Crave (Talon Security #1) (8 page)

When I walked out of Tyler’s office, I felt like I was walking on air. I found Sid in the lobby where I’d left him. I’d had to fight him against coming in to the meeting with me. He stood when he saw me and for a moment, I forgot everything, and let out an excited shriek, throwing my arms around him.

He picked me up, holding me close.

“They want me to write some songs for them!” I exclaimed in an excited hush as he spun me around. I pulled back to look him in the eye, his grin mirroring my own.

He knew what this meant. There was no one else I wanted to share this moment with.

He set me back on my feet, his large hands cupping the sides of my face. When he lowered his head to kiss me, I was too shocked to do anything but kiss him back. It was a soft close-mouthed kiss, but it still lit a fire in my belly.

“I’m so fucking proud of you, sweetheart.” He grinned when he pulled back, his forehead resting against mine.

The moment was so natural, I didn’t even attempt to fight it. Instead, I beamed up at him and let him take my hand as he led me to his truck.

As always, he had to help me into the black beast of an F-150. I’d asked him more than once why he needed such a big truck. He’d simply shrugged. “I’m a truck guy.” That had been that.

When we got back to Brad’s, I was full of nervous energy. I didn’t know quite what to do with myself.

“Let’s play something,” Sid suggested, showing how well he actually knew me. I agreed readily.

“I just want to shower and change first,” I explained, gesturing to the very cute but not necessarily comfortable dress I’d chosen to wear for my meeting.

He nodded, his eyes following me as I left the room.

When I emerged sometime later wearing yoga pants and a tank, my hair wet and wrapped up in a bun, he was sitting on the couch playing his bass with Trixie beside him.

She was a little slut, that one.

I plopped down on the couch next to him.

“How long is the owner gone for?”

“Brad? A couple of weeks, I think. He wasn’t totally sure when he left,” I answered, shooting a look at the traitorous Trixie as she sat in Sid’s lap.

“She’s kind of sweet,” he admitted.

“She is,” I agreed, surprised again at how much she’d grown on me.

I moved to sit on the floor, my back to the couch and guitar in my lap. Sid sat up on the couch, bass notes thumping from his fingers.

As it always was with us when we played, we fell into a natural rhythm, playing off each other.

“You want to try something new?” he asked after we’d been playing awhile.

I was hesitant for a moment before agreeing. “Sure.”

I started playing the melody I’d worked out, and he naturally followed. As always, I was floored by how talented he was. I started to sing, my voice tentative at first before gaining volume. The acoustics were beautiful in Brad’s spacious living room with the high ceilings.

We had a couple of stops and starts as we fine-tuned the chorus. It was a relief to feel so natural in Sid’s presence again after being so out of sorts for so long. We were in our element as we talked through the melody and lyrics.

I didn’t even notice the headache until it was full force. The combination of having little food that day and the stress of the last few days came together into the perfect storm of headaches.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, picking up immediately that something was off. “Migraine?” I’d been getting migraines for years, and Sid obviously recognized the signs of one coming on.

“Yeah,” I replied. “I think I have to stop,” I added.

“Okay, come here.” He beckoned, gently taking hold of my arm and guiding me to sit on the couch. “Let me get your medicine. Where is it?”

I squeezed my eyes shut. “In my purse. Thanks.”

He was back in moments with a glass of water and two tablets. I took them gratefully. “Just snuck up on me,” I muttered.

“Let’s get you to bed. You need to rest.”

Before I could answer, he stood up and swept me into his arms. I had the presence of mind to wrap my arms around his neck. “What are you doing?” I sputtered.

“Carrying you.”

“Uh, yeah, I gathered that,” I muttered as we entered my room.

He deposited me gently on my bed. “I’ll come check on you in a little bit.”

I lay on the bed in confusion, my head pounding out of my skull. I was too exhausted to demand answers. Trixie’s collar jangled as Sid placed her beside me and she burrowed immediately into my side.

“Get some rest, baby. I’ll be here.” His deep voice held a promise I didn’t understand.

I closed my eyes, the current of pain radiating from my temples too intense to bear. The only real medicine was sleep, and I let myself drift off, ready for a cure.

****

“Sam.” His voice was gentle as his big hand stroked over my forehead.

“Hmm?” I was disoriented as I fought to open my eyes. Had I been sleeping for minutes or hours?

“Just checking on you,” his deep voice replied.

“I’m okay,” I mumbled sleepily. “Trixie should eat and go to the bathroom.”

“Okay, I’ll take her,” he replied, and I felt him scoop her up.

The rest of the night was much the same. Sid checked on me every few hours, trying not to wake me. I was hyperaware of his restlessness. When a glimmer of light shone through the blinds, I reached a hand out, grasping his forearm.

“Stay. I think it’s the only way you’ll get some sleep.”

I could hear the surprise in his voice. “You sure?”

I was anything but sure, but I nodded anyway.

He didn’t need more coaxing. He had to be exhausted, and so was I after a restless night. He crawled in under the covers in the gray pajama bottoms I’d seen on him often, and nothing else. Trixie lay between us and remained nuzzled to my side.

“Night, Sid.”

“Night, Sam,” he replied with a jaw-cracking yawn.

When I woke up, my first thought was one of relief that my headache was gone. My second thought was too lustful to articulate.

Sid was asleep on his back. He was gorgeous. He never failed to make my heart pound.

I took advantage of the rare moment to openly admire him. One muscular arm was thrown over his head, his broad chest gently rising and falling in sleep. The bright colorful tattoos covering both arms and the center of his chest only added to the beauty that was Sid.

Was I still angry with him? I studied him thoughtfully, surprised to discover that I wasn’t. It was a shitty thing to walk out on me as he had, but he’d also explained himself to me in a way I’d never expected. That combined with sleeping out in his truck and everything else he’d done in the last few days in a bid to be close to me, had the last dredges of emotion sliding from anger and into mere confusion over what lay ahead.

As though he could sense my gaze on him, he shifted slightly. His eyes snapped open, zeroing in on me and in the process, catching me ogling him.

I looked away immediately, feeling a blush warm my cheeks.

“How do you feel?” he asked, his voice gravelly with sleep and unbelievably sexy.

“Okay.” I nodded as Trixie wriggled out from under the covers. “She probably has to go out,” I noted.

“I didn’t even realize she was under there.” He chuckled. “I’ll take her out. Be right back.”

I watched as he picked her up, his muscles on glorious display as he walked out of the room. I tried not to stare at his ass as he left and failed miserably.

It was a gorgeous ass, after all.

I lay my head back down with a sigh as I listened to the sounds of the back door opening, followed by what sounded like coffee being made. I felt a bit like I was in the twilight zone—things with Sid were confusing at best, but for the moment I was rolling with it.

When I wandered out to the kitchen the glorious smell of bacon and coffee greeted me. Sid was manning the stove with Trixie at his heels.

“Smells great,” I commented as he handed me a cup of coffee. “I’m starving.”

“I figured you might be. Luckily, breakfast is one of the only meals I can do.” He winked.

“Hmm, I seem to remember the burned toast incident of 2014,” I mused.

He rolled his eyes. “All right, fine, my success rate could use some work. Now sit.”

He placed a plate in front of me, watching me intently as I took a sip of my coffee. “What?” I demanded, feeling a blush heat my cheeks. This newfound intensity still took me off guard.

“How are you feeling about what we talked about? You didn’t say much,” he answered quietly.

“I don’t think I said anything at all,” I reminded him lightly.

He watched me silently, willing me to continue. I’d never been good at sharing feelings or much of anything, really. But this was Sid, and I wanted to try.

“It just feels like a pretty dramatic shift from that night,” I admitted, biting my lip in consternation. That really was the crux of it for me.

He shook his head. “There’s no shift, babe, just realization.” He set his coffee down and walked around the counter, moving between my legs.

I bit back a gasp of surprise as he moved his body as close as he could to mine. His fingers traced my temple as he looked down at me with a tenderness I’d only dreamed of. “What you said to me that night, that you loved me—do you still mean it?” he whispered hoarsely.

My eyes filled with tears as I gave a jerky nod.

“Is that going to change?” he pressed as his fingers moved to the back of my neck.

I bit my lip, shaking my head.

“It’s the same for me. I just took the long way round, sweetheart,” he explained gently as his fingers found their way to the tears that had escaped my eyes, sliding them away. His head descended as his lips found mine. It was a kiss full of promise. He pulled me closer, his hands at the small of my back as I opened for him. His tongue met with mine as a low groan escaped his throat. I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders, pulling him closer still.

In between kisses, he rested his forehead to mine. “Let me take you somewhere today.” His breath came in a shallow pant that was the sexiest thing I’d ever heard.

I looked into his eyes, my heart pounding in response to the unbridled heat I saw looking back at me. “All right,” I agreed, my lips searching for his again, greedy for his taste.

“Your headache’s totally gone?” he clarified when we came up for air.

I wrinkled my brow at his question. “Yes, I feel fine.”

He looked back at me with a glint of mischief in his eye. “I have an idea.”

CHAPTER 8

“S
trike!” I hooted, throwing my arms in the air. After I’d warmed up a bit, I was close to actually beating Sid at bowling, which would be a first.

Over a pitcher of beer, greasy food, and playful competition, this was the best date I’d ever had.

Fitting, since it was with Sid.

“All right, all right, don’t get too cocky now,” he retorted, ambling toward the lane.

He was mouthwatering in his formfitting T-shirt and Levi’s, tattoos on colorful display. The muscles in his arms rippled as he released the ball down the lane.

“Shit,” I muttered, watching as he hit a strike. At least I knew he wasn’t letting me win.

He prowled toward me, delivering a wink that could seriously put me off my game.

He pulled me into his arms so I was pressed against his chest, his hands sliding down to cup my behind.

He’d been touching me all day in small ways, but this was the first time it felt like if we weren’t in a public place, clothes would soon be optional.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, remarking how natural it felt being with him like this.

“It’s good to see you laughing.” His deep voice rumbled as his eyes traced over my face with an expression akin to tenderness. I’d never get tired of that look.

“I’m having fun.” I smiled. “Thank you, this was a great idea. Now, let’s see if I can finally beat your ass.”

“Doubtful.” He smirked.

****

“Good effort,” he placated me for what felt like the tenth time since we’d begun the drive back to Brad’s house.

“Go on, rub it in,” I muttered before cracking a grin.

“You’re a sore loser. It’s too fun to tease you.” He chuckled. “Should we stop and grab something for dinner?” he asked.

“We could, but I think I can throw something together. Plus, we should get back. Trixie’s been alone for a while. Should we invite Cade? The last time he saw us things were a bit… tense. Plus, we’re having his favorite. Food.”

Sid let out a deep belly laugh, the sound low and rich. “True.” His gaze turned to me as we sat at a red light. “I was kind of hoping to have you to myself.”

My belly clenched at the look in his eye and I swallowed audibly.

“How about we invite him tomorrow?” he bargained.

“All right,” I agreed. “I need to check in with Pipe and Trav anyway.”

He nodded as the light turned green and we roared off, the V8 engine rumbling like a beast.

****

“I can’t believe it,” I marveled incredulously after we’d arrived back at Brad’s. “She’s seriously giving me the silent treatment!” I gestured toward Trixie, who since we’d walked in, had sat with her back to both of us on the couch.