The green dress she wore sat mid-thigh, showing off her killer legs, hugging all the right places. She had on black heels, sexiest shoes he’d ever seen, and her arms were bare, all that colorful ink on display. Her hair hung down her back, sleek and shiny, and the color of her dress made her eyes more vibrant than he’d ever seen them. Exquisite didn’t cover the way she looked.
“Jesus,” he rasped. She bit her lower lip, and her cheeks turned pink. Fucking gorgeous. “Come here.”
“Is this too much? I didn’t know where we were going…maybe I’ll get changed?” She took a step back. “Yeah, I should get changed…”
“I said come here, Foxy.” She stilled, then obviously realizing his reaction was not a bad thing, moved toward him, biting her lip all the way. “Hey,” he said when she stopped in front of him.
“Hey,” she whispered back.
He slid a hand over her hip, because he had to touch her, and smiled to himself when he felt her shiver. “You’re not getting changed.”
She looked up at him. “Okay.”
Taking her hand, he led her from the cottage, out to his car. He could feel the nerves radiating from her. Then Piper’s words came back to him. She doesn’t date. What the hell did that mean?
Rusty was a mystery, and he planned on learning some of those secrets tonight.
The drive to dinner started quiet, but not uncomfortable. If anything the air felt charged, damn near electric.
He needed a distraction, because the way she looked, smelled…shit, she had him close to busting through the front of his jeans, and he had a whole meal to get through yet. Then something her brother said popped in his head, and he jumped on it, anything to take his mind off the intensifying ache in his balls. “Why are you and your girls called the Axle Alley Vipers?”
She turned to him, and going by the wide eyes, he’d surprised her. “Who told you that?”
“Your brother.”
“He has a big mouth.”
“So it’s true?”
She sighed. “Yes, it’s true.”
“You gonna tell me why?”
“Do I have to?”
He grinned, couldn’t help it. “You do now.”
“Shit.”
He barked a laugh. “That bad?”
“God, I can’t believe I’m going to tell you this.” She let out another sigh. “It started when we were in high school. A few of the local boys came up with the name after an incident at my dad’s garage.”
“An incident, huh? Keep talking.”
She shifted in her seat. “Okay, well, Piper was going out with this guy. They’d been seeing each other for a few months. She was crazy about him, but we all secretly thought he was a bit of a douche. Anyway, long story short, he came on to me, and Piper heard the whole thing. We were in the garage, and she threw a wrench at him. Unfortunately, Piper can’t throw for shit, and she missed. But Alex was with her and went ape-shit, tackling him to the ground. Deke jumped in and pulled her off. And Piper’s boyfriend, seeing his chance, jumped up and made a break for his car. But in his hurry to get the hell away, he flooded the engine and the car stalled, and I…”
Reid was struggling to hold it together, but with how miserable Rusty sounded reciting her tale, he didn’t dare laugh. “And you what?”
She groaned. “I went after him, climbed in my dad’s tow truck, and rammed the asshole’s fender. I’d pushed him halfway across the parking lot before my dad came out and stopped me.”
“Shit,” he choked out.
She snorted. “You can say that again. The guy actually did crap himself.”
He laughed, unable to hold it in. “Poor bastard.”
“He totally deserved it.”
“Yeah, I guess he did. I bet you have a few more stories like that?”
The smile slipped, and she looked away. “Yeah, a few.”
He didn’t know what just happened, what caused that killer smile to drop, but he got the feeling if he pushed, she’d push right back, and he didn’t want to ruin what had started off to be a really good night. So for the rest of the drive he kept things light, worked at bringing that smile back.
They arrived at the restaurant a short time later. Costa’s belonged to Law’s aunt, and he came here often. The atmosphere was cozy; he guessed some would say romantic. It was also welcoming and had the best pizza in Miami.
When they walked in, Law’s aunt Connie bustled over, making a fuss over him, kissing both his cheeks, then scolding him for not coming sooner. He’d known the family since he met Law in high school. He didn’t know what either of them would’ve done without Connie and her family over the years. They’d been there for Reid when he’d had no one but his mother, and she’d barely been able to take care of herself most of the time.