Page 4 of Reverb
“Hey!I’mfive-nine.” Domino stood up straighter. “I’m not tiny.”
“Babe, you are kinda shorter than the rest of us when you’re not wearing your boots.” Adrian slung an arm around Dom and pulled him close. “But it’s not the size that matters, it’s how you use it.” There was almost a purr in his voice.
Ray rolled his eyes, Zavier coughed into a fist, and David couldn’t help his own laugh. Yeah, this group was okay. Well, except for the firebrand towering above him. She was more than okay...she wasglorious. What he needed, though, was someone he could work with, and who could work with him.
Mish’s stern visage had softened into humor. “Damn it, Adrian! I’m trying to be imposing, and you’re throwing around double entendres!”
“Sweetheart,” he said with a very New York accent, “there ain’t nothing but double entendres around you.”
“And that,” Zavier said, “is Twisted Wishes. You still want to work with us?”
David nodded. “You guys seem like tons of fun.”
Mish put her hands on her hips. “I could stick you in my pocket!”
“You couldtry.” He grinned up at her. “But I’m well versed in taking tall people down, I have a couple of black belts, and was in the army for twelve years. So you might not succeed.”
This time, it was her mouth that twitched up. “Mightnot?”
“I’m confident in my abilities, but never say never, you know?” He rocked back on the stool. “Besides, I saw the photos of your assailant. You’retough, Sullivan.”
“Call me Mish.” Her hands were still on her hips, but her smile was wide. “Sounds like I might not need to take care of you.”
He shrugged. “I’m pretty self-sufficient.”
“But never say never?” She winked at him.
He snorted. Yeah, Mish Sullivan was something else. Beautiful. Sexy. Talented. Intelligent. Too bad she was also the job, ’cause that kind of woman made his blood heat. “Life is full of surprises.”
With that, Mish stepped back and seemed to loosen up. “All right. He can stay.” She directed that bit at Ray. “But I want to see the shit you’ve been getting about me.”
Ray looked at Adrian, and Adrian raised a brow at David.
Time to earn his keep. “You should share them. Mish deserves to know what’s going on. It’s her life, and she’s right—she can take care of herself.”
“But you’re going to be guarding me.”
“Technically, I’m running security for all of you.” Technically. The threat was to Mish, so he’d be paying the most attention to keeping her safe. Still, he would look out for the whole band.
She shook her head, sending cascades of red curls around her face. “So no personal hot bodyguard just for me?”
Hot? That sent a bolt of awareness straight through him and he shifted on the seat. Flirting wasn’t a good idea, especially with Ray and the rest of the guysright there, but he couldn’t help himself. “Princess, if you need apersonalbodyguard, I’m sure we can work something out.” He kept his tone light and humorous.
Mish laughed, and it was deep and loud and perfect. “So what do you go by anyway? Dave? David? Altet? Some other nickname?”
“I prefer David.” He almost includedand he/him pronouns, but he’d been read as male for years at this point. Being asked whether he preferred David over Dave was new, though. An unexpected kindness, one that made him aware of who he was, and how comfortable his skin felt now.
“Well, David.” Mish was close again, towering over him once more, and a huge part of him really fucking liked that, which was a problem. “Here’s something you should know: I ain’t no one’s fuckingprincess.” She had a razor-sharp smile and her eyes were nearly green.
“Rock queen. Got it.” He held her gaze.
Her eyes widened. “Fuck. I think I like you.” She spun around on her heel and headed back to her instrument.
Ray blew out a breath. “Yeah, I guess we better get back to work.”
The rest of the band grabbed their instruments, and Adrian gestured toward the hallway. “Got a minute?”
So either Adrian was going to chew David out for flirting with Mish...or something else. Adrian seemed wary, but not in an angry or protective way. David pushed himself off the stool and followed him out.
