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He cocked an eyebrow at me.
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t mean to get overly personal. I’m not asking what kind of underwear you put on. You must relax in something. Shorts, T-shirts, comfortable clothes.”
“Since this falls under your umbrella of new clothes for me, I take my suit off at the end of the day, shower, and wear nothing but boxer briefs.”
It was difficult, but I thought I hid my look of surprise at his comment.
“Do you really think I sit around in sweatpants?” Maybe I wasn’t as subtle as I thought I was.
“No, but what about in winter? Don’t you get cold?”
“That’s what the gas fireplaces and forced air heat are for.”
“Remind me never to show up at your place unannounced,” I muttered, then realized what I said and almost slapped my hand over my mouth. Instead, I groaned. Why couldn’t I act normal around him? He was just another man, like Dash said, except he wasn’t. He was powerful and killed people. I didn’t want him to have to dispose of my body.
“Tristan, I’m not all bad.” He tried to smile, but it ended up more evil than comforting.
“No, I know that. If you were, Romeo wouldn’t want anything to do with you. I can’t shake this fear though, like at any moment I’m going to say something stupid and you’re going to pull a gun on me. It’s my problem. I’ll work through it.”
“If he pulls a gun on you, I’ll pull my own on him,” Romeo casually said as he walked down the stairs. His hair was still damp from his shower, hanging to his shoulders where his shirtclung to his skin, bits of moisture seeping through the heather gray cotton.
“You could try,” Jordan replied.
Romeo dropped a kiss on my lips then went into the kitchen, pausing at the little ceramic house on the counter with the red slippers peeking out beneath it. “For Mom?”
Jordan leaned back and crossed his ankle onto his knee. “It was my turn.”
“The tiny sign hanging on the left slipper with her name on it is a nice touch.”
“I aim to please.”
Shaking my head, I went back to what I was looking at while smiling. The feud between them was cute, if I could use that word when it pertained to Jordan. Had anyone ever called him that? Maybe his mother when he was born. Were his parents still alive? What did they think of what he did for a living? I had so many questions that wouldn’t leave my lips. No way was I diving into his past.
The sound of a motorcycle cut through the conversation. Many drove down the street, but Dash’s seemed to be the loudest. We heard him go around back to park in the garage. Even with three vehicles inside, there was room to wedge his bike in. The car Jordan bought me was on the smaller side, and so was Romeo’s Nissan. Dash easily parked behind one of ours.
A minute later, Dash entered wearing a pair of jeans that rode low, drawing my gaze to his hips, and a coral T-shirt. His boots clapped on the tile floor. “Jordy, good to see you.” Dash grinned.
“You don’t mean that, but nice try,” Jordan replied drolly.
“You’re right, I don’t, but I am happy to see Romeo and Tris.” He went to Romeo first, planting a kiss solidly on his lips, then did the same to me. I nearly melted into the couch. I loved how open Dash was with affection.
He sat beside me and put his hand on my thigh. “So, are we picking out what we’re burying you in, or is this just another suit to line your closet?”
“You’ve met Pepper, I see. Her lack of humor is rubbing off on you.”
“That woman is a gem. And this humor is all mine.”
Jordan stood, brushing invisible lint off his slacks. The man was impeccable every time I saw him. I’d be shocked if there was lint anywhere in his home. Now that I knew he walked around in nothing but boxer briefs when he was alone, it wasn’t like some fuzzy clothing was rubbing off on his suits. I really didn’t need the detail about his casual dress, but now it lived in my head.
“Tristan,” he said. “Please keep me apprised of this designer.”
“I will.” I went to stand to walk him out, but Dash gripped my thigh tightly, not letting me up.
“It was so good to see you again,” he said to Jordan with the fakest smile ever.
Jordan hummed and strode to the kitchen, where he stopped to turn the little ceramic house just a tad to the left. With a nod, he was out the back door, and I could breathe a sigh of relief.
“If you hate working for him, quit,” Dash said.
