Page 5 of Redeeming Rabbit

3

Rabbit

Elenore stared at me like I’d sprouted a second head. “You want to come in?” she asked, repeating my request like it was the wildest suggestion she’d ever heard.

I nodded vigorously, bobbing my head like some useless collectible doll.

Play it cool, dumbass. You look like an idiot.

Forcing myself to stop, I rubbed at the back of my neck and tried to think up a sophisticated response. “That’s why I knocked.” Great. Now I sounded like a dick.

Her eyes narrowed. “Why are you here?”

Why?I had a perfectly valid reason for returning, but the sight of her wearing nothing but that silky robe was making it difficult to think.Oh, right.“I… I forgot my keys.”

She glanced over her shoulder, peering into the apartment. “Where?”

The moment of truth. I could be honest and tell her exactly where I’d hidden them, but then I’d have to leave. And I wasn’t ready for that yet.

What the fuck do you think you’re doing? You don’t belong here. Shut your goddamn trap, grab ’em, and leave before she calls the cops. Women like her want nothing to do with fuckups like you, and Link will lose his shit if she files a restraining order.

But she was so damn hot. All that pale, creamy flesh on display made my fingers ache to touch her, to see if her skin was as soft and smooth as it looked. The freckle beneath her collarbone—the one peeking out just above the robe covering her left breast—called to me, daring me to lean forward and lick it.

Because that’ll make you look less like a fucking creep.

I’d already been called out for drooling over her breasts and sure as hell didn’t need to add ‘unwanted licking’ to my offenses. I’d rather not have to explain that shit to Link.

“Don’t know,” I went to pull out my pockets again, but they were still inside out from when I’d shown them to Tap. Betting I looked like a train wreck, I stuffed them back into my pants. “But they gotta be in there somewhere. Let me in, and I’ll retrace my steps and find them.”

Her gaze swept over me. I wasn’t stupid enough to believe she was checking me out, so she had to be assessing my threat level. Understandable since she was half my size, and I had military training. I could overpower and disarm her before she could scream. Was that fear in her eyes? What the hell? Why was everyone treating me like a goddamn criminal today?

“I’m not gonna fuckin’ hurt you,” I grumbled.

“Right. Of course not.” She shook her head. “You’re a member of the Dead Presidents Motorcycle Club. Bikers who help people. Tough exteriors, gooey interiors. Quintessential good guys in leather vests who swoop in and rescue women and children from abusive, khaki-clad scumbags. You’re basically Boy Scouts on bikes.”

I barked out a laugh, wishing Havoc was here. I’d give anything to see the big man’s reaction to our club being referred to in such a way. It would make my life. “Nailed it. If Link ever decides to market, you should write our campaign.”

A smile ghosted her lips. “I don’t want to brag, but I have been called brilliant a time or two.”

“Damn modest, too.”

The grin she flashed me punched me in the gut and snatched the breath from my lungs. Nobody should be that beautiful. It wasn’t fucking fair.

“I do what I can,” she replied, gesturing me forward. “Come in. By the way, I meant to commend you earlier for the way you reassured my nephew. Tina’s crazy if she thinks he doesn’t know Matt was beating her. Dylan is smart, and he’s a mess right now. You got on his level and distracted him with humor, making him feel seen and valued. Thank you for that.”

Her praise made me uncomfortable. Like expectations and impending disappointment, and I didn’t want that for her. Stepping into her condo, I closed the door behind me. “It was nothing. Kids are easy. It’s adults who fuck everything up.”

A cell phone dinged. Her gaze shot to the little table beside the door, and she reached for the phone, realizing the Taser was in her right hand. Giving me an apologetic smile, she kept the Taser in hand and stretched across with her left to grab the phone. Studying the display, she released her breath, and her shoulders relaxed.

“Tina and Dylan made it to Kaos’s. They’re safe.”

I nodded, unsurprised but wanting to reassure her all the same. “Kaos is a solid dude. That crazy motherfucker enlisted in the military because he was bored and wanted to play hero. He won’t let anything happen to them.”

“You’re a veteran, too, right?”

I gave her another nod, this one more curt and less enthusiastic. My time in the service was never up for discussion, but if she noticed my reluctance, she ignored it.

Her gaze flickered over me, snagging on my arms to take in the ink. “Why didyouenlist?”

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