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“Why Rocky has been keeping you all to himself.”
She rolled her eyes and let out a good-natured laugh. “I need to thank you guys, all of you, for the help you’ve given me the past few weeks. I don’t know how to repay you, but I really appreciate it.” She cut a sweet laugh in my direction and stage whispered to the group. “Pretty sure he’s sick of having me around and is only tolerating me because he refuses to let you boys down.”
Ellie laughed out loud. “Oh yeah, it’s such a hardship to look out for a gorgeous redhead with curves for days and big blue eyes.”
Peyton blushed up her chest and to her cheeks. “Have you guys found anything to get me out of his hair yet?”
“The laptop is clean and I’m still working on identifying that Zachary asshole, but I can’t hack into the sheriff’s office until he’s looked at the footage. Unfortunately, his name and description are common as fuck, but I haven’t given up yet,” Slate promised.
“Okay. Thank you. Really.” She shook her head and tried for another smile that didn’t quite reach her big blue eyes.
“All right, get back inside. I’m starving.” I waved my brothers inside.
“How in the hell can you look at a woman like that and think of food?” Gio, my stupid younger brother, asked, drawing laughter from the rest of the group.
“It’s called self-control, dick. Try it sometime.” I flipped off my brother and hooked an arm around Peyton, guiding her back to my bike. “Don’t mind them.”
“I think they’re nice,” Peyton proclaimed with a teasing smile. “It’s what I imagine having a dozen teasing brothers would be like.”
“Yeah? Annoying as fuck? Because you nailed it.”
She tossed her thick red hair back and laughed. “But I’ll bet they always have your back,” she said with a smile.
“Always. It’s why I don’t suffocate them while they sleep.”
She laughed again, and this time when she settled behind me on the bike, she laid her cheek against my back and it was damn near impossible to focus on the road, the traffic, or any-fucking-thing else with her warmth, her curves, and her scent wrapped around me.
It was the perfect blend of heaven and hell. I couldn’t wait to get to the restaurant, but I wanted the trip to last forever.
Chapter 16
Peyton
I hadn’t expected to see a dimly lit dining room with one lone candle on each table. I hadn’t expected the white tablecloths or the well-dressed waitstaff with ankle-length aprons. The dining room was quiet except for the low hum of conversation that gave the whole atmosphere a hint of romance that was wholly unexpected.
This was a date, this was an actual date. Despite how forward I thought his words were, I hadn’t quite believed it in my heart, telling myself over and over on the ride here not to get my hopes up.
But this was definitely a restaurant you took a date to. I was pleased I dressed up, I don’t know if I had Ellie or one of the club bunnies to thank for my outfit, but I was grateful to whoever added it to the care package.
“Wow,” I whispered.
“Impressed, huh?” His words came out in a low whisper right in my ear, and the feel of his hot hand on my lower back sent a shiver through my body.
“Mildly,” I answered with a playful smile, but when I turned to face him and found Rocky’s face barely an inch from mine, the playfulness turned to heat. White hot, searing heat, the kind that threatened to scorch my panties into dust.
The hostess cleared her throat to get our attention before she led us to a high-backed booth that offered lots of privacy. It was perfect for romance.
Still, I slid into one side of the booth and accepted the leatherbound menu with a friendly smile, hiding behind it because I had no idea what to say right now. Did we engage in basic first date conversation or was this just going to be small talk? Or worse, would we spend the meal talking about who killed Chloe?
“What looks good?”
I shrugged in response as I looked at the menu. “I guess the lamb chops and lobster. The cranberry barbecue sauce sounds interesting.”
We mostly stayed silent until the server arrived to take our orders. It was an uncomfortable silence and I started to re-think this night out since it was turning out to be more stressful than staying inside and away from the gorgeous biker across from me.
“Peyton.”
I blinked and looked at him with a slow smile. “Rocky.”
