But she really, really wanted to.
“No Elias. You’re stuck with me. Problem, Duchess?” he asked.
She shot him a look then attempted to climb into his truck. But her long skirt got tangled in her feet and she went flying backward, falling into him. Thankfully, he had better balance than she did. He caught her, steadying them both.
A shiver of desire ran up her spine. What was wrong with her? She shouldn’t be attracted to this grumpy jerk. Even though he’d been grouchy since she’d first met him, he hadn’t been mean. Not until he’d found out she’d lied to him.
Tell him the truth then.
Yeah. Right. She never talked about what had happened.
“If you wanted to touch me, all you had to do was ask.”
She jabbed her elbow back into his gut. It didn’t do much. The guy was muscle everywhere. Damn, though, it felt good.
Until he grasped her around the waist and set her down, unceremoniously, on the passenger seat of the truck. Hard.
Ouch.
“Kid gloves are off now, Duchess,” he told her in a cold voice as they drove out of the driveway. “Maybe your brother panders to your quirks because he thinks they’re cute or whatever. But not me. You need to grow up. This shit is serious.”
He thought she didn’t know that? Seriously?
Raising her fist slowly, she pushed up her middle finger. Take that, asshole.
He turned his head, his mouth dropping open. “Are you serious right now? What—fuck!” He’d spun his gaze back to the road, just as a dark-haired woman wearing a bright orange jumpsuit roller-skated across the road.
Brick slammed on the brakes, swearing. His arm moved across her chest so she barely even moved despite the way the truck came to a sudden stop. She wanted to point out that she was wearing a seatbelt, but she was too busy trying to catch her breath after they’d nearly hit . . .
Kiesha!
A fear-filled noise escaped her mouth as she scrambled for the seatbelt.
“Juliet! Juliet!
Gradually she became aware of Brick yelling. Finally, he grabbed her chin, turning her face towards his. “Are you all right?”
She nodded frantically. Of course, she was all right. She was in a truck with a safety belt around her. Kiesha had just skated past with nothing more to protect her than a helmet. She had to get out and check on her.
“Good. Stay here. I’ve got to check on that fool who raced out in front of us.” Brick climbed out of the truck.
Stay there? Yeah, there was no way that was happening.
Brick climbed quickly from the truck, looking around him carefully. If this was some sort of trap, he didn’t want to fall for it. Best thing to do was lock Juliet in the truck and call Sterling. He turned, just in time to spot Juliet jumping from the truck and running towards the woman lying on the side of the road. He hadn’t hit her, so he was guessing she’d just fallen. But the noises she was making indicated that she could be badly injured.
Still, she wasn’t his priority.
The brat falling to her knees beside her was.
“Juliet!” he roared. “Get back in the truck. Now.”
Juliet ignored him, helping the woman sit up. Her helmet, which had googly eyes at the top, was off to one side. She was wearing a bright orange outfit and skates that lit up when she moved.
“Hey! Don’t you yell at Juliet.”
Wait. Juliet knew this woman?
“Juliet, you know her?”