Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Drew
All the thoughts of the rose in my hand being a little too much fell away the moment she stepped out onto the porch.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away and I couldn’t stop them inspecting every single inch of her curves.
The backlight that the bar provided made her look like some kind of fucking angel, and as I let my attention finally rise to meet her…
no, my baby blues again, I was grinning about as subtly as a kid in a candy store.
Damn, she looked fucking good.
I stalked up the steps slowly, the sound of the wood creaking beneath my heavy, black boots. Ayda’s eyes never left mine, not even when she hitched in a breath and held it tight in her chest. Her chest which looked slightly bigger than my memory and my hands remembered it looking before.
There I was in a crisp, white shirt and there she was looking finer than I’d ever imagined she could. I thought I’d seen all Ayda’s looks already. I’d checked her out in lingerie, dresses, sweats, the whole lot… everything except that version before me.
When I finally reached her, I stayed one step below and placed the rose between my teeth.
The small smile that started to creep onto her face spurred me on as I held out my hand for hers and slowly began to guide her down the steps.
The second her feet landed on the gravel path, I saw the look of horror flash across her face.
I was no chick, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that Ayda, plus heels, plus uneven surfaces could result in more bad than good.
Not giving her time to argue, one arm wrapped around the small of her back while my knees bent and I hooked my other arm under her legs, pulling her up tight against my chest with a smirk plastered on my face.
“‘Ha‘ose,” I tried to get out, encouraging her to take the thing that was now tasting a little too green out of my mouth for me.
With a small giggle, she plucked it away and replaced it with her lips, her eyes meeting mine as she relaxed back into my arms and kicked her legs out. “Drew Tucker, a romantic. I’m kind of digging it.”
Smiling down on her before I set her on steady feet, I unhooked the helmet from the front and held it out for her to take.
“I’m full of surprises, darlin’. I promised you a date, so you’re getting the full works. I’m pretty sure I must have a little bit of gentleman in me somewhere.”
Ayda’s cheeks flushed as she stared into the helmet, her lips moving, but the words barely audible. Whatever she said was complimentary. I could tell by the look in her eyes as she glanced up at me again.
All I could do was raise my brow in question and take a step closer.
Pulling the helmet over her head and straddling the bike, she watched me with her lips curled into a smile.
“So, where are you taking me, Mr. Tucker?”
Slipping in front of her, I grabbed her arms and pulled them tight around my waist, turning to look over my shoulder when I spoke. “I’m taking you to the bright lights of Babylon to show you off, the way any other boyfriend would do. Then…”
Shuffling closer, she rested her chin on my shoulder, her hands clasping tightly against my abs. “Then…?”
It was my turn to torment her. Facing forward, I started up the bike and began to back out of my space.
The small sound that escaped the back of her throat only made my smile grow wider, and soon enough, we were riding out of the gates and heading to the one place I never thought I’d see myself go, to do the one thing I was pretty fucking certain I would never do.
It was impossible not to stare at her as she shook her hair out after removing the helmet.
Being the gentleman I’d promised her I could be, I held out a hand to help her off the bike, my eyes completely focused on hers.
As she looked behind us both, the small frown of confusion and surprise finally broke free, along with that perfect little smile of hers.
I was turning into a pussy—the kind that noticed every little thing about the woman they were with, and the truth was, I didn’t care one bit.
I guess that’s why I was there doing what I was doing.
The Drew Tucker that had stayed hidden away in the shadows and the cells now had something to flaunt, and I wasn’t going to put off that show for a second longer.
Catching her carefully, I turned her around to face the one restaurant in Babylon that I knew wouldn’t have a problem serving me while I wore my cut.
Antonio’s.
The place my old man used to bring me when I was just a kid, forcing fucking meatballs down my throat at every given opportunity because he was good friends with the even older guy who ran it and gave us everything for nothing.
It wasn’t the freshest place around. From the outside, it looked a little on the run down side with half the awning leaning too far to the left.
But inside was something different, and even though I hadn’t been inside for years, this restaurant meant something to me and I wanted Ayda to be a part of that history, too.
“It’s not exactly five star, but I hear they give good spaghetti.”
Her smile was beaming as she stepped closer to me. One hand was in mine while the other was wrapped around my arm. “I think it looks perfect. Quiet, intimate and charming.”
“You describing me or the restaurant?”
“Since when have you been quiet?”
“I’m quieter than I used to be. Can’t think why.” I smirked, taking a step forward to guide us across the road.
“Are you saying I talk too much? Because if you are, you’re about to lose the charming title, also.”
“Talk, scream, cry out in ecstasy, what’s the difference?” I laughed, not giving her time to hit me before I pulled her close and pressed my lips against her hair. “I don’t think I’ve ever held any of those titles, anyway. I’ve got nothing to lose.”
“You don’t see yourself clearly at all,” she said, releasing my arm to tuck some hair behind her ear. “You have no idea how effective I’m horny really is. Makes me wild with lust.”
I leaned in even closer, half whispering and half growling in her ear. “I’m horny.”
Ayda’s tongue darted over her bottom lip before her flush forced her to dip her head and giggle. “You owe me food first. Then you can have me any way you want me. Think of it as charging my battery.”
She stopped in front of the door, looked up at me boldly and winked.
There were so many things I could have said, that I wanted to say, but I strapped my gentlemanly balls on and stepped to the side to push the door open for her.
Waving her through, I watched her every move as she walked past me.
There had been such a shift in the way she carried herself since the first time I met her, and while she was gorgeous to me then, this new Ayda was something else.
She managed to do what no other woman had ever done before.
She’d held my attention far beyond the morning after the night before, and no matter what I did to fuck things up or what she did to send me off-the-wall crazy, I couldn’t get enough of us. I didn’t think I ever would.