“You didn’t ask. I offered. Working keeps me busy, and I like to be busy.”
Vero jumps down from the counter. “If you need to be kept busy, I can think of a few things you could do.” He wiggles his brows at me, and I place my coffee down on the counter as he wraps his arms around me and smiles.
“As tempting as that sounds, I’m sure you have work to do too.”
Vero loosens a hand and looks at his wrist, as if to mimic checking the time. “Not for another few hours yet.”
“I would actually really appreciate the help,” Ares says.
Vero sighs and looks at Ares. “Cockblocker much?” Ares rolls his eyes, and I try not to laugh. “You know he is going to make you relearn everything, because he is a control freak and likes things done his way.”
“I’m sure I will manage.”
Vero unwraps himself from me, and I take my coffee and sit at the table opposite Clay. I meet his eyes, and he looks at my coffee, the corner of his mouth lifting.
“Touch my coffee today and you die.”
Brawley slides a plate in front of me. “Eat first,” he tells me. “You can’t murder anyone on an empty stomach.”
We all eat while Vero tells us he swore he saw Jess go into the cornfield yesterday. Clay isn’t impressed, butBrawley says it’s impossible because she knows better than to go in there.
Ares leaves before I finish eating, telling me to shower and that he left my clothes in the dryer. Clay acts as my personal bodyguard after we finish eating so I can get clean without Vero getting any ideas. As much as showering with him sounds amazing, I am honestly excited to get to know Ares a little better. The idea of figuring the man out had me rushing to get ready.
Once I’m done, Vero and Brawley are nowhere to be seen, and Clay is waiting for me. Ares asked me to be there by eight, and I am pushing it to be there on time without having the complication of Clay and his whole caveman possessiveness issue.
“I don’t need an escort,” I tell him, pulling on my jacket.
“I know that,” he says, falling into step with me as we leave the house.
Why do irrational things about him piss me off? Like why does he have to smell so nice? If he wasn’t a dick eighty percent of the time, I would consider jumping him right here.
“I’m walking to the bar, and I promise not to shortcut through the cornfield.”
Clay shakes his head. “It might be hard for you to believe, but I am going that way too. I have a job to do.”
“Isn’t your job to check the perimeter?”
“Would you believe that I have these things called eyes?It’s amazing that I can see there is nothing going on here. The only person wandering around in a restricted area is you, and you need to be with someone who works here.”
“Well then, I’m glad to be of service. I’m giving you something to actually do instead of having to pretend to look busy.”
He glares at me, and I give him a fake smile. “If you keep running your pretty little mouth, neither of us will make it very far.”
“Is that your way of asking if you can fuck me? Pretty presumptuous of you to think we would go there again,” I sass.
“You know you want my cock again, so let’s not pretend you don’t. I just happen to like you running from me.”
“Good to know,” I say as we round the corner into the alley. Vesper is coming from the opposite direction and runs her gaze over us. She does not give away anything, her face void of emotion.
“Good to see you make terrible decisions,” she says, and Clay chuckles, so I elbow him in the gut.
“What?” he wheezes.
“Whatever decisions I make are mine,” I snap. “Good to see you again, Vesper.”
She nods, and I push the bar door open and step inside, leaving them out there.
Ares is behind the bar and looks up as I come in. “Seven fifty-eight, not bad.”