Page 10 of Loco

No doubt. I rolled my eyes. I hadn’t been kidding when I’d said that it was a bad habit. “NowthatI believe.” What would it hurt to have a bite with Loco? As he stood there, staring me down, his eyes stripping off my clothes, I felt my body betray me.

Loco said nothing about my nipples turning hard beneath his unflinching stare, but his grin was as self-assured as ever. He knew what his silent perusal was doing to me. I think I hated him at that moment.

“Okay.” I was willing to say anything to get him out of the bathroom and out of my way. The situation was suddenly too intimate for my peace of mind, and I needed time to pull myself together. “Give me ten minutes.”

Satisfaction curved the corners of his mouth upward. “I’ll wait for you outside, darlin’.”

He turned and left.

Chapter 6

Millie

Whew! The man was potent!

I was glad that he was gone. I released a breath of relief and left to go to the kitchen. Helen was still sitting in her chair, and as I approached, she looked up and gave me a smile. I wondered what she thought about Loco. I paused and placed my hand over hers. “All good?”

She nodded, a look of sad regret filling her eyes. “Russ is gone and your young man said he wouldn’t be back.” She expelled a deep sigh. “I think it’s for the best. He’s not the grandson I remember.”

My heart ached for her because I knew that she loved her grandson. I thanked God that she had two dependable and loving granddaughters that spent time with her.

Her tone suddenly picked up. “The girls will be by tomorrow for our regular lunch date.”

I knew they came by several times a week for lunch and sometimes dinner, and that Helen went to her daughter’s house every Sunday to spend the day. For the most part she had a loving and attentive family. I did wonder how much longer they’d let her remain living on her own, though.

“I’ll clean Owen’s fountain and be on my way.”

Her attention went back to the TV screen where she was watchingThe Golden Girls. I found Owen in the kitchen nibbling on his dry food and scooped him up before he could scamper away.

“How are you doing today? Huh? Killed any innocent birds or mice?” I wished that he stayed inside all the time, but Helen let him go outside during the day. I scratched him behind the ears, gave him a nose kiss, and set him back down. I knew that was about as much loving as he’d allow before he’d hiss and strike out at me.

By the time I was done and heading out, Helen had dozed off. I grabbed up the lightweight throw from the back of the sofa and covered her with it. How could anyone hurt a sweet, old lady like her? I turned the lock on the door and closed it behind me as I left, not surprised to find Loco leaning against his bike and looking down at his phone. He looked surprisingly clean, and had on a new shirt. Russ and his car were gone.

It didn’t take long for Loco to notice me. “Done?”

His smile was contagious and I found myself returning it. “Yup. Done, hungry, and tired, in that order.”

“Long day?”

I walked up to him. “My schedule is all over the place. Long days, short ones, stayover nights.”

“You must really like your job.”

“I love animals. It’s not a job to me. If I didn’t need to pay my bills, I wouldn’t charge for what I do.”

“Cleaning up cat shit is lucrative, huh?”

I rolled my eyes, something I had a feeling I’d be doing a lot with him. “It’s more than cleaning up shit, Loco. But yes, what I do takes care of my living expenses and more.” For the first time in my life, I had a little nest egg.

He ran his hand over the bristle across his lower jaw, his eyes gleaming with humor. “Darlin’, you keep rolling those beautiful eyes at me and we’re going to have a problem.”

My smile grew at his light threat. Habits were hard to break. “What will you do about it?”

“I can think of a few things I can do that will have your eyes rolling back in your head.”

I sucked in my breath as all kinds of hot and dirty images filled my head. The way that Loco’s eyes traveled over me revealed exactly what he was talking about. My pulse raced as intense, sexual awareness swept across his face, and I wondered how he could go from one emotion to another so fast. I was momentarily speechless, and couldn’t drag my eyes away from his to save my life. The intimate scene in the pool flashed before my eyes, and my clit pulsed with the memory.

“You kind of scare me,” I finally said in a low tone. Once again, he had my heart pounding erratically.

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