We shared a smile between two men willing to die to protect the same girl.
“The first time I saw Winnie,” I said, “she was hiding behind Harlow. I understood she wasn’t like any other girl I was ever interested in. Even knowing that, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.”
“You sitting out in the car made Toni worry about you. I understood though. After Toni and I first went out, she gave me mixed signals. She was torn between her safe life and the bad boy she wanted. She ran hot and cold. For me, it was simple and I only ran hot.”
Tad again glanced at the loud guys outside before returning to his story. “More than once, I hung outside her apartment. I wanted to force her to admit she wanted the same thing I did. A lot of nights I got close to knocking on her door, but I gave her space. Eventually, she knocked on my door. Patience is the hardest fucking thing in the world.”
“I’m not sure Winnie’s ready to spend the weekend at my place, but I can’t tell her no.”
“I can’t either. I really want to. Instead, I can only warn you about problems she might have.”
“If she has any problems, I’ll call you. I’m not too proud to ask for help, if it’ll ease Winnie’s fears.”
“Good,” Tad said, finishing his coffee. “I know you didn’t have a great family. Don’t know about your mom, but Dad looks like a son of a bitch. Bad parents will screw up a person, but good parents don’t ensure anything either. Look at me. I had the kind of parents that treat their kids like gifts from God. My brother and sister turned out to be superstars. I got in trouble early and kept doing it until prison. Even now, I’d run wild if not for Toni cracking the whip and Kirk keeping me on a leash. Some people need a lot of hand holding. Winnie and I are like that. You seem more self-sufficient like Toni. Opposites attract, I guess.”
“If I can have with Winnie what you have with your wife, I’ll be a happy man.”
Tad gave me a little grin. “Heard Judd roped you into the paintball match this weekend.”
“I’ve been craving more physical shit in my life.”
“Harlow is doing it too. The girl needs endless physical shit in her life. She has so much anger built up from years of feeling powerless.”
“I assume she’ll shoot me,” I said, grinning. “Even if we’re on the same team.”
“Likely. Just remember it’s not personal. If Harlow didn’t like you, you’d be dead. I have no doubt she could do it too.”
Despite worrying over Harlow’s anger, I appreciated how many people wanted to protect Winnie. She deserved the concern after those earlier in her life showed so little.
Chapter Twenty Five ~ Winnie
Dylan’s apartment was a blank slate. No pictures on the walls, no rugs on the floor, nothing personal anywhere. I suspected growing up with his parents always moving into a new house and creating new families left him unable to build a real home.
“Do you like the walls bare?” I asked, pinching my wrist.
Dylan studied me with his dark eyes. Tonight, we would have sex. When he picked me up, I reminded him of my plans. I wanted sex and he was giving it to me. Normally, a guy would be thrilled to get laid, but Dylan looked nervous as we stood in his living room.
“I have no idea what to do with this place. When I renovate houses, I hire someone to decorate. You know, pick paint and stuff.”
“When I move out of my parents’ house, I want a house that is warm like theirs. Would you like that?”
“To live in your house?” he asked, giving me a grin.
“Yes. I might let you rent a room, if you promise to walk around with your shirt off.”
“Oh, I can make that promise.”
Sharing a smile, we sat quietly for a minute then Dylan asked if I wanted to watch TV.
“I think we should have sex soon.”
“Okay,” he said, losing his smile.
“When I used the bathroom earlier, I took a mild sedative to make sure I didn’t freak out during sex.”
Dylan frowned. “You’re drugged up?”
“I’m not out of it, just relaxed. Like drinking a beer kind of relaxed.”
“I don’t want you to feel like you can’t stop if you want,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I don’t want to stop.”
“You don’t know how you’ll feel once we’re…you know…together.”
Running my fingers down his chest, I shivered. “I want to know what it feels like to be with you. That doesn’t mean I won’t get weird about it.” I paused then poked his chest. “Don’t make me feel bad for getting weird.”
Dylan cupped my face and kissed me softly. Once my hands gripped his shirt, the kiss deepened and his tongue found mine. My first instinct was to pull away. Ignoring the urge, I wrapped my arms around his waist.
Dylan’s lips sucked at my jaw then my neck. By the time he nipped my ear, I wanted to get started.
“Let me get undressed,” I said, easing away.
Dylan scratched at his chest scar. “We should go slower.”
“Don’t you want to feel inside me?”