Sinner(15)
Chapter Eight
Evangeline
“So, she’s fun.”
I turn to Rowan in the dark cab of his dad’s pickup truck as he pulls up behind O’Donnell’s. “Oh, Chastity?”
He gives me a look and I smile and shake my head. “She’s…she means well. She’s just never been out of Georgia, and she maybe spends a little too much time at church.”
He whistles. “Wow, says the preacher’s daughter? How scandalous.”
“Coming from the minister’s son who owns a dive bar and was ogling my chest the other day, I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“I wasn’t ogling.”
I turn and give him a look.
“I was admiring.”
I do my best to scowl through the heated blush that creeps over my cheeks. “I am not that kind of girl, you know.”
“And what kind of girl is that.”
“The kind that thinks it’s cute when you say filthy things to her.”
“I didn’t think you were.”
“Yes you did,” I say quietly as he holds my eyes. “Well, I’m not, okay?”
“If you say so.” He steps out of the truck. I follow.
“I do.”
“What?”
“I do say so.”
He grins. “Well alright then, I guess we’re agreed. Not the kind of girl that gets all blushing and flusters when I tell her she’s got a fantastic pair of tits.”
And of course, my face goes red.
He smirks. “Glad we got that cleared up.”
He opens the back door to the bar, and music blasts out from up the hall in the bar area.
“So, you got that bruise fixing the pipe, huh?”
He turns, giving me a quick look before stepping through the doorway.
“That’s funny, I don’t remember you getting clocked in the face.”
“Strange.”
“What happened?”
Rowan shrugs. “Hey I’m just gonna go check on Jade and make sure she’s alright up there. You want anything?”
I shake my head.
“Beer?”
“No, of course not.”
“Right,” he grins, shaking his head. “I’d hate for you to have fun.”
I’m opening my mouth indignantly to say something in retort when he holds up a finger. “Hold whatever vitriolic thought that is. I’ll be right back.”
He leaves me in the hallway by the back door and disappears around the corner.
I take the moment to breath and get control of myself.
He’s wicked is what he is. And practiced at this. He’s too good at getting under my skin — too good at knowing what I’m going to say or think.
And I hate that it’s making me smile like this.
A minute later, he comes back around the corner.
“Here.”
Before I even know what it is, he’s passing the freezing cold bottle of beer into my hand.
“I- I didn’t want one.”
“No, you said you didn’t want one, but you do.”
I stare at him. “You’re very presumptuous.”
“I’ve been told. Did you hang onto whatever biting retort you had for me from a minute ago?”
I scrunch up my face at him. “I was just going to say that you don’t even know me, you know, even though you think you do.”
“Oh do I?”
“I know exactly what you think you see, by the way.”
Rowan grins as he sips his beer and leans against the hallway wall. “Enlighten me. We can compare notes.”
I purse my lips.
“Or don’t?”
I roll my eyes. “Fine. You think I’m this sheltered little church girl who doesn’t know how to have fun and hasn’t once done anything crazy. And you think being extra crude and dirty around me is going to get me all ruffled and scandalized.”
“Cock.”
I can feel my cheeks go bright red, my eyes going wide as he leans right into my face and lets the word slice through the air between us.
He grins as I stand there flustered and scandalized.
You know, exactly like I just said I wouldn’t be.
“You mean like that?”
I glare at him. “Is this you hitting on me or something?”
He laughs. “Should I be?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Angel, if I were hitting on you,” he winks, “believe me, you’d know.”
“Yeah, well, don’t.”
“I’ll try and contain myself.”
He chuckles as he turns and opens the door next to us, swinging it open to a room of shelves full of cases of beer and soda. I follow him in, still just holding my beer as he makes his way towards one of the shelves. He puts his drink down and effortlessly hefts two big cases of soda, his arms rippling as he lifts them and turns to head out the door. I set my untouched beer next to his and follow him back to the truck.