think about is you wet and soapy and it’s made me stupid.
“And then some,” she answered.
I must’ve looked as confused as I was because Evette continued, “Ivy got me everything I needed and then some.” She enunciated the last three words like I was a little slow.
Which was a good thing considering that at that moment my brain was mush.
Get a hold of yourself, Harris. Christ, you idiot.
“Right. Good.”
Evette kept right on staring at me when she asked, “Are you okay?”
“He’s fine. But I’m starved. Chicken, burgers, or steak?” Coop took back over the conversation.
When this was over I was buying the man a bottle of his favorite liquor.
“I’m not picky, I’ll eat anything.”
“Steak,” Coop decided and made his way into the kitchen.
That left me and Evette alone in the living room.
“So—”
“I feel—”
“You first—”
“You first—”
Smooth, asshole.
“Jinx, you owe me a soda.” Evette smiled.
I returned her grin and shook my head in amusement.
“If I said, pinch poke you owe me a Coke, would you think less of me?”
What in the actual fuck was going on? Was I serious with this shit? Pinch poke, you owe me a Coke? Jesus Christ, it was like I had a vagina. My balls had shriveled up, crawled up my ass, and left me stupid.
Evette shook with laughter which had the unfortunate consequence of jostling her shoulders, which of course made her chest heave. The after-effect had my gaze dropping to her upturned locks of hair brushing the curve of her tits. No, the woman had breasts. Breasts, goddamn it. Tits were what were on other women. Women I intended to get naked and fuck. And I absolutely was not going to fuck Evette London. My cock strongly protested this declaration.
Respect, motherfucker.
“No, but if you hadn’t said it I would’ve.”
“Right.”
That was all my sex-muddled mind could conjure up. This had to end. Tonight I would be having a stern conversation with my cock. Who in the hell was I kidding? My cock wasn’t the problem; I had control over that fucker. It was the rest of me that was the issue.
It was an uncomfortable realization to admit.
I couldn’t place what I felt because I’d never felt it.
I had no idea why I was so drawn to her.
It was utterly insane.
But I couldn’t stop the nagging feeling.
I didn’t understand why my heart was jumping in my chest. I only knew that it felt like it wanted to escape. And that scared the ever-loving fuck out of me because I had a sinking suspicion the little fucker knew its place—it had found its owner. And I wasn’t going to give it up without a fight.
Chapter 8
Dazed and confused.
That was what I was.
The last couple of days had been the craziest of my life with last night topping the charts by a mile.
After my shower and strange exchange with Gabe things were strained and wholly uncomfortable. Throughout dinner, Cooper had done his best to ease the strangeness. He’d jabber-jawed about mundane topics. Steering clear of any mention of why I was there.
As much as I wanted to get down to business I was grateful for the reprieve. My brain felt like it might explode with everything that was swirling around in it. Besides, I had no idea who the man was who held me at gunpoint and I’d given all my files to Garrett.
Part of me felt guilty for getting myself into this huge mess then dumping it on a bunch of Kyle’s friends to figure out. But not enough to go at it alone.
I felt guilty but I wasn’t stupid. I knew when I was in over my head and what happened back at my apartment was the very freaking definition of way the hell in over my head.
Last night I’d helped with the dishes then excused myself with the explanation I was exhausted and went to bed. I had been tired, but that wasn’t the reason for my hasty retreat.
No, no, no. My escape had to do with Gabe.
But once I was lying in bed I did what I was prone to do and I over-analyzed every word he’d spoken to me. Each smile, his frowns, the way he looked at me. It was a curse; I was an overthinker and with Gabe, there was a lot to think about so this went on until the wee hours in the morning.
Now I’d been awake for more than an hour but I hadn’t gotten up even though I knew I was being a chickenshit. But now, I was