I totally didn't wet my lips at the thought of a nice, cold beer. Nope. Not me.
"Bring this out to Repo, will you?" he asked with a smirk that I knew meant he knew it wasn't something I could turn down doing. It was normal for probates to have to run drinks to members. But, that being said, Duke was sitting on the couch and from the looks of it, had been there a while. And Renny had just walked out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee. So... me getting the job? Yeah, it was because I was the girl.
Assholes.
"Sure thing," I said, giving him a saccharine smile as I reached for it. "Do you need me to make everyone a sandwich too? Maybe vacuum the carpets in high heels and full makeup?" I asked, but in such a sweet tone that there was no way he could call it insubordinate. I swear to Christ, I made it sound like I was just tickled at the prospect of being subjugated.
From behind me, I heard Renny chuckle and Duke snort. In front of me, Reign's lips were totally twitching. He might not have wanted me there, but he respected my spirit. I couldn't really ask for more than that.
I took the beer and made my way back outside to where I heard the music blaring in the back field.
Repo had made his way out to his cars sometime around eight in the morning. I could occasionally feel his eyes on me, but I did everything in my power to not return the favor.
The metal music was blaring from a dock propped up on an overturned garbage can and clanging was coming from under the hood of the faded red old school muscle car. That was about as specific as I could get. Cars mattered to me about as much as high school trig, meaning not at all. I skirted around the car to find Repo leaned into the hood, his shirt discarded, sweat beaded on his skin, all the muscles from his hand to his shoulder tensing as he used it to screw or unscrew something inside the engine. I swallowed hard against the unexpected stab of desire at the sight.
It wasn't that Repo wasn't attractive; he was. He was actually one of the best looking men I had seen in a long time. And it wasn't helping that he was half naked and that I got to see all the ink he kept covered with his shirt. There was something across his chest I couldn't quite make out given his position, but his back had a huge piece in the American traditional style. There was a giant red and black snake with a jeweled knife stabbed through its head, blood dripping down from it. There were words above and below it spelling out: "snakes and snitches get it where they slither".
"Honey..." Repo's voice called, sounding amused and I jumped, eyes shooting up to his face to find his lips twitching. He'd totally seen me staring at him. Great. That was just wonderful.
"Snakes and snitches get it where they slither?" I asked, trying to keep my eyes on his face though I did notice that he had "Henchmen" written across his chest in a huge, bold font.
His head cocked to the side slightly as he turned and leaned against the car, a wrench still in his palm. "Words to live by," he said, his tone a little guarded. There was history there, meaning. "That for me?" he asked, jerking his chin toward my hand where I was still holding the beer.
"As per orders," I said, giving him a humorless smile as I held it out.
"Thanks," he said, reaching for it, tipping it back, and taking a long swig. I felt my own throat go dry as I watched him swallow.
I coughed awkwardly, not sure what the hell was wrong with me. "Um... anything else?" I asked, shifting my feet slightly. How was it that I was somehow more at ease with Reign than I was around Repo? That made no sense whatsoever.
Repo shrugged a shoulder. "How was your first patrol?"
"Uneventful," I said, leaving out the fact that it was quite literally the most boring eight hours of my entire life.
Somehow reading between my words, Repo smirked. "Yeah, I remember those days." Then suddenly he pushed off the car, taking a big step in my direction, surprising me enough to forget to take a step back and therefore allowing him to be all up in my personal space. There was barely a breath of air between us, his beer hanging down at his side actually touching my thigh over my jeans. His hand moved out, brushing the sensitive pad underneath my eye. "Might want to remember sunblock next time," he said as I felt a shiver work its way up my spine at the light, sweet contact.