“Nice to know you’ve got that in your skill set,” she grumbled.
“Do you need me to carry you?”
“No, I don’t need you to carry me. I think that would be inappropriate.”
“Inappropriate?”
“We just met, I’m sure that’s like a second or third date thing.”
“We’ve just met.”
“Exactly what I just said. It’s so nice to meet a man who listens.”
He crossed his arms over his chest as she stared around at the ground. “Girl, what are you doing?”
“Have you seen some purple velvet shoes? And a handbag in the same material? They’re custom-made.”
“You’ve lost your shoes? How did you lose your shoes?” he demanded.
“I took them off.”
“Why did you take them off?” he asked.
“Because I was trying to help you.” Wasn’t that obvious? Oh, maybe he hadn’t seen her jump on Fishy-breath.
He let out a breath. “Girl, why would you—”
“Whoop! Here’s my bag.” She reached in and grabbed her keys. She had a small flashlight in there. She hated the one on her phone, it was crap.
She turned the flashlight on and ran it around the alleyway.
“There they are.” She ran over, hissing as something dug into her foot. Yikes, who knew what was on the ground? She really didn’t want to look too closely. She grabbed both of her shoes and then turned to Gray, feeling triumphant.
“Got them.”
He put a hand over his eyes. “Do you want to aim that somewhere else?”
“Oh, sorry.” She dropped the flashlight lower. Onto his stomach. “We can leave now.”
“Thank God for that, think I aged a whole year waiting.”
“Pfft. Are you always such a drama queen?” she asked as she stepped toward him.
“Drama queen? I’m not a drama queen. I just want to get you out of here safely. Why aren’t you putting your shoes on?”
“It’s dirty down here.”
“Wouldn’t that be a reason to put your shoes on?”
“I don’t want to get them any dirtier than they are, though. We really should leave now.” She didn’t want those guys coming back. Maybe with friends or a weapon.
“You’re not walking around in bare feet,” he grumbled. Reaching out, he swept her up into his arms. Well, into one arm. He held her against the side of his body.
Wow. He was strong. Her jacket slid open, and her dress rode up so he was gripping her under her ass. She shifted so she could get her arms around his neck. She managed to get her flashlight back into her handbag which she had in one hand and her shoes were held in the other.
She hoped like heck that her coat was covering her thighs. Although her legs were rather cold, so she thought that was probably a no.
“You’re very chivalrous,” she told him.