Page 22 of Life

Dios mio. El es guapo.

His pants are slung low on the finest pair of hip flexors I’ve ever seen. Hands down. No contest. And those sleeves of tats go all the way to his shoulders, wrapping around sinew and muscle as though they are etched into cut granite. He turns toward me, and I’m gifted with a sight that could make angels fall to their knees and weep for mercy. A square breastplate and a set of abdominals so finely honed they mirror a set of bricks two across and four down.

I bite my lip while inspecting further. It’s not that I don’t want to look away, I do. I genuinely do, but it’s not every day I see something so honestly beautiful.

“He did five years total. Of that, one was spent in prison physical therapy recuperating and learning how to walk again before he spent the rest of his time placing slop on inmates’ trays three times a day. Says here he got in a couple scuffles while in the clink with a couple gang members known to be part of the Red Devils.” He paused for a few moments. “Davis, they’re an Oakland-based street gang. Anyway, looks like they made amends, because he came out of prison alive.”

So Antonio got in a few fights in jail. No surprise there. He always did have a sense of entitlement that had a knack for getting him into trouble.

“Yeah, I’m going to head down there today. Pay him a visit at his workplace, talk to his boss. Shake the ground for him a bit. Let him know exactly who he’s fucking with.”

Eli nods and sits down in his office chair. He looks like a golden, tatted, real-life superhero working his command center. I push open the door to my room and lean against the jamb, mimicking the pose he often takes. He doesn’t notice me right away, giving me a few more moments to enjoy watching him in his element.

Watching a man work can either be gratifyingly sexy, almost a precursor to a wild romp in the hay, or the opposite. It helps me figure out what kind of man they truly are, which in my experience, aside from Tommy, has not been pleasant. Elijah moves, speaks, and holds himself with the utmost confidence and strength. He’s precise, leaving no room for interpretation when something is important to him.

Why I’m now the recipient of all that focus is a mystery. Sure, he said he thinks it’s because I was close to his brother, but then he followed it up last night by making it clear he is definitely attracted to me on a physical level. He seems to have no concerns whatsoever about the reality that I was once his brother’s girlfriend. In fact, if anything, I’d say he was rather sweet on me. Not that I plan on returning his attention.

“All right, Davis. Thanks.” Eli lets his head fall forward and he rubs his hair once again. “Yeah, she’s doing as well as can be expected. I’ll take care of her, man.” He listens for a few seconds. “I said, I’ll take care of her.” His voice is a low rumbling sound that means business. That’s when he looks up and his gaze finds mine. Recognition blazes in the rise in his eyebrows and the flare in his nostrils. He could easily be compared to a ferocious wild animal staking his claim on his mate.

“Fine. Will catch up with you later.” He hits a button on the phone and sets it on the desk. “You sleep good?”

I smile. “Like a rock. I don’t even remember going to bed.” As a matter of fact, I don’t recall anything after I sobbed into his chest like a lame damsel in distress.

“Yeah, you cried yourself to sleep on me. I carried you up. Made sure you were solid.”

I cringe. “You carried me up a flight of stairs, and I didn’t even wake?Mierda. I must have been out of it.”

He grins. “Better today?”

I shrug. “Not exactly sure how I feel anymore.”

“Well, I feel hungry. You?”

At that precise moment my stomach gurgles. I didn’t eat much of the pizza he’d purchased last night and had very little to eat yesterday. Hell, I don’t remember the last time I had a full meal.

“Guess that answers that. Come on, Spicy. Let’s put some meat on those bones.”

I scoff. “Like I don’t have enough.”

He stops midstride, turns his head to look at my ass, and then back around where he blatantly ogles my chest.

“Nah, I like my women with plenty of cushion. Don’t like to grind bone on bone. You could gain a few and still be every man’s wet dream.”

“Cerdo! Are you always this piggish?”

He grins and leads me down the stairs toward the kitchen. “Why am I a pig for calling it like I see it?”

“Look,Cazador, regardless of what you might think, not all women want to hear they are every man’s wet dream. Frankly, it’s crass and suggests the woman you are speaking to is less than a lady.”

Eli chuckles. “Cazador?Hunter? That’s what you’re calling me now?”

I tip my chin forward. “Yeah, what of it?”

He shakes his head and pulls out a frying pan from the cupboard, and then eggs and bacon from the fridge. “Nothing. Guess it fits just fine.”

“You cook?” I gesture to the pan.

“I’ve been taking care of myself for thirty-one years. A man’s gotta eat. Why? You offering?”

---