Page 58 of Her Wicked Hero

“First-rate sounds like faint praise. What about fantastic? Awesome? Stupendous?”

“I can tell you live with young girls,” he teased. “First-rate and First-class are extremely high praise.”

“Is that what you’d say about Night Storm?”

“No, I’d call them Fucking First-rate.”

“See!”

“Marcia, I was trying to cut down on the swearing for you. Black Dawn is also Fucking First-rate. If they weren’t, there isn’t a chance in hell I’d be entrusting them with your safety.” He picked up her hand and kissed her fingertips. She started to breathe faster. Deeper. Zed realized he wasn’t doing much better. He thought about her questions. Black Dawn was fucking first-rate. He thought of Hunter. Their bond was…

Then there was Dex, he would rank him right up there with Kane McNamara. But Night Storm was his home. He was second-in-command, and those men depended on him. Considering everything, Zed had to admit, after today’s conversation, Black Dawn was definitely turning into a second home for him.

Ten more minutes and they’d be back at the apartment. This time, he twined his fingers with hers and rested them on her thigh. She closed her eyes and sighed. He concentrated on the drive and getting them home safely. When he parked underneath the covered parking, she opened her door and hopped out before he had a chance to stop her. He put his arm around her and guided her down the path into the complex and unlocked the door, ushering her into the cool living room.

“Marcia, I asked you to let me open your car door,” he said pointedly.

“I know, but I’m more than capable. You don’t have to do the gentleman thing with me.” She meandered over to the kitchen counter and grabbed an apple out of the bowl and took a bite.

He tried to get a read on her and failed. “Two things. I told you I like opening car doors for you. Just like you, I don’t play games.” He watched her absorb his words, but she didn’t seem to take comfort from them. She set the apple down on a paper towel and went to the fridge to pull out a bottle of water. He prowled behind her, and when she turned around, she found herself effectively trapped.

“Number two. I’m opening your car door for your safety.”

Her brow wrinkled. “I don’t get it.”

“I wasn’t kidding when I said I wanted to be by your side at all times. This is a safety issue, and I take this very seriously.”

“Zed,” she smiled. “Come on, nobody’s going to do anything with you right there.”

He pulled the bottle from her hands and placed it on the counter. Carefully, because for the rest of his life he intended to treat this woman with care, he tilted her chin up so they were eye to eye. “If this were Christie or Debbie, would you be so cavalier?”

Her eyes darkened.

“If Christie and Debbie were standing here, their faces still healing after a kidnapping attempt at the local fucking mall,” he gritted out, “tell me Marcia, would you allow them to get out of the car without me right beside them?”

She sucked in a deep breath and shook her head.

“Right answer.”

“But seriously, you don’t have to with me. I mean, I understand with the car doors, when we’re out in the open, but you always do it like ushering me into your house. You put your hand on the small of my back and stuff.”

“Yes I do,” he acknowledged. He watched her, waited for her to explain why that made her uncomfortable.

“I’m not breakable. I’m more than capable of opening my own doors. I don’t need this false courtesy.”

“False?” His eyebrows raised. “What do you mean false?”

“Nobody does that. They don’t mean it. Just be normal.”

Even though deep down he was expecting something like this, it still floored him. But he didn’t show it, instead he stroked her hair back from her face.

“Can you look at me?”

It took her a moment, but she finally did. “What?”

“Who let you down?”

“Nobody,” she said too quickly.