Daddy Danger: MC Romance (Pythons MC), page 5
She tried to push the thought away, but it persisted as Arrow’s car made its way to Mel’s and he began his shift for the night. Her eyes lingered on Arrow’s dark form as he got out of the car and walked into the convenience store. Mel proceeded to walk out, growing slower and slower with age. Soon he would retire completely. Would he want Arrow to take over the store then?
Ari sighed. It was useless to try to sit there and pretend she wasn’t upset. She’d spent all day long cooking and cleaning the house, and just sitting there was making her upset. It felt wrong, somehow, that her uncle should be acting that way. It wasn’t up to him how she spent her time. She stayed all cooped up at home all the time anyway, and that didn’t mean that she owed it to him to be cooped up on his behalf. Absolutely the opposite, in fact. She didn’t owe anybody her freedom.
Ari stood, her heart pounding hard, and walked unsteadily down the road, until she reached the convenience store. She felt like she was doing something wrong when she opened the door, and the little bell rang as if it were tattling on her for leaving the house. She laughed the thought nervously away, and then caught Arrow’s eye from across the room.
“Hey kid,” he said, looking a lot like a deer in the headlights. “What are you doing here?”
“I needed to take a walk,” she said quietly. “I don’t feel like being alone right now.”
“Hm,” Arrow said.
Today he was dressed in a red bandana tied over his head and a black t-shirt with a snake on it. Was he one of the Pythons that her uncle was always so worried about?
“How’s the succulent doing?” Ari asked, browsing the shelves casually.
She would just grab a snack and go home. Something to treat herself so she wouldn’t have to cook anymore that day. She had already done enough. She was tired, and nobody would blame her for that, would they? Not if they had any sense.
“It’s doing well, actually,” Arrow said, a faint smile spreading across his face.
God, he was handsome when he smiled. It lifted some of the weight from his shoulders and made her want to keep talking with him forever. It would feel like winning a prize if she could get that face to laugh.
“It seems to like the little window of my bedroom.”
“You sleep with it? That’s good,” Ari said. The image of the burly man sleeping near her tiny plant was unimaginably cute.
“Well…” Arrow said gruffly, changing the subject. “That guy didn’t come back after I left did he? Are you all right?”
Ari felt like crying. Her own uncle hadn’t given a shit whether she was all right or not, but here was this stranger, a man who barely knew her and had saved her from lord only knows what, who was looking at her with piercing blue eyes full of concern.
“I’m fine, thank you. I think you taught him his lesson, don’t worry. I doubt that I’ll ever see him again.”
“Good. You let me know if you do. You know where to find me, kid.”
Kid. Ari felt somewhat deflated by the condescension of the word. Sure, he was older than her, probably by a lot. But that didn’t mean she felt like a kid. In fact, she had grown up way faster than most girls her age, and had never been able to relate very well to people who seemed to have things handed to them. It was hard to make friends in her peer group, especially after everybody started treating her like she had the plague after her parents had died. She wished things would have been normal for her, but they weren’t and might never have been again, if she was going to be honest with herself.
“Thanks,” Ari said, not bothering to go into how she felt.
But Arrow seemed to sense it and frowned.
“Something wrong?”
Ari sighed.
“I’m not that much younger than you,” she said.
Arrow laughed heartily. “I’m afraid you are, actually.”
Ari could feel her face burning with anger. “I’m not. And even if I am younger, I’m still as much of an adult as you are.”
The smile faded from Arrow’s face and he studied her for a moment. At first, she was afraid that he was going to get very angry at her, probably because of how her uncle had been acting all that day, but instead, Arrow pursed his lips, his eyes surprisingly kind.
“Well I know you’re an adult. If you don’t like me calling you kid I don’t have to do it.”
“It’s not that,” Ari said miserably.
How could she possibly explain what she meant? The implication of him seeing her as just a kid meant that her feelings for him, this bizarre attraction, might never end up going anywhere. And the idea of that was kind of devastating. It was embarrassing, but it was just the way it was. Still, she had enough pride to hide that fact from Arrow, who was watching her quietly.
“Well what is it then?” Arrow asked finally, his voice surprisingly gentle.
“I don’t know. You can call me whatever you want.”
Ari picked up a bag of chips and a can of soup and walked to the counter for Arrow to ring her up. He studied the items for a moment and then looked at her, his brow arched.
“This ain’t your dinner, is it?”
Ari sighed and shrugged half-heartedly and Arrow scowled.
“It best not be your dinner, Ari.”
“I’m tired, Arrow. I’ve been doing housework all day. My uncle was upset and I made him dinner and now I just want to eat something fast and just…read a book or something.”
Arrow frowned. “Can you wait here a second?”
Ari didn’t have a chance to answer before he had disappeared into the back of the store. There was a deep, quiet rumble as Arrow spoke softly to someone on the phone, but she couldn’t make out what he was saying. Finally, Arrow emerged again and smiled.
“Mel said we can go out to dinner if I come back and open back up in an hour. I’ll just take my dinner break early.”
“Arrow, you don’t have to…”
“No, really,” Arrow said, his eyes suddenly serious. It nearly took her breath away. “I’m going to treat you to a meal. You deserve that much, especially after the time you’ve been having.”
Ari opened her mouth to protest, but before she had the chance to get the words out, Arrow was ushering her out the door with his big hands. Before she knew what was happening, she was in his car and they were speeding down the road toward town, the forbidden place where she only went once or twice a year around her birthday.
Her heart panged nervously. If her uncle came home before she did, he would be furious to find her gone after specifically forbidding her to leave. But she was a twenty-three-year -old woman, and it was technically her land. She could do whatever the hell she wanted.
She found some comfort in the clarity and glanced over at Arrow, who grinned at her as he whipped into the parking lot of a diner on the outskirts of the town.
“This place is really good. You’re going to like it,” Arrow promised, getting out of the car and walking around to open the door for Ari.
She smiled, a little bit flattered by the gesture, and followed Arrow into the diner. They got a booth by the window and Arrow grinned.
“This is my favorite place to eat of all time, and it’s really good prices too. Get anything you want. I’m buying.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Ari said, her eyes scanning a colorful menu full of pictures that made her stomach rumble. “I have money.”
“I want to. You know, as payment for the succulent.”
“The succulent was payment for saving my life,” Ari said with her brow raised.
“Well, maybe saving you was payment for bringing me lunch before!” Arrow
exclaimed.
They both paused and then burst into laughter as the absurdity of the thought took hold.
“Maybe things don’t always have to be a competition,” Ari said. “I don’t want to feel like you’re always keeping track of everything we do. We should start out even and stay that way.”
Arrow’s eyes rest upon her and a hot jolt of desire flooded Ari’s body. She looked quickly away, trying to fight the strange new feeling. She had never felt so strongly for anybody before in her life. What was going on?
“Well then, I guess we get a fresh start with each other then,” Arrow said quietly. “I like fresh starts.”
Something in the way he said it made Ari study him closely. Was there something that he wasn’t telling her? But before she had the chance to ask, a waitress came over to their table and smiled broadly.
“What can I get you to start out with? Drinks? Are you ready to order?”
“Just water,” Arrow said.
“Iced tea,” Ari said. “And I want a cheeseburger. The biggest one you got.”
“Well, don’t be modest, now,” Arrow teased. Ari grinned.
“And fries,” she added.
The waitress nodded.
“And how about yourself, Arrow? The usual?”
Arrow nodded and handed the menus to the waitress, who hurried off to the kitchen. Arrow watched her for a moment, and a flicker of jealousy surged through Ari.
“A friend of yours?” she asked.
The waitress was pretty. Really pretty. And about ten years older than Ari.
“I guess you could say that,” Arrow said, his eyes now on hers, revealing nothing.
Ari shifted uncomfortably. She didn’t like the idea of Arrow being with any woman he wanted. He was a handsome man. He shouldn’t use that to take advantage of women.
“Nothing has ever happened between us if that’s what you’re really asking,” Arrow said, his voice soft and rumbling from across the table. “I don’t know her outside of this diner. She brings me food every week. I call her Rachel but her nametag says Mary. It’s an inside joke. That’s about the extent of it.”
She felt comforted despite herself, and embarrassed that Arrow seemed to be able to sense her jealousy.
“You can do whatever you want,” Ari said, sulking, though it was clear that she didn’t want him to do whatever with whomever.
Did that mean she wanted him to do those things just with her? The thought brought a deep flush to her cheeks.
“I know,” Arrow said, grinning. “And I do. At least, with permission. Sometimes I used to get a little bit out of control though.”
“Out of control?” Ari asked.
Arrow sighed and looked down at his hands.
“I -”
“Here’s your water, Arrow.”
“Thanks, Rachel,” Arrow said with a wink. Mary laughed a little too hard, and Ari glowered. It was obvious she was interested in Arrow. She didn’t have to be so overt about it.
“And your iced tea.”
“Thanks,” Ari said, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice.
“Your food will be out in a few minutes,” Mary said.
Arrow nodded, and the table fell into a long silence.
“Anyway,” Ari said. “The iced tea is good.”
Arrow nodded. “Most things here are good.”
After what seemed like a long stretch of silence, the waitress finally brought out their food, and Ari was shocked by how good it was. Arrow hadn’t been exaggerating; she hadn’t eaten out in a long time but when she did, she always went where her uncle wanted to go. And they had never gone here.
They ate, tentatively making conversation. Ari was embarrassed by the way her jealousy had come out, and Arrow was probably embarrassed for her, which made it even worse. He was old enough to be her dad, really, so wouldn’t knowing about her feelings make him uncomfortable? He sure was acting that way.
“What do you think?” Arrow finally said, his eyes flashing as he looked at Ari.
Another unwanted wave of heat surged through her. This was a much, much older man. Why was she feeling this way? She should have just stayed home. She didn’t know anything about Arrow. What if he tried to take advantage of her? And was it really taking advantage if that was what she wanted…?
“What do I think of what?” Ari asked, feeling oddly defensive despite the innocent nature of the question.
It was her own fault that she was feeling so strongly about Arrow. That didn’t mean she should be taking it out on him? It was shocking how quickly things could move from bad to worse.
“The food, kid,” Arrow said, looking at her almost as if she were stupid. But it was a look that made her laugh; she didn’t feel insulted at all. “What do you think of the food?”
“Oh, the good was great. I really like it. You were right about this being the best. I’ve never gone out for better, though I could make it.”
“You cook a lot, huh?” asked Arrow.
For some reason, the expression in his eyes seemed sad and Ari looked down at her hands uncomfortably.
“I do,” Ari said. “It’s just my way of showing people I care.”
Arrow studied her for a moment, his expression hard to read, and then smiled. “Well, I think that’s a sweet trait about you.”
“Thanks,” Ari said quietly.
They had both finished eating by then and Ari glanced at her watch.
“We should probably get back. My uncle will be wondering where I am if he’s back before I am. I don’t want to…”
“To get in trouble?” Arrow said darkly, his eyes flashing.
“I don’t want to worry him,” Ari lied.
But Arrow was right. She didn’t want to rock the boat with her uncle any further than it already was; it would just cause problems.
“Well, then we should get you back,” Arrow said, standing with a long stretch.
Ari tried to avert her eyes from his muscular abdomen, but when Arrow turned away and walked to the counter to pay for the meals, she took a long, hard look at him. The man was gorgeous. There was no getting around the fact. She had never been more attracted to someone in her life.
But it was wrong. She couldn’t let herself feel this way about a man she barely knew. Let alone a man old enough to have a daughter her age. It just wasn’t proper. Besides, she had plenty to deal with without having any kind of relationship on her plate.
“You ready?” Arrow asked when he finally returned.
“Yeah,” Ari said quietly, following Arrow out the door.
They drove quietly and Ari glanced over at Arrow, whose serious face was impossible to read. When they arrived back to the ranch, they stood on the porch together for a few moments. Although it felt as if the silence between them was a bad thing, somehow she felt comfortable despite it.
“So, what do you have left to do in there?” Arrow asked.
Ari knew that she shouldn’t answer, but she couldn’t help herself. Whenever he looked at her, she felt as if it was important to reciprocate whatever it was that he was giving. There was just something about him that she wanted to be near at all times.
“Well, now that I don’t have to make my own dinner, I was thinking about cleaning up the kitchen. My uncle ate not long before I came in to buy my junk food for the night.”
Ari and Arrow laughed together over this, and Arrow cocked his head.
“Do you want some help in there? I’m pretty good with a broom.”
“My uncle hates it when people are over here. And he did tell me specifically not to let anybody inside.”
“So, he’s the boss of you in?” Arrow asked, his voice deeply disgusted.
Possibly more disgusted than the situation called for, in Ari’s opinion.
“Not exactly, but I do like to respect my elders,” Ari said, glaring up at him. “You should be grateful for that.”
Arrow pursed his lips and grinned at her. “You want yourself missy,” he said. “You don’t want to unleash a beast on yourself now do you?”
Ari studied him, another rush of heat spreading throughout her loins. Why did she feel so strongly toward this man? He was sweet, kind, and had saved her from Pete, to name a few different reasons. And not only that, but he was ridiculously handsome, even if it did look like he meant it when he said there was a beast inside of him. Somehow, instead of scaring her, it thrilled her deeply.
“Honestly?” Ari said quietly. “I’m not sure I don’t.”
She surprised herself, and Arrow too, by walking up to him and kissing him softly on the cheek.
“Good night.”
Arrow froze under her lips, and she heard him mutter “Good night” as she disappeared inside the house, closing the door firmly behind her. She sighed heavily; her heart was racing, and all she wanted to do was open the door again and look into Arrow’s eyes one last time before the night was over. But she was terrified of the way that he made her feel. She wanted to be safe, and she wanted to be cared for, but could a man like arrow truly care for her? He seemed like he had secrets of his own, and she couldn’t get herself away to him. Whether he was young or old, not if there wasn’t complete honesty between them.
Ari sighed and walked into the kitchen, to begin cleaning up the house for when her uncle came back home. It was a sad and lonely life, to be condemned only to staying in the house and doing as her uncle wished of her to do, but it was the only way that she could make this work, at least for now. It wasn’t as if she could kick her uncle out or anything. He wasn’t a terrible person; just because he got into some bad tempers every once in a while, that didn’t mean that she should be too hard on him. Even if a man like arrow could sympathize.
And so, she spent the rest of the night alone, cleaning and trying her best not to think about the strong, muscular arms that could be wrapped around her right that moment. After all, it couldn’t happen anyway, could it?
Chapter 9
Ari didn’t know it, but Arrow was outside of her house, pacing back and forth. He wanted nothing more than to stay right there, lurking in the shadows so that he could jump out at Hawk and terrorize him the way that he seemed to be terrorizing his innocent niece. And the worst part about it, was that she didn’t even realize what a horrible person that her uncle was.
In order for her to fully know the truth, Arrow would have to be honest with her about his addiction. For some reason, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. There was something so pure and innocent about her. He didn’t want to find that she was just like the other people in the town, the ones who would drop him at a moment’s notice if they ever associated the label of “addict” with his face. Whether he was clean or not, he was tainted by his past, and his reputation was all he had.
