Out of the Ashes (Sons of Templar MC #3)(17)

She jumped out of her seat and out the door so quickly she didn’t hear him mutter, “Not f*ckin’ likely.”

I gathered this statement was not due to my enthusiastic and funny daughter, whom I was pretty sure it was impossible to dislike, but because of me. I was surprised to feel more than a little stab at this. I didn’t get time to ponder it, as I quickly realized it was just me and Zane in the truck and the air had turned charged. I took a deep breath and turned to face him, inwardly flinching at the red hot glare I encountered.

“You don’t have to come in, really. We can catch a cab home, it’s no problem. I really appreciate the ride. We’re good now. Thanks,” I finished lamely.

Zane stared at me, and the glare turned into something else. Something different. Something carnal. Something dangerous. “You want to make it into that movie theatre, babe, you’ll get out of the truck. Right. Fucking. Now!” he growled, his voice rough and gravelly.

I stared at him for a split second before ungracefully scrambling out of the truck, my wits and my hormones scattered.

I expected the SUV to skid off in a cloud of smoke, but to my utter and complete amazement Zane stalked out of it and rounded the hood. He didn’t even glance at me. I continued to stare as he strode towards a grinning Lexie, his mouth a hard line. I frantically tried to understand what the f*cking hell—I think that moment needed an f word—just happened. My brain couldn’t catch up. But my ovaries were standing to attention.

“Mom! You actually have to go into the theater in order to see the movie and consume the delicious, delicious snacks,” Lexie called to me, jolting me out of my haze.

I turned to see her and Zane waiting at the entrance, her with a smile, him with a look that made me feel like I had just run over his dog. And insulted his mother. And was responsible for world hunger.

Despite this, I hurried to join him and Lexie, ignoring the pulse between my legs.

“Okay, we’ll have three large popcorns, one bag of M&Ms and some Reese’s Pieces, please,” I said to the guy at the snack counter.

By some miracle, we had time for not only the previews but for snacks also.

“You’re not getting Milk Duds?” Lexie asked from beside me.

I looked at her. “Well, I thought Reese’s were a better choice,” I explained.

“Yes, but Reese’s are hugely similar to M&Ms and I’m not suggesting we rule out either of those—I’m simply saying we need more variety, and we need variety in the form of Milk Duds,” she reasoned.

I nodded. “Duly noted.” I turned to the kid at the counter, who was standing patiently—I think—waiting for us to decide. “Add Milk Duds onto that,” I requested.

“And two diet Cokes,” she added quickly.

I slapped my forehead and turned to her in mock seriousness. “How could I forget the liquid, which of course needs to be diet to balance out all of the calories in our snacks?” I asked.

She patted my shoulder affectionately. “I got your back, Mom.” She turned to Zane, “What do you want to drink, Zane?”

He was staring at us with a strange look on his face. It wasn’t the glower he reserved for me, nor was it the slightly softer version of mad murderer that Lexie was treated to. This was different. The edge of his mouth turned up slightly, and if I didn’t know better I would have thought he was...amused?

“I’m good, Lex,” he answered finally.

I also liked, despite myself, how he called my daughter “Lex.” It was familiar and seemed like his way of expressing affection. I didn’t know why I should like the big, bad, biker from next door to be calling my daughter by affectionate nicknames but I did. I also liked the fact I was standing at the snack counter with the big, bad, and friggin’ hot biker from next door. I chose to forget the fact we were practically holding him hostage and manipulating him with Lexie’s puppy dog stare.

She widened her eyes at him. “You have to have a soda when watching a movie. It’s like a rule. Soda and crazy amounts of sugary snacks. It’s all part of the experience,” she told him, like going to the movies was tantamount to climbing Mt Everest.

The side of his mouth ticked up again, and this time I was sure. It was amusement. Amusement, people! The staunch, hugely scary, muscled biker had a sense of humor, deep down underneath all that muscle and menace.

“Don’t drink soda, kid.”

Lexie’s mouth dropped open at this. “I don’t usually drink soda either. With the exception of when I’m at the movies, having a movie night, or at a ballgame. It’s not good for you, but you’ve got to indulge every now and then. It’s good for the soul,” she informed him sagely, as if she was the Yoda of the soda consumption world.

“Dollybird, he doesn’t want soda. Let him be,” I told her, scared the soda pressure might make him explode right here at the snack stand.

She shrugged. “Okay, just get him a bottle of water,” she ordered. I gave her a look. “What? He’ll get thirsty from the popcorn,” she reasoned.

The kid plonked our feast down in front us. I turned back to him. “One more request and I promise, you’ll never have to see us again.” I thought on that. “So you’ll probably be seeing us next week, considering the new Bond movie comes out then.” I paused and thought again. “Actually, we’re pretty regular moviegoers, so you will actually see us again. Probably quite regularly. Just not for a week, at least.” I smiled at him apologetically as he went to get the water.