Chapter 27

27

KANNON

S unlight sliced across the bed and almost directly in my eyes. I frowned, wondering why my blinds weren’t closed tight. Slowly, I started to surface. The first thing I felt was an ache in my side. And then my leg. I remembered the wreck and grimaced. I didn’t want to wake up because I knew when I did, there was going to be all kinds of pain waiting for me.

Then the memory of last night with Merritt drifted in. I found myself smiling. I was still half-asleep, stretched out with one arm draped lazily across her waist, when the rumble of truck engines shattered the morning peace. At first, it was nothing but an annoyance.

And then reality hit.

My crew had arrived.

“Shit,” I muttered, bolting upright. “What time is it?”

Merritt stirred, blinking groggily. “What’s going on?”

“My guys are here,” I groaned, rubbing my face.

Her eyes widened. She shot up in bed, clutching the sheet to her chest. “What do you mean they’re here? Now?”

“Yeah, now. They’re probably already unloading tools.” I reached for my jeans on the floor. “You should stay put. I’ll go deal with them.”

She snorted. “Stay put? Like I’m going to let them think—” She cut herself off, shaking her head. “No. We are not announcing we hooked up to a bunch of your neanderthal friends. I am not going to be the subject of your locker room talk.”

“I wasn’t?—”

“Out,” she said, throwing back the covers and scrambling for her robe. “I need a shower, and you need to get out there before they start asking questions.”

“I think the questions are coming either way,” I teased, grinning as I buttoned my jeans.

Merritt shot me a glare and shoved me toward the bedroom door. “Then you better think of some good answers. Go!”

I barely had time to grab my boots and shirt before she slammed the door behind me. I stood barefoot and shirtless in the hallway for a beat, staring at the closed door and shaking my head. This woman. We weren’t breaking any rules. And I wasn’t sure if she was aware, but people had sex all the time. It wasn’t exactly a unique thing.

“Morning, boss,” came a familiar drawl from the living room.

I turned to find my crew standing just inside the front door. They looked from me to the bedroom door, grins spreading across their faces like wildfire.

“Uh-huh,” Luke said, crossing his arms. “Someone has some explaining to do.”

“If you can’t figure it out, you don’t deserve to know,” Wes said. “I guess this is one way to cut down on your commute time.”

I cursed under my breath, gave Luke and Wes a glare, and hurried to pull on my boots. Despite my attempt to downplay things, Luke didn’t stop grinning like a damn fool. I glanced back down the hallway toward her door, praying that the soundproofing was good and she hadn’t heard that last comment. Or the laughter that followed it. She had predicted the teasing.

“Alright, can we just get to work?” I shot them a warning glance before pulling my shirt on.

“What the hell happened to you?” Luke asked. “Did she do that?”

“What?”

“Dude, you look like you fucked a wolverine last night,” Wes said.

I glanced down and saw the torn shirt and jeans. My hands looked like I’d used them as meat tenderizers.

“It wasn’t her,” I mumbled, flexing my right hand and wincing. “I laid my bike down. Nothing major.”

“Nothing major?” Luke echoed incredulously. “You look like you used sandpaper for soap!”

“Did she nurse you back to health?” Wes asked with a laugh. “Did she kiss all your boo-boos?”

I wasn’t going to admit that was exactly what I asked for. Maybe all men reverted to their childhood selves when they were hurt or sick.

“Y’all need to shut the fuck up before she hears you, okay?” I leveled them with a look that would usually send them scattering.

But not today. Today, they weren’t scared. Not when they had busted me doing the walk of shame, hair all sticking up and still not fully dressed.

“Oh, I’m just getting started,” Luke replied, smirking.

“We’re not going to upset your girlfriend,” Wes said. “We’ll leave that to you.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” I warned, taking a step closer to him until he raised his hands in surrender.

“Right,” Luke interjected, chuckling to himself. “You were just checking the structural integrity of her bed.”

Wes matched his smirk. “Just knocking the rust off that?—”

“Finish that sentence and I’ll knock your teeth out,” I growled.

That got a round of howling laughter, although Wes backed off. It was all in good fun. No one wanted to piss me off for real. It was just how we joked around with each other.

I leveled a serious gaze at them. “All I ask is you don’t make her feel uncomfortable in her own house. Bust my balls all you want but leave her out of it. Got that?”

They all nodded.

“Now get your asses outside,” I barked, shoving past them. “Tools don’t unload themselves. I want the roof done today. And we’ve got clear skies all week. Get started painting.”

“Aye aye, Captain,” Wes said, saluting before heading toward the trucks.

Luke lingered, still grinning like a goof. “Last night must’ve been something else if you’re this cheerful.”

“Get the fuck out of my face,” I snapped and Luke went to join the others, still grinning.

The truth was, last night was something else. Sure, it had started rough—rocky didn’t even begin to cover it. I’d let my temper get the best of me, said things I couldn’t take back. Merritt didn’t deserve that. She’d only been curious, asking questions I should’ve answered calmly instead of seeing red.

But we had made up. And making up with Merritt? Well, that was worth every ounce of guilt I’d carried into the night.

I grabbed the bag of electrical supplies from the truck and caught a glimpse of my bike. Seeing it in the bright light of day was not great. I was going to have to spend some time working on it or maybe take it into the shop.

I found the electric panel and cut the power to the living room. I was putting in new outlets, and once Merritt was done, I would be replacing the light fixture in the hall and the master bedroom.

I was on the floor, flashlight held in my mouth as I messed with wires when the sound of Merritt’s heels clicking against the floor caught my attention. She stepped into the living room, dressed for work, her hair and makeup done to perfection. For a second, I forgot what I was doing and spit the flashlight out.

“You look incredible,” I said before I could stop myself.

Her cheeks flushed, but she smiled, busying herself at the coffeemaker. “Thanks. Big day of meetings. I have to at least look like I’m dressed for the job.” She looked down at her jeans. The pretty sweater she wore worked. “They will only see me from the waist up,” she said with a laugh.

“Looks good. I’d hire you. I would also strip you naked and have my way with you, so maybe I’m not the best person to judge.”

“Very funny,” she said. “Did you start coffee yet?”

“Nope. I shut off the power and kicked the guys outside.”

She grimaced. “So, no coffee?”

I got to my feet and walked to her. Putting my hands on her hips, I pulled her close. “Do you want coffee?”

She nodded. “I do.”

“I’ll turn the power on in here.”

“I don’t want to interrupt your work.”

“You’re not,” I assured her. “Sit tight.”

I dug into my toolkit for the wire nuts I needed. I quickly twisted the connectors tight. Then it was back to the panel to restore power so she could have her morning sanity juice.

When I returned to the kitchen, she was already busy starting a full pot.

“You look like you could use a cup,” I said.

She frowned at me. “Are you telling me I look like shit?”

“I would never say that. And you look gorgeous. I’m just saying, you look like you’re dying for caffeine.”

“Which is silly considering I’m going to be drinking coffee all day so the cafe doesn’t kick me out,” she said with a laugh.

“Why are you making a full pot?”

“For you and the guys.”

“You warming up to these guys?” I asked.

She shrugged. “They’re tolerable. As long as they don’t tease me as much as they do you.”

“Not possible,” I said, grinning. “Did you hear them?”

She gave me a dry look. “Yeah. I heard them.”

“Sorry.”

She shrugged, pouring the hot water into the coffeemaker. “No need to apologize. I’ve dealt with worse.”

I wondered what kind of shit she’d been through.

“The guys are just messing around but let me know if they ever cross a line.”

“I know. They seem like good guys. Maybe a little rowdy.”

I chuckled. “That’s putting it mildly.”

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Stiff.”

“I bet. I would suggest you take it easy but I’m guessing that’s not going to happen.”

“I’ll be fine,” I said.

“I just wanted to say I’m glad you stayed,” she said softly, not quite meeting my eyes. “And not just because your bike broke down.”

“Thank you for letting me stay.”

She smiled but checked her watch, a flicker of guilt crossing her face. “I can’t stay. I have to get to the café for a meeting. I’ll be home around four. Maybe you’ll still be here.”

“Maybe,” I said.

“If not, I’ll see you in the morning.”

I nodded but neither of us moved. I found myself walking her to the front door like a boyfriend seeing his girl off to work. The thought made my chest tighten. I hadn’t wanted a girlfriend since Leah, but now with Merritt, the urge was there.

“See you later,” she said softly, her hand lingering on the doorknob.

“Yeah,” I said, my voice lower than I intended. “Kick ass today.”

For a second, it felt like we might kiss goodbye but neither of us moved. She smiled one last time before heading out, leaving the faint scent of her perfume lingering in the air.

I watched her drive off, the familiar ache of longing settling in my chest. Shaking it off, I turned back to the job. She wasn’t mine. Sex did not make a relationship. Whatever was happening between the two of us was too new to define. I didn’t want to try and define it. That would make it real and would certainly bring on questions I didn’t want to think about.

“Let’s call it a day,” I said to the guys after several hours had passed. “I’m burnt.”

“Cause you were up all night,” Luke said.

“Give me a ride home, Wes,” I said, ignoring Luke.

We packed up our things and left. I texted Riggs and asked him to bring his trailer by to pick up my bike.

“Thanks, Wes,” I said as I very slowly climbed out of the truck.

I felt every scratch, scrape, and bruise after the long day. I went straight to the shower, washing away the dried blood and road grime. The water stung like hell, but it felt good to be clean again.

Riggs showed up not long after with my bike on a trailer.

“You really think you can fix her up?” Riggs asked as we wheeled the bike into my garage.

I grabbed a wrench from the tool bench, running my hand over the scratched frame. “I can try.”

Riggs popped the top off a beer and leaned against the wall, watching me work. “So,” he said, drawing the word out. “You and Merritt made up?”

“Yeah,” I said without looking up. “Thanks for the push.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” he said, grinning. “This could blow up in your face, you know.”

“Not this time,” I said firmly. “I’m not screwing this up again. She’s the one, Riggs. Always has been.”

He raised his beer in a toast. “To second chances.”

I smirked. “To not blowing it.”

“Fair enough,” he said. “You’re still a bastard, though.”

“Yeah,” I said, laughing. “But I’m her bastard.”