar waiting for us. We need to get going."
Hayden nodded. He could just imagine the overwhelming crowd Vic was dealing with.
Catching her eye, Hayden pointed to the radiator-looking space heater sitting in the corner of the room. "There is no central heating or cooling in this place," he informed her. "We just installed individual air conditioners in each room last year, but no heaters. You’ll need to use that."
Sapphire nodded, and he could see the fatigue in her features. It had been a long night, and theirs wasn't even near over.
Joel stepped past her to the dresser, and Hayden didn't miss the way she stiffened as he got near. Pulling a piece of crumpled paper from his pocket, Joel snatched a pen from the top of the dresser and began to scribble something down. "Okay, if you need anything, feel free to go into the rooms up here. There is a ton of shit in boxes. Also, if you need to shower and prefer a curtain, you can use our bathroom downstairs. And this is my number and Hayden's. We won't be back until real fucking early in the morning," he said, handing her the paper.
Sapphire held it in her hand and looked at it. Hayden could see her thoughts churning behind her eyes. Was that fear? He didn't get a chance to confirm. As quickly as the emotion appeared, it was stamped away behind the firm set of her lips and severe look in her eyes as she gave a stiff nod.
Joel surprised him as he stepped toward the girl. This time he had no choice but to see her body stiffen and her eyes widen as Joel stepped closer to her. Putting one hand on her shoulder, he looked down at her and smirked.
"Don't worry. That guy is in jail, and his friends are probably halfway back home now wondering if Hayden and I are going to come and kick down their door—which I'm still considering," he chuckled.
But Hayden knew he was very serious.
"But you're safe," Joel continued. "No one is stupid enough to even look at you now that people know you belong to us." Sapphire's head snapped back at that, and her dark brown eyes blazed in indignation, but Joel kept on as if he didn't see it. "Also, when we leave, this place will be locked up so tight, you'll find it hard to get out. We've got cameras around the building and in the café, and remember, the sheriff's office is right across the street. You're safe," he assured her.
Sapphire nodded reluctantly. "We still need to talk about the assumption of ownership over me, but…thank you," she added softly. Her eyes flicked from Joel's then to his, and Hayden felt his stomach knot at the cautious expression.
