Chapter 6

Peyton

Imanaged to sleep straight through the night in a bed far more comfortable than I remembered my own bed to be, and I stretched my body under a soft sheet, releasing a grateful sigh that finding Chloe murdered in my apartment was nothing more than a bad—no, a terrible fucking dream.

I must've been really pissed off at Chloe to dream about her getting murdered. I opened my eyes and frowned, sitting up immediately as I took in unfamiliar surroundings. No photos on the wall and no desk cluttered with my belongings. Shit. It wasn't a bad dream after all, which meant I really had gone to Nolan's father for help.

It should have been you. It was supposed to be you.

And suddenly, every fucking detail was right there before my eyes. The blood, everywhere. Chloe's lifeless eyes. Her slit throat. The text message. The angry biker who didn't want me in his house.

I needed to take the day to figure some shit out, but not without coffee. I changed into a pair of tight cycling shorts I usually wear to yoga, and a racer back sports bra. Absolutely not what I would normally wear to breakfast at a stranger's house. Heaving a sigh, I left the guest room in search of coffee. The scent hit me as soon as I opened the door and I took the stairs quickly to get to the good stuff, but I came to an abrupt stop at the sight before me.

Rocky was a work of art in nothing but a pair of shorts that hung low on his hips, showing off not just a wide expanse of strong, heavily muscled back, but colorful ink mixed with gorgeous blackwork tattoos. It was mesmerizing and my mouth went dry at the way the muscles bunched and flexed as he moved in front of the stove. Holy shit, he's hot as fuck.

That was my first thought. My second was that Nolan never mentioned that his father was a badass and a hottie, which was ridiculous because of course he wouldn't mention that.

How the hell did Nolan come from this?

Actually, that wasn't entirely fair. Nolan had a nice face, and actually looked pretty similar to his gorgeous beast of a father, if you sort of…cute-ified Rocky and slimmed him down. But where Nolan had a sweet, slightly geeky look with an athletic build, his father…

Hot diggity. His father was a pure, sinful wall of muscle from head to toe. He was beautiful and I couldn't take my eyes off him, not even when he turned to face me, giving me a good look at his front side too. His hair was black with a little bit of gray at the temples that made me want to call him Daddy. Those hazel eyes blazed gold as they studied me while I studied him. His olive skin was perfectly sun kissed, his pecs hard and tipped with light brown nipples, rippling abs behind a thick dusting of black hair that disappeared down into his shorts. A slight bulge that gave me plenty of ideas. Not the time, Peyton.

"Done ogling me?" His words came out lazy and amused, and warmth shone in his eyes.

A touch of embarrassment swirled through me at being caught, but only a touch, and I smiled and gave him one more long look before I met his gaze. "For now, yes. Good morning." His eyebrows rose at my attitude, and my smile broadened as I made my way to the coffee pot. "Thanks for making coffee."

The cheeky grin he sent me back made my legs shake. That should be totally illegal. "Sleep okay?"

"I did, actually. When I woke up, I thought I'd dreamed the whole thing until I realized I wasn't at home. Shitty way to wake up."

"No doubt," he grumbled. "Cream is in the fridge."

I scooped two sugars into the mug and shook my head. "No cream. Too fattening." His gaze stroked over my body at this, and I felt my nipples tighten in response.

"Oh, but two sugars aren't?"

"Hey, a girl has got to have her pleasure somewhere." His gaze heated noticeably, and I bit my lip. "You sleep okay?"

"Not at all," he growled, and turned back towards the stove.

"Sorry." I took a seat at the table, tracing the outline of his back muscles while he couldn't see me. "I couldn't think of anywhere else to go, but I have all day to find somewhere else." I could put a cheap motel room on my credit card for a few days and hide out there. But then what?

"That's not why I didn't sleep well."

I was about to ask him why when he turned again, and just when I thought he couldn't get any hotter, he produced two plates with eggs, toast, and bacon on them. "Damn, how about I just pay you to stay here?"

Rocky's lips twitched and he took the seat directly across from me, which stirred a different type of hunger.

Down, girl. You invaded his house in the middle of the night, he's not interested.

"So, Peyton, do you have any idea who would want to do to you what was done to your friend?"

"My roommate," I clarified, which I realized too late made me sound like a raging bitch. "Sorry." I bit into the crispy bacon. "Honestly? I really don't know who would want to do this to me. I don't date, not really. I keep to myself, and I only have a few friends."

Rocky nodded as if he believed me, but there were questions in his eyes. "No angry ex-boyfriends or ex-girlfriends?"

"The only ex I have is your son," I answered bluntly. "And Nolan wouldn't do this. Plus, he knew Chloe, so he wouldn't mistake her for me."

Something flashed in Rocky's eyes, some kind of steely determination, but I couldn't figure out why. "All right. You need to lay low for a while, and you can do that here."

My eyes widened in surprise. "Seriously?" I shook my head even as my brain shouted at me to shut the hell up. "You sure?"

"Is there a reason you shouldn't?"

I sighed. "I mean, besides the fact that someone wants me dead and might kill anyone in his or her path? No." Other than the fact that my mouth watered for a taste of this man? "Thank you," I managed to squeak out before shoveling a forkful of scrambled eggs in my mouth to prevent me from saying something silly.

"You need help and I happen to be in a position to be able to help you, but I have just one rule."

I hated rules with a passion, but I nodded because I also suspected I would hate dying. "Okay. Hit me with your rule, Rocky."

"You listen to me. You do what I say." His expression was firm and tight, showing me the take no shit badass side that Nolan told me about. "You don't know who this is, which means it could be anybody. An ex-lover, a secret admirer, a stalker, or even a friend. Sorry to say you're gonna have to be on lockdown, sweetheart."

I should've focused more on the lockdown part, but my brain was fixated on the sweetheart part. It was a much better distraction from the danger I was in, which made me feel like the little girl I'd been when I'd first been ripped from my shitty parents and my world was turned upside down. That little girl had lacked stability, hadn't known where she'd belonged or when she'd be taken somewhere else again. She'd gone back and forth between her aunt and her parents more times than she could count, until finally her father crossed the line and left her with no more parents to speak of.

I hated that feeling and here I was a decade later, feeling it again and hating it even more, because now I knew what stability was, I knew I could provide it for myself.

"I don't like it, but I agree."

"Good. You'll stay here today," he said around a mouthful of food. "I need to head to the clubhouse for a few hours to talk to my brothers and update them on you. I'll be back later. I can get one of the prospects to pick you up some clothes if you want?"

I was about to object, but then realized unless I wanted to walk around like an out of work cheerleader then I probably needed some options. "Please, I can pay you back."

"No need, sweetness. We have money put aside for emergencies. I'll make sure they get something decent, the club bunnies can help with the choice.

Club bunnies?I had no idea what he was talking about, but I appreciated his kindness. "Thanks."

We finished our breakfast in a tense silence that slowly dissipated with every second that passed. I watched him when he wasn't looking, trying to figure out what it was about him that kept my thoughts on the dirty side of things. His gaze met mine and there was that sexy as hell smirk again.

"Anything I can do around here to help out?" The place looked clean, barely lived in, and he could obviously take care of himself.

His gaze raked over my body, and he smiled. "No need to earn your keep, Peyton."

"How about to be a good housemate, then?"

He stood and took the empty plates to the sink, rinsing them quickly before shoving them into the stainless-steel dishwasher. "Pick up after yourself and do what I tell you."

I wasn't any good at doing what I was told, not since back when stepping out of line meant a black eye or a fat lip, sometimes bruised ribs. Rules were to be broken because only assholes tried to control you. But Rocky was giving me a place to stay, so I nodded my agreement.

When he was gone, I took a long bath and thought about what a shitshow my life had become.

It could've been worse.

I could've been a cold body in the morgue right now with my throat slit.