Silas (Dirty Aces MC #4) - Lane Hart Page 0,40

newly built wooden chairs. “I still like Sam’s Diner.”

“No.” His gruff one-word response is an attempt to drop the idea once and for all. Swiping his hand over his face, he says, “Cora’s Café. That’s what you have to name it.”

“I guess that’s pretty catchy,” I admit. “But you’re forgetting one little problem.”

“Oh yeah?” he asks, forehead creased in confusion.

“I’m not Cora here. I’m Anita.”

“Oh, right,” he says, blowing out a breath. “You could tell people you named it after someone you know. Or just act like you’re only managing the place and not the owner.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Think fast,” he mutters. “It’ll probably take another week to get the sign up and menus printed.”

He acts like he’s grouchy about having to take more vacation time, but the truth is, I know he likes being here with me. If he didn’t, he would’ve left already. There’s nothing actually keeping him here. Sure, he promised to stay until we open, but I’m certain he thought it would take less time than it has.

And it’s not like he isn’t getting rewarded for staying. In fact, since last week, I’ve been able to convince him to sleep in my bed with me all night. He probably caved just because he’s been working his ass off during the day, and after an energetic round of sex, he was simply too tired to get up and walk down the hall to the guest bedroom. Not that I’m complaining. Waking up most mornings with his tongue between my legs has me getting up quicker than a gallon of coffee.

But maybe I am dragging my feet just a little on picking a name because I don’t want Sam to leave.

Our relationship may have been mostly, if not entirely, physical at first, but now it’s more. It feels like we’re a team. For the first time in my life, I’m not being used or manipulated by a man. Sam is a good guy who has done so much for me that it makes my heart swell to nearly bursting. I’m so grateful to him that I don’t think I will ever be able to pay him back. At the same time, I’m also dreading the day when he leaves. I know he’s going to. It’s not a secret. He has a job and a life that he has to get back to eventually. That doesn’t mean that I’m not holding out hope that the two of us could make a long-distance relationship work.

“I’m beat,” Sam says when he comes over and flattens his palms on the table he just built in front of me. “You ready to go home?”

Home. The way he says it makes me think that he actually considers it his home too.

“Yeah,” I agree. “Thanks for all the hard work today.”

“You’re welcome.” He leans forward to brush his lips over mine once before straightening. It’s a chaste kiss, more like a habit than the kind that’s intended to lead to sex.

When I stand up to follow him out the door, he says, “I’m giving you one hour to pick a name and order a sign or else I’m naming this place ‘Heart Attack Café.’ Oh, and we’re sleeping in tomorrow morning.”

“Fine, I wouldn’t mind sleeping in either.”

“The name?” he prods.

“Yes, I’ll pick a name tonight!” I agree, reaching up to grab his muscular shoulders and working my fingers into the stiffness. “And I’ll rub your back before I cook you dinner.”

“You’re spoiling me,” he says with a chuckle, something else he’s been doing more of lately, along with smiling.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Silas

* * *

The peaceful afterglow from an amazing afternoon fuck is, unfortunately, interrupted by the doorbell.

“Who in the world could that be?” Cora asks with a giggle as she lays on her stomach, arms under her head, still high on her own endorphins from multiple orgasms. Before, when we first got here, she was so on edge that an unexpected visitor would send her hiding in a closet. Now, she no longer worries about that shit.

“No clue. I’ll go see,” I say, reluctantly rolling out of bed. By the time I’ve pulled on some pants, the person has made it ring two more times.

“Hurry back!” Cora replies as I start to leave the room, flashing me a grin as she rolls to her back, putting her tits and pussy on full display in invitation. “I want you again before we have to go meet the sign guys.”

The other night, she finally decided on a name for