Little Bird (The Tangled Series) (8 page)

“There isn’t room. I keep the toys in the garage.”

Her brows drew together curiously. “What toys?”

Lee stopped in the driveway and pressed a button on his key fob. As the garage door started to rise, he grinned. “Come here, I’ll show you.”

Savannah stepped closer and her breath caught in her throat. On the left was a motorcycle. It was beautiful, all black and chrome, but she didn’t know enough about motorcycles to recognize it. Besides, the car parked next to it was what really drew her attention and she definitely recognized a Shelby Cobra when she saw one. It was a roadster, bright red, with the typical white racing stripe. The Shelby Cobra was the sexiest car ever made and this was the closest she’d ever been to one. Actually, it was the first time she’d ever even seen one in person. Her mouth hung open in shock, and then she abruptly started laughing.

Lee looked at her curiously. “What’s so funny?”

Still giggling, Savannah dragged her gaze away from the car to look at him. “I asked Mike why you lived back here instead of in the main house. He said you weren’t pretentious enough to live in a house like that.”

Lee raised both brows. “And you think my car is pretentious?”

Savannah shrugged and smirked at him. “Well, it certainly screams money. Just promise me one thing.”

“What’s that?” Lee laughed, closing the garage door again and walking around to the back of the truck. He put the tailgate down and Toby jumped in the back.

“Some time before you disappear from my life forever, you have to take me for a ride in that car.”

Closing the tailgate again, Lee came around to the passenger door and held it open for her. Savannah looked up at him as she settled herself in her seat. He stood in the open door, one arm on the roof of the truck as he leaned in to look at her. They’d both been laughing just a moment ago but now he stood there watching her, an intense expression on his face. That look made Savannah’s heart race and for a minute she thought he would grab her and fuck her right there.

Instead, he flashed a grin at her and said, “You have your date tomorrow night. We’ll take the Shelby to drop you off at the metro. Maybe if you’re a really good girl, I’ll bend you over the hood before we go.”

Before she could respond Lee stepped back and shut her door, walking around to the driver’s side of the truck. When he got in she turned to him with a teasing smile. “It’s not really a date, you know.”

“I know. If it were, you wouldn’t be going.” Lee didn’t bother to look at Savannah as he spoke, instead starting the truck and backing out of the driveway.

“That’s not up to you!” Savannah sputtered, her gut clenching with resentment. She couldn’t remember a time when anyone had ever pissed her off that quickly and that effortlessly. A second ago, she’d been silently hoping he’d fuck her right there in his driveway and now she had the sudden urge to strangle him.

Lee only shrugged, giving her a sidelong look as he drove.

“What, you think just because we fucked around you’re suddenly my social secretary?” Savannah’s voice was tight and hot, burning her throat like the world’s worst case of indigestion; she barely managed to control her fury. Who the hell did he think he was?

Lee still didn’t answer her and Savannah subsided, leaning against the door to glare at him. There wasn’t much point in arguing with him if he wasn’t going to argue back, so she just sat there, giving him dirty looks and fuming.

It was a short ride to the barn and Lee parked the truck and pulled the key out of the ignition before turning to her, a surprisingly pissed off look on his face. “Your social secretary? Hell no. But I think if you want to keep fucking me you shouldn’t be actively trying to fuck anyone else.”

Savannah stared at him with disbelief, her mouth hanging open, before she managed to snap, “Since when does a date automatically count as actively trying to fuck someone? I can understand your confusion since I jumped your bones without so much as dinner and a movie first, but I don’t make a habit of putting out for just anybody.”

Lee gave her a steady look and then shook his head. “I’m not going to argue with you about this.”

He didn’t wait for her to respond. Instead, he got out of the truck and headed into the barn, Toby at his heels.

Savannah got out, slamming her door and following him inside. There were rooms on either side of the door, then a step down and six big box stalls along each side of the aisle. The room to the left of the door was the tack room, with rows of saddles and bridles hanging on the wall. The room to the right was the feed room, where Lee stood scooping grain into buckets.

Savannah tried to stay out of the way and neither of them spoke as Lee did his chores, hanging the buckets of feed in the stalls and refilling water buckets. When he started bringing the horses in from the field, Savannah went in the tack room and sat on a tack box in the corner. It was probably silly but the big animals made her nervous enough she didn’t really want to watch him handle them.

It galled her to admit Mike had been right. She never should have gotten involved with Lee. This obviously was not going to work out, and the thought of continuing to work with him was awful. She would have to explain to Mike why she couldn’t help on this case anymore. He’d be mad, but hopefully he’d get over it. At least this had happened now before she’d gotten in too deep. Then again, maybe it was already too late for that given how badly she wanted to crawl in bed, pull the covers over her head, and cry for a week.

“You can come out now. All the vicious beasts are in their stalls.”

Savannah jumped, startled. She’d been looking down at her feet, kicking the toe of her sandals in the dirt, and feeling sorry for herself. She hadn’t realized he was watching her.

“Are you done then?” Savannah refused to look at him as she spoke. She was too vulnerable to risk letting him see how upset she was.

“Not quite. Some of them go back outside for the night after they finish eating.”

They fell quiet, both of them clearly unsettled by their argument, which was just as well because Savannah didn’t know what to say to him now anyway.

Lee finally broke the awkward silence when he asked, “So what
are
your big plans tomorrow night?”

Savannah did look up then, ready to snap at him, but when their eyes met she stopped herself. He was leaning against the doorjamb, giving her an uneasy smile. She could see the hesitancy in his eyes but he did seem genuinely interested and she was so happy for Joni she didn’t want to let her spat with him spoil her excitement.

“My best friend, Joni, is an artist. She’s having her first solo exhibition and tomorrow is opening night.”

“I’m sure you’ll have a great time.” Lee pushed off the door, leaning back to look down the aisle at the horses before turning back to her again. “They’re finishing up. I just need to gather the empty buckets and turn a few of them back out. You don’t have to hide in here, you know. They’re all too fat and happy after dinner to cause any trouble.”

Savannah did laugh a little then but she shook her head. “No, it’s all right. I’ll wait here.”

Lee sighed and shook his head before walking away and Savannah wondered if he felt as frustrated and hurt as she did. Well, frustrated maybe. She doubted she could hurt his feelings, not like he’d hurt hers anyway. He was older, more experienced, and not stupid enough to fall head over heels for someone he barely knew.

They’d ridden back from the barn in silence and were driving down the lane in front of the cottages when Savannah screwed up her courage and said, “Would you mind dropping me off? It’d save me the walk in the dark.”

“I do mind, actually.” Lee drove by the rental cottage, pulling into his own driveway. She snorted and he gave her a sidelong glance. “Still mad at me, huh?”

“Yes.” Savannah took a deep breath and glared at him. “I don’t want to go on a date with anyone else. But it pisses me off that you were such a jackass about it with that ‘you wouldn’t be going’ bullshit. Just like now. I ask you nicely to drop me off but oh no, you know better.”

Lee sighed and turned in his seat to look at her. “What the hell did you want me to say? You couldn’t possibly expect me to be okay with you seeing someone else while you’re seeing me?”

“I don’t know. Am I even seeing you or just fucking you? Doesn’t seeing someone imply some kind of dating or something?” Savannah scowled at him, waiting for him to answer but he didn’t, instead getting out of the truck and walking around to the passenger side. As he swung her door open she snapped, “Are you going to answer me?”

Lee hauled her across the seat without comment, pulling her against his chest and picking her up. Taking a step back he kicked the door closed and then started for the house. Shifting her in his arms, he opened the unlocked door and carried her inside, closing it again behind them and taking her straight to his bedroom.

He dropped Savannah in the center of his bed and then went back to the door, turning on the light. When Lee sat on the edge of the bed, she sat up behind him, pushing at his shoulder. “Answer me!”

Continuing to ignore her, Lee pulled off his boots and socks before finally turning to look at her, his voice full of exasperation. “I didn’t ask you not to see other men because it isn’t a question. If you want to see me, you won’t see anyone else. If that’s not acceptable to you, then you can move right along and find some other schmuck who is okay with that but it’s not a point that’s open for discussion with me.”

“You still haven’t answered my question!”

Lee shrugged and stood, stepping away from the bed so there was nothing between Savannah and his bedroom door. “And you still think I’m an asshole.” He paused, waiting for her response.

When she nodded angrily, he added with obvious irritation, “Well, that makes the answer to your question irrelevant, doesn’t it? So I guess the only question left is: do you still want to be in my bed?”

Savannah looked at the open door for a long minute, angry with herself for what she was about to do. Obviously it had been a huge mistake to sleep with him but the damage was done and the sex had been spectacular. What would be the harm in indulging one last time? Finally she looked up at him, her jaw set as she said, “I’m sure I’ll regret it but yes, right now this is where I want to be. If you still want me here, I mean.”

Lee cocked a brow at her, his face impassive and his voice hard as he said, “Go then. I sure as shit don’t want to cause you any regret.”

“What?” Savannah couldn’t hide her surprise. She definitely hadn’t expected that response from him and it stung.

“Go. The truck keys are on the kitchen table. You can drive yourself back if you’re scared of the dark.”

“You fucking son of a bitch. Christ, I must be out of my goddamn head. And to think I thought I was falling for you. You must have some kind of fucking magic cock or something to make me think for one fucking second that you might be a decent human being. Fucking bastard.” Savannah muttered as she climbed off the bed and stomped out of the room, not daring to look at him for fear she might cry.

She was half way to the kitchen when she stopped and turned around again, looking at the open bedroom door. She’d half thought he would follow her or try to stop her from going but clearly that wasn’t happening. How was it possible that even now, as mad as she was, she wanted him to come after her, to fix this, to make things okay between them again?

Lee was still standing, stunned, next to the bed where she’d left him when she came back, her cheeks red with anger and hurt feelings.

“You weren’t going to come after me?”

Lee gaped at her, bewildered by her question. Did she really expect him to chase her down and beg her to come back? After she’d told him she would regret fucking him? Yeah, over his dead body. “No. In case you forgot, I’m the one who told you to leave.”

“Fuck you, Levon.” Savannah glared at him, spitting the words at him through gritted teeth.

“Not interested, sweetheart.” Lee’s heart pounded in his chest so hard he could hear it thudding in his ears. Christ, what the hell was wrong with him? He wanted to fuck her. She wanted to fuck him. What the hell was the problem here? Oh, right, she said she’d regret it. Savannah couldn’t have known he was already worried about that very thing, it was the weakest place she could stick the knife and twist. And it cut more than he ever would have anticipated. He’d been an idiot to let this happen. At least it was blowing up in brilliant fashion in less than twenty-four hours, before it had time to really get ugly.

“Liar. Stop being an asshole and fuck me!” Savannah shoved at his chest, trying to push him down on the bed but he was close to twice her size and had been braced against her.

Lee surprised himself by laughing at her and wondered what she could possibly be thinking, trying to push him around. Luckily for Savannah, he wasn’t the type to shove back. After this was over, he might send her on her way with a little parting advice about trying to get physical with someone twice her size. Not smart.

His laughter only seemed to piss her off more because she cursed under her breath and glared at him, her fists clenched at her sides. He was still laughing, his voice low and gravelly when he said, “Still not interested, sweetheart, but you can suck my dick if it’ll shut you the fuck up.”

Savannah slapped him hard across the face and Lee winced with a curse, his cheek stinging. She hadn’t held back, putting everything she had into it, and she was tougher than she looked. Nope, she was going to get that little lecture right the fuck now.

Lee moved closer, careful to keep his arms hanging loose at his sides so she wouldn’t think for even one second he was going to hit her back. But he invaded her space, towering over and glaring down at her, intimidating her with the force of his presence. “Don’t you ever lay your fucking hands on me like that again, bitch. I’ve never hit a woman in anger in my life and I’m not about to start now, but believe me when I tell you I can find far more creative ways to make you sorry for thinking you can slap me around. You’d be wise to think hard before you raise your hand to a man twice your size. They aren’t all going to be as goddamn patient as I am and someday you might get a fuck of a lot more than you bargained for, sweetheart.”