Page 76 of Tracking Luxe

She held steadfast. “Not very bright?”

“Do you see a bucket of water? Do you see a plastic bag?” Saved from telling this douche-barrel to go fuck himself with a bucket of water, a young pretty girl bound through the door so noisily heads turned everywhere, followed by a pregnant woman telling her to slow down.

Wide eyes, long flowing dark braids on either side of her head, denim and converse. The young girl didn’t listen.

“Hey, guys! Hey, Rider! Hi Lawless. Oh kitties, so cute! I want one. Can I take one back with me, Zara, please, please?”

There was no other word for it, beneath Nathan’s overprotective arm she watched the bald guy -- Lawless -- bristle and then his face flattened out to the darkest nothing she’d ever witnessed before, almost as if he’d schooled his expression into not revealing anything he was thinking. It was fucking eerie. “What’s she doing here? Are we turning into a creche now? For fucks sake, Ri.”

There was one summer about six years ago, Luxe almost got trapped in a littoral cave on her way to Chesapeake Bay with a friend Cynthia from the old neighborhood. They’d gone swimming to flirt with a group of guys and the tide had turned suddenly, it had been the scariest time of her life. Seeing the wash of coldness on the kitten tamers face reminded Luxe she would rather be trapped in that littoral cave again rather than be on this guy’s bad side.

Mean came with a side order of purring pussies on his chest.

“Prez. I can’t work in these fucking conditions,” he muttered about too many kids hanging around. “I’m not changing diapers or doing burp up shit.” He called out to the guy standing with Jamie. The young girl huffed and flung her braid in a swipe over her shoulder, cocked out her non-existent hip and glared down at Lawless. Luxe bit back a grin at her sass. “I’m almost sixteen, jerk!”

Lawless ignored her completely. “Did she bring homework with her?” this to the pregnant woman. “Did you bring homework? Get to it, brat and don’t bother me. Get it done, I might let you feed one of these later.” This directed to the girl herself who scowled but shuffled her feet forward, inching closer to both man and animals. Luxe thought the girl was braver than most for putting herself in the cold orbit of that man, but it didn’t seem to bother her when she went down on her knees reached out and began petting the kitten gently, cooing to the baby. Lawless inhaled hard enough his T-shirt expanded over his chest, eyes hooded, and then he held out the kitten and gave the girl better access.

“He’s weird.” Luxe commented once she was out of earshot of everyone else.

“Yeah, he’s been told a time or two.” Grinder’s voice rushed through her, a forest fire, so much had happened in the last two minutes she’d almost forgotten she’d missed him. “What are you doing here, Luxe?”

“Hello to you, too, Nathan.”

The gleam in his eyes told her he didn’t mind what he saw, he hadn’t stopped sweeping her up and down since the minute he saw her standing with Jamie. Why he was all grump she didn’t know------

He swooped down and kissed her suddenly, stealing her breath and forcing all words out of her brain.Dios. He licked and sucked then set her back on earth. The guy was a sixty-proof tequila rose. One hand sank into her hair while his mouth punished her with searing wet kisses, an incessant pulse between her legs, boiling her from the inside, dampness spreading.

“Hello, love. What are you doing here? And careful if you tell me it was to track down Steele in there.”

Ordinarily, Luxe didn’t care for bossy men, especially not bossy men who had the tone of voice Nathan used. They had mutual satisfaction between then and nothing else… right? Right. She shoved unwanted emotions aside. But there was no denying the flash of heat with his possessiveness.

Pressing her lips together to trap the taste of him and to also to stop from saying what he was obviously so butthurt grumpy over.

He asked again. “Well?”

She poked his chest. “You told me not to say why I was here if it was Jamie related!Dios. Make up your mind,chico, do I say it or not?”

Tightness appeared beside his mouth. “You’re here …at my club… because of Steele?”

“Sí.”She smiled, her heartbeat thudding. Teasing him just a bit. Because when he showed his jealousy Luxe grew warm and wet in warm and wet places.

“Why?”

Well that was easy, she thought. Grinning again. “He’s pregnant with my baby and I’m here to demand his hand in marriage immediately.”

A long silence ensued.

“Boy, you have zero humor today, did you lose it under a kitten butt? I’m here for work, I needed the key from Jamie to the apartment to drop off my things before I get my sticky fingers into things.”

“You need to stop seeing him.”

Luxe blinked. Sure, she’d heard wrong. “I---Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Came out as a growl.

“Are you insane right now? Have you actually gone insane?Dios mio, you must have, to even contemplate telling me what to do.”

Fingers reached out and cinched around her waist, her heart gave a little bump, if she forgot he was issuing her orders like a fucking Neanderthal she could enjoy those rough, work worn hands on her. Instead he made it worse. “Keep working that little mouth with me, Luxe, and I’ll put it somewhere you can’t talk.”

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