Page 13 of Resurfaced Passion
Long seconds ticked by with the only reaction from Reaper being his strong jaw muscle twitching. She wasn’t sure he’d even speak. He wasn’t known for his conversation skills. He listened really well, but as for giving back many words…not so much.
“What a fucking jackass.” He said finally and her eyes rounded with amusement. “Did he say when all this was going down?”
“Nope, just he was hoping to sell before the end of Summer.”
Basically in a couple of months seeing how it was coming up to August now.
Her nervous fingers laced together.
“I’m sorry, Paige.” He spoke quietly. His far-away accent sliding through her as it always did, touching her skin and bones and soft places. She wished at times he’d speak more, to give her his voice and sexy, rough timbered accent. Other times she was so damn glad he was practically a mute because he affected her in so many ways that taking away one aspect of his appeal was needed.
“It’s okay, it happens. I’ll find a new job.” It was just a pain in the neck that she might have to. It was just one more spoke in the tire to offset her life goals, but Paige wasn’t one for being down for too long. She’d bounce back and carry on.
It was what life was all about, tripping over the cracks, picking yourself up and overcoming the tough times.
Well adapted to dusting off the disappointments, she was here now in a state far from the one she grew up in, with friends and people she cared about. She loved her simple life. It didn’t fulfil all her heart; she would always have those gaps she could never truly close.
But she was a glass half full kind of girl and wouldn’t dwell on the what ifs.
“You’re too good for this place anyway.” He remarked, bringing her head out of the clouds suddenly.
Paige blinked, feeling the rush of heat touching every part of her face. He’d never complimented her like that before.
He told her the food she cooked was nice and he liked her apartment, but that was as far as compliments went with Reaper.
Just as well. If he ever told her she was pretty or he thought she smelled nice, she didn’t think she could cope. She was trying to distance her feelings from the crush she had on him, not encourage the damn monster.
“Thank you,” she smiled. “It might be the push I need to really work harder for my little cupcake store one day.”
“You’ll do it,” he muttered huskily.
There he went again, saying nice things. Her skin shivered.
Instead of getting all girlie, she slid out of the booth and remembered she had a date tomorrow with a guy called Brody who was a high school football coach and liked NASCAR and action movies.
Reaper was her friend, end of story.
“Coffee?” She asked him and he nodded. Back to his usual mute self.
Paige smiled as she made her way back to the counter.
Unaware of the amber eyes burning into her back.
CHAPTER FOUR
“A mad man’s jealousy is never a good flavor.” -Reaper
“Where’s he gone, anyway?”
“Who knows with Lawless, man. He doesn’t just dance to his own drumbeat, that psycho-fucker has his own traveling band.” Laughed Snake in the background. The workshop was busy as always, vibrating power tools thrumming through Reaper’s body as he hunkered down to clean oil from the car part he was hoping to fix. He listened with half an ear to Snake and Capone talking about where Lawless had taken off to this week. He’d been doing it a lot the last few months.
“He gets a hair up his butt and he disappears for a few days.”
“Job for the prez?” Asked Capone.
“Not that I know of. Law just said not to burn the place down while he was gone, and he’d be back in a few days.”
“Sounds suspicious, even for Law.”
