Rake's Redemption (Wind Dragons MC #4)(34)

“Okay.”

“So,” I start. “Just how long is this going to go on for?”

“As long as it takes,” he replies simply.

“You don’t think this is a little . . . awkward?” I ask, checking to see if the kids are listening, but they’re engrossed in Rhett’s tablet.

“I don’t think it’s awkward at all.”

“It’s just weird how things have turned out, you know? At first, with what happened at Rift that first night, then . . . ? I don’t know. . . .” I trail off, looking straight ahead.

“Stop overthinking everything, Bailey, and just go with it,” he says, turning up the radio a little bit. “I didn’t think you’d ever be back in my life, but you are, so now we deal. Whatever happens, happens.”

It isn’t as simple as he’s making it out to be, but I don’t bother pointing that out.

I guess I’ll just have to “go with it.”

Living with my high school sweetheart.

Who broke my heart.

Wonderful.

*

“Every time I start thinking highly of you, you keep talking,” I hear Tia tell Rake in the kitchen.

Rake chuckles, opening the oven and peering inside. “I’m just honest. It’s a trait that’s hard to find nowadays.”

“You told me that the guy I’m going on another date with isn’t into me,” she says, hands on her hips. “You don’t even know him!”

Rake closes the oven and leans back against the countertop. “One, he didn’t bother coming to the door when he picked you up, nor did he open the car door for you. I was watching. Two, you yourself say that he hardly messages you, and three, you haven’t seen him in a few days, so has he even called you? You f*cked him on the first night, didn’t you?”

There was no judgment in his voice, just curiosity.

Tia groans and covers her face with her hands. “I didn’t f*ck him. I might have given him . . . a little something though.”

Rake raises an eyebrow. “Head on the first date?”

“No,” Tia snaps. “I kind of liked this one, so I was hoping we’d go on a few more dates before we slept together. I was trying a new approach.”

Rake tries to keep his face straight, but he fails, and starts laughing, holding his stomach. “A blow job on the first date is a new approach? Fuckin’ hell woman, make the guy work for it or he won’t value it.”

“I said I didn’t give him head! We just kissed! Okay, Dr. Phil,” she says, her tone more sarcastic than I’ve ever heard it. “You’ve f*cked half the female population. But what do you know about keeping a woman?”

I don’t miss the way Rake’s eyes flash at that comment before he masks it. “I don’t want to keep a woman. But they all want to keep me, so I must be doing something right.”

Tia sighs and gives in. “Okay, what do I do?”

I walk into the room and sit down at the dining table. “I’d like to hear this advice too.”

Rake’s mouth tightens. “I’ll have to tell you some other time.”

“I’m just going to tell Bailey anyway,” Tia mutters. “What? Afraid she’ll use your advice to land a new man?”

Rake scowls at my best friend. “I take it back, no man will put up with a woman with your mouth.”

Smirking, I go to the oven to check on my brownies.

“Are they ready?” Rake asks from behind me.

I nod and pull the tray out with the oven mitts on. “Yeah, they look good.”

“They smell f*ckin’ good.” He groans, the sound making me want to do the same.

“I’ll go tell the kids dessert is ready,” Tia says, exiting the room with haste.

“You had to pick her for your best friend, didn’t you?” Rake says, sighing dramatically.

I hide my grin. “She’s my neighbor. Fate chose her for me.”

I take the brownies out of the tray and onto a plate. Rake stands a little too close behind me for my liking, and when he speaks, his breath is warm and sweet on my neck. “You smell nice.”

I clear my throat. “Thanks, it’s uhhh, a body-mist thing I use.”

“Whatever it is, it’s good,” he rumbles into my ear. “It makes me hungry; it’s delicious.”

I edge away from him and take a few steps away. “Well. Brownies are ready; I’ll ice them when they cool down.”

“I can do it,” he offers, licking his lips. My eyes zoom in on his lip ring.

“When did you get that done?” I find myself asking.

He touches it with his index finger. “I was about twenty, I think. I got my eyebrow first, then the lip.”

“Why?” I ask him, our eyes connecting.

He stills, studying me, then finally shrugs. “I was looking for distractions, I guess, and I used any I could come across.”

I don’t ask him to explain further. “I like them.”

He nods, eyes now roaming down my body. “Good, I like them too.”

He is lingering on my breasts, which are bigger than the last time he saw them.

“Ummm, good,” I mumble, not knowing what to say but not wanting to be intimidated by him. I don’t lower my gaze, even though I can feel my cheeks start to heat as the look in his eyes does.