eyed her, worked his jaw and said, “You’re not going to let it go, are you?”
This might be her best chance to get insight into his background. How could she pass that up? “Is it a big secret?” she teased. “Were you on the run from the law? Dodging child support? A transient?”
Rowdy narrowed his eyes—and stalked toward her. “On the run, yeah. But not from the law.”
“Seriously?” That so surprised her that it took her a moment to see that particular look in his eyes. She’d only seen it a few times—right before he’d kissed her. One of those times happened while hiding him in a storage closet at the bar because a gang of ruffians wanted to take him apart.
Since then, he’d only stolen a kiss or two—and she always craved more. Dangerous.
But maybe that incident was indicative of his life. “Do you always have people after you?”
“Often enough.”
He said that without jest! Hastily, Avery back-stepped behind the pole, considered going farther, but really, where did she have to go? The couch was against the wall, the chair too far away....
Catching her wrist and pulling her around to him, Rowdy said softly, “Don’t run from me.”
“I wasn’t.” But her heart pumped as if she’d been on a five-minute sprint.
With the back of one finger, he caressed the pulse in her throat. “Fibber.”
“I’m not afraid of you.” Whatever secrets Rowdy had in his history, he wasn’t a threat to her. She’d known dishonorable men, and she knew Rowdy was different. “Maybe you’re the one who should stop running.”
“From you?”
Was she chasing him? Mmm...pretty much. Until now, she just hadn’t realized it. “Yes.”
His gaze warmed. “I don’t run from anyone.”
Knowing it would spur him on, she whispered, “Good.”
But when he started to pull her against him, she flattened both hands to his chest.
He drew in a breath. “No?”
Disappointment kept her voice low. “You were with another woman just this morning.”
He looked struck, almost like he’d forgotten. “Yeah, sorry.” Releasing her, he stepped away. “Guess for a woman like you, that puts a damper on things?”
For other women it wouldn’t? She curled her lip. “Yeah, afraid so.” But she wished it was otherwise. “Why were you on the run?”
Resigned, he said, “It had nothing to do with dodging my duty, so forget that.”
“No little Rowdys running around?”
“Hell, no. I’m always careful, but if it did happen, you can bet I wouldn’t bail on them.”
She believed him. From what she’d seen so far, Rowdy never shirked his responsibility, whatever he decided his responsibility might be. “Okay.”
Maybe thinking she mocked him, he studied her a moment before being satisfied with her sincerity. “I would never do that to a kid.”
Hands behind her, she leaned back against the pole. “So...why did you move around?”
“Mostly because the idea of settling down never appealed to me.”
“Wanderlust?” Before her life had taken such a drastic turn, she’d enjoyed traveling everywhere in the States and often around the world. Before she was twenty, she’d already been to more than two dozen hot tourist spots.
“Hardly. I stayed in the area.”
“The area being Ohio?”
He shrugged. “My sister was here. Still is, but now she’s with Logan and she doesn’t need...” He stopped, cursed low and let out a long breath. Indicating the couch, he said, “If we’re going to do this, you want to sit down?”
“This, meaning talk?”
His mouth quirked. “Unless you have something else on your mind.”
She had all kinds of things on her mind, but none of them were appropriate. “Talk it is.”
“Then I’ll give you my bare-bones history.”
Jumping on that promise, Avery headed for the couch. “Why only the bare bones?”
Rowdy sat close beside her and stretched out one arm along the back of the couch. “It’s a long story, it’ll be morning soon and I don’t feel like rehashing it all.”
“I suppose you’re tired.” From what she could tell, he’d been up all night. If he’d slept at all, it would only have been for a few hours before coming in to work again. That should have made her feel guilty for keeping him awake, but she remembered why he hadn’t slept and it irked her.
As if he knew her thoughts, Rowdy smiled. “We can talk until the sun rises if that’s what you really want to do.”
It wouldn’t be the worst way to spend the night. “You don’t need to sleep?”
His attention moved over her face, her throat, her shoulders. “I’ve never needed much sleep.”
Given the intensity of his gaze, she almost felt naked. “You’re sure?”
His fingers trailed down her ponytail. “Fire away, honey, before I forget my promise.”
Avery tried to relax. It wasn’t easy, not with her thigh touching his, his heat surrounding her, his presence so...overwhelming—as usual.
To start, she went back a little in history. “That time I hid you in the pantry at the bar, I asked if you were in trouble, and you said pretty much always.”
“I have no problem making up shit when necessary, but for some reason I didn’t want to lie to you.”
Had he never lived aboveboard? What type of upbringing made him so casually accepting of difficulty? “There were five men searching the bar for you. Why?”
His hand stilled. “Because I’d asked too many questions, and I was getting too close.”
“Too close to what?”
“A trafficking operation.” She started to ask, but he shook his head. “No, not drugs. Women.”
Her throat tightened. “That’s...”
He agreed with a nod. “Totally fucked up, I know. I hid because there were too many of them. Three or four I could handle.” He held up a hand for her to see. “I’m a big man with big fists. When I hit someone, he feels it.” He rested his hand on her thigh. “I know how to fight dirty, and I know how to win. But five men at once?
