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“Maybe.”
“And maybe you would really enjoy having that gorgeous man on top of you. Or under you. I don’t know your power dynamic.”
“This is a silly conversation. We’re both really injured. No one is getting on top of the other one.”
“Well not now. But you could. Eventually. Just think about it, that’s all I’m asking.”
“Fine, I’ll think about it.”
She didn’t need to know that it was all I’d been thinking about all day.
I mean, the man had just… taken his shot.
You had to appreciate that.
Especially when both of us were all kinds of fucked up in the face.
He saw an opportunity to go after what he wanted, and he seized it.
I could have brushed it off, even been annoyed by it, if he hadn’t been a really fucking good kisser. Or if my body hadn’t responded as strongly as it did.
I would never admit this aloud to anyone, but I was pretty sure I would have come from just a brush of his fingers, I was so into it.
Hell, if my sister hadn’t been around nonstop, I might have broken open some new batteries and gotten a little stress relief via my favorite buzzing buddy.
“It’s okay,” Lottie said when there was a pounding at the door that had me almost flying out of my seat. “I sent out your neighbor for more cream, remember?” she asked as she got up. “Come on in, Big Guy,” she called as she stood in the hallway. “We have bland food, if you are hungry,” she invited, waving toward the counter where an assortment of baked goods were laid out.
“Didn’t say what kind,” Perish said as he placed the bag down, then started pulling cartons out. The half & half that we needed, sure, but also light cream, heavy cream, and three different dairy-free options.
“Oooh, oat!” Lottie said, beaming. She usually brought her own over since I didn’t drink it, so I didn’t keep it hanging around to spoil in my fridge. “You are a prince among men,” she declared.
And I shit you not, this absolute tank of a man puffed up at her praise. She’d always had that way with the opposite sex.
“Guess I could go for a bagel,” Perish said as he moved across my little kitchen, seeming to swallow up the space as he sliced and slathered his bagel.
Granted, it was a small room.
A small house.
I’d never really stopped to think how much smaller it must feel when you were a wall unto yourself. I kind of wondered how he managed to fit in the powder room on the lower level, if his was the same as mine. Because mine was so tight that I had to press my stomach against the pedestal sink to be able to slide the door closed.
“So, Perish, I hear you want to join the biker club,” Lottie said, waving toward the empty seat at my table after putting away the various creamers.
“Yep. Been planning it for a long time.”
“How’d you meet them?” Lottie asked, never afraid of being too curious.
“After I got out of prison, was in a halfway house for a bit. Lady who managed it got wrapped up with one of the bikers.”
“Which one?”
“Voss.”
“I haven’t met him,” Lottie said. “I’ve only met Finn, Sully, Nave, Callow, Sutton, and Brooks.”
“Newer guys,” Perish said, clearly having kept an eye on the club despite not belonging yet. “‘Cept Brooks. He’s partially in charge around there.”
He did give that vibe off.
“He had a big problem with the idea of us bobbing for apples in the pool,” Lottie declared.
“Bobbing for apples?” I asked, clearly having missed out on that bit.
“It was stupid fun,” Lottie said. “Sully’s idea.”
It seemed like all the crazy ideas started with that guy.
“And raspberries,” she said, nodding. “Half the pool was full of fruit.”
“Sounds like I got some good partying ahead of me,” Perish said. “Been keeping my nose clean for a long time now.”
Come to think of it, since he’d moved in six months ago, I’d never seen him have anyone over. And he was always home.
I guess if I was on parole, I’d work hard not to be forced back to prison too.
“So, Perish. What do you know about Finn?” Lottie asked.
To that, his brows furrowed.
“Finn?” he asked. “Thought he was your man,” he said as he looked at me.
“No,” I admitted, ignoring the little twist in my gut at saying that.
“Oh. Ah, former president’s son. Current president’s brother.”
“I think she meant what you know about him,” I said, tone a little more biting than I’d intended. “Not his family.”
That had to be hard, always only being known as someone’s son or brother. What a wide shadow that must have cast over him.
“Dunno,” Perish said, looking apologetic. “Figure I can let you know once I prospect,” he added.
“Oh, I think Lexy might find out for herself before then,” Lottie said.
