Page 59 of Fierce-Hyde

Never thought of it like this either.

She had his dishwasher loaded and was wiping down the counters when he came out in jeans and a T-shirt, barefoot, and had the bottle of conditioner in his hand.

“That was fast,” she said. “Were you worried I’d leave even though I said I wouldn’t?”

“No,” he said. “I knew you’d be here. What did you think of this?”

She frowned. “I like it. It’s like silk in my hair. Might be too soft as it’s flying away on me.”

He laughed. “CeeCee gave it to me to try.”

“You put leave-in conditioner in your hair?” she asked, laughing.

“Not usually. I’m just using that two-in-one stuff now. CeeCee picked that out for me too.”

She found that sweet in a way. “There is nothing wrong with your hair,” she said.

“Before I came here it was a bit of a mess.”

“Huh? Did you have dreadlocks or something?”

He was way too put together for that.

“No,” he said. “But I let myself go and my hair was longer than normal, it was dry and I don’t know. It just wouldn’t do what I wanted. I got my shit together and cut my hair and CeeCee said this would help. I couldn’t bring myself to try the product yet but didn’t think the shampoo was a big deal.”

“If it helps you any, I think your hair looks and feels great.” She walked over and ran her fingers through it. “Nice and soft. It tickled me last night.”

“You’re blushing,” he said.

“I know I am.”

He leaned down to give her another kiss. “Then I’ll leave this for you again. Maybe you could put whatever else you need here. I’ll buy a hairdryer if you want. Not rushing or pushing, just being accommodating for the future. I would like you in my bed again.”

She wasn’t going to take it any other way than that.

“That would be nice,” she said. “Do you want to follow me to my place, or just have me go home and come back?”

“Why don’t I follow you and then you can leave your car and I’ll bring you back after?”

“Sounds like a plan,” she said.

He yanked her close. “And stop planning so much.”

She gave him a quick kiss. “I’ll try.”

18

TAKE THE LEAD

“Ican’t believe you found more clues than me,” Tori said hours later.

She had a cute pout on her face. “Sorry,” he said. “I can’t help it if I can figure it out faster.”

They’d gone to her apartment, and she’d showered again while he sat in her little living room. Said that she felt dirty that yesterday’s clothes were on her body.

She didn’t keep him waiting long as she didn’t wash her hair, but she did put product in it and dried it better, then pulled it back away from her face.

When she was done with a light coating of makeup, Hyde realized she didn’t look much different without it.

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