She should take her instant agreement to give him a ride as a good sign. When she’d first moved here, she hadn’t been anywhere near that trusting. Liam’s friends, Nick and Jace, had shown zero interest in her and treated her like their little sister, and it had still taken months for her to warm up to them.
It hadn’t only been about her ex, though that was reason enough. Growing up in a big city, a woman learned to be wary of putting herself in potentially life-threatening situations. You could disappear in a place like Dallas and no one would notice.
But in Sedona they would. Bailey most of all, Dani thought with a small smile, grateful again for her friends.
“You’re very quiet. What are you thinking about?” he asked curiously.
“Friends,” Dani replied instantly. “How long have you known Nick? You said you were working together.”
His voice was low. Intimate in the confines of the car. “He and I are able to help each other out on occasion. And I enjoy vexing him, you could call it a hobby of mine. But you don’t really want to know about my relationship with Nicholas.”
“I don’t?”
“No,” he assured her. “Not when there are so many far more interesting things for us to talk about. You, for example.”
That startled a laugh out of her. “There’s nothing interesting about me.”
“You’re mistaken.” Stax lifted his hand and touched one stray curl that had escaped her ponytail, making her jump in her seat. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You don’t.” It wasn’t really a lie. She didn’t think he’d hurt her. But the spark she’d felt when he touched her hair definitely made an impression. “I wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.”
“You should never close yourself off to the unexpected. I’m sure you know that after the other night. Those falling stars were a sight to behold.”
She looked over at him with a smile, forgetting her trepidation. “Weren’t they amazing? Wait, you saw them? I thought you were inside.”
He answered her question with another. “What did you wish for? I imagine it had something to do with your man, Liam.”
“What?” The car swerved slightly as she glanced at him. “He’s not—Why would you say that?”
Stax directed her gaze back to the road with his chin. “Because I know how you feel about him. You can pull over here.”
There was nothing on either side of the road but desert and brush. Why would he want her to stop here? Fewer witnesses?
“I will never hurt you, Dani. Neither will Liam.”
She pulled over, leaving her car idling as she looked at him. Were her feelings about Liam that obvious to everyone? Kaya, Will, and now this man she barely knew? How could they be when she was only just discovering herself how strong they really were? “We’re roommates. Best friends.”
Stax stared down at her lips and licked his own before looking her in the eye. “Will you let your great friendship trap you in a box, or use it to give him more pleasure than he’s ever known? You know him well enough to ruin him for anyone else. The same way he knows you.”
“You’re right,” she said, surprising herself with her honesty. “We’re more than friends, but I think we’re both too close to the situation to know how much more. I have a plan…”
“A plan? So much alike.” He studied her face, his expression amused. “You both think too much. Plan too much. Such a waste.” His fingers lifted to trace her lower lip. “I talked to him yesterday, did he tell you? We have a lot in common, he and I. We both wonder what you’d taste like. How sweet you’d look, lost in passion between us.”
Shock widened her eyes. Liam talked to Stax about her? About sharing her? “He would never do that.”
Would he?
“He’s possessive and protective, I’ll give you that. But make no mistake, there isn’t much your Liam wouldn’t do to have you under him in his bed. Couldn’t you feel it the other night? How desperate he was to claim you? So desperate he’d be willing to fulfill any and all of your secret desires. Even the ones that involve another man.”
“Oh God.” She’d been drunk when she’d shared that with Liam. They hadn’t brought it up since. He couldn’t think—he wouldn’t ask Stax to—“He told you?”
Stax placed a chaste kiss on her forehead and the heat from it burned and instantly spread through her limbs. “Imagine it now. Open your mind along with your heart.”
Dani moaned, hardly aware of the car door opening until he was gone, leaving behind those mouthwatering images along with his scent. Sandalwood and desert rain. How did he do that? She should have slapped his face, but all she felt was hunger and need. So much need her hands were shaking.