“You were thinking of turning around and leaving me, weren’t you?”
Her hands gripped the steering wheel. How did he know? He had crawled inside of her. That wasn’t good. She wasn’t a good person.
“Baby. You were, weren’t you? What did I do or say wrong?”
That was worse. So much worse. His voice, that stroking velvet voice that moved over her skin like the touch of fingers, uncovering every one of her senses so that she was acutely aware of every nerve and cell in her body.
“Not you, Absinthe. It’s me. You’re so amazing. You’re just …” She trailed off, her foot on the gas, her hands on the wheel, flying toward him, knowing she shouldn’t. “I’m just not a good woman and I don’t want anything bad ever to happen to you. Nothing can happen to you, not because of me.”
There were tears on her face and she thought she’d cried them all out so many years ago. She’d forbidden herself to cry. Absinthe had found that woman again, the one she’d hidden away. Now, just the sound of his voice brought her out.
“Scarlet, I have a friend who will drive me to you. We can leave now and meet you. He’ll ride the Harley back and I’ll drive your car. I don’t like you driving when you’re upset.”
The genuine worry in his voice washed over her. When had someone in the last so many years ever worried about her? She certainly couldn’t remember because the answer was no one.
“I’m very capable of driving and I didn’t turn around. I’m coming to you. I shouldn’t, but I am.”
“Are you crazy about my cock or my brains?”
She knew he was teasing her, trying to get her to laugh when she’d been upset. He didn’t want her crying and driving. She could love him so easily. “That’s a fair question. Let me give it some thought. It might take me some time.”
“Ledi.”
There was a bite to his voice that sent blood pounding right through her clit. Right then, had he asked, she would have immediately said it was his cock she was crazy for. What was it about his voice that got to her the way it did?
“The proper answer is both.”
She waited a couple of heartbeats on purpose, a smile curving her lips. Happiness blossoming. She didn’t have any right to feel happy, but Absinthe made her that way in spite of everything. “Yes. Yes, of course. Why didn’t I think of that?”
He laughed. “You’re about an hour out.”
“Thirty-three miles is not an hour.”
“On that road it is.” Now his voice sounded stern. “Does it take you an hour to drive it?” She put snip into her tone. “Being a man and all?”
“Before you throw attitude, Miss Scarlet, it has nothing to do with you being a woman and me being a man. The Harley can take the curves at a higher rate of speed simply because I am used to the road and know it so well.”
“It just so happens I’m a very good driver,” she said. She was. She wasn’t bragging. Well. Okay. Maybe a little. Just that fast he’d turned her entire mood around. She was happy all over again and very certain she was making the right decision.
“Scarlet.” He went to serious, all teasing aside. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. I absolutely believe you’re a good driver and you can cut several minutes off that drive, but I’d rather you not chance it. Just get here safely. I’ll drink a few extra cups of coffee and shoot the shit with a couple of the brothers while I’m waiting for you.”
Everything in her stilled. Her mouth went dry. “A couple of the brothers?” she echoed.
He didn’t hesitate. “I told you I was raised with a bunch of hell-raisers. A couple of sisters and fourteen brothers.” He cleared his throat. “And Demyan. I told you. He didn’t make it out.”
She let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Yes, I remember, your brother.” His birth brother, older than him. She would never forget that, any more than she would forget her own younger sister. It was another tie that bound them together. She had to stop looking for reasons not to trust him. “Are they really all hell-raisers?”
“Sadly, yes. I’m the nicest of the lot.”
She found herself laughing again. “Do they all live close to you?”
“Yeah, we tend to stay very close. We look out for one another, watch each other’s backs. We all lost too much and aren’t willing to lose anyone else we love.”
She didn’t know what that would be like—to have someone watching her back. “I’ve been alone since I lost my family. I didn’t realize how much I stay to myself until I met you.” She could hear the lie in her own voice and hoped he couldn’t. Maybe it just sounded loud to her because she felt guilty lying to him.