Wild Wind: A Chaos Novella (Chaos #6.6)(16)

“Jagger!” she snapped. “Focus.”

He grinned. “Babe.”

“Oh my God,” she said quietly, her stare hinting at being a glare. “Are you really this annoying?”

“Just to say, you’re only twenty-five, I’m twenty-seven, there are no windows that are closed for us. Unless you haven’t stanned for a boy band. I think for any cool chick like you, at your age, your window is closed for that.”

“You can be cute,” she was still talking quietly, but her tone was completely different, “but you’re still too late.”

He was talking quietly too, when he asked, “Too late for what?”

“Me.”

Shit.

“You married?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“Engaged?” he went on.

“Jagger—”

“Are you taken, Archie?”

She held his eyes.

Hers were black.

She had mixed blood, that was obvious, and everything she got out of however that fusion came about was perfection.

Including her deep-set eyes that dipped down at the inner corners.

But she didn’t answer his question.

Which was an answer to his question.

So he kept going.

“I wanna know what’s happening with your family. And I wanna know why you got a bunch of kids hanging at your store. And I wanna know about these Harris brothers, and how much trouble they’re causing you, but mostly Mal. I also wanna take you out to dinner. I wanna see a picture of your mom because I’ve wondered what she looked like, considering how pretty you are, since the minute I set eyes on you. I want you to meet my dad who isn’t my real dad and I wanna share a drink and a game of pool with you in my MC’s compound. I wanna be your friend, Archie. I wanna take this where we should have taken it years ago. But to be clear, I also want more. I’m attracted to you. I wanna know how you taste and what you feel like and the noises you’ll make when I turn you on. That’s where I’m at right now and I want you to be there with me.”

He took a breath and she didn’t utter a word.

Which was good.

Because he wasn’t done.

“So last, you gotta know, I refuse to accept that our window is closed. If you believe in God or fate or destiny or karma or whatever, I was there for you the day you needed me the most. And I may have fucked up along the way, but I’m standing right here telling you, unless shit goes south in a way neither of us can turn that tide, I’ll always be there for you.”

When he was done with that, she turned her head away.

It was a sharp movement, and the way it was, was concerning.

“Archie, baby,” he called.

She turned back to him and said, “She was the best mom in the world, Jagger. She was…she was…I am everything I am today because of her and she died when I was fourteen. But boys with their moms, that’s another thing. And her being gone fucked my brother up. Fubar. Huge. And Dad was okay with it for a while. And then he got fed up with it. And now shit is dark, Jagger. And she would hate that. She’d really fucking hate it. And I have no idea what to do about it.”

For his part, he really fucking hated hearing the emotion tremble in her words and not be close to her, at least, holding her, better.

“Can I come to you?” he requested.

She visibly tensed.

Then she jerked her head up and down.

He went to her.

And carefully, he pulled her in his arms.

She didn’t commit to it, just rested her hands on his waist.

Though she did twist her neck and put the side of her head to his chest.

He breathed her in and tucked her as close as he could without being gross and pervy in doing it.

She didn’t say anything, and he didn’t have anything to say.

He just kept her folded in his arms until he felt the time was right to say, “Choice placement of the word ‘fubar,’ babe. Well done.”

Her fingers tensed into his flesh, but she didn’t remove her hands as she tipped her head back to look up at him.

Yup.

Not too short.

Not too tall.

Just right.

Mm.

Though, it was good to see a light shining in her pretty eyes, and she wasn’t pissed or hurt he’d made a joke.

“So, is this Jagger-style being there? You being a smartass?” she asked.

He faked looking insulted. “I wasn’t being a smartass. That was totally choice placement of the word ‘fubar.’”

Her body moved a little with her humor.

It felt too good, so he gave her a squeeze then stepped away from her.

She moved her head in a way it was both a cute tip and a sexy-flirty duck and asked, “You wanna catch dinner tonight?”

Right the fuck on.

There it was.

They were on the same page.

Goddamn brilliant.

“Fuck yeah,” he said, then immediately had to say, “Ah, hell. No.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m supposed to go over to my brother’s tonight for dinner. He and his girlfriend are in this zone to get me to sort my shit with her sister, who’s apparently cleaned up her act. She’s also my ex, which is problematic to their goal of all of us stomaching each other for family shit since Dutch and Georgie are breaking the land-speed record for most committed relationship in the shortest period of time.”