CHAPTER NINE
Daphne opened the oven and watched Bryce slide the pan of lasagna back in. “We’ll be eating in about twenty minutes. It’s almost done.”
“Is your sister going to be home for dinner?”
“No, she’s a tattoo artist and works in the evenings.” She turned to the sink and started rinsing dishes as she thought about the fractured relationship she shared with her sibling. “Even though we appear exactly alike, we couldn’t be more different.”
“Yeah, I noticed that when I met her briefly on Sunday. In the five short minutes I was in her company, I can see how different your faces are. Your eyes are open and accepting, and hers are hard and assessing. Your smile lights up your whole face and reaches your eyes, and hers looks like it hurts. Add to that the ink and different clothes, and there isn’t much that’s alike.”
Taking a towel, she dried her hands and leaned against the counter. “I think you’re the first person to notice that. I mean, everyone sees the ink of course and clothes, but not the other stuff.”
“Really? That’s surprising.” He took her hand and twirled her ring around on her finger. “This is beautiful.”
Looking down at the turquoise ring, she smiled. “It was my grandmother’s, and when she passed, it was left to me. Wearing it makes me feel like she’s still with me in some way.”
“Sounds like she held a special place in your life.”
“She saved me and my sister’s life and raised us through our teenage years.”
“Seems like there’s a story there; is it something you want to share with me?”
Turning back to the sink, she shrugged as she turned on the water. “Not yet, it’s a long one and not very pretty, so I’ll save it until we know one another better.”
He stepped closer, turned off the water, and then put his arms around her waist. “Whenever you’re ready, I’d love to hear it because I want to know you and not just the pretty and perfect parts.” Kissing her head, he hugged her tighter. “All of it, Daphne. That’s what I’m interested in.”
Pulling back, she looked up into his eyes. “Why?”
“Because you fascinate me and feel like a book that I can’t read fast enough.”
She rested her hand against his chest. “The rust has been officially knocked off your southern charm, and that’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
“That wasn’t charm; that was the truth.” He took her hand and led her out of the tiny kitchen to the couch. “Come sit next to me and I’ll show you what charm looks like.”
She collapsed next to him and laughed. “I don’t know if I’m ready.”
He slung his arm over her shoulder and grinned. “I’ll start you off nice and slow and see what happens.”
“Or, you could just be yourself.”
“No way, that uptight, geeky, know-it-all will never get you interested in kissing. I’m going to need my alter-ego southern good ol’ boy to work his magic so you can’t resist the advances I’m about to make.”
“I’ll take the geek over the charmer any day.” Hearing a key in the lock, she stood. “What’s Selah doing back?” She heard her sister’s laugh followed by a deep one as she entered the apartment. “Hi.”
“Hi, sis.”
“Not working tonight?”
“No, it’s dead over there so Don and I are going to party and then crash at his place.”
“Fuck me; you really are a twin.”
“Language,” Bryce said as he stood.
Letting out a harsh laugh, Selah grabbed her bag that was sitting next to the bookcase. “Did I tell you my sister is in the Navy and her old man is a SEAL?”
“No shit,” Don replied as he took the bag from Selah’s hand. “God damn American heroes.”
Daphne felt Bryce tense and took his hand. She was used to the men who escorted her sister home and felt the usual revulsion and didn’t need Bryce to take up the fight. The latest wore a leather kutte and had long shaggy hair, which made him no different than the fifty before him. “Have you found a place yet?”
Smirking, she raised an eyebrow. “Guess the family reunion is over, and you’re ready to get rid of me.”
“If I thought you were even half-serious, then I’d be the first one looking for a place we could share. But we both know you’re just using me as a pit-stop on the way to your next adventure.”
“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Taking Don’s hand, she pulled him toward the door. “See ya later.”
As Don turned toward her sister, she noticed the name of his club and a patch of a red pecker in the middle of his kutte. Making a mental note of it, she decided she’d research them in the morning. Her sister hadn’t been with a one-percenter in a while, and she hoped it hadn’t changed.
Being a free spirit and partying were not a big deal but hanging out with a man who was involved in criminal activities certainly would be. Selah hated rules, convention, and anyone telling her what to do, and anything she could do to flip the bird to any of that would be right up her alley.
“Guessing there’s a story there,” Bryce commented as he looked down. “Twins don’t usually turn out to be so opposite on accident.”
“Yes, there’s definitely a story, but I don’t have the energy to share it tonight.”
“Fair enough.”
She walked over to her small desk and pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down the name of the club, location, and then drew a quick sketch of the red pecker bird. She felt Bryce’s arms go around her waist and looked up. “I’m going to look into the club and see if they’re a 1% MC or not.”
“Has your sister dated bikers like that before?”
“I know of at least one, but there could be more. As you can tell, we’re not very close, and when I joined the Navy, the distance between us grew. We’ve been all but estranged since we were eighteen. I wish it was different, but we can’t seem to accept one another’s lifestyles well enough to get along.”
“How can she object to you serving your country?”
“Easy, she loves freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, and hates anything that resembles a rule. My life is the antithesis of all that she holds sacred.”
“Hope she’s enjoying the privileges of living in a free society and the people who go out and put their life on the line every day, so that doesn’t change.”
Turning around, she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged tightly. “We’ve had that discussion a thousand times and she’ll never see it that way. Selah and I are a perfect of example of how two people take a chaotic and traumatic childhood and adapt. I went one way and she went the other. Neither one of us is right; we’re just trying to find a way to get what we need.”
“You said your parents are missionaries, so I’m guessing all that godliness didn’t turn out so good for you and your sister.”
“Yeah, it didn’t help us a bit.”
“How long has she been staying with you?”
“A couple of weeks. She moved from LA and might decide to stay in San Diego permanently.” The timer in the kitchen dinged and she released her hold. “Dinner time.” As she walked into the kitchen, she prayed Bryce wouldn’t ask her a bunch of questions since she wasn’t ready to open the can of worms that was her childhood.
It was too sad a story to tell at the beginning of a relationship and she wanted to leave it for as long as she could.
***
Standing next to Daphne, he watched her divide up the lasagna into plastic containers and was fascinated. “Tell me what you’re doing.”
“I make one big entrée a week and then put half in the freezer and then split up the rest for a couple of meals during the week.” Holding up a glass jar, she pointed to the salads she had in progress. “I also make a bunch of salads so that I can take them for lunch. I haven’t had a kitchen in two years, so I’m really enjoying getting back into cooking.”
“It’s so organized and smart. I usually just grab takeout or make a sandwich when I get home. The rest of the time, I eat at the base.”
Shuddering, she frowned. “I had almost no choice for two years about what I ate, so the last place I want to eat is on base. If I never have a Subway sandwich again, it will be a good life.”
“Makes sense.”
She handed him two foil packages and a jar of salad. “Now, you have dinner for one night and don’t have to eat take-out.”
“Thanks, darlin’, that’s great.” He kissed the side of her head and grinned. “Maybe we can do the meal prep together and that way I can get in on your good cooking. I can buy the supplies and clean up, so it will be fair.”
“You don’t have to buy everything, but I won’t say no to you cleaning up.”
“I want to buy the groceries, so let me and don’t fuss.”
“There you go ordering me around again.”
Sucking in a breath, he waited a second and then heard her laugh. Letting it out slowly, he shook his head. “Don’t even joke about that, cause the last time I did that, we didn’t talk for a day.”
“If you hadn’t told me what to do, then I would’ve canceled it on my own. Instead, I met the pilot and explained we could only be friends and he wasn’t all that gracious about it. I don’t think it had much to do with me and more about some long-standing rivalry between SEALs and pilots.”
He stepped back and groaned. “It just keeps getting worse. If I had kept my mouth shut, we could’ve had the evening together.”
“It worked out okay because I ended up going to the movies and watching a chick flick while drowning my sorrows in a bucket of buttery popcorn and Milk Duds.”
“Not only am I mad at myself for missing the chance to hold your hand in the movies, but I missed out on the Milk Duds too.”
“Don’t tell me what to do and it probably won’t happen again.”
“Maybe you and your sister have more than your looks in common because you both don’t like being ordered around.”
“I don’t mind orders; I follow them all day since I joined the Navy. I like knowing what to expect and a clear set of rules. It makes me feel comfortable and secure to know what I’ve got to do to move forward in my career and succeed. I just don’t like a man telling me what I can and can’t do in my personal life.”
“I got that message, one hundred percent the other day and, believe me, I don’t make the same mistake twice. I’m in unfamiliar waters with you and until I figure how to navigate them, we’re bound to crash into a couple of big waves.”
“That right there is the most charming thing you could ever say, Lt. Bryce Andrews.”
Lifting her hands, he placed them on his shoulders and stepped forward and lifted her chin. “I didn’t say it to charm you. I said it because that’s what I meant.”
“Which is why it was perfect.”
Pulling her into his arms, he sealed his lips over hers, sliding his tongue inside. He heard a quiet moan and felt her hands thread into his hair as she held tightly. Fully aware of every glide of her mouth over his, he pressed her against the wall, his body aligning with her as his erection pressed into her stomach.
His control started to slip as their mouths and bodies slid together, so he released her mouth and stepped back. “Sorry, all it takes is one kiss and I get carried away.”
Pushing her hair over her shoulder, she let out a little laugh. “You know, I’ve heard about chemistry for years, and never really believed it was possible.” Looking up, she pressed her hand to her chest. “Until you.”
Bending his knees so their faces were level, he grinned. “Told ya.” She swatted his chest and he caught her hand and brought it to his mouth. Pressing a kiss to her fingers, he winked. “Might need to make sure we have a fire extinguisher available when we consummate our relationship ‘cause there’s no way we’re not going to light the place on fire.”
“Now that was decent southern flirting.”
Standing, he lifted her in his arms and she wrapped her legs around his waist. “Will it get me a make-out session on the couch?”
She took his face in her hands and pressed their mouths together. “Absolutely.”
Walking over to the couch, he collapsed and made sure she was snuggled up close. “Now, this is my idea of a perfect evening.”
“We haven’t even had dessert yet.”
“Now, darlin’, you’ve got to know there is nothing I want more than to feed on your sweetness.”
“So cheesy!”
Taking her face, he leaned forward and said against her lips, “I guess I better love on you then and quit talkin’.”
Closing the gap, she sealed their mouths together and he took that as a yes.