Page 155 of Play Dirty (Brooklyn Dawn 1)

“Take it off.” When I didn’t react fast enough for his liking, he stalked toward me. “Off.”

“Alex, I’m sorry.” His eyes were wild. I quickly flipped the shirt off and handed it to him. “Is it a keepsake or something?”

He moved to his closet and set the shirt on a shelf inside. His shoulders were obviously stiff under his oversized sweatshirt. He came back with another more generic shirt. An old CBGBs one faded with many washes. He held it out to me.

“So, are you going to tell me what that was about?”

He looked at his shoes. “Not sure we want to walk through that door today, duchess.”

I never knew what landmines I’d hit when I was with him. I walked over to him and cupped his face, bringing it up to meet my gaze. “If we want this to work, you’re going to have to share everything about you. Maybe not now, but in time. Not just how talented your tongue is. Or that we make amazing music together.”

He slid his fingers along the back of my neck and drew me in. The kiss was wild, then suddenly went softer. It was as if he had to gentle himself and me at the same time. “I live in the dark. Let me have some of your light today.”

I swallowed down the heavy lump in my throat. “I can do that.”

“Good.” He stepped back to grab my jacket off the chair. “Now let’s get this Donovan thing over with and we can pretend we’re just two people with nothing but time.”

“I’ve never had a day like that.”

“Me neither.” He held his hand out to me. “Let’s give it a go, yeah?”

I took his hand and grinned up at him. “I’m game.” Later was soon enough to open that particular cage.

Luckily, it was a quick walk into civilization from Nash’s lair. The warehouse district was a hotbed of hidden clubs, eateries, and galleries. It was still a maze I didn’t understand. For fuck’s sake, New York City was a grid. It should have been easy to figure out where he was.

And yet it was a labyrinth.

We came out near a small Mexican cantina. It seemed incongruous to the area, but then again, that was New York for you. Since it was a good thirty minutes before the next train into downtown M

anhattan, we took the time to get a few tacos.

Nash, with his heavy Irish accent, rattling off Spanish made me grin. He glanced down at me. “Anything you don’t eat, duchess?”

“Nope.”

“Vegan, carbs, keto special?”

“Shut up, ass.”

He grinned down at me then said something in rapid-fire Spanish. The man behind the counter replied and there were a few chuckles between them. Obviously, he was a regular.

A few minutes later, we had a platter of soft tacos. Spicy shrimp and chicken, even tofu ones that made my mouth water. Chips, salsa, and fresh guacamole along with large cups of lemonade completed our meal.

“This is glorious,” I said around a bite of shrimp.

“Maria and Cruz make the best tacos in town.”

“I believe it,” I said around another huge bite.

He grinned. “Nice to see a woman eating.”

I swallowed and dunked a chip into the homemade salsa. “I burn calories like crazy. Nervous energy, I guess. Not as much as Jamie. She’s a whip even though she eats her weight in junk food.”

He tucked into one of the tofu tacos. “How long have you known one another?”

“God, since we were teens. I don’t remember a time when she wasn’t around. She’s the one who got me to start the band. My father’s a banker and I hated the high society world he and my mother thrived in. My brother fit right in though.”

Nash’s eyebrow winged up. “You have a brother?”

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