…
“Hey, are you okay?” My sister Ava’s voice penetrates my black-fogged mind, and I groan and bury my face in my pillow. I’ve only just crawled into bed. Except the light’s all wrong, and I force one eye open to check my cell.
“Aw, shit.” It’s gone ten. I’m due at the diner in an hour, but I’m too damn exhausted to move. And not just because I’ve only been in bed for five hours. My whole body tingles from the aftereffects of being with Gage, and all I want to do is wallow in it.
Ava sits on the edge of my bed. “I heard you sneak in earlier. I hope your boss is paying you good overtime.”
Groggy, I sit up and push my hand through my tangled hair. “Huh?”
My sister sucks in a dramatic breath. “Fuck me sideways. Is he a vampire or something?”
My neck stings, and I press my fingers against my sore flesh as heat washes over my face. I haven’t looked in a mirror since yesterday, but I guess I don’t need to. Ava’s snigger tells me everything I need to know.
I hug my knees and lean back against the wall. “How bad is it?”
She tilts her head and narrows her eyes. “Theyare very impressive. Better not let Mom see them.”
I haven’t had hickeys since I was a teen, and Mom always went apeshit. Sure, I’m twenty-three, but her words still rattle about inside my head.What would your dad say?
Guilt churns through me. I don’t even want to imagine what he’d say about this clusterfuck.
“Anyway, never mind that.” Ava scowls and pokes my chest. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were hooking up with your boss? Thatiswho you’re seeing, isn’t it? Must be—it’s not like you ever gooutanywhere to meet hot guys.”
“Are you dating someone, Amy?” Our youngest sister Abby wanders into my room and leans her butt against my desk. “Whoa. Did he try and eat you last night?”
I get the sudden vision of Gage going down on me and give a defeated whimper. Just thinking about him, even after a night of mind-bending sex, and I’m wet and needy. How can I go back to Odin’s and behave like nothing’s changed between us?
That’s assuming I still have a job to go back to. I’m under no illusions about how these things work.
“Yeah, he’s my boss.” I’ve wanted to confide in my sisters for the last two weeks, but how could I? Then again, it’s not like I have to tell them who he really is. And obviously, I have to tell them somethingnow. “A crazy one-night stand. I wasn’t drunk, either.”
“You don’t do one-night stands.” Abby looks vaguely shocked.
“For real?” Ava sounds intrigued. “Just the one night? Where’s this place again? I might come see you at work tonight.”
“Good luck with that.” She’s not twenty-one yet, and while we’ve both done fake IDs in the past, there’s no way I want her anywhere near Odin’s.
“What’s he like?” Abby’s clearly gotten over her shock that her boring eldest sister has done something exciting for once. “Got a photo?”
“Hmm. No.” Taking selfies with Gage never even occurred to me. I ignore the stab of regret. Besides, I have the sinking feeling I’ll never forget his face, even without a picture to remind me.
“So, are you having another one-night stand with him tonight?” Ava sits cross-legged at the end of my bed. “Keep him going for another few days, at least. You might get a Christmas gift from him.”
“I don’t think you understand the meaning ofone-night stand.” My voice is sharper than I intend, and she raises her eyebrows at me. Great. I’ve just given myself away. And although I would’ve shared how I feel about my mystery lover sooner or later, right now I’m late for work and it’s all still too raw.
My cell rings. I stare at the ID and my face heatsagain.
“Hey.” I sound bored, as though I haven’t just been obsessing over him. Shit, maybe he’s only calling to tell me not to bother coming back to work. Just one of the perils of being a casual workerandsleeping with your boss when he’s a member of an MC. Then again, I can’t say I’m looking forward to going back to Odin’s and watching him take a succession of girls out into the alley in any case.
“Hey.” His smoky voice wraps around me, and I clutch my cell tighter so I don’t I drop the damn thing. “Woke up and you’re not here.”
I gulp and shoot a desperate glance at my enthralled sisters, neither of whom possesses the good manners to leave the room while I embarrass myself.
“Didn’t think you’d notice.” Jesus, did I say that? What a dork.
His sinfully sexy laugh warms me from the top of my head to the tips of my toes and everywhere in between. I try not to wriggle and fail.
“You want to know what I’m doing right now?” His voice drops an octave and need quivers between my thighs. This time I don’t dare catch my sisters’ interested gazes.
