“Nope. I’m good,” I finally reply, relying on my anger for him to keep me from succumbing to his charming ways.
“Come on, Princess. It’s fucking raining. Just let me give you a ride.” He rolls his eyes at me in annoyance.
“I don’t need to be saved. I can do that on my own.”
“I’m not promising to whisk you away to a happily ever after, Sydney. And I’m not gonna kidnap you either. I’m just offering you a fucking ride to get you out of this storm.” He reaches over and opens the door, pushing it open as the rain hits the inside of the vehicle. I arch a brow at him, wondering why on earth he was polite enough to stop in the first place.
Deep down, I don’t think Javier is a cruel person, but he sure does have trouble letting people in. And I guess the fact that he’s showing me an ounce of kindness is something I shouldn’t take for granted.
“You’re a damn stubborn woman,” he says as I relent, bracing myself on the handle and lowering myself inside. I don’t respond though and I definitely don’t turn to face him as he signals and eases back onto the road.
“So you’re just going to give me the silent treatment then after I saved you from this storm?”
“I didn’t need you to save me. I was fine.” I cross my arms over my chest and stare out the window, stewing on how I ended up in this position right now. I don’t want to be ungrateful, but I’m having a hard time understanding the dynamic between us.
He leans back in his seat and keeps driving toward Main Street. “Then why’d you get in the car?”
“The hell if I know,” I huff.
“A simple thank you would be appropriate,” he argues.
I let out a long sigh and then turn to face him. The bronze of his skin is so enticing, I wonder what it would look like pressed up against mine—the mixture of dark and light contrasting against each other as heat melted us together.
“You’re right. Thank you. I’m sorry. I just …”
“Thought I’d be the last person to pick you up on the side of the road?”
I huff out a laugh. “Yeah, something like that.”
“Despite what you may think of me, my mother taught me some manners, and leaving a woman out in a storm is high up on the not to do list.”
The corner of my mouth tips up. “At least there’s that. I was beginning to wonder if you have a pleasant bone in your body at all.”
He shrugs. “I’m not nice to most people. Don’t take it personally.” And even though he might see himself that way, that’s not the man I see in front of me. The guy I’ve studied at the gym teaching others to fend for themselves, the worker that helps Andre with whatever he asks, the guy that works two grueling jobs—that’s not a man who doesn’t care about others.
“I’m not sure I believe that. But thank you again. If you could take me home now I would really appreciate it.” I stare out the window and watch the water cascade down the glass.
“Ah, no can do, Princess. I need to go in here really quick,” he says, pointing to the Home Depot up on the corner as the truck closes in on it.
“You’re not going to take me home? I have a job, you know.” I reach into the pocket of my leggings to retrieve my phone, looking at the time. “Shit. I guess I’m gonna be late regardless now.” I sigh. “Let me just text my paralegal that I’ll be later today than I anticipated.”
“Paralegal? What are you now, like a lawyer or some shit?”
I can’t help but chuckle at his frankness. “Yeah, or some shit.”
“Does running make you late often?” He inquires, turning his eyes to me for a moment as he finds a parking space.
“No. Just sporadic storms and kidnappers.” I flash him a playful grin, trying to ease the tension, and then shoot off a text to Tessa as Javier parks the truck. Next, I check my reflection in the visor mirror and grimace when I see a wet dog staring back at me. Embarrassment floods my stomach when I realize that this is what I’ve looked like for the past ten minutes.
Quickly I remove the elastic from my hair and smooth it back in place, securing it again with the band. Then I wipe the remnants of my mascara from last night that have dusted across my cheeks and take a deep breath of courage before turning to exit the truck.
In a matter of seconds, my door is being ripped open and Javi’s holding an umbrella over the cab. “Come on. This won’t take long. But since our job is rained out for the foreseeable future, I need to pick up some supplies for my own house.”
“Oh. Okay.” I step out, grab the umbrella from him and follow him into the store, watching him get drenched in front of me instead walking under the umbrella beside me.
I follow him through the sliding glass doors, closing the umbrella and shaking the water from it, and then placing it in the cart that Javier grabbed. Silence falls between us as we glide through the store, my feet following him as he navigates the aisles like this is his second home. My eyes stay glued to his back, traveling down to his ass every few seconds as he stalks through the establishment with ease, clearly on a mission. The more instances where I get to peruse his body, the more I feel a throb develop at the apex of my thighs.
I wonder if Javier brings his
