So Bad (Bad Boy Next Door #1)(34)

The smell hits me like a fifty pound bag of raw sewage and curdles my stomach. I step away. “What do they feed that kid?”

Mo throws me a frown and says to the woman, “Rhonda, meet Danny. Danny—Rhonda.”

I raise my fingers in a half wave. “Hi.”

She doesn’t even smile, just heads off to break up the Tonka truck tussle.

Mo pushes the stink bomb against my chest. “Here, you can take this one, since you’re so keen on volunteering.”

“What? No. I don’t know how to fix this.” The urge to flee flashes through me. Scrubbing toilets would be better any day.

She grins over her shoulder. “Don’t worry; I’ll show you. You’ll be a diaper changing pro in no time.”

I hold the smiling baby away from my body, balancing him while trying not to get my hands covered in kid shit. “This isn’t what I thought we’d be doing.”

At one of the tables with stacks of diapers along the back wall, Mo shakes her head as she takes Xavier and lays him on the plastic mat.

“Then leave; I didn’t think you really wanted to be here anyway.”

The look of disappointment on her face catches hold of something in my chest. I snatch the diaper out of her hand and grab the nearest container of baby powder. “No. I’m here. I told you I’d help. Show me what to do. How hard can this be?”





By the end of the four hour shift, Danny’s designer shirt is speckled with no-telling-what, his sleeves rolled to his elbows. His long hair is tied back with a pink ribbon little Caitlyn fixed him up with while he sat on the floor, building Lego castles with three-year-old Kelvin.

And he’s smiling—like happy smiling. No sneer. No grumbling or grumpy face. Just a contented grin, his green eyes shining unlike anything I’ve ever seen on him.

I catch his attention and wave him over. He hops up and pats Xavier on the head, leaving him to knock the wooden blocks over one more time. “You stay here, buddy. Be right back.”

“Hey, I’m headed home. Thanks for helping out, it worked out great since we were short-handed.”

“Yeah, sure thing. I’m gonna stick around a bit. But I’ll see you later.” He infuses his last word with meaning that sets my pulse racing straight to my pussy.

I ignore the throb between my legs. “We’ll see.”

He takes my hands and pulls me close, kisses me on the cheek, and whispers, “We will see. Later never came the other day. Today? I’ll be over after dark.”


*

True to his word, there’s a knock just after sunset. My heart rate ratchets up, but I take a couple of deep breaths on my way to do the door. I fully planned to turn him away when he got here, especially when I think of that girl and him against the wall at the shelter yesterday. But as I lay my hand on the knob, all I can think of is Danny laying his hands on my body.

Damned wild oats.

I open the door. He’s barefoot, wearing tattered jeans and a tank.

Hands in his pockets, he looks up from under those too-thick lashes and grins. “It’s later.”

Before I can loosen my tongue and get a word out, he’s through the door. Palms on my ass and mouth on mine, he backs me into the bedroom.

I’m lost.





I’ve been lost to Danny for six glorious, hot and sexy weeks. I try to get school work done in the mornings. We volunteer during the afternoon. Then, come nightfall, he’s in my bed, and we’re going at it like rabbits. Only, I don’t imagine rabbits have this much fun.

When he takes me, he does it hard with just the right amount of rough. After we finish, I roll away from him and go into the bathroom. He leaves while I clean up. I like it this way. Less clingy. Less dangerous. Because Danny is definitely dangerous.

I let the shower heat and run a brush through my hair. My reflection in the mirror tells the story. Flushed and smiling, lips swollen from his kisses, breasts missing his touch even though it’s been less than five minutes since his mouth was on them. I let out a shaky breath and roll my eyes.

This is silly. Just get on with it; wash him off and change the sheets. His scent is too comforting to sleep with. My linens are going to wear out if this continues.

I can’t let myself feel the things trying to bulldoze into my heart.

I just can’t.

But I’m not sure I can do without him either. Not now.

After my shower, I wrap in a towel.

Danny sits propped against my pillows, ankles crossed, hands behind his head. “Hey, beautiful.”

I stop in the doorway. “Why are you still here?”

He grins. “For weeks, all I do when I go back to my bed is dream of being in yours. Maybe if I stay, I can dream about something else for a change.”