Darius took in my glare, lifted his brows and asked, “Am I wrong?”
Since he wasn’t, I decided not to answer.
“So, are you guys together together, as in, you’re gonna stop pretending to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes and come out of the bedroom, or are you two still gonna keep dancing your dance?” Brody asked nosily.
“Ren and I had a meeting of the minds this morning.” I decided to share.
“Sounded like the opposite,” Darius muttered and I started glaring again.
“Yeah, when you fight, you guys are seriously loud,” Brody put in.
Unfortunately, I’d discovered Brody and Darius’s rooms flanked Ren’s and mine.
Though, I had to admit, even if they didn’t, they probably still would have heard us shouting.
I took in a deep breath, reminding myself Ren loved me and I’d just had a fabulous orgasm, and let it out feeling much calmer.
Then I told them, “We worked it out.”
Brody leaned into Darius and mumbled loudly, “That’d be the part where she got her some.”
Darius’s eyes never left me through this, but when Brody was done, he grinned.
I practiced more calming breathing and requested, “Can I get in the truck?”
Darius beeped the locks.
I moved to the door.
“This sucks,” Brody remarked as I yanked it open and reached in to get my purse and laptop bag. “The Rock Chicks have cost me a shed load of money. And now there’s none left. I can’t win any back.”
I pulled out of the cab, slammed the door and looked at Brody. “You bet on Ren and me?”
“Sure,” he replied and when I started glaring again, he added, “But I bet on you. I thought you’d hold out longer. But you caved.”
My back went straight.
“I didn’t cave,” I snapped. “Like I said, we had a meeting of the minds.”
“You’ve been having a meeting of a variety of things but you never caved,” Brody pointed out. “Though, if it makes you feel better, you held out a whole lot longer than any of the other Rock Chicks. I did a spreadsheet. Sadie took the longest to win. You beat her by, like, eleven point five months. You should be proud. That’s a lot.”
Darius started chuckling.
“Do you want me to hurt you?” I asked the both of them and the both of them grinned.
They said no more and I didn’t either. I was in for a lot of this, I knew. I bought it and I knew that too. I was just going to have to suck it up and take it.
“I’ll see you guys back home,” I muttered, moving away.
“Ally,” Darius called and I turned back.
“Yeah?”
“Believe in it,” he said softly, “and be happy.”
God, I loved Darius.
I swallowed as my eyes started feeling hot.
Then I nodded and got the hell out of there.
I barely had the door to the room closed before Ren asked, “How much shit did they give you?”
He was sitting on the side of the bed tugging on his boots.
I dumped my stuff on the bed and turned to him. “I’m screwed.”
He straightened, reached out, grabbed my hips and shifted me so I was standing between his opened legs.
I rested my hands on his shoulders and looked in his eyes.
This man loved me.
Seriously.
How lucky could I be?
“I’ll make it worth it,” he whispered.
Yeah.
He loved me.
And I was very lucky.
“I think, after acting like an idiot for a year, that’s my job,” I replied, and his warm eyes got warmer, his hands slid from my hips to my ribs and he pulled me down to him as he fell back so we were lying on the bed, me on top.
“How you gonna do that?” he asked as one of his hands drifted over my ass and the other one drifted up and into my hair.
“I don’t know,” I answered. “But I’ll be creative.”
He smiled.
My heart soared.
“Lookin’ forward to that,” he murmured.
“Would you like to start now?” I offered. “Or after we get back to Denver.”
“Seein’ as I’m takin’ my woman on our first official date tonight even though she’s been my woman for a long fuckin’ time, I want to get back to Denver. So you can start there.”
God. I’d been such an idiot.
I didn’t admit that since I figured he knew. And, by the way, he was being very cool by not rubbing my nose in it.
Which made me love him more.
Instead, I replied, “Copy that,” and got another smile.
Then I got a hot, heavy, wet kiss.
After that, I got my ass hauled to a sweet ride and Ren pointed the Jag toward Denver (after we checked in on Faye who, surprisingly, after being buried alive, was doing all right; then again, she had her own hot guy badass so maybe this wasn’t a surprise).
I delayed until nearly the final moment to check my phone because I knew what I’d find. I’d even avoided looking when I’d called Darius.