Need You for Always (Heroes of St. Helena)(43)
Determined not to mope, because that got her exactly nowhere, she grabbed her purse and walked out of the bar. She made her way down the alley and around the back of the building, heading toward her apartment. Only when she reached the stairwell off the back of the Boulder Holder, she noticed someone waiting.
Dax sat three-quarters up the flight of stairs in a pair of black jeans and a matching leather jacket that was all biker and bad boy wrapped in alpha swagger. His elbows rested on his bent knees, a paper bag dangled from his fingertips, and two paper coffee cups sat one step behind him. He looked dark, dangerous, and so delicious her body hummed to life.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, a little breathless at the sight of him. Or maybe that was the overdose of testosterone confusing her senses.
“Waiting for you.”
He stood and walked toward her, his riding boots echoing off the walkway, not letting up until he was standing close enough to touch. Close enough to smell—she sniffed again. “Is that bread pudding?” He opened the bag and held it under her nose. She breathed in the sweet almondy scent and groaned. “Not just any bread pudding. It’s from the Sweet and Savory.”
Only the best pastry and dessert stop in Napa Valley. And the bread pudding, made from homemade chocolate croissant bread with a heavenly amaretto sauce, was Emerson’s personal favorite.
“I wanted to take you to dinner, maybe grab something after you got off, but I forgot everything in this town closes when the sun goes down. So I figured maybe some dessert.”
Emerson’s knees wobbled as she remembered his words from the other night. This was her chance to do something reckless, something that would lead to a night of being bad.
With the town’s bad boy.
“Do you want to come up?” she asked. “To my apartment?”
Dax’s eyes ran the length of her dress, paying careful attention to her neckline, hips, and bare feet. By the time he made it back to her eyes all of the air seemed to disappear.
“Yes,” he said with conviction, his voice rough. “But I was given strict instructions from the chef that this dessert isn’t made to go. So I had to promise not to eat it at the counter or on the couch while watching television. It’s a dining experience that is deserving of the perfect setting.”
Emerson knew the perfect setting.
Her bed.
“Last time some guy bribed me with an experience that required a location change, I found myself in Derek Mather’s coat closet playing Seven Minutes in Heaven.”
Dax let out a low whistle. “Heaven is a pretty big promise when the dude only gave himself seven minutes.”
“Thirty seconds in, I figured out he thought the gateway was in his pants and I decked him.”
Dax laughed. It was a good laugh that was real and transformed his entire face. The stress lines bracketing his mouth softened and that shell-shocked expression disappeared. And a hum vibrated through her entire body.
“I hope your offer is better,” she said. She hoped his offer was for seven hours of heaven—or as many hours as they could fit in before dawn.
“How about we start with dessert?” When she lifted a questioning brow, he shook the bag. “A real dessert. With a view to die for.”
“You know Lexi’s bread pudding has raisins,” she pointed out and Dax looked at her like he could handle a few raisins—or at least pick them out. “Raisins made from green grapes.”
“I’m open to trying new things,” he said but she could tell green food wouldn’t have been his first choice. Fair, since it wouldn’t have been hers either. But he seemed to have a plan, which was great since her plan hadn’t extended past the dress and shoes. “And I know a little spot that would pair perfectly with bread pudding and new adventures.”
That was all Emerson needed to hear.
She took in his jacket, which made her mouth water because it took him from dangerous to lethal. “Are you cleared to ride your bike?”
“Nope,” he said, sounding a little unsure.
“So you’re taking me to dessert, after sixteen hours on my feet, and I get to drive?” She snatched the bag. “Man, you know how to charm a girl.”
Truth was, he did. After an entire night of his eyes on her, hers on him, thinking over his promise, her body had gone into hyperdrive. But finding him on her stoop, holding her favorite dessert, had taken this to a totally different level—one she wasn’t quite sure how to interpret. A clear sign that she was out of her element.
“No ride. And I can’t promise heaven because there are green raisins involved. But I can promise you a little slice of it.” He closed the distance between them, his big body taking up all of her personal space, then took off his jacket and slipped it over her shoulders—his warmth surrounding her. “Come have a seat and I promise it will be exactly what you need after tonight.”
“Big words,” Emerson said, snuggling deeper into the leather. It was buttery soft, smelled like new car and wild nights. But felt like an invitation. Not an invitation to forever, but something sincere and honest.
Beneath all that flirting and swagger, Dax was struggling with demons of his own, a history of loss and guilt that kept him from what he desperately needed. Genuine connection.
“I’m a big guy.”
No kidding, she thought as he dropped his hands to her hips, spanning them around her back and making her feel petite and incredibly feminine. Then he flashed her one hell of a smile that let her know he came through on his promises.