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He leaned down and kissed her frowning mouth. “They didn’t know what they were missing.”
“Yeah, well, most places don’t take kindly to me speaking my mind. Either I was too weird, or I got distracted and left in the middle of my shift.”
“In the middle of your shift?”
She shrugged. “I saw this dog locked up in the back of a van. Poor thing looked so scared and she had a chain collar with studs.” She shuddered. “No dog needs one of those.”
He dragged her closer. “No. I agree. So, you’re a dog lover?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Ever had one?”
She sighed and laid her head against his chest. “Parents wouldn’t allow it.”
“Allergic?”
“White furniture.”
He moved back. “What? Every kid needs a dog.”
“Did you have one?”
“Yeah. Ruffles. When I was really young before…well, when I was young there was more room for one.”
The little wrinkle between her brows returned.
He smoothed it out with the pad of his finger. “Ruffles had an awesome life. He was older when I got him.”
“Aww, you took in a senior dog?”
He shrugged and cleared his throat. “I didn’t know it at the time. He was muddy and scraggly and barked at anyone that got near him.”
“Except you?”
He grinned. “I had a bag of Ruffles. The dog was mad for them. Probably because he was starving, but I didn’t care. As soon as he took the first chip from me, he was mine.”
She tipped her head up then went onto her toes and kissed him. It wasn’t the first time she’d kissed him, of course, but it was different this time. There wasn’t a calculated gleam in her eyes to figure out what she should do. Or how to do something outrageous. And it made the kiss even more softer and more intense.
Instead of her arms going up around his shoulders, she snaked her arms around him and dug her fingers into his back pockets.
He groaned into her mouth and slowly slipped past her lips with his tongue. Her fingers tightened on his ass and he had to hold himself in check. He liked her aggression and wanted to taste more of it.
“Dude, not in the kitchen,” Ryan muttered and pushed past them.
West swiped his thumb over his lower lip as he twisted to watch his best friend stride by. Ryan could be surly, but for the most part he was pretty affable. Except lately.
“He doesn’t like me,” she said resolutely.
After the comments she’d overheard that morning, West couldn’t blame her for getting that feeling. Ryan’s apology probably hadn’t gone that far either. Denver hadn’t even bothered. She wasn’t mean, but she reserved judgment about new people and when it came to the supposed hookups the band brought on the bus, she lived in mother hen mode until they’d proven themselves.
That didn’t happen overnight.
West turned back to her. “He doesn’t know you.”
“He won’t look at me. Usually means someone doesn’t want to deal with me.”
West cupped her cheek. “You’ve had a lot of shitty people in your life, huh?”
