Page 52 of Cold Foot Revenge
She closed her eyes like she was mortified when she uttered, “I feel jealous.”
Dylan tried to hide his smile. Truly, he did, but it felt so damn good that jealously was her emotion when they talked about other girls. That was a good sign, right?
“I get jealous thinking about the guys you dance for on your shifts,” he admitted. “We’re both a mess.”
She chewed the side of her lip and studied his face. “I don’t need to know names or how many times.”
“It’s not often. I was lonely. I was in a long-term relationship when Garret was Turned, and that fell apart quick when I moved to Darby.”
“Your ex that is from here?”
He nodded, not really wanting to talk about old relationships that he rarely thought about anymore. He didn’t want to talk about hers either unless she needed to talk about Grave. Dylan was tired of looking into the past for now, andhis protective and possessive instincts had been a little over the top since he’d met her. He wanted to just stay anchored in the moment, and steady. She needed steady.
“So, you’re sometimes-a-player, and other times not-a-player,” she mused.
“Ironically, I was in the committed relationship when I was off-the-rails wild, and now that I’m steady and boring, I haven’t settled into anything long-term. I talked to a woman online for a few weeks not that long ago, but we didn’t even get to the meeting part. Everything just kind of fizzles out quickly because there aren’t those really intense feelings. Maybe I’m better wild,” he said, only half-teasing.
“Do you think you have walls up?” she asked, like she knew how to build walls. He bet she did.
“Maybe. The connection just hasn’t been there.”Not like with you.He didn’t say that part out loud, but a part of him wanted to. He’d never had this kind of connection with any woman but telling her that would make her run. He just had a feeling.
“Are you sure the truck is hidden well enough?” she asked, and it got to him—the worry in her voice. He hated that these fucks were scaring her. They were an hour out, but maybe he should’ve taken them farther just to put her at ease.
“There are a hundred hotels between us,” he said softly.
Her lips ticked up into a smile, but it faded quickly. “You’re right.”
“They didn’t get you, Roxy. They aren’t going to get you. Tomorrow you’ll stay here where it’s safe, and I’ll fix it. Give me a few hours and it’ll be done.”
“I can’t let you do that.”
“Yes you can. Just pretend I’m going to the grocery store or something.”
“Yeah right.”
He inhaled deeply and pressed a kiss onto her forehead, then drifted down to kiss her lips, and distract her. That was enough talk about the past and the future. They had tonight, right here, right now. The here and now was the only guarantee, and he didn’t want to waste it on worry.
His phone vibrated with a call in his back pocket. He ignored it and cupped Roxy’s neck as she fell into his kiss. God, he loved the way her body responded to his touch. His phone vibrated again with the double call, and frustrated, he released her and ended the kiss, apologized and pulled his phone out to read the caller ID. Garret was calling. Crap.
“I’ve got to take this,” he murmured.
“Who is the boner-killer now?” she joked.
“Uuuh, my brother,” he muttered, connecting the call. “Hey, Gar. Can I call you—”
“Call me back? Like you’ve called me back at all this week? I have a story, Dylan. Ready?” Garret sounded pissed.
Dylan sighed and cast Roxy an apologetic glance before he stood and paced to the window. “Look, before you light me up—”
“Once upon a time there were two brothers.”
Oh, here he went.
“The two brothers were inseparable and did everything together. They told each other everything, and nothing could tear them apart. They would die for each other. They went through hell together. If they hurt each other, it was by accident, and they would come back and fix it. And then one day, one of the brothers grew distant, and quiet. He stared off into space a lot and stopped joking. He stopped laughing. The other brother was finding his place in the world, and it should’ve been the happiest time, with his brother at his side, but the quiet brother grew sadder as the other brother grew happier. The happy brother felt bad, like he was doing something wrong—”
“Gar—”
“No, let me finish!”
