CHAPTER FOUR
Ariana
KNOCKING WOKE ME. Unsure if the sound was coming from my head or the door, I rolled over and looked at the clock. Ten a.m. More knocking sounded, definitely coming from my bedroom door. With no job, no social life, and a raging cheap wine hangover, I was really hoping to sleep the day away, but apparently someone had other plans.
“Go away,” I groaned.
“You decent?” Bones asked from the other side of the door. “Because I’m coming in.”
Flashes of him spurning my advances last night played through my mind, heating my cheeks. Fairly certain I’d made a fool out of myself in front of my crush, and never wanted to see him again, I replied, “Nope. Totally naked in here.”
“Then put on some clothes,” he said, adding to my humiliation. That was definitely not one of the things I wanted him to say to me.
“Or you could go away,” I suggested.
“Not happening. You dressed yet?”
Bones was stubborn as hell, but so was I. The idea of getting into a pissing contest with him about whether he should leave sounded like a lot of fun, but I was trying to appear mature and womanly so he’d stop treating me like a kid and start trying to get in my pants.
“I made coffee,” he said. “And picked up breakfast.”
My woozy stomach didn’t seem too sure about breakfast, but my pounding head thought coffee sounded fabulous.
“I’ll be out in a minute,” I replied. Throwing back my covers, I realized I was mostly dressed. No bra, but the jeans and T-shirt I’d worn last night were still on. I had no memory of how I’d gotten into bed, but Bones had apparently been a complete gentleman.
Dammit.
I eyed the bra on top of my dresser, but quickly dismissed it. If he insisted on keeping his big, strong hands to himself, I intended to make it as hard on him as possible.
Or to make him as hard as possible. That idea had serious potential.
I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and ran a brush through my hair and a toothbrush over my teeth until the woman in the mirror didn’t look like a zombified crackhead. Then I slipped out of my room to see what Bones was doing in my apartment. He was standing by the coffee pot with a cup to his lips. He had an inch-long gash just beneath his right eye and he looked like he’d gotten less sleep than I had. His gaze drifted down to my boobs for a second before he caught himself and held out a second cup in my direction.
Giving myself a pat on the back for leaving off the bra, I puffed out my chest a little and accepted the cup, mumbling my thanks. My gaze raked over his muscular arms and the tank top barely hiding his well-defined chest. A bruise was forming on his right shoulder, and his knuckles were all busted up.
“What happened to you?” I asked.
“Work,” he replied.
‘Work’ was code for ‘don’t ask’ because he wouldn’t tell me shit. It was infuriating how many things fell under the ‘work’ category with Bones. Regardless, I stepped closer to get a good look at the gash on his face. “That needs stitches.”
He shrugged. “I’ve had worse.”
“It’ll scar.”
“Probably.” He set his cup down and unfolded the top of a big paper bag on the countertop, releasing yummy food smells. “Figured you’d be hungover, so I got omelets, bacon, sausage, hash browns, and pancakes.”
He apparently didn’t want to talk about his scar and intended to use food to deflect. My stomach growled, and although the thought of gobbling up more carbs didn’t appeal to me, I reasoned that the omelet might do me some good.
Bones carried the bag to the coffee table and laid out the containers. He loaded a paper plate full of food and passed it to me before doing the same for himself. Staring at more food than I usually ate in a week, I started to object but he cut me off.
“Eat. You’ll need the calories.”
“I will?” I asked.
“Yeah. Angel can’t leave Markie yet, and I need a workout partner. We’re gonna hit the gym, then I’m gonna take you to work. Your shift begins at three.”
Bones started shoveling food in his mouth, giving me the chance to mull over the fact he’d gotten me my job back, even though I asked him not to. I felt simultaneously grateful and annoyed. But mostly annoyed. How was he going to see me as a sexy, independent woman if he was always swooping in to save the day?
“Thanks for working things out with my boss, but I can take the bus to—”
“Nope,” he cut me off.
“What do you mean ‘nope’?” I asked.
He gestured at my plate with his fork. “Eat, Ari.”
I considered telling him nope, but took a small bite of my omelet to appease him.
He watched me. “With everything that’s been going on lately, it’s not safe to be out on your own.”
“The attack on Angel’s family?” I asked. I didn’t know all the details since nobody would talk about it, but Markie had escaped with Angel’s two youngest siblings. “I don’t see why that has anything to do with me.”
“You’re Markie’s family and Markie’s connected to Angel. It’s my job to make sure Angel, and everyone connected to him, is safe.”
Great. So, he was protecting me out of a sense of duty toward Angel, not because he was into me. Well, I didn’t need his pity protection. “I’ll take the bus,” I insisted.
He stared at me. “Don’t fight me on this, Ari. We’re going to be working out regularly. I’ll teach you some self-defense techniques, and I’ll drive you where you need to go from here on out.”
“Drive me everywhere? That’s not even practical. What if you’re not available?”
“I’ll arrange for you to have a ride.”
“I like taking the bus.”
“Noted.” His eyes hardened. “And not negotiable.”
The command in his voice had an interesting effect on me. I couldn’t decide whether to cower in a corner, come out swinging, or wrap my legs around him and rake my fingers through his military-short dark hair as I kissed him into submission. I would have been all over that last option had the sexy bastard shown any interest in me at all. There was no way in hell I was cowering in the corner, so swinging was my only option. I held his gaze and leaned closer, until our lips were barely more than an inch apart.
His gaze drifted down to my mouth.
Licking my lips, I settled my hand high on his thigh. Maybe I’d straddle him after all. Before I could move forward with that plan, he shook himself and plucked my hand from his leg, settling it in my lap.
“Eat.” His voice sounded deeper, huskier. “So we can go.”
“I’m not hungry.” I set my plate down on the coffee table.
“Goddammit, Ari. Are you gonna fight me on everything?” Bones asked. His plate was mostly empty, and he slammed it on the table beside mine, making the remaining bits of food bounce. “I’m trying to keep you safe and healthy and you’re acting like I’m putting you in lockdown.”
“I’ve been on my own in Vegas for more than a year now.” I tried to stay calm, but my voice was shaky, and anger was warming my face.
“And look where it got you,” he replied. “You were living in a shitty apartment, dating a fuckin’ drug dealer who conned you out of your money and laced you with crap drugs that almost killed you.”
I didn’t need Bones to remind me of my failures. Standing, I pointed at the door. “Get out.”
He let out a deep breath and his shoulders sagged. “Ari, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“Yes, you did.” He meant it, because it was all true. But my God, it still hurt like hell. “Leave.”
He stood, but stayed by the sofa. “We need to hit the gym and work on self-defense techniques.”
“Haven’t needed them so far.”
His eyes softened. “I want you to be prepared, in case anything like what happened to Markie happens to you.” He looked scared and worried. Although that touched my heart, I wasn’t ready to forgive him.
“Then maybe tomorrow you should try not to be such a douchebag and we can go to the gym. But today, I don’t want to be anywhere near you. Please go.” I crossed my arms and nodded toward the door.
“All right, but I’ll be back by two-fifteen to take you to work. Let me know if you need to go anywhere sooner.”
His concern would have been sweet if my mind would stop reminding me that he was just doing his job. Just taking care of Angel’s girlfriend’s little sister. He probably saw me as his own little sister. I’d been fucking sister-zoned. “Whatever.”
Shaking his head, Bones walked out.
Too poor to waste food, I put the leftovers in the fridge and headed toward the bathroom to take a shower. If Bones was going to be here at two-fifteen, I intended to be out the door long before one.