4. Hand-Holding
Chapter 4
Hand-Holding
Maya
G etting to know the people in the building isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Every once in a while, Gertie crooks her finger at me, and I join her on the couch, where she gives the lowdown on who’s who. She does not like Ken Samper, the newly appointed partner in the law firm where he’s been working for the last five years.
She thinks I haven’t noticed, but twice now, Gertie’s sent someone over to “save” me. I don’t think Ken is all bad. A little conceited—if I hear about his parking space and corner office one more time, I might gag—but he’s proud of his accomplishments and isn’t shy about sharing them.
It’s nearing eleven o’clock when I look around the room for Bull and see that he hasn’t moved from the same spot he’s been in since he got here. He doesn’t seem happy and has been brooding in the corner for the last hour. I hope he doesn’t see me staring. How embarrassing that would be.
“With my new expense account, we can go try the new French restaurant one night,” I hear Ken say. Darn! I’ve missed the entire conversation. I blink up at him.
“Umm…” He’s pouring more wine into my glass.
“Maybe catch a movie,” Ken goes on. This man would bore me to tears. He’s been talking for the last ten minutes, and I haven’t heard a word he said. All I heard was ‘blah blah blah, my car,” or “my office,” and now “my expense account.”
I’m scrambling for a polite way to decline his invitation when an arm settles around my shoulders. I tilt my face up to find myself staring into the sexy hazel eyes that have been avoiding me all night and Bull’s slanted grin.
“Hey, babe, after we bring Gertie her groceries tomorrow, we’ll grab dinner at the new Thai restaurant across town. You good with that?” Bull says while tugging gently on my ponytail. I’m speechless. I’ve utterly lost the function of speech. I open, then close my mouth. “You’re cute when you’re tired.” He slides his thumb along the apple of my cheek.
My mouth is as dry as sawdust, but I manage to murmur, “I am kind of tired.” Bull looks to Ken and hands him my wineglass.
“Thanks for looking after my girl,” he says, then takes my hand and leads me through the other guests directly to Gertie. “I’m taking Maya home,” he announces. Gertie gives him a knowing grin. “Not one word,” he warns. Gertie covers her mouth with her hand, trying and failing to keep a blank expression on her face.
“Night, Maya. I want to hear all about it in the morning.” Gertie tugs on my arm, forcing me to bend over to accept her hug and kiss on my cheek. I’m not sure there’s going to be anything to tell. Bull is being nice and pulled me away from an awkward situation. That’s the second time he’s come to my rescue.
“Night, Gertie.” I’m whisked off before I can say anything else. I can see we’ve attracted more attention than anticipated as Bull gives a stern look to Wire, Rebel, Falcon, and Phoenix, who all seem to be highly amused at the sight of Bull walking me down the hall to my place.
Bull’s strides are the length of two of mine, and I find myself practically running to keep up.
“Slow down, please,” I whisper. Immediately, he slows his steps to match my own. I slide my key in the lock to open the door. Bull pushes the door open and nudges me along to move inside, coming in after me and shutting and locking the door behind him.
“Thank—”
Oof! I’m lifted off my feet and held in Bull’s arms, where I cling to his shoulders for fear of falling. Just as quickly as I’m lifted into the air, I’m settled on his lap as he sits in my armchair with his arms like bands of steel wrapped around me.
I stare at him in awe. “What’s happening?” I whisper.
“I haven’t a fucking clue. Except I was ready to strangle Ken with my bare hands for touching you. And rip out the other guy’s tongue for talking to you, and gouge out that dude’s eyes for looking at you like he was imagining you naked.”
Well, what do you say to that?
“He wasn’t?—”
“He was. He was imagining you naked, and I don’t like it.” He’s scowling like a child who had his toy taken away from him. I don’t know whether to laugh or be peeved that he thinks he has the right to be jealous at this point.
I cautiously choose my words. “I’m still not sure what this means,” I say quietly.
“Do you know what kind of a man I am?” he asks in clear frustration.
“A good one,” I reply without hesitation.
He shakes his head, his eyes never leaving mine. “No, baby. I’m not.”
“You’re a great friend. Kailyn told me so. Phoenix, Falcon, Rebel, and Wire all say the same thing. You do a dangerous job, but only because the cause matters to you all. You take time out of your busy schedule to visit an old woman and bring her groceries. You fixed a door for a woman you don’t even know and?—”
“I’ve killed people. Yeah, I was in the military, and these were bad men. Some women too. It doesn’t negate the fact that I killed them. I’m rough and loud. I’m stubborn, and I don’t give a shit what people think of me. You’ll never get me in a tie, and the only time you’ll see me in uniform is when I have to attend a funeral for a serviceman, which I hope to God doesn’t happen. I’m not soft or romantic. I might be able to pull off bringing flowers, but don’t expect it. I can cook, but I work long hours, so that would only happen on weekends.” Bull looks like he’s waiting for me to bolt. When I remain quiet, he starts to continue, but I put my fingers on his lips.
“You don’t think saving me from Ken, lifting me in the air, and putting me on your lap isn’t romantic?” I smile. He clearly doesn’t. “What you did was your job. I can’t say I know how you feel, because the only people who can are those who have gone through what you have. I’m glad you have them in your corner. Suits are overrated, and if you’d only wear a uniform for a funeral, I never want to see it.” His lips twitch into a small smile. “Oh, and I’m a great cook, but it would be a welcome change whenever you felt like pitching in.”
He slides his hand up and into my hair, fisting it to pull me down so that our foreheads are touching.
“You gotta be sure about this, Maya. I don’t want to hurt you,” he says gruffly. “Women have expectations.”
“I expect honesty, faithfulness, respect, and kindness. It’s what I’ve seen between my ma and pa and that’s what I want. My pa was a farmer. He was a simple man who loved his wife and family.”
“Sounds like a damn fine man.”
“He was.”
“That’s enough for you?”
“Just one more thing. Hand-holding is a must.”
He quirks his brow. “Pardon?”
“It might sound silly, but two hands linked is saying that we’re in this together. At least, that’s what it means to me.”
Bull loosens his grip around my waist, finds my hand, and entangles his fingers with mine.
“I can do that.”