Page 26 of Never Kiss the Bad Boy

“Yeah, Daniela makes the best food,” Kyle says. “She’s amazing.”

It’s not the compliment that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It’s the way Kyle says my name this time, deep and rumbly in his chest. I’ve never heard it like that. Kyle makes it sound sexual, and I’m not the only one who notices.

Xavier’s jaw goes tight as he stares Kyle down.

Xavier is used to being a big shot, having worked his way up at the car dealership to be one of the top dogs, and he won’t let anyone forget that for a moment. But Kyle doesn’t seem to give a single shit about that. In fact, he stares right back at Xavier with a little smirky tilt to his lips like this dominance showcase showdown is cute.

Kyle’s not posturing or doing anything, really, merely standing in my kitchen in his dirty work clothes, looking right at home against Xavier’s fancy outfit and family title. But I swear Kyle could boop Xavier on the nose and I wouldn’t be surprised. He’s that unaffected.

Though he could probably punch Xavier without a second thought and I wouldn’t be surprised either, especially given the speed of his reaction to Joshua.

But I don’t need either of them to get any ideas, so I push between them, breaking up their eye staredown. Giving Xavier my back, I tell Kyle, “You owe for yesterday and today, so an even hundo. You got a Benjamin, or am I taking twenties?”

Yeah, I sound completely unlike me, but I’m scrambling a little here. I told Kyle he didn’t have to pay for Joshua’s crew, but if he’s offering, I’m taking, though I’m going to owe him for covering for me with Xavier.

Shit. I’m going to owe Kyle now. There’s no telling what he’ll want in trade.

You wouldn’t mind a little tit-for-tat, especially the tit part.

I tell the slutty part of my brain to shut the fuck up before she gets us in more trouble, and as if he can hear my thoughts, Kyle flashes me a wide grin as he reaches into his back pocket for his wallet. “Yeah, hundred bucks. Here you go. A fresh, crisp Benjamin Franklin.”

He holds the money out between us, and I feel like taking it is dangerous, like he might grab my wrist and pull me in for another kiss, my brother be damned. Unsure, I carefully grip the bill between my thumb and finger and pull it from Kyle’s hand while he looks at me like he’s on the verge of eating me. I swear my brain is on his side because I’m chanting multiplication tables like that’s what Kyle promised—two, four, six, eight, multiple O’s are oh-so-great! Who knew I had cheerleader skills in me?

Xavier leans forward over my shoulder and dismisses Kyle, clearly not happy with the tension between us. “You paid. Goodbye.”

Kyle drags his eyes from mine to Xavier, and I watch as his smile goes from warm and sexy to cold and dangerous without a blink. It’s as if all the charm simply evaporates into the ether, leaving nothing but ice in his veins. He could easily drop Xavier, I suspect. But seeing my chin shake back and forth a scant few millimeters, he accepts my lead and steps back, his demeanor going friendly again. “Yeah, I’m heading out. See ya tomorrow, Daniela. We’ll be on site bright and early if you need anything.”

He leaves, and for the first time, I think I’m sad to see him go. He didn’t know the full situation, but even in the way he said goodbye, I felt protected by him. Like, okay, I’ll trust you. But I will be checking on you tomorrow, and if there’s even a single scrape on your cheek, this guy’s going to end up under Kathy Wilson’s pool.

It’s sweet and infuriating at the same time, the way he’s almost claiming me. That’s exactly what I don’t want—some guy who thinks I need him when I’m fine on my own.

If that’s true, then why are there butterflies in your belly, huh?

“I take back what I said,” Xavier declares as Kyle disappears back over the fence to Kathy’s yard, noticeably not heading toward his truck out front. “No tradesmen for you.” He makes it sound as if that’s something I was fighting for, not fighting against in the first place.

“Xavier—”

“And what are you thinking, letting one of those guys into your house?” Xavier demands. “It’s not safe.”

I can’t help it, I snicker. Like I’m not more aware of my own safety than my brother. Not to mention, Kyle’s already protected me twice now—first against Joshua, and now against a visitor he didn’t know was my brother. “Fine, if I go missing, check next door, Zave. That’s where he’s working, building a pool for my annoying neighbor.” I throw an arm wide, indicating Kathy’s house. I’m not taking him seriously, which only irritates him further.

“It’s not appropriate, either.”

“Excuse the fuck outta me?” I bark.

There is no way in hell my brother is making me out to be some easy woman because Kyle came in to pay me for his lunches. Well, technically, he wasn’t paying me for his lunches, but as far as Xavier knows, he was. And even if Kyle were coming over for a nightly suck and fuck after a day’s work, it’s approximately zero percent Xavier’s business.

Xavier must realize he’s gone too far because he pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes. After a long second, he meets my furious glare with a look of defeat. “Daniela, you’re better than some pretty boy crew boss who gives half his female clients the fifteen percent ‘just the tip’ discount and is off doing it again with someone else the next week. That’s all I meant.”

Brutal, but not entirely wrong. I’ve seen it before, guys who go through girlfriends like I go through scrubbing sponges. But it’s not as common as Xavier makes it sound. Most of the crews I feed are full of good guys who work a hard, honest day’s labor to take care of their families.

“Xavier, you’re my brother and I love you, but you’re wrong,” I tell him. “Or have you forgotten the people you talked to when you worked at the restaurant?”

He flinches visibly, and I swear his eyes cut left and right as if someone might overhear me mentioning his sordid, pre-car sales work history.

Xavier likes to pretend he never worked at Papa’s restaurant, but he did. As a dishwasher, which is why he knows the citric acid trick.

“I haven’t forgotten. But you also didn’t know the customers the way you think you did. You were a kid, Daniela. They didn’t tell you things on purpose,” he says dismissively.

---