Chapter 12
WEST
The front door closed behind me with a faint click, but even that made me flinch and check over my shoulder to see if the small sound woke Juno. The stingy bastard I called my best friend beat me to carrying her inside after she’d fallen asleep in the SUV during the short ride home.
Even now, Langston refused to set her down. Instead, he figured out a way to keep Juno in his arms and sit in his favorite chair all without waking her. For a big bastard, I had to admit it was an impressive accomplishment.
Movement in his bedroom doorway drew my attention to GG, who pranced across the hardwood floor and gracefully leapt up onto the armrest beside Langston.
“They met this morning,” I murmured softly as I rounded his chair to lower slowly onto the leather couch.
Langston’s only response was an arched brow, which somehow I understood was a silent question, wondering why she had come by earlier.
How the man conveyed what he was thinking without uttering a single word was beyond me.
Or maybe I was the talented one who could read his expressions so well that he didn’t need to speak.
We had been friends for so long that it was probably a mix of both. When I started at Uplift, Langston did his normal asshole routine, but I saw right through it. It didn’t take long for me to break down his walls, for him to see me as a friend, not a foe.
“I needed help to get dressed.” Avoiding eye contact, I shrugged innocently, but from his chuffed response, he knew I was anything but innocent.
“You were away, so I called Juno.” I rubbed my palm over my head, the spiky ends of my short hair scraping the calloused skin.
“I couldn’t get last night out of my head.
I mean, you saw how I woke up. I needed to see her, so yeah, I exaggerated the truth a little.
” I tossed my hand in the air, frustrated with myself.
“I couldn’t help it. My fingers texted without my approval, like they had a mind of their own. ”
“One body part did that for sure,” Langston murmured.
I shot him a dirty look. “You don’t understand. You didn’t taste her last night, feel her squeezing the hell out of your fingers. I’m a damn addict for her now, and honestly, I don’t give a fuck. I’m perfectly fine staying hooked on her.”
Jade-green eyes bored into my soul, but Langston didn’t utter a single word. Maybe because he was afraid of waking Juno or just didn’t know how to respond to that. Either way, I wasn’t finished.
The leather groaned as I sat forward, legs spread and forearms resting on top of my thighs. Things had escalated between last night and today. He needed to get on board now.
“Please,” I whispered, tone slightly begging but forceful too. “Please tell me you’re done questioning her, that after the last twenty-four hours, you see she’s not a danger to us.”
Jerking his gaze away, he sealed his lips shut, toeing the line of shutting me out.
“Fine, not a danger to us in the way you were protecting us from. And, Lang, she’s not a danger to you or me in any other way either.
” His gaze cut to Juno, features softening just a fraction.
“I want this to happen.” I pointed at her, then him before tapping my sternum.
“You feel it. I know you do, or you wouldn’t be holding on to her like you’re afraid someone might take her from you. ”
“So?” The single word rasped past his lips, barely a sound, but I heard it loud and clear.
I huffed in a mix of annoyance and disbelief.
“So, you want her, but you’re not sure how to take that next step.
Last night was the most fun we’ve had on a date in months, maybe ever, and I’m not just talking about what happened in the storage closet.
You haven’t smiled that much in years, Langston. Years.”
The corners of his lips turned down. After a few moments of silence, they parted to respond when the most adorable squeaking noise pierced the silence, stopping him.
Our focus turned to Juno as she shifted against Langston, slowly waking up. Those long dark lashes fanned up and down, blinking several times as her beautiful eyes took in her surroundings, stilling when they focused on me, then widened when she tipped her face upward at Langston.
“Um, what’s going on?” she murmured, pushing off his chest, clearly confused. “What happened, and why am I on Langston’s lap?”
When she attempted to slide off his thighs, Langston tightened his hold around her waist, keeping her in place. Mouth hanging open, Juno gaped at his smug expression like he’d grown two heads.
I choked back a stifled laugh at the hilarious scene playing out in front of me. “Juno, you fell asleep on the way here, and the big guy currently holding you hostage on his lap carried you inside and has since refused to put you down.”
“It would’ve woken her up, asshole,” he growled.
“And how about now? I mean, she is awake, so why not let her go?” I asked, gesturing to Juno, whose wide-eyed gaze volleyed between us.
“Shut the fuck up.” Turning his attention to Juno, his eyes narrowed. “Do you make it a habit of falling asleep in cars with strangers?”
“I, um….” She shot me a pleading look for help.
Leaning back with an exasperated sigh, I pointed at my friend.
“Langston, stop being an asshole. We’re moving past that phase, remember?
” I emphasized the last word, making him huff in disagreement.
“We are not strangers, especially after last night.” I waggled both brows suggestively.
Juno’s cheeks reddened before she twisted to bury her face between Langston’s shoulder and jaw, hiding her embarrassment.
“You should take it as a compliment that she felt safe enough with us to fall asleep instead of chastising her for not being on high alert.”
The color bled from his lips with how hard he pressed them together as he considered my words. At his slow nod, the best I would get to him agreeing with me, I tossed both hands up in the air in victory.
Fucking hell. Making this work between the three of us just might kill me.
“You’re not very comfortable.” Juno pushed off Langston’s chest and poked at his thick bicep. “Not soft at all.”
“Sorry?” I snorted a laugh at his confusion. “Why are you so tired?”
My chest tightened uncomfortably at the clear worry in Langston’s tone. So he does care.
“Um….” Juno chewed on her lower lip until he pressed the tip of his thumb against it and tugged, releasing it from her teeth.
“Well, I don’t know. I’ve never actually done that before.
I’m normally not that….” Her disheveled hair shifted with the tilt of her head as she considered her words. “Comfortable.”
“Well, then I am definitely taking you napping with us as a compliment.” I smirked, and shot her a wink, but it was short-lived knowing the heavy conversation ahead. “Are you ready to talk about who that was in town, the two coming to see you?”
Her responding groan echoed around the room as she dropped her head back to stare at the ceiling. “No, not really. But I guess we need to so you understand why I freaked out. But first things first, I have to pee, which means I need you to release me before I wet my pants.”
Hands around her waist, Langston cautiously lifted her and stood, not releasing his hold until he was positive she wouldn’t crumple like she had in the alley.
At her first retreating step, he countered with a step of his own, hands extended, ready to steady her if needed.
Brows pulled in tight, Juno shook her head in utter confusion and took another step back, Langston again matching it.
“Seriously? I’m okay. It’s not like I suffered a head injury or anything. I can make it to the bathroom.” She gave Langston a pointed look. “By myself,” she added. She whirled around and took one step only to pause and look over her shoulder at me. “Um, where is the bathroom?”
“I thought you could make it by yourself,” Langston said in a playful tone I rarely heard. “Come on, I’ll show you.” When her lips parted, he held up both hands in surrender. “And will leave you there, alone.”
Stepping to her side, he pressed a large palm to her lower back to guide her toward his bedroom and the adjoining bathroom. A few seconds later, he emerged, leaning a shoulder against the doorframe of his room. “We have a serious problem.”
“What the hell happened in the five seconds it took you to show her to the bathroom?” I exclaimed. “Giving directions works too, by the way. She didn’t need an escort.”
He just shrugged as if what he did was normal and not oddly possessive.
“The problem is that I need to know who that Eric asshole is to her, but if I find out he hurt her….” His jaw worked back and forth while his chest heaved with deep breaths.
Once he had his anger controlled, he continued.
“How much bail money do you have saved up?”
My laughter trailed off when I realized he was serious. “Not enough to get you out for first-degree murder.”
He nodded as if agreeing with me, but that was not the case. “That means I can’t get caught.”
“Caught doing what?”
Langston straightened as Juno squeezed past, eyeing him with suspicion. I winced when she flopped down into Langston’s chair, but he didn’t say a word. Pink cotton pinched between her fingers, she lifted the front of her T-shirt to her nose and fake gagged. “I smell like trash.”
“Great, and you’re sitting in my chair,” Langston grumbled under his breath.
“Oh, this is your chair?” Juno shot me a conspiring look before wiggling all over the seat, her smile growing with every twist. “Oh, I’d hate to rub this deliciously rotten stench off on your favorite chair.”
“You’re a brat,” he said, fighting a smirk. “And you know what happens to brats in this house?”
“They get grounded?” she sassed back.
“They get their perfect asses spanked, that’s what.”
Juno froze, her eyes so wide it would almost be comical if I wasn’t worried she was about to bolt.
“Alrighty then.”