My heart skips a beat as she shifts in her seat. I make her nervous just by being here.
Fuck, I like that I can make her nervous.
It means I affect her.
I just don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing.
“Bring us two more beers in about ten minutes.”
Colby nods. “Will do, Man.”
I make my way toward Tegan, not breaking eye contact with her until she closes her laptop and looks away. She’s frustrated that I’m here.
Well, I’m just as frustrated at me being here too.
“How’s your book coming along?” I ask, while taking the seat across from her and setting a beer down in front of her. “You look like you could use one of these.”
She releases a long breath and reaches for the bottle. “Well, I have about six more chapters to write and they need to be done in enough time that I can send it to my editor in two weeks.” She pauses to bring the bottle to her lips. “I was hoping to get some inspiration by coming here, but so far it’s been a shit night.”
I watch as she tilts the bottle back and all I can think about is how sexy her lips look. If it weren’t for Alexander being able to see our every move from where we’re sitting, I’d remove that bottle from her lips and run my tongue along them, getting another taste.
My cock twitches at the thought.
I clear my throat and tilt my bottle back, slamming half of it in one drink.
“Yeah, well maybe you’re at the wrong place for inspiration. Especially since Parker was hanging around.”
She huffs and takes another drink. “It was a lot fun explaining to Parker why someone who I’m not dating punched him in the face for kissing me. Luckily, he dropped the subject after I apologized to him and explained that you thought he was making me uncomfortable when he grabbed my ass so you were only trying to protect me like my brother asked.”
“Well, wasn’t he?” I ask. “If not . . .” I take a quick swig, needing a second to calm down. “Then I’ll be sure not to disrupt your next date.”
“I told him I wasn’t looking for a boyfriend, so don’t worry, there won’t be any more dates for you to ruin.”
“Was that the truth,” I ask, leaning in close. So close that my breath hits her neck as I speak.
“What?” She swallows and her eyes close as I risk moving in closer until my lips are brushing her ear.
“That you’re not looking for a boyfriend?”
“Well . . . um . . .” She seems lost for words, as if she doesn’t know how to answer my question. “I can’t think with you so close and you know it.”
“And I love it too . . . the affect I have on you that no one else seems to.”
She opens her mouth to speak, but stops when Colby sets two fresh beers down in front of us.
When I look up at him he shrugs and begins backing away. “I don’t know shit and I’m not saying shit, but if Alexander watches those cameras half as hard as you do then I’d be careful. It looked like you two were kissing from where I was standing. Just saying . . .”
I flex my jaw as he walks away.
“You know what . . . I should go.” Tegan stands and grabs her computer, packing it into a carrying case. “I can’t work here and–”
“Come on.” I stand and reach into my pocket, tossing down some cash for Colby. “I’ll give you a ride.”
“I don’t need one,” she says quickly. “Jamie is coming soon.”
“Well text her and tell her not to.” I place my hand on her hip and give it a squeeze as I move in close behind her. “You’re not going home anyway.”
I can hear her breathing quicken from my closeness, and it causes my lips to curl up into a cocky grin, loving the way her body reacts to mine.
“What about my brother?”
“Go to my truck and I’ll talk to him if he asks any questions.”
I expect her to fight me further on this, but instead she just nods and walks away, disappearing inside.
Once she’s out of sight I stand here for a moment, trying to talk myself out of what I have planned, but I can’t.
“Dammit.”
I open the door and step inside to see Alexander talking to Gavin, but he looks my way just as I’m walking up to him.
“Are you giving my sister a ride home? I just saw her walk outside as I was coming downstairs.”
“Yeah.” It’s not a lie. Just not the whole truth. “I’d rather she gets one from me than some stranger driving a shitty taxi.”
“I’m trusting you’ll keep her safe for me.” His voice deepens as he pours himself a shot. “I saw Parker’s face earlier and I’m going to assume that was your handy-work. Don’t let me find out that it was for a reason other than you keeping an eye on her for me.”
He watches me with narrowed eyes, while slamming back his shot.
“I’ll keep her safe,” is all I say, because if I say anything else then it’ll be a lie. Me punching Parker had nothing to do with me being a lookout for him and everything to do with me being selfish.
“You’re my brother, so I’m going to trust you. Don’t let me down or I’ll kill you.”
I steel my jaw as he slaps my back and walks away.
He’s going to kill me no matter what, because even if he doesn’t find out today, tomorrow, or next week, the truth always comes out eventually.
And the truth is that I’m a piece of shit friend who’s too damn selfish to protect his sister from the one person she should be protected from: me.
WHEN I REALIZE WE’RE HEADED to Express, I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face.
It’s unstoppable.
Even though Micah has a tough exterior, I love that he’s got a softer side he occasionally slips and lets show.
The only problem with that is the way it makes me feel whenever he does. It’s hard to explain even to myself, and I’ve honestly given up on trying.
“Are we here so I can write?”
He nods and parks the truck, smiling with satisfaction as he pulls the keys from the ignition. “You seemed really inspired the last time you were here so I thought it would help. Plus, I’m not ready to go home yet. Not without seeing you for longer than ten damn minutes.”
Learning that he wants to spend time with me has butterflies fluttering around my stomach as he reaches for my laptop and jumps out of the truck.
He’s probably been working all day and night between Vortex and setting things up here, yet he took the time to bring me here so that I could write and we could spend some time together.
I’m not sure what to do with that, so I guess all I can do is go with the flow and try not to look too far into it.
My heart flutters with excitement when he opens the door and helps me down to my feet. Every time he touches me it’s like my heart doesn’t know whether to stop or skip a beat.
“We’ll stay here for as long you need. I don’t have anywhere to be. Just as long as I have you back before your brother gets home. He’s already threatened to kill me once tonight. I don’t need it actually happening.”
“Wait. What?”
“Don’t worry about it. Come on.”
He places his hand on the small of my back and guides me to the door, unlocking it, and opening it for me to step inside first.
It’s dark, so I stand in place as he flips on a few lights for us.
“Get your desk set up and I’ll see if I have any beer left.”
“You have more tables set up,” I point out, while looking around. “It’s looking great in here, Micah.”
“Thanks. The tables came in the other day. I have about four more to order before the grand opening, but other than that and some decorating, this place is pretty close to being done.” He walks toward the bar as I take a seat at the same table I sat at the last time I wrote and wait for my laptop to boot up.
A few seconds later he hands me a beer from over my shoulder and makes his way to the stage to grab his guitar and take a seat on the stool.
“We’re doing this again?” I ask with a hopeful smile. “You play while I write?”
“We’re here for you, so yes.”
Just like the last time he played music for me the words begin to flow, and before I know it I’ve written nearly three thousand words.
I’ve only got four, maybe five chapters left to write and I could probably pull it off right here tonight if he continues to play for me.
I likely could’ve pulled most of it off by now to be honest, if it weren’t for me struggling to keep my eyes off Micah as he plays.
I find myself looking up at the stage every ten minutes or so, because it’s impossible not to look at him with his guitar.
It’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.
“Eyes on the words . . . not my handsome face,” he says with a smirk. “Do I need to put a paper bag over my head so you won’t look at me?”
“Ha. Ha. Aren’t we being cocky again.” I pull my eyes away from Micah and look back down at the computer screen, fighting not to look back up at him. Especially since I know he’s watching me right now as he plays. “Just keep playing . . .”
“You asked for it.”
He stops playing the current tune and switches into a different song entirely.
I’m sitting over here trying to catch my breath, because I recognize the song the second the first lyric leaves his mouth.