“Will I see you tonight?” he asked instead, and relief as well as disappointment flooded my system. Especially when those earnest brown eyes were staring down at me with hope.
“I’m not working tonight,” I told him after a long moment, not wanting to disappoint him. “I’m going to visit my grandma,actually.”
Why are you still talking, Emma? This is the part where you shut up!
“She’s in a nursing home,” I said, reaching down to stroke my fingers over Ribbon’s fur on the top of his head where it was soft and supple. “And I like to spend my free time there.”
Stop. Talking.
“Because of your generous tipping,” I told him, clearly not listening to my brain. “I get to take tonight off so I can spend an extra long day with her.”
His eyes were huge in his face. “I’m sorry, did I keep you with me longer than I should have?” He gestured toward the building wildly. “I can drive you there! Let me drop Ribbon off and I’ll be right back.”
Everything screeched to a halt in my head.No. That couldn’t be right. We were supposed to part ways here and I was going to pretend that I forgot all about him by the time I took the bus to the nursing home.
“Oh,” I forced a laugh, waving my hand in front of me like it was no big deal. “No, that’s not—” I didn’t bother to continue as he scooped a startled Ribbon into his arms and charged into the building. I glanced around, wondering if I was supposed to follow him, but decided that I would stay there just in case.
Within a few minutes, he was exiting the building, reaching down, grabbing my hand and heading toward the front doors again.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were busy,” he scolded, and I had to hide my smile as he hurried me past the security team who just stared after us with confusion.
He hustled us to the elevator doors, tapping on the down button until I reached out, taking his hand in mine and smiling up at him, utterly charmed by his concern. “It’s fine,” I told him, running my fingers over his dulled claws.
I wondered for a moment who he’d dulled them for, allowing dozens of sensual scenarios to play through my mind of him and other women. Jealousy wasjustthreatening to overwhelm my common sense when he ducked his head, lifting his other hand.
“I filed them down so I could hold my niece properly, but I’m really glad they’re not sharp so I won’t accidentally hurt you,” he admitted in a voice that said that he hadn’t been fully onboard with the change at the time, but was glad he’d done it now.
Shit, shit,shit.Stop liking him. You can’t afford to fall for anyone. Especially not someone who you’ll fallreallyhard for if you let yourself.
“That’s really kind,” I told him, shaking my head lightly to try to get my brain unclogged from all the images of me cuddling against him like a sex-starved cat in heat that were popping into my head. “How old is your niece? I don’t remember you telling me last night.”
“She’s four, but she acts like she’s old enough to be the boss of us,” he chuckled, the rough timbre of his voice arcing through me like lightning. “We’re all pretty much wrapped around her little finger.”
By then the doors were open and he was hurrying me out again, in the direction of the cars that were all lined up neatly against the back wall.
“This one is mine,” he said, pointing toward a roomy SUV that was a metallic blue. I wanted to call itprettybut I was worried I’d offend his masculine sensibilities. “Gabbi helped pick it out,” he admitted as he opened the passenger door for me.
I blinked at him—this male who was opening doors and offering his hand without needing to be asked. “Thanks,” I told him, even as I wondered who thehellGabbi was.
Looking around, my eyes went wide. The inside of the SUV was less a vehicle and more a mobile fortress on wheels. The ceiling were high enough that Krusk—whose shoulders were doorwaywreckers and stood at nearly eight feet tall—wouldn’t have to hunch.
Reinforced leather—stitched with rune-thread that I recognized from the Magickal Bureau and embossed byThe Everlock Clan—wrapped around each oversized seat like armor, tough enough to withstand tusks, claws, or any toddler’s tantrum.
The front console had been custom-made, a technological wonder of displays and readings. I hadnoidea what anything was. The dashboard flickered with glyphs pulsing in tandem with the engine, which had started a faint humming when he’d opened the door. The gear shift was the hilt of a war axe that had been refitted. It made me wonder if it was Krusk’s.
I turned in my seat to peer into the back. There were two rows of seating. One bench wide enough for three full grown orcs, complete with safety harnesses that adjusted to different sizes. I wondered if he’d had the younglings that he’d been speaking about in mind when he’d had those fitted in.
Another row behind that one was modified into a kind of play-den, lined with fur pelts, glowing lights and consoles. Netting across the ceiling made my eyebrows go high. They looked strong enough to hold anything that Krusk could ever want to carry.
“Gabbi has strong opinions about everything,” Krusk continued, nonchalantly reaching across me to buckle in my seat belt. I sucked in a breath as his scent filled the enclosed area around us, mixed with the leather of the seats and something I could only refer to asnew car. “So when I told my brother I was getting a new vehicle, she insisted on coming with me. Her head couldn’t even see over the sales rep’s desk,” he laughed.
I held my breath as he pulled away, not wanting to question the sudden wetness between my legs, settling because he was still talking about hisniece. There was no reason for me to be jealousanyway. I looked away, praying that he couldn’t tell how much his presence affected me.
Damn you, Emma, get it together!
“That’s sweet,” I gasped, as he rounded the SUV to take the driver’s seat.
Why the hell are you this turned on by him being a gentleman? You’ve had boyfriends before who’ve…
