His words sounded like a spoiled kid, but his tone proved he was very fond of them and appreciated their efforts. I remembered how he’d talked about his aunt making sure he was well fed at home. I recognized the signs, now, of a caring family trying to help someone cope with loss. I ran my thumb lightly across his fingers.
“Cut them some slack, too. They lost family, too, right?”
He nodded. “Yeah. They did.”
I sighed, thinking about what he had. “Hey, think about the good things. You could’ve been a part of a small family and ended up in the system. At least you had an uncle and grandparents to raise you, right?” I didn’t mean to sound jealous, but a hint of the green monster must’ve been in my voice because Rico squeezed my hand again.
“You’re absolutely right. I’m sorry you didn’t have that.”
The conversation lagged for a few minutes until Rico sat back and patted his belly. It did look slightly rounder than it had before. “So now what?” he asked. “I’m going to be honest with you, I don’t want to leave, but we said we’d keep things as professional as we could.”
I looked from him to my bedroom door. If at all possible, I wanted another taste of what he gave me before.
“I mean…” I grinned at him and slipped the shoulder of my tank top off. “These aren’t technically business hours, right?”
I couldn’t help but squeal when he growled and launched himself around the table at me. I ran for my bedroom on my tiptoes, and he caught me as I went through the door.
Time for round two.
14
Rico
My first six weeks were passing by like a speeding freight train. Nearly a week after Kara and I had sex at her house, we found ourselves finally replacing the part on the air conditioner at the gym. It had taken it that long just to come in.
Kara, without any explanation, had stopped assigning me jobs to do on my own, and we did everything together. I didn’t complain once. She had me take the lead as often as possible, standing in the background and occasionally giving advice.
Not today, of course. “This is a complicated repair,” she said. “On top of that, it is a matter of pride that I am the one to handle everything at the gym. I can’t let them think that because I hired a man, suddenly they don’t have to deal with me anymore.”
I chuckled and patted her hand on the seat beside me in her truck. “You can take the lead as often as you’d like.” I turned the statement into an innuendo by curling up my lip and wagging my eyebrows at her.
She burst out laughing, throwing her head back. “Yeah, see, you say that now, but when I get you in the sack, you always take control.”
She was right, but I couldn’t help that. I was an alpha, as was Valor, of course. It was hard enough that I was able to give up control in the workplace, and something I was quite proud of, actually. I would be more than willing to try letting her dominate in the bedroom, I just wasn’t sure how well it would go. “Maybe we could give it a shot, with the understanding that it might not work.”
She giggled, and even though we’d had sex every night since the first time last Friday, at her house, at the office, and in the cab of her truck, still, she blushed. Damn, she was cute.
“Let’s get this over with.” I carried the tool bag and she grabbed the part and we didn’t even check in at the front desk. There was no need—we knew what needed to be done, and we just wanted to get the job finished and over with.
Kara was right, as she usually was. It was a very complicated job, but I watched closely and to my delight, I was able to keep up and understand everything that she did. If it happened again, I was confident I would be able to replace a part like this on my own.
As I watched Kara work, Valor preened. She had a glow about her that had started Friday night. There was a spring in her step and a sparkle in her eyes. I knew I’d put that there. And I wasn’t the only one who had noticed. Men seemed to be drawn to Kara more than before. Maybe it was just my jealousy noticing it now that we were connected.
Even though the repair went pretty straightforward, it still took almost an hour to install. The sun beat down on us, and my shirt was starting to stick to my back. By the time we finished up, I looked like I’d been working out alongside the other muscle heads inside, and the gym had filled up with the morning crowd.
Usually, this time of the morning was filled with moms who dropped the kids off at school and then came for a workout. But today, as soon as we walked out of the stairway and into the gym proper, I spotted him at the front desk. The asshole from the bar.
He glared at me but didn’t engage me. Oh, no. The guy was a total dick and a coward. Instead, he directed his words to Kara. “Dragging your bodyguard along with you? In case you tease a man and then try to leave him high and dry again?”
Fuck, no. I stepped forward and set the bag of tools down a little too hard, ready to tear his fucking head off. The kid behind the counter hurriedly moved to the other side and tried to look busy. Tye’s smirk faltered as I approached.
Teach him a lesson.
Valor’s anger was so intense I nearly growled at the dickhead. The only thing that stopped me was Kara jumping in front of me and putting her hand on my chest.
I looked down into her endless green gaze, and
