Page 32 of Flash (Iron Thunder MC 2)
Although I was curious, I knew I had no right to ask him any of those questions when I wasn’t willing to answer his.
“Coffee?” he asked, turning to me again. He’d grabbed eggs and ham and cheese from the refrigerator and was carrying them over to the chrome-topped work station.
“Yes, please,” I said.
Even though I was the one who’d offered to make breakfast for him, all I could really do was stare at him work. It was amazing that a big burly man like him with those tattoos covering his body—someone who was able to bring Billy down to his knees, yelping, with just one punch—was so comfortable in a kitchen too.
The thought entered my head that Flash was the perfect man. The man I didn’t know I’d been waiting all my life for.
But what was I supposed to do now? I would have to let him go. Not that he wanted me to stay either.
This was all temporary. An extended one-night stand.
He looked up at me while he cracked a few eggs into a mixing bowl.
“Scrambled or fried?” he asked.We sat across from each other at Flash’s kitchen table. It was like nothing I’d ever eaten at before. Beautiful and sleek, glass-topped with a section underneath that was filled with sand and pebbles and some water. So it looked like we were eating on top of a…creek!
“You brought your creek home!” I remarked as we dug into our scrambled eggs and toast. Flash grinned.
“Yeah, I basically had no input for my interior decorator for this home, but I made one request. I wanted an element of the creek in the house. She suggested this table and arranged to create it with the sand and pebbles from there.”
“Wow! It’s stunning. I didn’t even know something like this was possible. But then again, I come from a small town with limited resources. I can’t claim I’ve seen much of the world.”
Flash looked at me, studying my face closely again.
“You have this habit of putting yourself down,” he stated. I stared at him, a little stunned. I didn’t know what to say because he was right.
I rolled my eyes and tried to smile. “I guess…maybe.”
“You do. Maybe you should try seeing yourself through someone else’s eyes. Like mine,” he continued.
I gulped nervously. I knew we were approaching tricky territory.
“What would I see if I looked through your eyes?” I asked.
Flash took a big gulp of his coffee and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“A beautiful intelligent woman who is strong and capable of looking after herself.”
I could feel myself blushing but I didn’t want to look away from him. Also, a part of me didn’t believe him.
“I’ve spent a big part of my life being told that there wasn’t much to me besides my looks.”
His eyes roamed over me.
“You’re a strong woman. I don’t know your full story, Allegra, but I can see you’ve survived.”
I focused on my plate.
Because I couldn’t decide, Flash made both fried eggs and scrambled eggs. There was ham and sausages on my plate, along with toast and peanut butter. A steaming cup of coffee on the side.
It was the breakfast I’d been dreaming about for months, and yet, right now, I didn’t feel so hungry anymore.
“Thank you, I guess I needed to hear that,” I said, eventually looking up at him.
Flash nodded and continued to eat. I watched him for a moment, trying to decide how exactly to frame the words. I needed to say it. Rip it off like a Band-Aid before it got harder.
“I’ll be out of your hair by the end of the day,” I said.
Flash’s face was turned down to his plate. He’d just taken a big bite of a sausage and now he chewed through it slowly. I stared at him, waiting for a response. I had no idea what he was going to say—probably something as noncommittal as ‘okay’.
Then he looked up at me with those deep brown eyes. His bare shoulders were rugged and muscular. He was tanned and handsome, his big strong hand clutching that tiny piece of toast.
“You’re going nowhere,” he said.
His voice was commanding. He was laying down the rules. With his eyes, he was challenging me to defy him. I gulped.
“I don’t know what that is supposed to mean. This is not a joke to me.”
“And I’m not joking,” he growled, slapping the piece of toast down on his plate. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re staying right here.”
I let out a deep sigh and shook my head.
“I don’t think you understand, Flash, I can’t waste any more time here. I need to go…as far away from him as possible. He’s going to find me here eventually.”
“And what is he going to do to you if you have my protection?” he asked.
I clamped my mouth shut in surprise. His protection?
