Lucky Baby (Crescent Cove Book 11) Page 18

I snorted. “I’m sure she’ll be a delinquent. C’mon, let’s get you all cleaned up.”

  His shoulders hunched as he climbed the steps to the wreathless door. I held the screen door open for him. It was an old house with a narrow staircase to the second floor, and he still pinballed his way up the stairs. I resisted the urge to grip his ass and keep propelling him upward.

  It wasn’t the time for that.

  “C’mon, Thor. Don’t feel too bad. You’re still new at the dad thing.”

  “I know. But I went over there to pick her up and I did, but then I got drunk and left her behind. Oh, and I almost got a ticket except Brady took pity on me and my girl troubles. You troubles,” he said over his shoulder.

  I winced. “Now’s not the time to talk about that.”

  “When are we going to talk about it?”

  “After the barn is done?” Never? Please?

  Couldn’t we just enjoy it for what it was? I didn’t want to think about how good it was between us. I had so much more to worry about right now.

  At the top of the stairs, Lucky shouldered open the door, then dragged me through it and up onto my toes before he closed his mouth over mine. He tasted of beer and sunshine. The feeling of overwhelm slid right on into want.

  I’d thought the first time was a fluke. It would be so much easier if it was. An itch to be scratched and then we could just move on. That was how it usually was when I finally let myself get naked with someone. Once the initial flash happened, the glow soon burned out like a cheap candle.

  Nothing was the usual with Lucky.

  I sighed into the kiss. He knew just what to do now. At first, forceful and hot, then sleepy soft. Keeping me off balance until I shut off my brain.

  I looped an arm around his shoulders. His hair dripped over my arm, the wild frazzled curls just as delicious as his talented tongue. He crushed me closer, deepening the kiss until I really didn’t care about keeping it just about business.

  As if I’d ever had a chance.

  He twisted his fingers into the bottom of my T-shirt, dragging it up and over my head, then his mouth was back on mine.

  “I’d strip you down, but you’d probably knock me out with that smell,” I said between kisses.

  He laughed into my mouth. “Niceties are nonexistent with you, Ruby.”

  I shrugged.

  His gaze dipped down to the Batman logo bra. “That’s hotter than it should be.”

  I grinned. “I like big bad boys. Guess that works for you.” I tapped a nail along his chest. “You take a shower and maybe I’ll let you take off the bra too.” I slid away from him. “I’ll make us some food.”

  “Damn, I do like watching you walk away.”

  I tossed a smirk over my shoulder and gave my walk a bit more of a sway.

  He growled something under his breath and headed for a hallway that I presumed included a shower.

  I found my shirt and slipped it back on. I might’ve been comfortable with my body, but I needed to cool things down with him. Showing off a half yard of skin was probably a little too much to keep things businesslike.

  Ha, as if.

  I distracted myself by looking around his space. The layout of the house reminded me of my dad’s place. An older house with small rooms and lots of wood paneling. A half wall cut up the room between living space and galley kitchen.

  His place was a maze of half done projects. A gorgeous corner unit was half stained. The details on the drawers drew me in to take a closer look.

  It was definitely no cheap prefab kit from a box store. I ran my hand over the wood. It wasn’t my medium, but I could tell it was solid art in furniture form. Hell, August Beck might have some competition if Lucky let people know he could do this kind of work.

  Another handmade bench was in a similar state of finish. This one was stained, but he seemed to be working on another treatment other than a simple varnish. Maybe apoxy. Hmm. Interesting choice.

  I crouched and noticed he’d put different woods together in a pattern that reminded me of a beach. Like something I’d seen on social media. He seemed to take kernels of ideas from viral videos and put his own spin on them.

  I lifted the tarp on another piece. It was nosy as hell, but I couldn’t resist. This one was a bit more farmhouse style. It looked like something I’d find in a foyer for shoes and kids crap. Three intricate knobs in classy versions of Marvel logos were screwed into the tall backboard. The bottom had a lid set into the storage as if he wasn’t done measuring something.

  I wanted it.

  The need was sharp enough that I flipped the tarp back down and headed for the kitchen. Every time I thought I had Lucky Roberts figured out, he proved me wrong.

  I opened the fridge and sure enough, there were a dozen eggs, tabasco, and generic brand butter. The veggie drawer was about as questionable as the pizza in my fridge the other day.

  Slamming that drawer, I snagged the eggs, butter, and tabasco, dumping them on the small counter. He had an air fryer, toaster, and a blender jammed into the small space.

  Surprisingly, the sink was sparkling clean. And I had to admit I was surprised there wasn’t a crumb in sight. I was almost sure I could eat off the floor too.

  However, the pan situation was not ideal. The cupboard contained a mishmash of pans, cookie sheets, colanders, and plates. I shook my head. My organized soul wanted to rip it apart and force it into making sense. I grabbed a fry pan and quickly shut the door against the avalanche of cookware.

  As much as I enjoyed spice, I needed a few more items. The cabinets were chaos.

  I gave up and headed for the hallway he’d disappeared into. “Thor?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Where’s your spices?”

  “What?”

  “Where are your spices?”

  “I can’t hear you—open the door.”

  I paused at the doorknob. Showering was intimate business—hell, the whole bathroom deal was.

  “Ruby, you’ve seen it all too, remember?”

  I blew out a breath and opened the door. He was far too large for the bathroom that hadn’t seen an update since the 70s. His head lifted over the top of the shower curtain ring around the claw-footed tub.

  I laughed at the soapy hair he’d piled on top of his head.

  He opened one eye. “Can I help you?”

  “Spices? Salt and pepper? Possibly other things.”

  “Oh. Over the stove. Top cabinet.” He turned around and crouched so he could get under the spray.

  That super clean soap scent filled the steamy room. Obviously, I didn’t have any resistance to this guy today. Or since we’d rescued the dog, to be honest.

  I couldn’t help looking around. Evidently, nosy bitch was my new name tag today. Again, the space was freaking spotless. It was a hideous green tile, but the sink, commode, tub, and shelves were gleaming white.

  He was such a weird mixed bag of puzzle pieces that didn’t seem to fit. But that didn’t mean I didn’t want to see how they lined up.

  Even if I didn’t want to want to.

  “Just gonna watch?”

  “Sorry.” I’m trying to figure out your psyche while you shower? Yeah, that wasn’t going to go over well. “I was trying to figure out what that scent was. You usually smell like soap, but not like guy soap.”

  Uh huh, that sounded way better. What was wrong with me?

  He held up a blue bottle with a duck on it. “Good enough to get crude oil off a duck, good enough for me.”

  I busted out laughing. A deep belly laugh that came from my toes. When was the last time I’d even been that amused? I really didn’t know. “Yep, that’s the one. You are so weird.”

  He shook out his wet hair and whipped the curtain open. “You like it.”

  I was aware my mouth had dropped open, but I couldn’t stop it. Under the cover of night, I’d gotten a good handle on things—at least I’d thought so. Nope. That was a whole lot of man. His skin was golden and darker tan through the sh
oulders and arms.

  God, universe, the divine...they’d all been involved in granting some serious blessings to this man.

  Lucky raked his hands through his hair to get out the water then grabbed the towel off the bar. He didn’t bother cinching it over his hips. Instead, he just swiped away water from his chest as Lucky Jr. increased in muscle mass. “Enjoying the view?”

  I nodded. “Actually, I am.”

  He ducked under the curtain frame then stepped out. I couldn’t stop laughing at gigantor crammed into such a small bathroom.

  He gave me that eyebrow raise that did sinful things to my libido.

  I backed up to the door and gripped the doorknob. “Okay, get dressed and I’ll make you that—” My brain went offline as he tied the towel around his waist in a way that only showcased his ridiculous cock. “Going.”

  “Coward,” he yelled after me.

  The insult didn’t start a fight this time. About this one point, I wasn’t in denial. I was very much a coward when it came to just how completely this man was wedging himself into my life.

  And I wasn’t sure I hated it.

  Contemplating my changing feelings was dangerous in ways I didn’t know how to handle just now. Eggs I could handle.

  Ten minutes later, I did, in fact, find his spices, which were plentiful, and made a big batch of scrambled eggs. It took a few minutes, but I finally found a large plate that we could share since the man didn’t know what personal space was when it came to food, and I was tired of looking for dishes.

  Two forks and two ice waters would have to do.

  His dining room table was covered in papers, but the carpet was freshly vacuumed. A cute pink-striped dog bed sat on the floor under the TV along with a pile of toys, several bones that were bigger than Butch, and the freshly laundered Harry Styles towel.

  Lucky ambled in with his hair blown dry. His curls shouldn’t be that perfect from using dish soap. It seemed as if only men could get away with that crap.

  Though it was hardly fair, damn, did he clean up well.

  He wore a pair of faded jeans, no socks, and a deep green Henley. He pushed up the sleeves as he walked toward me. “Smells awesome.”

  I nodded at the table. “Find us a spot and maybe you’ll be able to eat some.”

  “Oh, right. Sorry.” He stacked up the pile of magazines and swatches of fabric, stain, and paint samples. “I was pulling some stuff together for the barn actually.”

  “When did you have time?”

  He shrugged and tugged out a chair for me. “I don’t sleep much.”

  “Really? It’s my favorite thing in all the world.” I set the plate down then pushed a fork over to the place he’d cleared for himself as well.

  “In all the world?”

  I sat down. “Pretty much.”

  “We gotta fix that.” An involuntary shiver skated down my spine as he loomed over me. “Smells amazing,” he rumbled in my ear before sitting at my side.

  The fact that he didn’t even question us sharing a plate probably said something deeper than I was prepared to dig into. Instead, I forked up some eggs.

  He plowed through more than half of the eggs then pulled down the sketchbook from the pile. “I was thinking about the barn.”

  “Handy since that’s your job.”

  “You think that waspish tone is going to scare me off. It won’t.” He slid the notebook in front of me.

  “I—” I huffed out a breath. “Sorry. I’m just used to doing all this alone.”

  “Yeah, well, you don’t have to. Now look at what I want to do.”

  I frowned down at the page. “Did you draw this?”

  He lifted one shoulder. “Makes it easier for me to visualize. I’m learning a program on the iPad and I’ll mess with it a bit there to make sure the measurements are right. But this is a rough outline of what I think we should concentrate on. And what we can leave for future projects.”

  “Future?”

  “With less than six weeks to go, some things won’t even get here in time. A few things need to be special ordered. But I’ll make sure to have the foundations set—the bedrooms, furniture, wall treatments.”

  My head swam. “Treatments?”

  He tapped one wall on the drawing that looked different than the others. “I figure a feature wall in reclaimed wood. I was able to salvage a lot of it. I also have a buddy who has lumber from other barns built around the same time. I also figured some sliding barn doors like Doc Thorn had at the clinic. I think it would be a nice way to section off a bottom floor bedroom for Cohen. Then I’ll put three upstairs. Could also be a cool place for kids’ sleepovers or whatever in the future.”

  “Kids?”

  His gaze tracked to my mouth, then up to my eyes. “Sure. You don’t want kids?”

  “I…” I’d never actually thought about it other than as something that might happen in the future. I cleared my throat. “I figured I’d be Aunt Tish more than Mom.”

  He coasted a hand down my ponytail and tugged at the end. “A little girl with all this red hair? Seems like that’s something this world needs.”

  A brief flash of a freckled girl zipped through my brain before I firmly pushed it back. “I really don’t have that mom gene. Didn’t really have one myself.”

  “Makes two of us.” He reached down for my hand. “We don’t have to echo our pasts, Ruby.” His long, thick fingers tightened around mine. “That’s what we come from, not who we are.”

  “You want kids?”

  “I never thought about it until…”

  I didn’t want him to finish that sentence. Before he could, I dropped his hand.

  Hell, I didn’t even want to think about that kind of permanence with anyone, let alone someone who would rely on me for eighteen years at minimum.

  I pushed my seat back and gathered the dishes. “I’m going to clean up. We can go over the plans, and then you can get your dog.”

  He circled my wrist with his fingers, effectively stopping me from escaping. “Do you think running will make things between us less intense?”

  I didn’t look down at him. I couldn’t, because I really wasn’t sure what the answer was. If I ignored things—men—long enough, they usually lost interest. There was always a willing woman looking for a good man. I wasn’t that woman.

  I liked being on my own.

  Dammit, I had a plan. And those green eyes and that long wild hair wasn’t in it.

  Proving yet again I was the coward he’d called me, I fled.

  Sixteen

  “Dammit.” I stood up and followed her.

  She was standing at the sink, her fingers gripping the edge as if her life depended on it.

  I came up behind her and she stiffened. “Shh. I’m not good at this stuff either, you know. I’m a bad bet from every angle. I should let you run.”

  “But you won’t.”

  It was my turn to lock my muscles. Did she really not want me? “If this makes you that miserable, I’ll back off. I don’t want to be an idiot puppy who doesn’t know how to control himself. Even if that’s how I feel every time I’m around you, for fuck’s sake.”

  She relaxed against me. “You know we don’t have any issue when it comes to sex. I’m not going to deny that.”

  “But you don’t want it.” My voice was resigned.

  She raised her arm to slip her fingers along the back of my neck. “I like neat, orderly checkboxes.”

  “Life isn’t a checkbox.”

  “The last time I leaped, I—”

  “No. Not his name here.” She still hadn’t admitted the rest about her brother’s best friend, but inside, I already knew. The muscles between my shoulder blades were so tight I was afraid they’d snap. “I’m not him.”

  “I know. But all that shit got dredged up.” She twisted around in my arms to face me. “I can’t not feel like I’m in the middle of a hurricane when we’re together.”

  “They say to get up against a big, sturdy wall w
hen they come through.”

  Her eyebrow spiked. “I take it you’re the wall?”

  “I can’t say I’ll never hurt you, Ruby. I just know I’ll never mean to.” I cupped her face, dragging my thumb across her cheek. “But I know I’ve never felt like this about anyone.”

  Her gaze dropped to my chest.

  Even without her spelling it all out, I suspected she’d loved someone else before. Maybe more than one person, though I had my doubts. “It doesn’t matter if I’m not the first.”

  Her gaze snapped to mine. “First?”

  “C’mon, Ruby. I’m gonna be the love of your goddamn life. At least from here on out.”

  Her dark eyes widened. “Stop saying that. We barely know each other.”

  “All it takes is a moment.” I drew her closer.

  She slapped her hands on my chest, pushing back. “No, it doesn’t.”

  I lowered my mouth to hers. “I’ll wait for you to catch up.” I kissed her before she could make another excuse.

  I might not have been what she had in mind, but I was hers—whether she was ready or not.

  Bending, I lifted her. At least her body knew she could count on me. She instinctively twined around me. Arms around my shoulders, legs around my waist.

  God, she was magnificent. I didn’t have to worry that I’d break her. She was made for me, I was convinced of it.

  I gripped her ass and stalked through the kitchen, out and around to the hallway that led to my bedroom.

  “This doesn’t change anything,” she said against my mouth.

  “Right.”

  “It’s just sex.”

  “Sure.” I kicked my bedroom door open and tossed her on the bed.

  She bounced and fell back on her elbows. “Is this supposed to be a seduction scene?”

  “This is supposed to be fun.” I grabbed her foot and flipped off her Converse sneaker. I dragged her down to the end of the bed and took care of the other foot. The Incredible Hulk socks made me laugh. “Mixing your comics.”

  She rested her foot against my belly. “I’m a rebel.”

  I reached under her pant leg and scrapped my nails over her calf as I dragged off her sock and tossed it over my shoulder. I repeated the move with the other leg.