Page 17 of The Innocent

He battened down his yawn. He had one agenda. Shower, beer, and relax in peace. That was quickly dashed when he saw his house in the distance and a familiar brunette sitting on the steps.

He stopped his bike in front of Cue’s house, eyeing the woman.

“Jesus fucking Christ.”

Cue pulled up next to him and laughed, shaking his head. “You could avoid this shit if you just furnished your house, man.”

He angled his head, scowling at his brother. Cue pulled into his driveway and shut down his bike then made his way to Jekyll.

“I’ll take the product inside.” Cue glanced over his shoulder, looking at Jekyll’s house with a small smile playing on his lips. “And remember, she means well.”

I fucking know that.

“This is Cleo. Gotta be nice or you deal with Wraith,” Cue taunted.

Jekyll was always nice, well nice for him, when it came to Cleo. She probably saw the softest side of him, which wasn’t much, but she got it. It had nothing to do with the threat of Wraith. She got the most human he was capable of because she deserved it.

Cue retrieved the pick-up from his saddlebags, and Jekyll rode a few houses down, pulling into his driveway. Cleo immediately stood, waving. Had it been any other woman, he would’ve dismissed her and not been polite about it. Since getting out of prison, his home had become his sanctuary. No one was allowed inside except members.

Cleo was the exception. She rushed down the stairs, meeting him on the walkway. From his peripheral vision, he saw a cardboard box on the porch.

“Hi Jekyll.”

He lowered his chin.

She hooked her thumb over her shoulder, gesturing to the box.

“You said you don’t have any dishes. So when I was at the thrift store, I picked some up.”

He cocked his brow. “Said I didn’t have them. Never said I wanted them. I use paper plates.”

“I know.” She shrugged. “But if you have real dishes, you won’t have to waste money buying them.”

“No.” He grasped his hips. “Instead, I’ll have to fucking wash them.”

She bit her bottom lip then widened her eyes and smiled. “But look at it this way, you’ll have them for when you entertain guests.”

“Cleo?” He furrowed his brows. “Who the hell am I gonna entertain?”

Her cheeks pinkened. “Maybe you’ll meet someone.”

Jekyll snorted, continuing past her to the porch. “And I got my room in the clubhouse for that. No one comes in my house.”

He unlocked the door, opened it, and walked inside. He expected to hear her following him, but it was silent. When he turned around in his living room, she was still in the doorway, holding the box of dishes.

“You just gonna stand there?”

She hiked her brows. “You just said no one comes in your house.”

He glanced up at the ceiling, silently counting to ten. Patience. He had to give her that. “Cleo, you’ve been inside before.”

“Yeah, but I thought maybe this was a new rule.”

He slowly turned, narrowing his gaze. “You been hanging out with Gent?”

“Not more than usual.” She cocked her head. “Why?”

“’Cause you’ve become a real fucking smart ass since I been away.”