Tiger Lily - May Dawson Page 0,48

from Blake as if he were terrified. I didn’t think Blake would really hurt anyone, unless he had to. But I knew Blake would never hurt me.

I stepped closer to him, my chin lifting. “Finish what you started, Blake.”

“Pussy cat, I’ve been trying to figure out how to do that since we were five years old.”

I stared at him, confused because it felt like we were fighting—temper was still hot in his eyes, we were definitely fighting—and yet… and yet…my heart was doing strange, flip-floppy things again. I could’ve sworn that my heart snuck out on its own and bought energy drinks from the vending machine.

I leveled a finger at him. “I don’t need you to boss me around, Blake.”

“I never thought you did,” he said tartly.

“Then why do you do it?”

“Because I care about you!” He said it as if it made him furious.

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why?” In an angry tone, he told me, “You’re funny. Smart. Kind. You’re just… you’re Lily!”

“I’m a prickly pain in the ass, if you recall,” I reminded him, my voice just as hot, even as my heart leapt at his words. But there was something that still ached in me from the confrontation with Brad, and it oozed out like rotten pumpkin guts as I admitted, “I was just fired from my job. I was just cheated on… me being Lily isn’t exactly something a lot of people like.”

“Well, trust me that I like you,” he said, stepping toward me, looming over me. The heat of his body washed over me.

“Trust me for once,” he added, a note of steel in his voice. Bossy as ever. “And I’ll try to trust you that you won’t just leave.”

I should tell him glibly, “No promises.”

Or I should kiss him.

And yet, I just… stopped.

The moment hung between us, the two of us staring at each other. In the silence of the bay, I could have sworn I heard both our hearts beating frantically.

I should just close the space between us. Just kiss him. But that was the one thing that felt scary to me.

“Hang on,” he said, still holding that smoldering eye contact with me. Hang on, he said—as if nothing was happening. He added, “I’ve got something for you.”

I watched him go as he headed to the little office behind the lobby, then came back.

Blake had a bundle of blue fabric in his hands, and he tossed it to me. I caught it and shook out a pair of coveralls in my size. Tiger was embroidered on the name patch. I looked at him skeptically.

“You need the right gear for working on a car,” he told me.

I debated for a minute, glancing around the brightly lit bay. There was no one else in here now, and the bay doors were all closed. The place felt bright and cheerful even though it was so dark outside. It felt like a home—a second home—for them and maybe for me too, and my heart ached with longing. But I pushed that heartbreak away—I had a lot of practice with that.

“You got me a present,” I said.

“It’s nothing,” he said.

It was thoughtful and sweet, especially when I’d given him nothing but grief.

The radio DJ blared from the speakers in the corner, “Now here’s my favorite sultry singer at her best… Lana del Ray’s West Coast.” The music that began to play was pretty sultry. An idea occurred to me, but my mouth went dry at the thought.

With my gaze fixed on his, I said, “I better change then.”

He nodded, started to turn his back—reluctantly—and I said, “No.”

He stopped, turned back, cocking an eyebrow at me.

He’d made this big deal about being my boss once before—would he stick to that? Even if I tried to tempt him?

My heart was in my throat as I started to dance, the way I normally only ever did in the privacy of my apartment. I never even danced in front of Brad. I’d be putting away the dishes from the dishwashers, dancing away, and then he’d come in and I’d stop humming, stop moving as my cheeks flushed and I focused on putting away the forks.

But for Blake…

I started to dance to the music, and I could tell he liked watching me. There was no laughter on his face, nothing that said he thought I was weird. He looked at me with desire sparking in his eyes.

I unbuttoned my blouse, inch by inch as my hips swayed. I let the blouse slide down