Page 64 of Shattered King

“I don’t think this is Dirty Dancing. That sure as hell isn’t Patrick Swayze.”

Ruby had come over to keep me company. Hunter was still being cautious. I knew he was still worried about my state of mind. But even more so today, the day after my mom’s funeral. He had something he had to do and didn’t want to leave me with just one of the guys. He’d wanted someone here with me who would actually speak to me . . . and not freak out if I randomly started crying again. Ruby volunteered.

Some dude in a tool belt and nothing else came onto the shot, boner bobbing enthusiastically in front of him.

“Dang,” Ruby whispered.

She’d certainly managed to take my mind off things. And dang was right, the guy was hung like an elephant. It made my eyes water just thinking about something that size coming anywhere near me. “Where did you get this from?”

She tore her eyes from the TV. “It’s mine—well, the cover is. The movie must belong to my roommate.”

The music changed and we both turned back to the screen. The guy was lubing up, the woman bent over the washing machine. “Oh, dear God,” I said.

“No . . . he’s not gonna put that giant thing in there, is he . . . ?” Ruby’s voice trailed off as he moved in behind her.

We both squealed. Loud.

The sound of the bathroom door crashing open came a second later. Ruby kicked into action, diving for the TV, knocking the bowl of chips off the coffee table and landing on her belly with an oomph. Neco, who was watching us tonight, came flying into the living room, gun drawn. He’d asked to use the shower when he’d arrived straight from his run, and now wore nothing but a towel, which sat dangerously low on his hips. The guy looked fierce. Like a hero from one of the action films I’d watched with Hunter.

He scanned the room, then his gaze slid to Ruby, who was still scrambling commando style toward the DVD player on her belly.

His eyes went to the TV before they dropped back to Ruby. “What the fuck?”

She slid the last couple of inches and hit the stop button. “Um . . .”

“What in the fuck, Ruby?” Neco growled.

The dude was seriously scary when he wanted to be. I watched Ruby’s eyes go big as she took him in, only now noticing he was butt naked apart from the wet, thin towel clinging to him—everywhere.

“Um . . .” she said again.

I didn’t blame her for being at a loss for words, confronted with all that bulk, that smooth, inked brown skin. It was impossible to miss the fact he was an extremely good-looking guy.

“Ruby,” he barked.

Whoa! Not cool.

I twisted to look fully at Hunter’s best friend. He was beyond pissed. In fact, the guy looked ready to explode.

“It was a mistake,” I said, trying to deflect that scary energy away from my new friend.

He ignored me.

Ruby narrowed her eyes, seemingly oblivious to his dangerous mood. “It must be Scott’s.” She held up the Dirty Dancing cover. “He must’ve put it in the wrong case.”

Neco’s jaw got tight. “One: that fucking waste of space you live with is getting a visit from me.” Ruby opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. “And two: I find out this wasn’t a mistake? That you were pulling your usual shit? I won’t be happy, do you understand? Lulu doesn’t need this. She buried her mother yesterday. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

It was fast, but I saw the hurt flash across her face at his words. These two obviously had some kind of relationship outside of work. It went deeper; even I could see that. The way Neco spoke to her, it was like he saw her as an annoying little sister, not a valued employee.

I held up my hands. “Hey, don’t bring me into this. Like I said, it was just an accident. She didn’t mean any harm.”

That pale green gaze, so striking against his dark skin, flicked to me, then back to Ruby. Ruby got to her feet then, a look on her face that made me want to cover my head with a cushion before all hell broke loose.

Neco stared at her hard, but she seemed unaffected, all attitude now, front and center. She shoved her glasses up her nose. “I didn’t know you were such a prude, Neco. It’s just a little porn.” She smirked when his eyes flashed and his jaw went from tight to granite. “It was hot. What? Are you threatened? Worried you don’t measure up?”

“Ruby,” he gritted out.

I tried not to look, but my eyes were drawn to the way Neco’s towel was lifting in the front. Okay, I was no longer getting sibling vibes off these two. The air was crackling, electric. The man also had no cause for an inferiority complex in that department. Nope.