Rock Chick Revolution (Rock Chick #8)(41)

“I’ll make it worth it,” he whispered.

Yeah.

He loved me.

And I was very lucky.

“I think, after acting like an idiot for a year, that’s my job,” I replied, and his warm eyes got warmer, his hands slid from my h*ps to my ribs and he pulled me down to him as he fell back so we were lying on the bed, me on top.

“How you gonna do that?” he asked as one of his hands drifted over my ass and the other one drifted up and into my hair.

“I don’t know,” I answered. “But I’ll be creative.”

He smiled.

My heart soared.

“Lookin’ forward to that,” he murmured.

“Would you like to start now?” I offered. “Or after we get back to Denver.”

“Seein’ as I’m takin’ my woman on our first official date tonight even though she’s been my woman for a long f**kin’ time, I want to get back to Denver. So you can start there.”

God. I’d been such an idiot.

I didn’t admit that since I figured he knew. And, by the way, he was being very cool by not rubbing my nose in it.

Which made me love him more.

Instead, I replied, “Copy that,” and got another smile.

Then I got a hot, heavy, wet kiss.

After that, I got my ass hauled to a sweet ride and Ren pointed the Jag toward Denver (after we checked in on Faye who, surprisingly, after being buried alive, was doing all right; then again, she had her own hot guy badass so maybe this wasn’t a surprise).

I delayed until nearly the final moment to check my phone because I knew what I’d find. I’d even avoided looking when I’d called Darius.

But this was sissy behavior and not me. However, I allowed myself this bubble of happiness with Ren without letting the world intrude as he drove his sleek, high performance machine through the beauty of the Colorado Mountains.

He did this, by the way, almost the whole time holding my hand against his thigh. Yes, the fact that I loved this was more romantic girlie than Rock Chick, but who cares? A hotheaded Italian badass loved me. This required being romantic girlie on occasion.

And I picked that one.

But it was time to stop being a sissy and face the music.

So I hit the button to turn on my phone and found I had fifty-seven missed calls and thirty-three voicemails.

“Shit,” I hissed.

“What’re you lookin’ at?” Ren asked, having been around the Rock Chicks enough to know what I was facing.

“Fifty-seven missed calls and thirty-three voicemails,” I told him.

Ren started laughing.

I didn’t find it funny and found it less funny when I went to my Recents list, scrolled down and saw the vast majority of calls were not from the Rock Chicks, snippy and calling to ream me because I didn’t share.

They were from Lee, Hank and Eddie.

Not good.

Those three were also the vast majority of voicemails.

Also not good.

I turned off my phone and shoved it in my purse as Ren pulled into the parking lot of my complex. I did this deciding that maybe I could still be a sissy for a little while longer.

Ren parked. I put my hand to the handle but stopped and turned to him when I felt his fingers curl around my knee.

“We go up, you pack enough to stay at my place awhile, but you make sure you got a variety of dresses and heels,” he ordered and I bit back a smart mouth retort at him being bossy. It took me so long to do that, he was able to keep talking. “And you do that shit fast.”

At bossy part two, I failed in biting back the smart mouth and asked, “Should I salute when you issue an order? Or will nodding and instant compliance do?”

He grinned and replied, “No salutes. No nods. But you could kiss me.”

I gave him a look.

He kept grinning.

I decided to throw out a deal that he couldn’t refuse.

“I’ll kiss you, and comply with your order, if you do me a favor.”

His fingers gave my knee a squeeze and he asked, “What do you need?”

I dug in my purse, got out my wallet and opened it. I found the little pocket that had absolutely no use. A pocket I put a use to. I snapped it open and pulled out what was inside.

I dumped the wallet back in my purse, turned to Ren and lifted my hand between us.

Then I dropped the guitar pendant and it bounced between us from where I held the chain.

“What I need is for you to put this on me,” I said quietly and Ren’s eyes moved from the pendant to me.

His voice was rough when he stated, “You carried it with you.”

“Yes.”

“Always?”

I took a breath in through my nose.

Then I nodded and whispered, “Always.”

His eyes stayed locked to mine, heated and intense, before he grinned and declared, “I was so in there.”

I palmed the necklace and snapped, “Zano, do you want me pissed at you?”

“Semi-sweet Ally, just seein’ how far she goes,” he replied.

“You reached the end, mister,” I returned, twisted to exit the vehicle but instead found myself in Ren’s lap, wedged between him and his steering wheel.

Oh, and he was kissing me.

I decided to forgive him and kissed him back.

Then kissing turned into making out.