Chapter 5 #2
Angelica relaxed a fraction. He didn’t sound upset, but then again, Dwayne could act completely normal about something, then explode when she least expected it. She nodded again.
Whip walked toward the coffeemaker. Angelica stayed where she was, watching his every move.
He wore a pair of flannel lounge pants that rode low on his hips.
No shirt, which meant his tattoos were on full display.
They covered his chest, his arms, even his back.
She couldn’t tell what they were from where she was standing, but the overall effect was amazing.
She took a sip of coffee as she continued to study him.
He reached for a mug out of the cabinet and the muscles in his back rippled with the movement.
The man was built like a brick house. He didn’t seem to have an ounce of fat on him.
Angelica swallowed hard. He was…beautiful.
She was aware that men didn’t like to be called that, but there was no other word to describe him.
The longer she stared, the more details she noticed. Like the scars interspersed between the tattoos. Instead of being turned off by them, Angelica felt herself taking a step into the kitchen.
His shoulders were broad, as if he could take the weight of the world and not bend or break. Everything about this man appealed to her, which was bad. Very bad.
Neither spoke while he poured himself a cup of coffee. He turned and leaned against the counter as he took a sip, his gaze focusing back on her.
Then Whip cleared his throat. “Sleep okay?”
Angelica swallowed. “Yeah.”
She hadn’t. Had been too nervous about what would happen with Dwayne. What she was going to do. Where she was going to go. How she was going to avoid him…it wasn’t as if Fallport was that big of a town.
How badly he was going to hurt her when he finally got her alone.
Her anxiety had ramped up tenfold since marrying Dwayne. And even though she’d been safe last night, and Mittens and Kevin were too, she couldn’t turn her brain off long enough to get any real rest.
“Thought you’d sleep later.”
She shrugged. “I’m used to getting up early.”
“Bet you are,” Whip mumbled. “Bet that asshole expected you to have his breakfast made, the house cleaned, and you dressed and wearing makeup before six fucking a.m. every morning.”
Angelica couldn’t stop the small smile from forming on her lips at that. He wasn’t too far off.
Whip put his mug down on the counter and crossed his arms.
Her gaze was drawn to his biceps as they flexed at his movements. She should be afraid of him. Of his strength. She was tiny compared to him. He could hurt her so much worse than Dwayne ever had. But Angelica knew he wouldn’t. He’d had more than enough opportunities to attack her before now.
“That is not your life anymore. You want to sleep in, you sleep in. You want to get up at the ass crack of dawn, fine. You’re not obligated to do a damn thing here. Sit on your ass and be a bum, I don’t give a shit.”
“I…I can’t do nothing.”
“You won’t be. You work, right?”
“Yeah, but not full time.”
“Hear me, Angel. I don’t expect or want you to be a maid, a chef, or anything else around here. That’s not why I invited you to stay until you can get back on your feet.”
“Why did you?”
The question popped out, and Angelica regretted it the moment the three words left her lips.
But Whip didn’t hesitate. “Because I don’t like bullies. And that asshole you’re with is the worst of the worst. He gets off on having power over other people. He hurt you for no good reason.”
“And if he had a good reason, would that have been okay?”
She was feeling bold. It might get her kicked out, and she’d really be in trouble then, but she couldn’t help but ask the question anyway.
“There is never a good reason to hurt women, kids, or animals.”
His answer was good. Great. But people said stuff they didn’t mean or believe all the time.
“Look, I’m not a good guy. Just ask around.
Anyone in Fallport will tell you that I don’t give a fuck about most things.
I won’t hesitate to beat the shit out of someone if they step out of line.
I say what I mean and don’t tolerate fools.
I’m not a man who does relationships either.
Never understood the appeal of putting up with someone day after day.
I like my space, don’t like to share shit, and people in general annoy me. ”
Angelica swallowed hard. He was getting ready to tell her that she had to go. That he might’ve given her and her cats a place to stay last night, but that she needed to figure out some other arrangement. Today.
“I…I’ll figure out somewhere to go. Maybe to that motel you talked about.”
“No.”
Angelica frowned. “No? I don’t have enough money to go anywhere else,” she said in a low, desperate tone.
“Damn it. I’m fucking this up. No, you’re not going anywhere. You or your cats. That asshole is still out there. I…” He ran a hand through his hair in agitation.
Angelica was transfixed. Whip looked uncomfortable. Uneasy. She had no idea why.
“I want you here. You’re different. I don’t know why. I…I like you here. You’ve been here less than a day and I can’t imagine you not being here.”
Shocked, Angelica stared at him in disbelief. But a warm feeling moved up her body, from her toes to the top of her head. When was the last time anyone said they wanted her around? She couldn’t remember.
“We need to go to the vet and pick up those kittens I said I’d foster. What do you want for breakfast?”
That was it? He threw out that “I want you here” declaration and then just moved on to breakfast? Angelica’s head was spinning. But she simply shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. If you tell me what you want, I can make it.”
Whip shook his head. “No. That’s not how this is gonna go.
I’m not him. That asshole. I have two hands, I can make us breakfast. And lunch and dinner, for that matter.
And you’ll tell me what you want. No going along with whatever I’m having because you don’t want to bother me.
That’s not who we are. You tell me when I piss you off, and I’ll do the same.
You let me know what you like and what you don’t.
You will not be afraid to speak your mind with me, Angel. Understand?”
She didn’t. Not at all. But she nodded anyway.
Whip stared at her for a beat, then said, “You don’t. I can see that. But you will. Now, what do you want for breakfast?”
“Um…waffles?”
“Fuck.”
Angelica tensed. Had she already messed things up? Was all that talk about her speaking her mind bullshit?
“I don’t have a waffle maker. We’ll pick one up today. Will pancakes do for this morning instead?”
She was shocked into silence. They’d pick one up today…
“Angel? I can run out and grab a waffle maker, but I’m fucking hungry and don’t want to wait that long. We could go to Sunny Side Up, but Sandra doesn’t care much for me.”
“Pancakes are fine. Great. They’re basically the same thing as waffles just without the little syrup holders.”
His lips twitched. “Syrup holders? I take it you’re a fan of sugar.”
The smile on his face changed his entire countenance. Angelica was drawn to him. She felt brave enough to walk closer. “Yeah. A big fan. What can I do to help?”
“Grab a bowl from the cabinet next to the stove. A big one. I’m starving this morning, so I’m gonna eat a shit-ton of pancakes.”
He wasn’t wrong. Later, after they’d worked side by side to make a stack of pancakes Angelica was sure they’d never make it through, she was sitting at Whip’s table, watching in awe as he ate the last bite of what had to be at least a dozen pancakes he’d piled onto his plate.
He was still shirtless, and the view of his amazing chest was extremely distracting.
“You good?” he asked, after he’d swallowed the bite and washed it down with the last of the coffee in his mug. “Need anything else?”
“No. Thank you.”
“Want to go to the grocery store, stock up on shit you like, but that’ll have to wait for another day. Need to get that waffle maker and get to the vet. We’ll need time to get the kittens settled back here before we go to The Cellar tonight.”
“Um…we?” Angelica dared to ask.
“Not leaving you here by yourself. Not with that asshole out there. He’ll be hurting this morning, but I don’t trust him for a second. Until he’s no longer a threat, you’re gonna be glued to my side. Got a problem with that?”
His brown eyes seemed to bore into hers. “I don’t want to be a bother, Whip.”
“You aren’t, and will never be, a bother,” he said firmly. “Like having you with me, Angel.”
Geez. This man. He said stuff that made her tingle all over.
“My office at The Cellar isn’t great, you’ve seen it. But I can get a comfortable chair put in there for you. You can read, sleep, work, whatever you want.”
Angelica bit her lip. She wanted to say something but wasn’t sure how he’d take it.
“What is it? Spit it out, Angel.”
Jeez, this man could read her like a book. It was a little disconcerting, but it also made her feel seen. Dwayne never looked at her the way this man did. As if he could read her mind with a glance.
“Um…I can help. At the bar. I was a bartender once. Not for long, but I think I could manage.”
“No.”
She blinked. She hadn’t expected such a harsh refusal. “I swear, I’m not lying. I really did work as a bartender for a while. I won’t embarrass you.”