Wild Like the Wind (Chaos #5)(38)

“You don’t have insurance?” she asked.

“On my truck and bike, yeah. Otherwise, no.”

“I can see this,” she said to the taco meat.

He grinned at her profile then looked back to the TV.

“You deserve better.”

That comment bought her his eyes again.

“I dig why you live in this place and don’t want to bother moving, babe,” she went on. “But I hate that you come home to a pit. You deserve better.”

Christ, he loved her.

It would never have entered his mind in the years since he’d taken that fall that she could get more of that from him.

But having her like he did now, she totally did.

“What were your favorites, baby?” he asked quietly.

She didn’t hesitate to answer. “That black leather sectional. The barstools that the base is made out of a crankshaft. And that leather studded headboard.”

He remembered all those pictures.

Vaguely.

And from what he remembered, if she outfitted his crib like that, it was going to look like the Harley-Davidson furniture god puked all over the place.

But if she liked it, he didn’t give a shit.

“I give you the cash, you go get it. Let me know when it’s gonna be delivered. I’ll get Dutch and Chill over here and we’ll cart this shit to the dump.”

Her eyes were big. “Really?”

“Yup.”

“All of it?”

“Whatever you want, but make sure you get new mattresses too, Keekee. Mine suck. And think on that headboard, ’cause if I remember what you’re talkin’ about, I can’t tie you to it.”

Her face screwed up with fake irritation. “Don’t make me hot when I’m making tacos.”

“You know I’ll fuck you tough after you feed me so don’t bitch I make you wet before you do.”

She turned the stove down and came to look at him from over the bar. “You need end tables too.”

“Whatever,” he muttered, turning back to the TV.

“And new nightstands and a dresser and new lamps, like, everywhere.”

“I got stacks of cash in the safe in my room at the Compound. Tell me how much you need. I’ll have it here tomorrow night and give it to you.”

“I have carte blanche?”

He again looked to her. “You think I’ll like it, I’ll probably like it. More likely I won’t notice it unless it’s uncomfortable, goofy, girlie or preppy. I reckon you know to avoid any a’ that shit so, yeah. You got carte blanche.”

“I’m taking tomorrow off and going shopping,” she declared.

He grinned, turning his head back to the TV, repeating, “Whatever.”

“You wanna come with me?”

That slashed through him like a blade through his heart.

Slowly, he looked again to her.

“Babe,” he said quietly.

“Is that …” She weirdly had to take a moment to get her shit together. “Is that a ‘babe’ no way in hell I’m going shopping or a ‘babe’ you don’t want to be seen out in public with me? Because I’m pretty sure no Chaos brother is gonna be at furniture stores.”

“Their old ladies might.”

“So it’s you don’t wanna be seen out in public with me.”

Why was she asking this shit?

If it was up to him, he’d be out in public with her, she’d be on the back of his bike, he’d fuck her in his bed at the Compound, she’d be deep in his life every way he could get her.

But it wasn’t up to him. It wasn’t something she could give him the way he was guessing she knew he wanted it, so it wasn’t something he could have and she knew that shit, so why the fuck was she going there and dragging him with her?

He turned in the couch to face her, trying not to get pissed. “Keekee—”

“It’s not like we don’t know each other, Shep.”

This was true.

“If on the extreme off chance we run into someone remotely associated with Chaos,” she continued, “we can say you needed new mattresses or whatever and since you don’t give a shit about that, asked me to help out or just were there to hand off the cash. But since it’s not gonna happen, who gives a shit?”

“Honest as fuck, babe, it’s mostly because I don’t wanna go furniture shopping so you getting wound up about this is pointless.”

She looked to the wall.

He needed to guide them out of this, for both of them.

“Is the food ready?” he asked.

She looked back to him.

“Yeah,” she snapped.

“Are you gonna be pissed while we eat it even though I’m gonna hand over thousands of dollars in cash to you tomorrow that you can spend decorating my ratty-ass apartment for me?”

She tried to hold on to the pissed but couldn’t do it.

Still, she verbally stuck to it, but without the sting, and bit out a, “Yeah.”

He got up and moved toward the kitchen, “Then tonight’s a spanking night, baby. You got a sting in your ass and my cock up your cunt, no way you can stay pissed.”

“I told you, Hound, don’t turn me on when you’re not imminently gonna do something about it, and I’ll add, don’t turn me on when I’m mad at you.”