Page 53 of Breaking the Alpha
“As much as I’d love to hide right now, nothing’s going to save me from this,” he groaned, mentally preparing himself for the shitstorm presently striding toward the shop in sky-high heels, thin lips pursed and phone to her ear.
Jodie flung the door open, still barking orders to whatever poor soul was on the other end of the conversation.She paced the reception area, oblivious to River as she colorfully threatened someone’s manhood, hung up, and noticed Birch.
Her calculating eyes moved from his brother’s face down to his feet.“Why hasn’t River featured you on any of his posts?You’re delicious.And marketable.”
“Back off him, Jodie,” River sighed as Birch side-eyed him and retreated behind the desk.“What on earth are you doing here?”
She had yet to look over at him, her gaze still narrowed in on Birch with a hard precision River knew well.“Riding in on my horse to save you from ButtFuck, Nebras—” Her laser sight finally turned on him and she froze.“No.No, no, no, no, no.No, I am NOT seeing this, River.Do you understand me?There is no way in hell I’m seeing this.”
“I—”
In three strides, she was standing directly in front of him, bending at the waist and placing her face inches from his.“I am not seeing this, River Baker.I know I’m not, because I know you would’ve told me if you were in an accident.And I know you would’ve told me because I also know you understand just how unpleasant I can become when I’m blindsided.”
“Well, I—”
She cupped his chin and turned his head, examining the worst of the gashes along his forehead and cheekbone.“You’re lucky they’re well-placed.We can work with this.”
“Jodie, I—”
Backing up, she held up her phone and snapped a few pictures.“I’ll forward these to the makeup artists working the first leg of this campaign.Was it a fight?Rodeo?You ride horses out here, right?Wrangle pigs and goats and all that?What other damage are we dealing with?”
Pushing himself to his feet, he ran his hands through his hair, remembering the last time his appearance had drawn this kind of reaction from her.Of course, a sunburn wasn’t quite the same, but her reaction was.“Rodeo?No.I mean, yeah.Jesus, Jodie.Why don’t we go for a bite to eat across the street and we can catch up.”
Birch cleared his throat.“He’s healing up fast, ma’am.He’ll be able to get back to work soon.”
Jodie turned her icy glare on Birch and his brother shrank back a fraction.“River.Sweetheart.Tell me I was not justma’am’d.Tell me this potential revenue source is not sitting beside my damaged client calling mema’am.”
He reached for his crutches, the movement snapping her attention back to him like a shark scenting blood in the water.
“River.”
“Jodie.”
“Strip.Now.”
He glared at her but didn’t hesitate, knowing she would need to see the extent of his injuries sooner or later.
And since later was likely going to be in a restaurant, sooner was better.
Passing his crutches to Birch, he tugged his shirt off and undid the fly of his jeans, shoving them down to his ankles and clumsily kicking them off.Jodie was crouched in front of him instantly, her scrutinizing gaze assessing him from every angle while Birch’s mouth hung open.
Although he knew his brother was stunned by Jodie’s unapologetic prodding as she palmed his thighs and knelt in closer to see his stitches, it was old hat for him.Cuts, scrapes, sunburns—even carpet burns—were her business.He knew she was cataloging each one and already figuring out which angles would hide them best, her thumbs flying across her phone screen intermittently to make her notes.
She sat back on her heels and looked up at him.“Any I can’t see?”
“Just a gravel burn on my hip,” he offered, inching the band of his boxers down far enough for her to see just as the chimes went off at the door.
Birch’s hushed curse hit him a split second before Angelina’s voice did.
“Oh, my, this is awkward.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Angelina forcefully pushedthe Serpent’s Tongue door closed behind her and leaned against it, assessing the scene she’d inadvertently interrupted.River was standing beside the desk in his boxers with a stunning brunette on her knees in front of him and his gobsmacked brother beside him, mouth agape.
“This is NOT what it looks like,” River stammered as the woman rose gracefully, shoved her hands through his hair, and lifted the strands with a frown.“Angel, I—”
Birch’s statue impression cracked.“Look, Angelina, it’s not as bad as—”
