There was a small table and chairs. Shades sat in one, and she sat in the one next to him. She took a sip of her drink and looked out over the lake, suddenly nervous around him. No longer sure he even wanted her around. And the last thing she wanted was to be some place she wasn’t wanted. She’d had enough of that while growing up to last her a lifetime. Instead of ignoring it, she decided to face it head on. She turned to him and asked, “Do you want me here?”
He looked over at her and frowned. “Of course I want you here.”
“Doesn’t seem like it.” He let out an aggravated breath. Great. Now she was an aggravation.
“Sky, it’s just a lot to take in. You and the DKs and all the rest of it.”
“I told you I don’t want to cause you trouble, I can go—”
“Skylar, would you shut up about that. It’s not about you causing me trouble, and I don’t ever want to hear you say anymore shit about leaving.”
“Then what is it about?”
“Things just got way more complicated.”
“Complicated as in no longer worth the trouble?”
“I didn’t say that. Don’t go putting words in my mouth.”
She shut up and brought the can to her lips, taking a pissed off drink.
“Babe…” He broke off, took a second to collect his thoughts and then continued. “We already had some stuff to work through. The list just got longer is all.” He shook his head. “Still tryin’ to wrap my head around you bein’ with a DK.”
“Shades, earlier at the party, before they showed up, you went to great lengths to explain to me that we both were going to have to set our pasts aside if we were going to make this work. I think the problem is you only thought it was going to be me having to put your shit aside, not the other way around.”
He ran his hand through his hair, his eyes on the horizon. “Maybe. Maybe it’s just that if there were any guys in your past…”
“What?”
“In my head, I guess I figured it’d be a pencil-pushing geeky accountant or some piss-ant sales manager.” He lifted his can and shook his head. “Not a member of the fuckin’ Devil Kings.”
She watched him take a drink, his eyes still on the horizon. “So where do we go from here?”
“I don’t know.”
Her stomach dropped. That sounded like he wasn’t sure their relationship could go anywhere from here. “Tell me we can work through this, Shades. Please. I don’t want to lose you again.”
He turned his head then, his eyes coming to hers, and his hand reached out for hers. “You’re not going to lose me again, Sky. I’m in this. You understand? For the long-haul.”
She nodded and felt the pressure around her heart ease.
His eyes went back to the view. “Just gotta figure some shit out.”
“Can we…figure it out in bed?” she asked softly.
His head swiveled, and he studied her a long moment. He set his can down and pulled hers from her hand and set it down as well. “First smart thing you’ve said all day.”
She rolled her eyes.
He stood up and pulled her from her chair, and then he was striding through the door, across the floor and up the stairs. And she was hurrying to keep up with him.
When they got to the loft, she realized it was much bigger than it’d looked from below.
There was plenty of headroom where she’d thought the ceiling would have been closing in on them. There was room enough for the large king bed that sat front and center. How he’d gotten a bed that size up here, she couldn’t imagine. Behind it was a large window. He moved to it and pushed it open, letting in a cool breeze. When they slept, their heads would be right next to it. She liked that. She’d be able to lie and listen to the night sounds.
Shades moved toward the bed, pulling his tee shirt over
his head as he went. Her eyes drifted over his muscular back from his powerful shoulders to his narrow hips and the two dimples at the small of his back. Then he was turning to face her, and he caught her eyes checking out his ass.