Page 11 of Deuce

“You suppose?That bike is my pride and joy!”I followed her into the kitchen and spotted an electric kettle on the counter.Time to change the subject.

“You should have someone stay with you tonight.You sure you don’t want to call your dad?”Filling the kettle with water, I plugged it in.

She shook her head.“Absolutely not.I don’t want him to know what happened.I’ll see if Janet can come over.”She sighed.“Right.No phone.Can I borrow yours again, please?”

I would have felt better with an overly protective dad, but a BFF wasn’t a bad idea.And I’d have a couple of prospects keep a discreet eye on the place.

I handed her my phone and watched as she punched in her BFF’s number and waited for an answer.

The call went to voicemail and she looked up at me.“What’s your number?I’ll send her a text, and hopefully she’ll call when she gets in.”She sounded doubtful.

I gave her the number and watched her send the text.I didn’t know this Janet person, but it was a Friday night.What were the chances she’d get in before midnight?“I’ll stay with you until she does.Where do you keep your tea?”

She blinked.“I don’t need tea, and I can’t ask you to keep watch over me all night.I’ll lock the doors.It’ll be fine.”

I shook my head.“Nope.Not happening.And maybe the tea was for me.I need something to fortify me if I’m going to have to resist your tempting body all night.”

A reluctant smile curved her lips.“My tempting body?”

I raked my gaze over her.“Big tits and curves all over the place?Hell yeah, that’s tempting!All I can do to keep my hands to myself.”

Sophia laughed nervously.“You’re crazy!”

I grinned.“You are not the first to point that out.So, do you want to join me for a warm cup of tea, or are you heading straight for the sack?”

“I’m too keyed up to sleep.I think I’ll watch a movie while I wait for Janet to call back.”

“I’ll be staying until she calls.”I made it a statement, not a question.

Sophia looked like she was going to argue but then shrugged her shoulders.Was that a hint of relief I saw in her expression?

“Your choice.A shower is probably a bad idea, but I need to wash up and get into something a little more comfortable.The living room is that way.”She waved her hand toward the far doorway.

I turned back to the kettle, which was now whistling cheerfully.Opening the cupboards one at a time, I found an assortment of tea along with a teapot and one of those crocheted covers people used to keep the tea warm.I chose a decaf Earl Grey blend and made a full pot, just in case she changed her mind.

Grabbing two mugs from the carousel on the counter, I took the tea in search of the living room.Just as I set everything down on the coffee table, I heard a shriek from upstairs.

Shit!Now what?

Chapter Three

Sophia

I stripped off my clothes, tossing the remains of my shirt in the trash can.Deuce’s shirt went in the laundry hamper.The least I could do was wash it before I returned it to him.The road rash on my arm looked better than I’d anticipated.It had started to scab over, but it needed to be cleaned.The last thing I wanted was to have it get infected.

Stepping into the adjoining bathroom, I picked up a clean facecloth.Wetting it under a stream of warm water, I added some liquid soap.My mind was only half on the task at hand, the other half wondering what that mouthwatering biker was doing downstairs.It had been ages since a man had been in my house, and even longer since one had made my heart flutter like a schoolgirl’s.

Still daydreaming about Deuce, I gently wiped the soap-laden cloth across the patch of raw skin on my arm.A searing, white-hot pain shot through my arm, and I let out a high-pitched scream of agony.

Damn, that hurt!

I gritted my teeth.I didn’t have a choice.If I didn’t want to end up with an infection, I had to clean the road debris out of the wound.I could see grime mixed in with the clotting blood.I raised the cloth once again, steeling myself against the anticipated pain.

The door to the bedroom burst open and Deuce barreled in, pistol in hand.He looked like an avenging angel, sweeping the room with a smooth confidence that made me think he made a habit of this.Gliding across to the closet, he stood to the side while he opened it and checked for… what?Mice?

It was just the last straw after the day from hell.I started to giggle.

His attention snapped to me.

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