Page 23 of Rock Hard
Her lips thinned at the hated nickname, sending a thrill of joy through him.
“Rex, we need to talk.”
“All right. Talk.”
“Inprivate.”
He appeared to consider it, though the truth was, he was totally on board with that plan. In fact, having Alice in a locked room all to himself for a couple days was one of his recurring dreams. Not that he would ever let her, or anyone else, know that. He was the alpha, and alphas never revealed their weaknesses.
He nodded then turned and walked back to the bus, leaving Alice to follow. She did.
Swiping his forearm over the table and one of the bench seats, he cleared a place to sit then slid in, patting the small space beside him in invitation.
She looked down in disgust. “I’ll stand, thanks. Unless you’ve got a full body condom I can slip on first.”
Rex grinned. Now that Alice was back, now that the music was back, things would start getting back to normal.
Valerie came in behind Alice and tried to take the spot for herself. Rex stopped her.
“No. Out.”
Valerie looked as if she might self-combust at any moment, but she wisely turned on her heels and sashayed off the bus, bumping Alice’s shoulder on the way. To her credit, Alice didn’t budge. Didn’t even appear to notice, in fact. For such a little thing, his Alice was fierce.
“You look good, Al.”
“Wish I could say the same for you.” Some of the anger faded, replaced with genuine concern. “When was the last time you had a decent meal? Or”—she scrunched up her cute little nose—“showered?”
Rather than be offended, he was delighted. “We could take care of that right now. You wash my back, I’ll wash yours. I’ll even feed you afterward.”
Alice made a soft feminine sound of disgust, the same one his daughter made so often, and averted her gaze, but not before he caught the spark of interest. Not before he felt the air between them sizzle with unrealized possibilities.
As difficult as it had been, maybe this time away had been good for her. Maybe she had finally decided to stop fighting her attraction and let nature take its course. He had known it would happen eventually. It was inevitable.
“I’ll pass.”
“So ...” He leaned back, pleased by the way her eyes followed the ripple of movement along his bare chest and arms. He wouldn’t gloat. Much. “Have a change of heart, did you? Come to beg for your job back?”
Alice’s eyes snapped back up to his. “No. I’m here about Carly.”
Well, that was a bit of a buzzkill, but then he realized Alice wasn’t the type to capitulate so easily. Just coming here must have required swallowing a big ol’ mouthful of pride.
He wasn’t entirely heartless. If she wanted to use his daughter as an excuse, he would go with it to make it easier for her.
“What about her?”
“I want her to come live with me.”
Unexpected, but he would play along. “Why?”
“Look around you, Rex. This is hardly the environment for a fourteen-year-old girl.”
“Didn’t seem to bother you before.”
“Before, I was here, looking out for her. Now she has no one.”
His nostrils flared. “She has me.”
“Does she?” Alice crossed her arms over her chest.
