Page 20 of Ruthless

"But with Bike Week over I'm already off tomorrow and the next two days," she whined.

I laughed. "Even better, three days to recoup."

"You're just mean."

"And you love me." I stood up. "Can I get you anything before I leave?"

She shook her head.

"Are you still throwing up?"

"No, thank God."

I laughed at that. "Okay then, I'll be back before I go in to work."

My stomach growled again as I neared my apartment and the smell of bacon filtered through the door. I opened the door to see that Rebel was just walking to my small table with two plates in his hands. My gaze met his before going back to the plates, which were piled with bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast. Ohmygod! I'd never had a man cook for me before, and there was something so hot and sexy about a man like Rebel standing with his jeans undone, dish towel draped over his wide shoulders, and a plate of steaming food in his hands.

"Hungry?"

Was that a trick question? I pulled my gaze away from his abs, trying to feign nonchalance, but the knowing gleam in his all-seeing eyes revealed that I'd been caught ogling his fine body. "Starved!" I admitted, walking toward him. "I never have bacon."

"Why not?" We both sat down on my mismatched chairs, the mismatching of my plates bringing it all together. I picked up the cup of coffee that Rebel had placed in front of my plate. "It's expensive." I picked up a piece and took a bite, closing my eyes and moaning low. "So good. Why did you decide to fix breakfast?"

Rebel shrugged, digging into his eggs. "I was hungry for some home cooked food. I’ve been on the road a while."

"Hunting me down?"

There was a brief pause in which he glanced up at me from his plate, his gaze reflective. "Among other things.” He paused a beat, leaning in for emphasis. “Don't get used to the cooking, angel. You're the one who owes me."

Inside I cringed. He’d just had to ruin the peace that had settled between us by bringing up the money. "You don't have to remind me," I was quick to respond. "And I always planned on paying you back. Why do you think I stored away the money I gave you?"

"So you expected to see me again?" He shoveled a mouthful of eggs into his mouth.

I shrugged. "I wasn't sure of anything. The way things ended…" I thought back to that steamy last kiss he'd given me, how it had been filled with passion and desperation. He'd helped me escape Wildman's clubhouse, putting himself in danger. I knew that if any of the Red Devils had found out what he'd done, they wouldn't have hesitated to kill him. The fact that they had shown up at his apartment just two days after I'd gotten there had given me reason to suspect that Rebel may have tipped them off to my whereabouts in order to avoid being killed by them.

Now, staring into the quiet eyes that were watching me carefully, I knew that Rebel wouldn't have turned me in. There was something about him separate from his outlaw persona, that told me he that wasn't anything like the Red Devils that I'd known briefly.

Rebel had stopped chewing and was looking at me expectantly, and I realized that he was waiting for me to continue. I grew warm beneath his gaze, remembering how easily he'd mastered my body with his hands and mouth, and lowered my eyes to my plate.

"I wasn't sure if you were still alive."

"And there was always the possibility that I wouldn't find you."

I reluctantly raised my gaze to his. "I didn't run away because I wanted to," I reminded him. "And I didn't know how to get a message to you. The men who showed up at your place broke the door in as I was going out the back window."

"How did you know they were Red Devils?" He picked up his coffee cup.

"I saw them through the peep hole. How did they know I was there?"

He shrugged, setting his cup down after taking a sip. "Not sure they were there for you. They ransacked the place."

I gave him a meaningful glare. "Like they were looking for money?"

He grinned, the sexy smirk looking too damned good on his rugged face. He'd showered the night before, but he hadn't shaved. I liked the scruffy look on his strong jaw. The minutes ticked by as I waited for him to respond. With a sigh of resignation, I went back to eating. The man was infuriating!

We finished our breakfast in silence, and when I was done I got up to take my plate to the sink. I washed it off and put it in the drain rack before reaching for the dirty pan on the stove. All the while, I could not stop thinking about the sum of money that Rebel said I owed him, and wondering how exactly I was going to pay it back. It would take me years. Fuck, it had taken me years just to save up what I had. I thought that maybe I should take Della up on the suggestion she’d had that we rent an apartment together. I could save more money each month that way.

"What are you thinking?"

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