Page 25 of Wicked Flirt
“Whoa! TMI.”
Ethan smiled goofily. The weirdo. “It’s like that.”
Marcus watched Ethan working out for a few minutes, thinking on that. He just couldn’t see it. Tough Ethan in the feminine hygiene section? At the register paying with witnesses and everything? Finally he told Ethan, “Fuck, man, that’s some twisted shit.”
Ethan smirked. “That’s love. When you’re open to that serious-as-fuck level, it’ll happen for you.”
Marcus gestured to let him have a turn with the barbell and they switched places. “That is terrifying.”
Ethan picked up the dumbbells. “It’s not for the faint of heart. Takes a big man to take a fall like that. It humbles you, makes you realize what really matters. She’s my heart.” His voice choked.
Marcus’s throat tightened at the emotion in his formerly stoic friend’s voice. “Cool. I’m glad you got that.”
They finished their workout and headed to the kitchen to rehydrate. Ethan poured a couple of glasses of water and sat with him at the small kitchen table.
Ethan gave him his assessing cop look. “What’s the deal with Lexi?”
Marcus took a long drink of water. “I don’t know. We’re friends, I guess.” And she wanted him to treat her like a guy, which put him in this weird place of wanting more and not knowing how to get it. He couldn’t imagine actually following Ethan’s advice—inviting Lexi to do his favorite thing, working out. Buying her tampons?Shudder.
Ethan slapped the table, and Marcus startled. “Life’s freaking short. If you think you got something, go for it. Ask her to do what you like. Maybe not lifting weights, that’s not so easy for a woman. What else you like?”
“Basketball.”
“You want to play basketball with her?”
“I have season Knicks tickets.”
Ethan tilted his head, considering. “Yeah, I guess that could work. If she wasn’t too bored. See, hiking or fishing, there’s always something to do. That’s what I like about nature.”
“Uh-huh.” Marcus was an indoor cat.
Ethan took a drink, set his glass down, and lifted a palm. “I just remembered something else. Zach says from an anthropological point of view, the dominant male is highly valued for a mate as a protector and provider for the young. Not dominant like pressing the woman down. More like showing you have the strength to fight off enemies, protect the family, and bring home the gift of food. You should talk to Zach. He’s got a real deep understanding of courtship and marriage customs.”
Marcus blinked. Ethan was getting surprisingly academic. Ethan had grown up in the same foster home as Zach, who was now a professor of anthropology. Zach was always spouting some kind of animal-instinct stuff. Not very helpful in modern times.
“So I should bring her some meat or fish?” Marcus asked as a joke.
“That could help,” Ethan said enthusiastically. “And make sure you get in good with her family and friends. It’s biological. Zach explained it. Approval of the mate and all that.” That part actually made sense. And Zach was about to get married in May, so maybe there was something to all this anthropological stuff.
His head was swimming with information, and he wasn’t sure how much was actually relevant to his current situation.
Fuck it. He’d try it all.
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Chapter Seven
Lexi wasn’t as immune to Marcus as she’d like to be. She’d told herself it was best if they were just friends, but she found herself thinking about him way too much. First of all, he was smart. That was even sexier than his body, which was plenty sexy already. Second, he had some tender sweetness hiding under all those bulky muscles. Like the way he generously offered her a job and took care of his mom and cuddled little Rose and…oh, just everything. Now that she’d glimpsed the sweetness, she couldn’t unsee it. Smart, sexy, sweet—the S trifecta guaranteed to make any woman a soft, swooning, sighingmess.
How could this be the same man who left women devastated? There had to be some kind of reasonable explanation for the terrible rumors about him. Maybe his ex-wife had screwed him up so badly he’d spiraled out of control for a while but was better now. He seemed stable. Or maybe she was in denial. It wouldn’t be the first time. And hadn’t that bit her in the ass with her cheating ex?
She sighed, opened the refrigerator, and stared in the vain hope that dinner would magically produce itself. Bummer. The kitchen fairies failed her again. She shut the door and grabbed the box of Kix cereal from the cabinet. She popped a few crunchy Kix in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully as she poured a bowl. Maybe she was just making excuses for Marcus because of the unexpected S trifecta.
She poured some milk into the bowl, grabbed a spoon, and headed for the sofa. It was Sunday night and she figured she’d flip channels, see what was on. She’d just settled onto the sofa when the doorbell rang. Now that her friends had moved out, nobody ever stopped by unannounced. Oh, shit. Was it Marcus? He was probably back in town by now. She looked down at her ratty old purple sweatshirt and gray sweatpants, had a brief moment of panic, and then said screw it. She didn’t need to look good for him. They were just friends. If it was him. Why was she suddenly hoping it was?
The bell rang again.
“Coming!” She hurried over and peeked through the peephole. Her heart pounded, all of her suddenly flushed with heat. She opened the door to Marcus standing there in a black leather jacket, jeans, and black work boots, looking like her bad-boy wet dream.
