Page 90 of Wild Card
No sex toy catalogs, sadly. A lot of credit card offers. Just your typical batch of junk mail.
A parakeet in the corner chirped up a storm.
“And who are you?” I murmured, pushing a finger through the bars.
She swooped over, beak aimed right for my finger. I jerked my hand back as her beak snapped shut.
“Rude,” I told her. “Animals love me.”
She stared at me with beady, unimpressed little eyes. I decided moving on was the wise course of action. I opened the fridge and pulled out a Blue Moon. A magnetic bottle opener hung on the fridge. I grabbed it and popped the top, taking a long gulp.
The view out the window was nice, the sun hanging low over a field of golden wheat. Ireallywanted to climb into that shower. Maybe I could just have a peek into his bedroom?
I started across the living room. Halfway there, the door opened. Dalton stepped out, hair damp and curling around his ears, forest-green T-shirt complementing his warm brown eyes—not to mention what it did for his broad shoulders and the biceps straining the limit of his shirt sleeves.
“You hungry?” he asked.
“Starving.”
He smiled as if he knew I wasn’t talking about food. He came closer, leaning in just enough to send a rush of anticipation through me.
He wrapped his fingers around mine and put his lips next to my ear. I shivered as his breath gusted over my skin.
“Go grab another beer,” he murmured.
Dalton tugged my beer bottle from my hand and tipped it up to take a drink.
I glared. “Dirty trick.”
He chuckled. “Thought you liked it dirty.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And I thought you wanted dinner before I brought out my filthiest tricks.”
He grinned. “Good point. I’ll go fire up the grill before you tempt me too much. Fuck knows I’ve got no willpower when it comes to you.”
I watched him go out the sliding door, thinking he had a little too much damn willpower. But that was okay. I’d play along with this date, and eventually, we’d end up exactly where I wanted.
I’d already given up on resisting him. Maybe if we did this his way, he’d get tired of me and move on before too much damage was done.
CHAPTER 23
Dalton
Axel satin one of my rusting metal chairs, long legs stretched out in front of him, while I threw a couple of steaks on the grill.
They sizzled as the meat met the hot grill plate, and my mouth wateredalmostas much as it had when Axel tried to climb into my lap in the car. Never had I come so close to indecent acts in a patrol cruiser. He made me break all my rules, but I had to maintainsomeboundaries.
“So, why the junkyard?” I asked him as I laid a couple of foil-wrapped cobs of corn on the grill beside the steaks.
“What do you mean?”
“Your brothers mainly work at the auto shop, right? And they live together. So, why are you out in the junkyard?”
“I’m a mechanic too,” he said, almost defensively. “But my foster dad and I didn’t really get along. He stuck me out there as punishment, at first, but I realized it was good for me.”
“How so?”
“It reminded me that you can only rely on yourself.”
