Page 41 of Ricochet

He sat up to face her, rearranging his still-there, non-vaporized hard-on. “I kind of do, but…” Colin shook his head. “WhatI’m assuming is, hell, I don’t know. I’m hoping I’m off base to be honest.”

“What I’m trying to say is, um, I enjoyed what we did, and whatever your expectation is, I’d like to know. To make it even, I guess.”

Frustrated that Mayhem bullshit was screwing with her mind, he sucked his cheeks in. Apparently, she’d missed the part about how he’d enjoy what she did. “I’m not keeping score.”

“Right.I get that, and…” Her cheeks blushed. “I really appreciate how considerate you are about are things I might like. But in the end, we’re all adults, and, so long as things stay at the same, um, level…” She pinched an eye shut and squinted the other as though she wasn’t sure how to frame her response. “Tit for tat.”

Colin almost couldn’t respond, at least not in a way that she’d ever talk to himagain. Tit for tat? She thought there was an obligatory orgasm owed? His molars ground, but instead of spouting his opinion on what her home life might be like, he opted for the obvious. “Mayhem’s filled with a bunch of jackasses, isn’t it?”

Uncertainty colored her gaze. “I guess. Maybe not everyone. I don’t know.”

“Very persuasive.”

She squirmed away from him. “When Tex is your pops, the rulesare a little different.”

He grumbled. “Yeah, I bet.”

Colin stood up, half-chub still poking the front of his pants. He readjusted himself. “Let’s go get breakfast.”

“No tit for tat?”

“Especially not after you say that, but no, babe.” He scowled. “If you’re ever around when I get off—” And Colin nearly dropped to his knees and prayed that it would be sometime soon. “It’s because you’re dyingto see me come as much as I just wanted to see you get off.”

“Oh,” she whispered, her eyes not meeting his.

Damn it. “Hey, I just mean—”

“No, I get it.”

His eyes narrowed, not sure of that. “Okay.”

“Even if I came back and corrected my motives now, the mood is gone.”

Colin wasn’t about to correct her. He could get off with her, no problem. But if she said the mood was dead, the damn moodwas dead. Again, he gnashed his teeth.

“So, breakfast?”

Colin agreed without a word, wishing he had a bucket to kick, but recognized his hormones were behaving like a military recruit and not the proud, upstanding individual who brought a woman on top of a building…

They collected what was theirs, and he brought their bundle of coffee and flowers down the ladder before returning to help Adeliadown.

They climbed down the ladder, laughing, and ignored the two women who eyed them as they came out of the restroom on their way to a workout class.

Sweet Hills, Iowa was a special place where they didn’t like men in suit jackets coming down ladders but were okay with Mayhem running around. Color him confused. He thought about Adelia and her relationship with the club. “Tex probably wouldn’tappreciate the night on the roof.”

She shrugged, taking his hand. “Actually, he wouldn’t care about that or not coming home.”

“Then what would he care about?”

“Whether or not you tried to screw me without asking him first.”

“Wait. What?” He stopped, not having words for what he wanted to say. Or scream.

Adelia tugged on his hand. “Can we keep walking?”

“Yeah.” He made his legs move andmentally bounced between wanting to kill Tex and listen to Adelia so she could explain. “We’re walking. Clarify.”

“There’s an okay-by-him list at Mayhem. I don’t know who’s on it. I don’t want to know because I have zero interest in any of them. That doesn’t mean I couldn’t fool around with someone. He doesn’t care about that.”

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