Page 80 of Down & Dirty: Rage

“Good. Prolly’ll get a better handle on it. Figure out what you like and don’t fuckin’ like once you’re with the right guy.”

Why did it look like he struggled to get that last part out?

Time to go all in. “Or you can help me practice.”

He removed his hand from hers and sat back again. “Told you, ain’t for you.”

“You should let me decide that.”

“You ain’t the only one involved. I got a say, too, remember?”

But Lyric didn’t like what he was saying, that was the problem. “Maybe you can teach me more. Like a friends-with-benefits arrangement.”

His eyes shuttered and he sat straighter in the booth across from her. “Deserve better than that.”

“Just who is better than you?”

“Lyric—”

“Who? I trust you, which makes you the best to teach me. It’s true.”

“No, baby, it ain’t.” When he ground his hand back and forth against the back of his neck, he appeared to be gearingup for what he said next. “Tell me what you want in a man.”

“One as wise as my father. Who also looks at me the same way he looks at my mother.”

“Wanna man, not a boy, then,” he concluded.

Of course. But more like one particular man.

“No, not just any man. An extraordinary one. I want a relationship like what they have. You can see, taste, smell, and feel my parents’ love. It’s actually tangible. My father would die for her.” That was both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. Not too many people would be willing to give their life up for another.

“Any OG would die for his woman.”

That was true. Same for his parents, too. “Just as I’m sure as Hawk would do the same for Kiki.”

“No fuckin’ doubt. If somethin’ happened to her and she was still breathin’, he’d go fuckin’ ballistic and get revenge. If she wasn’t, he’d go ballistic, get his fuckin’ revenge, then follow her down the same path.”

Damn.“Would you?”

He hesitated for a couple of heartbeats. “If I had one.”

“What about you?”

“Just answered that.”

“No, what are you looking for in an ol’ lady? The woman you’d die for.”

He sucked on his teeth. “You know I ain’t lookin’.”

“Neither was your father. Or Diesel. Or Slade. Or most of the OGs.” Especially Diesel. Rumor had it, Ash’s uncle was a complete man-ho until Jewel finally tamedTheBeast.

Ash was usually compared to Diesel rather than his own father.

He grunted, but avoided answering the question.

They remained quiet as the waitress came over andcleared their plates. The server asked Ash if they wanted anything else. When he looked over at Lyric, she shook her head since she wouldn’t have been able to force anything else down if she’d wanted to.

The waitress set the check on the table, told them not to rush, and wandered away.