Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
MAYA
T exas walked me down to the end of the hall and opened the door there. “This is the break room. It leads to the back door that opens to where Hex and Mon park.” The room was your average lunchroom. To the right was the kitchenette. The table and chairs were in the middle, but then on the left, there was the one thing that stood out most. The whole wall was covered in a print that looked like it was an image from an alleyway in Melbourne, and down the alley, the walls were covered in cool graffiti.
“That is so cool. Who did it?”
“Emmy hooked me up with a guy she knows, since her and Warden were away at the time.”
Emmy was Warden’s wife, and Warden worked as a private investigator at my aunt’s agency. “It’s fantastic.”
“Yeah, it turned out well.” When he took my hand, I shivered and dropped my gaze down to it. “Come on, I’ll show you the rest.”
We walked back into the hallway. “The bathroom is on the left.” We made our way towards the front of the shop. “My room, and then the one next to it is free, same as the two on the other side. But Mon’s doing a course in piercings, so she’ll pick one of those for herself. Might employ another couple of tattooists as well.”
“Who’s taking Mon’s job?”
“Put out an ad for the position, but so far, those who have been in for an interview weren’t the right fit.” He shrugged. “I’ll keep waiting.” He stopped at the last door at the end of the hall before we hit reception and knocked.
“In.”
Texas opened the door and the buzzing behind it stopped. A guy who was leaning over a client’s shoulder lifted his head and grinned. He was covered in more ink than Texas because there wasn’t a spot clear on his face. “Hey, you two.” Why did his tone sound teasing?
“Hex, this is Maya. Maya, Hex, Mon’s other half.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, and glanced at the person on the bed.
Hex waved a hand. “He’s got headphones on and is asleep.”
My eyes near bugged out of my head. “He’s asleep?”
Texas and Hex chuckled, but it was Hex who said, “Yeah, it happens sometimes.”
“But… aren’t…. Everyone says they’re painful.”
“Some people aren’t bothered by the pain,” Texas told me.
“Wow” was all I could say, which they found humorous.
Texas sent Hex a two-finger wave. “We’ll leave you to it.”
“You got it. Have a good night.”
From the way he wiggled his eyebrows up and down, my face heated. It wasn’t like Texas and I would get up to something scandalous. We could, and I’d like to. Instead, we were eating dinner together. A lot of people did it.
“Bye.” I waved.
Texas closed the door and, with my hand still in his, led me into the reception area where Mon was sitting behind the desk, scrolling through things on the computer.
“Texas, I found the pieces of jewellery for the display cabinet.”
“Great, order them. You know my details.”
She nodded and turned her eyes to me, though I didn’t miss when she briefly looked at our joined hands. “Maya, did he bore you with his work?”
“Not at all. It was fascinating.”
“Good to hear. Hey, you should come in when I start up piercing. You’d look sexy with a nose ring.”
My whole body warmed. “I don’t know.”
“What do you think, Texas? She’d look hot with one, right?”
Texas glared at Mon, but he still said, “She looks hot no matter what she does.”
My mouth dropped open, and I stared up at Texas.
He just… he admitted… he thought I was hot.
I wasn’t stupid. It was just taking me time to let the knowledge sink in that Texas liked me, but to hear him say something like that was like a bomb going off in my brain.
I snapped my mouth closed and looked away from Texas when I heard Mon’s soft laugh. She winked at me before spinning back to the screen. “Anyway, I better get back to work. The boss is a dick.”
“The boss can fire you for callin’ him a dick,” Texas grumbled as he pulled me along to walk around the desk and towards the front door.
“The boss would never do that because he loves me so much.”
Texas snorted. “Like a hole in the head. Later, Mon.”
“Bye, boss. See ya, Maya. Loved meeting you.”
“You too,” I managed to get out before the door closed. Texas took us to the house that joined the shop. “I still can’t believe you live here,” I said with a laugh, remembering when he told me about it on one of the many calls.
“Told you, it’s all about luck.” He let go of my hand to search his pockets for his keys.
“And at least there’s no travel time for work.”
“Exactly.” He unlocked the front door, swung it open, and held his arm out.
I stepped through and waited off to the side for him to enter and close the door. My pulse picked up when he took my hand again as we made our way down the hall. Along the way, he explained each room. I had a glimpse into his and saw a queen-sized bed. One that was made.
At the end of the hall, we stepped into the open area for the kitchen, dining, and living area. I dropped his hand to turn in circles and take everything in.
“This house is huge.” The rooms I’d looked in along the way were also big, but it was the living area that was spaced out perfectly. It held enough room for kids to run around while chasing chaos.
When he had them, of course.
“Some of it needs work. I want to paint a cool grey in here and redo the counters and cupboards.”
“Grey would look great. You could get a splash of it in a white-and-black marble counter and white cupboards.” I shut my mouth. “Sorry, for some reason I get excited about changing things in houses. Mum and Dad got sick of me wanting to redesign my room.”
His smile was soft. “It’s fine. I like the sound of it.”
I had to look away before my gaze shifted down to his lips and locked in place.
Then he’d definitely know.
He would, right? Guys knew you wanted a kiss when you looked at their mouths?
I averted my eyes just as they started to slip down and spun to face the kitchen. “Right, let’s see what you have for your salad.” I started towards the refrigerator. “Should I be scared to open it? Will anything jump out since it’s a bachelor pad fridge?”
Texas’s deep laugh followed me. “Nothin’ to be scared of.”
My heart rabbited behind my ribs when his body heat hit my back and he reached around me to open the refrigerator.
“See,” he said quietly into my ear.
But my brain had shut down because he was close.
So, so close .
His chest was at my back. One of his hands was on my hip while the other held the door open.
If I pushed my butt back, would it find something hard?
Clearing my throat, I blinked and laughed nervously. “I guess you’re a surprise.”
“Maya.”
Damn, that soft tone.
“Hmm?”
I wasn’t really listening, too focused on trying to get my breathing under control. The last time I’d been this close to him was during that hug he gave me when I got home. The time before that was when I was sobbing into his chest. Both of those times, I never noticed how hard his chest was, but now that my back was pressed against it, my shoulder blades were screaming at me to find out for sure how firm his pecs were.
“Did you hear me?” he asked with the same gentleness.
One I wanted to hear when— Abort that thought.
“Um… no?”
His chuckle rocked my body. I had to get away, clear my mind so it would work better.
“Shift aside, babe. I’ll grab the stuff.”
“Okay.” I nodded.
When I didn’t move right away, his other hand touched my other hip, and he moved me to the side before he buried his head in the fridge. Meanwhile, I wanted to stuff mine in the freezer to cool it down.
I was sure I’d make a fool of myself by the end of the night and that Texas would know I wanted his lips on mine. If he didn’t already.
Turning, I saw a chopping board and grabbed that, then a knife from his block to place them on his counter that faced the living area.
Being here, in his house, his domain, was dangerous.
I liked it too much already. Knowing we were going to make dinner together. Like we were a couple.
A jolt went through me when he placed the salad items on the counter at my side. “Thanks,” I said, a little too high.
“You all right?”
“Yeah. Totally.” I picked up the lettuce and started breaking pieces off to wash.
His hand rested down on my shoulder. “I’m gonna hit the back deck and start cooking. How do you like your steak?”
“Well-done, please.”
He gave my shoulder a squeeze. “You got it.”
Jesus, it was like my lips were jealous of my shoulder. They wanted attention also.
No. They weren’t allowed to get any. I wasn’t completely sure he wanted a future with me anyway.
Yet the touches were coming more frequently. That meant something, right?
I quickly prepped the salad, which didn’t take long, and by the time I was done, I didn’t know what to do with myself. Did I walk out to him? Did I wait? Did I get myself a drink? Grab him a beer? Would it be rude to help myself? Would he care?
I took a deep breath and attempted to centre myself and my spiralling thoughts.
No, he wouldn’t care. If it was Ruin or my brother, they’d help themselves to his drinks, and I didn’t see the problem with me doing the same, since we were friends.
I grabbed a beer for Texas and myself a soda and then went out on the back patio. Texas hadn’t heard me, and his back was to me, so I got to take him in without being caught. Slowly I slid my gaze over his arms covered in ink, then his shoulders and back, which were covered by his black tee and club vest. His butt and then legs were next. All parts of him I wouldn’t mind touching.
“That drink for me?” came his amused voice.
My gaze shot up and straight into the window in front of him, which I hadn’t noticed before. It was connected to his shop that ran longer than the house. The blinds on the window were drawn, so he had a full view of my appraisal of him.
Shit.
“Um, yeah.” I took the steps forward, but kept my distance, and thrust my arm out with his drink.
When he turned to take it, I looked down into the backyard. It was a good yard. A long one that was tidy and had a tree down the back where a garage was.
“Thanks.”
“Hope you didn’t mind me helping myself,” I said to the wood under my feet.
Thankfully, he faced the barbeque again. “You can help yourself to anything you see and want.”
Wait…
My brain had officially shut down.
Nope, it woke up again to shove images at me of kissing Texas. If I had enough courage, I would push him around and jump into his arms to slant my mouth over his.
But I couldn’t conjure that courage up. Instead, my nerves skipped around on my insides.
Had he really meant what I thought he did?
I wasn’t brave enough to ask.
I hated that I wasn’t.
Texas saved me from my inner ramblings by asking how Drake and Ruby were. Even as I spoke, though, I couldn’t stop thinking about taking that leap, all the while wishing he would make the first move. This in-between was slowly driving me crazy.
I did want to try this with Texas. I couldn’t deny it. But would it be worth risking the friendship we’d found? What happened if we ended things badly? It wouldn’t be good for us, obviously, but there were others to consider as well. Our families were close.
The thoughts had my stomach gurgling loudly.
Texas smirked. “How about we feed that beast before it comes alive?”
At least I could pass my nerves off as hunger.
“That would be good.”
Okay, calm now, Maya. Stop staring at him and wishing things. It’s probably too soon anyway. He might not be ready for me to know he has feelings, and I might not be ready to throw myself at him. Not that I’m going to because of my other worries about losing him from my life altogether, but is it bad if I ask if I can try before I buy?
Great, now I was rambling like Ivy did when she was nervous. At least it was silent, and I didn’t actually ask if I could try him out beforehand.
Was that a thing though?
No. It really wasn’t. Why was I even thinking such a thing?
“You wanna sit at the counter or the table?” Texas asked when we got inside.
“Up to you.”
“Table it is. Grab the salad, babe.”
After I found some plates and cutlery, I picked up the salad and placed them all on the table. “Do we need placemats?”
Texas grinned but shook his head. We sat down and I dished up the salad while Texas placed a steak and chop on my plate.
If this wasn’t domesticated, then I didn’t know what was.
But God, it made me feel like I was floating.
I had to bite my bottom lip so he wouldn’t see the wide and happy smile on my face that could come across as a scary grin that wanted out.
“Grab some more meat if you want,” he said.
“I’m good, thanks.” I cut into it. “It’s cooked perfectly.”
He snorted. “I can barbeque like the best of them. The rest I’m shit at.”
I shrugged. “I’m all right in the kitchen. Nothing to brag about, though. I do like to bake, but now Channa’s in our lives, she brings treats over all the time.”
He groaned. “Her stuff is awesome.”
“I can’t argue with that. Did Dodge teach you to grill, or is it just something you picked up?”
“Dodge. He taught me a lot in life. I’ll forever be grateful he came to get us when she died. Mum was a bitch, babe. Thankfully, I only had fourteen years with her and Rommy seven. Low’s a good role model. Well, most of the time.”
We shared a grin, but I lost mine. “Sorry you had a crap life with your mum, Texas.”
He winked. “Worked out in the end.” We finished dinner in silence, but it was comfortable. Even without any background noise.
After finishing, we rested back in our seats and talked about his work. How many clients he took on in a week, what Hex’s style was, and how Mon was excited to set up her room.
When there was a break in conversation, I stood up and grabbed our dishes to clean off. Texas also climbed to his feet and grabbed the leftover meat and salad bowl.
We worked together in the kitchen while talking about random things.
I liked everything about what we were doing.
The time together.
The dinner and talking.
But especially the company.
Until the nerves flew back in after we’d cleaned everything, and I realised the polite thing to do would be to leave. He had work tomorrow. I didn’t. Well, I did promise Dad I’d drop into the compound and clean up his office in the workshop. But other than that, I was a free lady. I could get up whenever I wanted, and Texas probably had an early client.
Standing in his kitchen, I rubbed my hands on my thighs and looked around while I said, “I, ah, better get going. Let you get some rest or get to your designing.” I lifted my hand and waved lamely. “Night.” I turned.
“Maya.”
Pausing, I didn’t look back, but I asked, “Yeah?”
“How about some ice cream?”
Facing him, I conjured up some sass and crossed my arms over my chest while raising a brow. “Don’t you have work to do?”
His lips twitched. “Not right now.”
“Oh, um, okay then.”
“Good. Sit your arse up on the counter, and I’ll dish some up.”
I did, just so I could watch his body move around while he placed a couple of scoops of Neapolitan ice cream in the bowls. He passed one to me.
“I don’t like Neapolitan.”
He stilled, watching me, and I couldn’t keep a straight face. He shook his head, smirking. “You’re a shithead.”
“Sometimes.”
“Glad to see this side of you coming out more often,” he said gently.
After stirring the ice cream around, I took a mouthful and shrugged. “I’m comfortable to be myself around you.” Most of the time, that was. Except when my wanton hussy comes out and wants to jump you.
“Like that, babe.”
I shrugged again, knowing my face was heating.
All too soon, my bowl was empty. Did I leave now? Texas stepped close and took my bowl from me. As he placed both next to me on the counter, my heart galloped under my ribs when he took another step closer.
“Maya.”
“Hmm?” I asked, not daring to look up from his chest.
What was he going to say? Was he going to do something?
Gah, I screamed internally while butterflies took off in flight inside my stomach. Then they sped up into a tornado when his hands rested down on my thighs.
My breath caught in my throat as he gently shifted my thighs apart and stood between them.
“Maya.”
“Y-Yes?”
“Look at me, gorgeous.”
Oh. My. Fucking. God.
A shiver raked over me, but I slowly managed to lift my gaze to his. “Texas,” I whispered.
His dark eyes ran over my face, and he tipped his chin up a fraction. “You know.”
“Know what?”
“Know where this’ll lead.”
“Where?” I breathed as he leaned closer and slid his hand to the side of my neck. His thumb went under my chin, and he used it to tip my head up a little more.
“Here,” he said against my lips.