Page 106 of The Vigilante's Lover
But not tonight.
Screw it. I finger the loose bit of hair and slip it behind her ear. Her cheek is soft, her expression relaxed. I’ll set up some spa treatment for herto get past the shock of these days. I’ll watch each delicious moment as she gets a full body massage.
I tap the dash screen again and bring up Armond. It takes a few moments for the circuitous encryption to make its way to him. His bald head and bushy brows are a welcoming sight.
“You’re still with us,” he says. “I hear there’s trouble afoot. Did you find your lady?”
I lay a hand on Mia’s head. He looks down and sees her.
“Wearing them out as usual,” he says, then nods knowingly when I glare at him. “Ah, you care what this little dove thinks of you.”
“They blew up her house. She’s got nothing to wear. Not even a hairbrush. What can you do for her?”
Armond’s hands come up, his fingertips to his chin. “Now that is a tragedy. But we shall rebuild her from scratch. How much time?”
“We can rendezvous somewhere mid-Tennessee.”
“There’s a small college in Jackson,” Armond says. “My very own nephew attends. There is a coffee shop in town with a name that will make your blood boil. Very defendable. When?”
I glance at the map. “Two hours normal speed. Trying to stay under the radar.”
“Plenty of time,” he says. “Take care, my friend.”
Mia pops her head up. She was listening. I figured as much.
“No stilettos!” she says.
Armond laughs. “No movie heroine here, I see, all high heels and dramatic hair amid the gunfire.”
“I’ll be the practical kind,” Mia says. Her affection for Armond is obvious in her pleased expression. “Hair back. Body armor. And sensible shoes.”
“I’ll see what I can do. But perhaps one small addition, for the bedroom?”
Mia’s face turns crimson.
“Ah, sorry, I should not be so coarse,” he says. “My apologies.”
“Good-bye, Armond,” I say. “And thank you.” I switch off the screen.
Mia sighs. “Do you sleep with EVERY woman you encounter?”
I exit the highway to take the back roads to Jackson. “I missed out on this eighty-year-old woman in Romania —”
“Jax! Don’t be mean!”
I can barely contain my laugh. “I tried! She said I needed more potatoes first.”
She punches my arm, and I trap her hand inside the crook of my elbow. I set the car to auto-navigate the narrow two-lane road and hold her fingers with mine.
Her eyes glow a little when I touch her. Just the way I like it. I wonder when I will move us to the next level, beyond the simple bedroom activities and on to those with a little more kick. Something tells me Mia is going to be very receptive.
Maybe tonight.
She drops her head back to the console, letting me stroke her fingers. I look forward to this night together, pushing her, seeing how far she bends.
Nothing’s broken her so far.
4: Mia
