check on her. She’d fallen asleep shortly after stripping down last night. Between the drama and the booze, exhaustion settled deep, yanking her into sleep. Starl simply covered her up. Nothing more.
“I may look a brute, but I’m not. You’ve feelings for Dax and until they’re resolved, you and I, missy, are strictly friends. Get me?” He wore a huge grin that was both warm and disarming.
“Yes. Thanks for not, well, for seeing the whole picture,” she mumbled, embarrassed she’d given him a peep show with no follow through.
“Hungry?”
As if answering of its own accord, her stomach growled. What with having missed dinner the night before, she was famished.
“Yes.”
“Well, get dressed. We’ll go into town and grab a bite at a diner that serves the biggest, best country fried steak you’ve ever tasted. But don’t tell my mother I said that.”
Zhara realized that, being in an inn, his mother was probably downstairs cooking as they sat there half dressed. Good lord only knew what the woman thought of her houseguest. Zhara also vaguely remembered she’d said she’d be down to eat last night. Starl’s mom had probably heated up food, and then Zhara wasn’t even polite enough to go down and eat. Nope, she’d stripped and teased the woman’s son.
Oh, gawd.
“Hey, don’t look like that. You’re thinking about my mom and, uh, the way we came in and disappeared?”
“Yeah. Lord knows what she must think of me,” Zhara admitted, burying her face in her hands.
“Nah. When you passed out I wasn’t about to let her famous meatloaf get wasted. I ate my share and yours. Explained what happened…” He put his hands up when she shot him an even more mortified expression. “…in limited detail, and she sent me back up to make sure you were covered and snug as a bug in bed. Then she came up to verify I was snug in mine.” He laughed, shaking his head, she assumed over the thought his mom had checked up on him.
Zhara thought of the pint-sized woman with threads of gray running through her bun who’d greeted her last night checking up on Starl. It was funny. Big biker dude had to answer to Mom when he was home.
“Anyway, I thought eating out would avoid the many questions and stares from the assorted family who work here.”
“Much appreciated. I’d kill for some sustenance. Both food and coffee. Oh, yeah. A huge, never-ending mug of energy.” Even thinking about a hot cup of java sounded like heaven.
“We’ll get dressed and were out of here.”
Starl leaned over to pat her shoulder in a friendly manner. As he turned to leave, his towel slipped, and the delicious lines that formed a V on a man sprang to view.
Then the towel dropped the rest of the way.
His physique wasn’t the only part of him that ranked as big and burly. Uh, wow. The hard lines and veins all led to one impressive place.
“Whoops.” He snatched the towel from the floor and held it against his crotch.
Too late to pretend she hadn’t noticed. Wasn’t like she’d meant to. His thang was sorta just there. Just a-swinging and all.
“No problem,” she sputtered, curious as to her own lack of blush. Maybe because it had been an accident. Maybe because something about Starl felt far more brotherly this morning. Like a good friend. Someone, regardless of how rough and bad-assed he’d seemed, had been a true gentleman even while she’d acted the harlot.
Starl headed back to his room, and she tossed on her clothes, cringing at the fact she wore the same outfit, sans panties, as she had the day before. She also crossed her fingers the day lacked any wind. As she went to grab her purse, she lost her grip on the handle, and out spilled all the crap she lugged around. Including her phone.
Which she found turned off.
Zhara sat on the edge of the bed she’d quickly made and flipped the phone back and forth. Was she ready to hear any potential messages from Dax? Would she be able to explain her own actions, including
“I may look a brute, but I’m not. You’ve feelings for Dax and until they’re resolved, you and I, missy, are strictly friends. Get me?” He wore a huge grin that was both warm and disarming.
“Yes. Thanks for not, well, for seeing the whole picture,” she mumbled, embarrassed she’d given him a peep show with no follow through.
“Hungry?”
As if answering of its own accord, her stomach growled. What with having missed dinner the night before, she was famished.
“Yes.”
“Well, get dressed. We’ll go into town and grab a bite at a diner that serves the biggest, best country fried steak you’ve ever tasted. But don’t tell my mother I said that.”
Zhara realized that, being in an inn, his mother was probably downstairs cooking as they sat there half dressed. Good lord only knew what the woman thought of her houseguest. Zhara also vaguely remembered she’d said she’d be down to eat last night. Starl’s mom had probably heated up food, and then Zhara wasn’t even polite enough to go down and eat. Nope, she’d stripped and teased the woman’s son.
Oh, gawd.
“Hey, don’t look like that. You’re thinking about my mom and, uh, the way we came in and disappeared?”
“Yeah. Lord knows what she must think of me,” Zhara admitted, burying her face in her hands.
“Nah. When you passed out I wasn’t about to let her famous meatloaf get wasted. I ate my share and yours. Explained what happened…” He put his hands up when she shot him an even more mortified expression. “…in limited detail, and she sent me back up to make sure you were covered and snug as a bug in bed. Then she came up to verify I was snug in mine.” He laughed, shaking his head, she assumed over the thought his mom had checked up on him.
Zhara thought of the pint-sized woman with threads of gray running through her bun who’d greeted her last night checking up on Starl. It was funny. Big biker dude had to answer to Mom when he was home.
“Anyway, I thought eating out would avoid the many questions and stares from the assorted family who work here.”
“Much appreciated. I’d kill for some sustenance. Both food and coffee. Oh, yeah. A huge, never-ending mug of energy.” Even thinking about a hot cup of java sounded like heaven.
“We’ll get dressed and were out of here.”
Starl leaned over to pat her shoulder in a friendly manner. As he turned to leave, his towel slipped, and the delicious lines that formed a V on a man sprang to view.
Then the towel dropped the rest of the way.
His physique wasn’t the only part of him that ranked as big and burly. Uh, wow. The hard lines and veins all led to one impressive place.
“Whoops.” He snatched the towel from the floor and held it against his crotch.
Too late to pretend she hadn’t noticed. Wasn’t like she’d meant to. His thang was sorta just there. Just a-swinging and all.
“No problem,” she sputtered, curious as to her own lack of blush. Maybe because it had been an accident. Maybe because something about Starl felt far more brotherly this morning. Like a good friend. Someone, regardless of how rough and bad-assed he’d seemed, had been a true gentleman even while she’d acted the harlot.
Starl headed back to his room, and she tossed on her clothes, cringing at the fact she wore the same outfit, sans panties, as she had the day before. She also crossed her fingers the day lacked any wind. As she went to grab her purse, she lost her grip on the handle, and out spilled all the crap she lugged around. Including her phone.
Which she found turned off.
Zhara sat on the edge of the bed she’d quickly made and flipped the phone back and forth. Was she ready to hear any potential messages from Dax? Would she be able to explain her own actions, including