“Shit!” she screamed as her foot met the corner edge. The pain was intense, her stomach knotted and she went weak in the knees.
“Hold on!” A voice came from the other side of the door right before it caved and a figure came barreling through.
“Lucky?”
“Baby, are you ok? What happened?”
Her eyes were wide and her mouth gaping. “What the hell are you talking about? And look at my front door? SHIT!” She looked past him.
Lucky twisted his body to look at the damage. The door now hung from one hinge, barely attached to the frame, which had now splintered. The chain lock was still hooked, and dangling from the wall.
“Are you ok?”
“I’m fine! What are doing here?” she asked, too startled to move.
“I thought I’d come by to check on you since I was such a dick before.”
“You couldn’t leave a damn note?”
Lucky ran his hand through his windblown hair. The pensive look on his face gave her the impression he realized how badly he screwed up.
“Well, I knocked and didn’t hear anything. I was gonna leave, but then I thought about that ogre-sized jackass last night. I needed to make sure you were ok. I knocked forever. When I finally heard something, it sounded like a struggle and you screamed. I thought you were in trouble.”
“I was sleeping. And if I was in trouble, you aren’t my fucking bodyguard! Shit, look at this mess.” Baby Jade stood, surveying the room, trying to make sense of what had happened.
“I’m sorry. I thought I was helping.” Lucky waved his hand back at the scene, clearly irritated.
“Do us both a favor, and don’t think!” She now stood toe to toe with Lucky, looking up into his face. Her hands placed on both hips.
“There’s no reason to act like a bitch.”
“Uh, excuse me?” Hands on hips, glaring up at him as she points to the door. “The last I checked, you don’t have to fucking deal with Mickey, and if you call me a bitch again, I will wear your balls for earrings.”
Lucky walked over to the door and started picking up wood and debris. “What’s that asshole got to do with anything?”
“He’s my landlord. How am I supposed to explain this?” Baby knew Mickey would charge her three times the damage, or try to make her work it off some other way.
“Look, I’m the one who broke it. I’ll get it fixed before he finds out.”
Baby attempted to soften her tone, realizing Lucky felt bad enough. It wouldn’t help anyone for her to make the situation worse. “That would be a good plan if Mickey didn’t have eyes everywhere.”
“Seriously, it’s not a problem. I’ll have it fixed before he finds out.”
It threw her for a second to think about the fact that Lucky was standing in her living room. He was bending and moving to clean up the mess on the floor, trying to piece it back together like a jigsaw puzzle. Reaching to lean the broken door against the wall, Lucky’s black t-shirt rode up enough for Baby to catch a peek at his lower abdomen. Muscles molded together to form the perfect trail to his loose fitting waistband. The way the jeans hung low on his hips made her blood soar, making her cheeks hot.
“Baby?”
The way he said her name. That one word sent the flush from her cheeks straight to all the important parts of her body as she remembered the dream, the way she became wet by the sound of his voice.
Lucky stopped working. “Baby? Are you ok?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I was thinking.”
“With that look on your face, I’d give my right arm to know what you were thinking about.”
Baby stepped closer to Lucky, close enough to smell the intoxicating soap that lingered off his skin. She involuntarily placed her palm square on his chest and settled one leg in between his. As Lucky’s eyes grew wide, he fumbled trying to form words.
“Sorry, you’ll have to come up with something better than that.” Baby let her fingertips graze the bare skin where Lucky’s t-shirt met his jeans, leaving him speechless. “Now get to work,” she said and walked away.
Chapter Eight
Lucky
The clanking around in the kitchen was a constant reminder that Baby was close. She had plugged in her ear buds and was dancing in and out of each room, trying to go about her daily business. Imagining what else she could do with that body was driving Lucky insane. He had become a walking hard-on since laying eyes on her.
He attempted to put all his efforts into fixing the door. Ducking out for an hour, he had managed to find everything he needed at Tubby’s Hardware. The rest, he borrowed from Rodney’s Garage. He aimed to finish before Mickey found out. That douchebag was sure to take advantage of the situation if he found about it, not to mention he couldn’t leave Baby’s apartment wide open at night.
He felt like a jackass for breaking down her door, and he was trying not to regret the decision to track her down and apologize for being such a dick at the club. Last night was crazy. This woman had him at a loss. He couldn’t think straight. He spent the entire night waiting until an appropriate time to knock on her front door.
Lucky came back to town with a plan. In and out. Cut and dry. Falling hard was not on his agenda. It wasn’t until the giant troll with a ponytail stepped into the picture that Lucky’s plan fell apart.
After seeing the guy manhandle Baby, he knew there was more to the story. He wanted to bury his desire to protect her. To bury his need to keep her safe. Actually, what he wanted was to bury himself right inside her.
Chapter Nine
Baby Jade
Alabama Shakes filled Baby Jade’s eardrums as she cleaned the kitchen. She loved mood music, and it helped tune out the sound of Lucky working in the other room. She hummed to the lyrics, but it was impossible to forget he was nearby.
Lucky busied himself fixing the door that he had gallantly knocked down coming to her rescue as a corner bookshelf viciously attacked her big toe.
She decided the least she could do was offer him lunch. Looking in the refrigerator, she mentally kicked herself for not being more normal. A half bottle of wine and an old bowl of gumbo wouldn’t go far. She was able to pull together a plate of cheese and crackers. To her surprise, she had a couple of Shiners in the door. She couldn’t remember the last time she bought beer, hoping they were still drinkable.
“Hey, wanna take a break?” Baby asked, holding a beer in one hand and a glass of wine in the other.
The way Lucky’s eyebrows shot up told her she had caught him off guard, and she liked it.
“Sounds good. Is that for me?” He pointed to the Shiner. Baby Jade handed him the bottle and took a sip from her own drink. She hoped the alcohol would settle her nerves. He made her weak in the knees, leaving her feeling like a schoolgirl on her first date.
“I have a snack too.” Her voice shook. She picked up the plate of cheese and crackers from the kitchen and placed it on the coffee table. “Sorry, I’m not big on furniture.” The living room consisted of an old couch in great need of repair, an end table from the ’70s, a thrift store coffee table, her treadmill, and four overpacked bookshelves.
“Not a problem. I’ll sit here on the couch beside you if that’s ok?” When she didn’t protest, he must have taken it as an invite, sitting down next to her. “This is good, thanks.” He took another swig from the bottle.
“I thought you might get done faster if you didn’t have to leave for lunch.”