Free Had to Be You: Bad Boys of Red Hook by Robin Kaye Page B

want to handle her. He parked the bike, removed his helmet, and offered Rocki a hand.
    This time she took it.
    He helped Rocki off. “I’m not going to take it personally.”
    Rocki tugged at her chin strap. Confusion furred her brow. “Take what personally?” She pulled the helmet off and then raked her hand through her hair until it stood up again.
    He looked deep into those eyes he couldn’t get out of his head. “I’m not a threat, Rocki. I don’t want to take over your life. I just wanted to be friends.”
    “Friends? That’s why I’m getting the full-court press?”
    Leave it to Rocki to put it all out on the line. He thought he was direct. He shrugged. “I want to get to know you.” Oh yeah, and that was the truth; he wanted to know everything about her. What she hid from the world, what she felt like in his arms, the sounds she made when she was excited, and he wanted to see the look on her face when she came. Slater blew out a breath and prayed the tightness in his jeans wasn’t too noticeable. “Unfortunately you won’t give me a break just because I’m Pop’s son.”
    He sat on the bike and looked up at her. Damn, even with helmet hair she was gorgeous. Taking a deep breath, Slater swung his leg over and got off the bike, standing so close to her, he saw the flecks of silver in her irises that made her eyes go all soft and gray. He set his helmet on the seat. “If I were anyone else, I have a feeling we’d get along just fine, better than fine.”
    “We get along.” Rocki stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jeans as if she didn’t trust herself not to touch him. He should know since he was doing the same thing.
    “Right. But I’m Pop’s son, so that puts me on your do-not-tangle-with list. Even though everything I see tells me you’d like nothing better than to get all tangled up with me.” Her eyes dilated and her breath came out in soft puffs. He stepped closer. “A tangle of tongues, a tangle of arms, a tangle of legs. Yeah, and I want to get all tangled up with you too—temporarily.”
    Rocki’s breath shot out of her as if she’d just taken a blow to the diaphragm. Not a good sign.
    He took her hand and pointed to a gourmet deli he’d found when he was roaming the city before he’d gotten the guts to go home. “Come on. Let’s get some food, and you can decide what you want. Once you do, I promise I won’t argue.”
    She knew what she wanted and Slater knew it was him. She wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her. It showed in the way she breathed a little too heavily, the way her eyes sparkled a little too brightly, the way her face flushed hot. He just hoped she didn’t let her fear get in the way.

CHAPTER 6
    Slater had been in Red Hook for more than a week but it felt like a year. Being back home was as bad if not worse than he’d expected. In the last week he’d seen Skye quit, met her four brothers, and was forced to watch Rocki flirt with every last one of them. He wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t like it. Not one bit. If he’d been another man he’d swear he felt jealous. But Slater didn’t do jealous—not even with any of the girls he’d dated and slept with, and technically, he hadn’t done either with Rocki. Not for lack of trying on his part.
    He tentatively touched his jaw, worked it from side to side, and winced. It hadn’t helped that he’d allowed his brother Logan to beat the crap out of him. Sure, he had it coming after accusing Skye, Logan’s girlfriend and chef extraordinaire, of doing the same thing Dominique had done to him—dumping him after finding out he was a stray mutt with no parents, no prospects, and no pedigree.
    Deserving a beating was one thing, but Slater just wished Logan hadn’t gone for the face. Slater could have taken him without even working up a good sweat, and Lord knew Logan wasn’t much of a fighter—thank God—but he had a hell of a right cross. Slater’s left eye was still swollen, his jaw still