Free Mr. Dangerous by Alexis Gold

flavor.
     
    He sucked in a shocked breath when her tongue danced around his, causing him to dip her with passion. Holding onto her leg gently, he slowly parted his lips from hers, then brought her back to standing. Breathlessly, she smiled lovingly at him.
     
    “Get to work,” she said as she took off her hairnet and put it on his head.
     
    “Yes, ma’am,” he saluted her and headed over to the grill.
     
    Later that evening, after closing up The Morning Bell and wishing Mason a “goodnight,” Jasmine sauntered up to her apartment with Abby close behind, who offered many thankful sentiments throughout the entirety of the evening. Proclaiming that she would sleep on the couch, much to Jasmine’s refusal, Abby raced into the living room and rested sideways on the couch, claiming that it was plenty comfortable.
     
    Jasmine hesitantly agreed, but only for the time-being until she could buy a small bed. The two newly-established roommates shared a tight hug. Then, Jasmine went to her bedroom and shut the door behind her.
     
    She flopped onto her bed and sighed. It had been a long several days, and now the added worry of a crime wave had her on edge. Thankfully, Calvin had checked in with her and told her that his interview with the mechanic went great. Apparently, he had a natural talent for fixing vehicles and was hired on the spot.
     
    He decided to start working the day he was hired and wouldn’t be home until late, as he wanted to make friends with his new coworkers. Jasmine was beyond excited to hear that he was doing better than before, and said a small “thank you” to the stars that aligned to allow for life to improve – even by a small margin. She yawned and closed her eyes, causing her to recall a moment she and her brother shared as children.
     
    “Jazzy? Where are you going?” A six-year-old Calvin ran after ten-year-old Jasmine, who was scoping out a strange sound she heard coming from the forest in the back of their home. She and her brother had been playing hide and seek in the yard, when Jasmine suddenly made her way toward the trees instead. The spring season bloomed a gorgeous array of bright and beautiful floral plants that let off soft scents – the sign of warmer weather to come. She stopped at a specific tree and looked up, squinting when the sunlight hit her eyelids.
     
    “Aren’t we kind of far from the house? Mommy may get mad if we are too far and she can’t see us,” Calvin exclaimed, nervously looking back toward the house.
     
    “It’ll be okay. This is very important. Lives are at stake, Calvin.” She looked at him and nodded seriously to gain his attention. She pointed up at a bird’s nest, which had been torn up slightly at the side. Then, he followed her pointing finger back down toward four small baby birds resting on the ground below the nest.
     
    “Whoa!” he yelped. “What happened to the birdies?”
     
    “They fell from the nest. We have to put them back up before the momma bird comes back so they can be fed.”
     
    “How are we going to do that?”
     
    She motioned for him to get down on his hands and knees, telling him that he would be a step-stool for her to reach a branch. If she could only reach the branch, she’d be able to climb up onto it and toward the bird’s nest. He complied, resting on all fours, and awaited her instructions. She reached over to the baby birds and scooped them up in her arms. She tucked her shirt into her pants, then plopped all four birds into her shirt as a carrying device. After giving a quick warning, she stepped onto Calvin’s back and jumped up to grab the branch – with success.
     
    “Are you okay, Cal?” she asked as she held on to the branch with one hand and her stomach full of birds with the other. She awaited his thumbs up of approval, which he gave as soon as he stood back up and brushed the dirt off of his hands. She smiled at him, then shimmied over toward the trunk.
     
    Wrapping her legs around the