Page 9 of Striker's Yield

“Um. . . yeah,” I answer. Striker’s never spoken a word to me before, so I have a hard time believing he wants to speak to me about anything that doesn’t have to do with his sister and her working here. And he just said he didn’t want to talk to me about her. So, what else could there be?

Rather than answering, he grabs my hand and drags me farther down the hall, away from anyone who could be eavesdropping.

My heart speeds up, and I find it difficult to breathe. “What are you doing?”

Striker halts and spins me until my back is to the wall, his body coming in close to mine.

“Um . . .”

“You scared of me?” he asks, stopping me from saying anything else.

“Ugh, no,” I utter and lick my bottom lip nervously. “Why would I be scared of you?”

“You won’t meet my gaze for one,” he points out.

I swallow, my brain cells working harder than ever to focus with him this close to me. I also force myself to look him in the eye. “I’m looking you in the eye now.”

“Right.” The corner of his lip quirks a bit more.

“You wanted to talk to me about something?” I try to get us back on topic.

“Yeah, first off, I wanted to thank you for givin’ Lila a job. She hasn’t shut up about this place since she started. Second, wanted to ask you out to dinner.”

“Dinner?” There’s no way Striker wants to have dinner with me. He’s joking, has to be. I’m not his type.

“Yeah, dinner. I’ll pick you up at your place tonight at six,” he states like it were a done deal.

“I can’t.”

“Why not?” he asks, cocking a brow.

“Because I don’t close until after seven and then don’t leave here until after nine,” I explain, giving him the truth.

Striker moves in closer and dips his head down, and with him being so much taller than me, I have to tilt my head back to keep eye contact. “That’s not gonna work for me. You got girls here that I’m sure will close up for you and handle things. You and me, we’re gonna do dinner. You don’t wanna go out, I’ll bring it to your place, and we’ll watch a movie and eat there. You cool with going out, we’ll do that. Regardless, your ass is with me this evening.”

“I don’t get why all of a sudden you want to have dinner with me,” I blurt out.

“I’ll tell you the answer to that this evening,” he says, the quirk of his lips turns into an outright smile. “Now, tell me you’re gonna be at your apartment at six.”

“Um . . .”

“You’re not. I’ll come here and get your ass, and Autumn, that’s something you won’t want me to do.”

“Why?” I ask, confusion clear in my voice.

Striker dips down farther, and our noses touch, his lips right there, so close they brush mine when he speaks. “‘Cause I’ll come in and carry you out over my shoulder.”

With his parting words, he jerks back altogether and leaves me standing there completely speechless at his little announcement.

CHAPTER 5

Autumn

Standing in my kitchen, I’m freaking way, way the hell out. The clock over the stove is glaring at me with the time. It’s five ‘til six, and Striker will be here any second.

After he left, Athena came and found me. I’m sure she saw how freaked out I was because she pulled me into my office and demanded I talk to her, tell her what’s going on, what Striker said to freak me out. By the time I finished, she was staring at me with a huge grin on her face.

When I asked her what was so funny, she told me right off that she thought it was a good thing. That I needed to be home at six. She would handle closing the café for me, and I didn’t have anything to worry about.

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