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He pulled in somewhere and parked a moment later. Once his body moved out of my way, I realized we were at the shop. The sun was setting, and the sky had gone dark with the approaching storm. Taking off his helmet, Slade motioned for me to hurry and eventually, moved me off the bike himself. It didn’t matter, though. Almost to the second, as soon as my foot touched the parking lot, big fat raindrops began to fall from the sky. At a run, we made it into the shop a few minutes later. It would’ve been quicker, but we’d been waylaid by the million locks as Slade attempted to unlock them. By the time we entered the store, we were both completely drenched.
“Bet you wish you didn’t have as many locks now, huh?”
Slade turned to me, a retort on his lips, but when he looked at me, he stopped and stared for a long moment, and I couldn’t figure out what was happening.
“Earth to bossnemy? Did you have a stroke or something?”
Waving my hand in front of his face, the movement captured his attention, earning me a scowl. It seemed my mere existence frustrated him today and it grated on me. I didn’t want to admit it. It was much easier to pretend I didn’t care, but it did. I acted like I didn’t care what people thought of me, and for the most part, that was true.
But I also had this deep-seated desire to be liked, and when I hadn’t done anything to my knowledge to earn his disdain, it hurt,a lot.
His lip turned up, and he scowled down at me. “Do you always have to wear dresses?”
Confused, I furrowed my brow. “I don’thave to, but I like to. What’s it to you anyway what I wear?”
Huffing, I crossed my arms, the dampness of the material reminding me I was soaking wet. My body started to shake, and I realized how chilled I was. Rubbing my arms to garner heat, I glanced down, and the color of my dress registered.
Mother of pearl! My dress was practically see-through! No wonder Tatzilla had stared.
Burrowing further into my arms as a protective shield, I debated on how to fix this situation. It was obvious Slade was disgusted by me. The dress was stuck to my body, offering a skin-tight look at every inch of me, the white highlighting each roll of chub. I embraced my body and had accepted it wasn’t the same as the tall skinny Crystals of the world, but it didn’t mean I didn’t feel some self-consciousness every now and then. Especially when I stood practically naked in front of a man. Spinning, I took off for the back.
“James! Stop pouting and get back here.”
I wanted to ignore him on principle, tired of his ordering me around. Plus, I was cold, and I hoped he had something in his office. Stomping as I went, I couldn’t pass the opportunity to showcase my displeasure. The further back I ventured into the shop, the more I noticed how dark it was. The thunder rolled above, and a lightning streak lit up the window upfront, causing me to jump again. Crapola, the power was out, and the sun had set.
I couldn’t see any further into the shop, and the thought of blindly walking in terrified me. I’d seen enough horror movies that started this way.
“Um, Slade? I can’t see.”
“Open your eyes, James.”
His voice took on an ethereal quality, the deep timber rolling through me, and I almost moaned out loud at the way it affected me. I found myself shivering for an entirely different reason now. I hadn’t realized I’d closed my eyes until I opened them and found him standing directly in front of me, his phone flashlight bright in front of my face.
“Here.”
He shoved something into my hand, and I realized it was a shirt. Looking back up, he’d already walked off again, leaving me in darkness. Muttering under my breath, I picked up the pace to follow him, not wanting to be left alone in the stormy atmosphere a minute longer.
A soft glow emitted from where I assumed his office was, and I headed there. Just as I stepped in, I caught a brief glance of his naked body in the dim light before he pulled a pair of low-slung athletic shorts up.
Slade turned, finding me immobile in the doorway and a twisted smile tilted his lips, instantly cooling my arousal. Scowling myself, I stuck out my tongue as I stepped into the room. I twisted the shirt into my hands, unsure what to do now I was here. Slade propped himself against the desk, his gaze critical as he watched me.
“You’re not shy, are you,Peach?”
The taunt was obvious, but I found myself falling into it regardless, as heat seared my skin. Embarrassment or arousal, I didn’t know.
“Scared? Why would I be scared?”
His thumb brushed against his lower lip as he assessed me, and I found myself tracking its movement. He lowered his hand, shaking his head, disbelief etched in his features as I stayed frozen.
“Funny. You said ‘scared’ when I asked if you were shy.” He smirked, pausing to let that sink in. I didn’t have an answer for him. “I thought you were braver, that’s all. Surely, a little nudity doesn’t scare you?”
“Nudity? I’m not getting nude with you! What, you think because you rescued me, I now owe you a sexual favor or something?”
I was appreciative of the darkness, hiding the redness that had taken over my body and crept up my neck. Flustered beyond belief, I stammered all over the place as I tried to decrease my heart rate. My dream from the other night came to the forefront of my mind at the mention of nudity, and I had to hold myself back from jumping him to see if it was accurate.
He hates you. In fact, he loathes you, my inner voice chorused.
Tatzilla stood and sauntered toward me. I’d never seen him appear so cocky before, at least not toward me. There was so much sexual swagger in his approach, I wondered if I’d just gotten pregnant from his walk alone.
