We drove in silence for a few minutes after his pronouncement, and finally, I asked, “Why weren’t you drinking at the party?”
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“I’m curious by nature.”
“You know what they say about curiosity, don’t you?”
“It killed the cat. Yeah, I know. But the cat had nine lives. I have a few left.”
A ghost of a smile flitted across his face.
Ah, I’m getting somewhere.
“I don’t drink.”
“Oh,” I said, looking out the window.
“You’re not going to ask why? Just when I thought you were becoming predictable.”
“Would you answer me truthfully if I keep asking questions?”
“No.”
I didn’t bother with a rebuttal. It was clear Slash wasn’t interested in small talk. We finally arrived at the clinic. The parking lot was lit up with several city lights, but when I saw two guys patrolling the front, I instantly shrank back into my seat.
Slash cut the engine and looked at me. “Hey.”
I gnawed on my lip.
“Hey,” he said again. “What’s wrong?”
“Those men…”
“They’re security. You don’t need to worry.”
“Well, now I’m even more worried. Why does a health clinic need security?”
He didn’t answer as he climbed out of the car. I fumbled with my seat-belt buckle. Before I could get the door open, Slash was there and he helped me out.
His hand was rough, callused.
Strong.
I wobbled.
“Easy,” he murmured, his arm coming around me. “Does your head hurt?”
“A little.”
My head hadn’t been the reason for me swaying.
It had been his touch. It electrified me. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.
We headed to the front doors of the clinic. The two tall, heavily muscled men who were clearly packing heat stepped in front of us.
“You Slash?” one of them asked.
“Yeah,” Slash replied.
The man nodded. “Doc’s expecting you. Third floor.”
Slash ushered me into the building as the other security guard held open the door.
The lobby was empty. Leafy plants perched on the ledge of the vacant front desk and one wall was a brightly painted mural that looked like it had been done by kids.
It made me smile.
“You can let me go,” I said to Slash when we were waiting for the elevator.
He acted like he hadn’t heard me.
I tried to move away.
His arm tightened firmly around me.
I only came up to the middle of his chest, but his height didn’t intimidate me. For some reason, it comforted me.
A gorgeous blonde with a cute pixie cut greeted us the moment we stepped off the elevator. She wore a white coat with Dr. Ward stitched across the breast pocket.
“Slash,” she greeted. Her blue eyes turned to me. “You must be Brooklyn.”
“Hi,” I said in acknowledgment.
“You didn’t have any trouble getting into the building, did you?” she asked.
“No trouble at all, Doc.” Slash’s voice was soft, low.
“Good.” She nodded. “I’ll take Brooklyn back and examine her.”
“Can Slash come?” I blurted out.
Doc looked at me and then at Slash, her face devoid of expression.
“Sure. He can come back, too,” she said after a moment.
I wasn’t sure why I wanted Slash with me. It wasn’t as though I knew him. I just didn’t want him far away.
Slash kept his arm around me as we followed Doc down the hallway to an exam room. She gestured for us to go in before her. I took a seat on the exam table, and Slash leaned against the wall. He looked casual, but there was a tautness to his body that showed his alertness. I wondered if he was ever vulnerable.
I shoved that thought out of my head.
“Tell me what happened,” Doc instructed.
I relayed the event quickly and without embellishment, touching the part of my head I’d hit on the ground.
“Do you have a headache?” she asked.
“Small one,” I said.
She took a penlight out of her jacket pocket and shined it into my eyes. “Okay, good. Your pupils are responsive. Now, follow my finger…”
My gaze tracked her appendage.
“Any black spots in your vision?”
“No. Not anymore. When I first hit my head there was, but it went away fast,” I explained.
Doc gently probed the back of my head, and I winced when she touched the goose-egg lump. “I don’t think there’s anything to be concerned about. If the headache doesn’t go away in a few days or it gets worse, I want you to come back here.”
I nodded. “What about driving?”
“I’d prefer if you waited twenty-four hours before driving yourself anywhere,” Doc said. “Just to be on the safe side. If you feel normal after that, you’re clear to drive.”
Slash’s cell phone trilled in his pocket. He fished it out and marched to the door. Without a word, he left.
“He doesn’t say much,” Doc said once we were alone.
“I’ve noticed.” I glanced at her. “So, I can go?”
“You can go.”
“What about paperwork and payment?” I asked, nibbling on my lip.
“That’ll just take a minute. You’ll fill out some forms, but it’s really for legal purposes to log that I’ve seen you. If you have insurance, just put your info down. But if you don’t, there’s no payment required.”
“I don’t have insurance, but you’re a doctor. Don’t I have to pay you?”
She stared at me for a long moment, and then she said, “They didn’t tell you, did they? There’s really no charge here if you’re not insured.”
“I don’t need charity. I can pay.”
“Fine. That’ll be five dollars.” She held out her right hand, palm up. I noticed pink, fleshy scars marring her fingers. They looked recent. I didn’t ask.
I pulled a five-dollar bill from my pocket and handed it to her.
“We’re good?” I asked.
“We’re good. Remember, I don’t want you driving. I’m sure Slash can take you home if you’re okay with that.”
“I guess that makes the most sense.” I sighed. “This is not how I thought my night was going to go.”
“No?”
“I just wanted to have a drink and forget about things for a while,” I said.
There was a quick knock on the door, followed by Slash opening it.
“I don’t recommend drinking,” Doc said.
“She won’t be drinking,” Slash commented.
I raised my brows. “I won’t?”
“No.”
“And how do you plan on stopping me?” I sassed.
The scar on his forehead made him look like a pirate. And in the bright lights of the exam room, I could finally make out the color of his eyes.
Hazel.
And at that moment, they seemed warm with amusement.
Be still my burning loins.
“I’m driving you home,” Slash said.
“No, you’re not.”
“How else are you going to get home?”
“Uber.”
“And leave your car here?”
“I’ll come back for it in the morning.” I raised my chin in defiance.
“You really want to play this game with me?”
“I think so, yeah.”
“You’ll lose.”
“Try me.”
Doc piped up. “Hate to break up whatever this is, but I’d like to close the clinic for the night. Boxer’s waiting, and I’ve earned a beer or two.”
I blushed, having completely forgotten that she was there. I wasn’t usually such a brat, but Slash dictating orders made me prickly.
“Thanks again, Doc. I still don’t feel like this was a fair trade. Do you like baked goods?”
She grinned. “Who doesn’t?”
“Come to Pie in the Sky anytime, and I’ll give you a slice of anything you want. On the house.”
“I love that place!” Doc said. “You don’t have to twist my arm. You have yourself a deal.”
I slid off the exam table and lost my balance immediately. Slash was suddenly there to catch me.
“If you wanted help, all you had to do was ask,” Slash murmured.
I looked up, wanting to glare at him, but his hazel eyes were lit with heat.
Oh, boy.
I wasn’t sure if it was the bump to my head or my crap situation in life, but my reaction to him wasn’t normal. He put me off kilter, and I wasn’t sure I liked that.
Doc walked us out of the exam room, her phone to her ear. A moment later, she said, “Yeah, I’m ready to lock up. Do one of you mind—okay, thanks.” She ended the call just as we reached the elevators. “James is coming up. He’ll stay and walk with me to my car.”
“See ya, Doc,” Slash said as the elevator opened.
We stepped inside, and when I turned, I caught her wink before the doors closed.
Once we reached the bottom floor, Slash gave the guy guarding the clinic a chin nod and ushered me toward my car. He even went as far as opening the passenger door for me.
It was a thoughtful and chivalrous action.
Who was this man?
He climbed into the driver’s seat and stuck the key into the ignition. I plugged my address into the GPS so it would guide Slash to my apartment.
“What’s Pie in the Sky? A café?” Slash asked once we were on our way.
“Bakery,” I corrected.
“You work at a bakery?”
“I own the bakery,” I stated.
We were quiet as he drove me home. I stared out the window. My head was full of thoughts I couldn’t shut down. That had been the entire point of going to the Blue Angels party. To do something different. To stop thinking. To stop worrying for once in my life.
When it was quiet, I had time to think. Time to ruminate. Time to fret about my future.
Slash pulled into the alleyway behind the bakery and parked.
“I thought I was taking you home.” He frowned in confusion.
“I live in the studio apartment above the bakery,” I explained.
Neither one of us seemed inclined to move.
The idea of going upstairs to my empty apartment…
This man was bossy, stoic, and I wasn’t sure I even liked him. But my body hummed with desire when he looked at me, and I knew he’d be able to get me out of my head and stop thinking.
“Slash, I…I…”
“Yes.”
I frowned. “Yes, what?”
“Whatever you were going to ask me that you’re too chicken shit to ask me, my answer is yes.”
I huffed. “Why do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Call me out like that?”
He shrugged. “Why do you put up such a front? What are you trying to ask me, Brooklyn?”
The way he said my name made me shiver.
“Would you”—I took a deep breath—“like to come upstairs?”
“For coffee?”
I shook my head.
“Tea?”
I shook my head again.
“Pie?”
“Pie?”
“You own a bakery,” he pointed out.
“No coffee, tea, or pie.”
He stared at me. “I’m a Nomad.”
“I know.”
“I don’t do relationships.”
“Even better.”
“I’m leaving town in the morning,” he went on like he hadn’t heard my quip. “One night is all this can ever be.”
“One night.” I nodded.
He removed his hand from the steering wheel and reached out to cup my cheek, turning my face so I was forced to meet his gaze. I could see the heat in his eyes. The want.
“This will be a night you’ll never forget,” he rasped.
I couldn’t stop the full-body shiver that started at the base of my neck and shot down to my toes. “I’m not sure I even like you. You’re arrogant.”
“You like me enough to let that go.” He shrugged. “But you should know, I’ve got two rules.”
“Rules? Of course you do,” I muttered. When he didn’t retort back, I paused. “What are the rules?”
“You don’t ask about my ink, and you don’t ask about my scar.”
“All right.”
“All right,” he repeated, moving in to kiss me.
I put my hand on his chest to stop him. “I’ve got two rules of my own.”
He pulled back. “Oh?”
“Well, it’s just one rule.”
“I’m listening.”
“You don’t get to sleep over.”
A slow, heated smile crept across his face. “Woman, we’re not going to be sleeping.”
My breath hitched.
“I told you you’d lose this game,” he reminded me.
“I haven’t lost anything.” I reached out and grabbed the front of his T-shirt and attempted to haul him closer. “The game has just begun.”