Page 41 of Idaho

I opened my mouth to respond, but Idaho's bellow cut me off.

"Hurry up, Duchess! We don't have all day!"

Jo bit the insides of her lips to keep from laughing.

"I think all I did was make him angry," I whispered as I changed out of the shirt and back into my baggy sweater.

Jo shook her head as I tried to hand her top back to her. "You keep it. And make sure you wear it around him when you're alone."

"Why?"

"Because he won't be able to keep his hands off you," Brittney replied. "Coming," she called out in a chipper voice. She opened the door, and we all walked past a scowling Idaho, to go back to my room and continue packing.

CHAPTER 15

Idaho

Iwatched as Eva chose different items and put them into the shopping basket. She'd changed back into the sweater she'd been wearing, thank fuck. Her pajamas from last night had given me a good look at her body, so I knew what she was packing under those clothes, but fuck if I was ready for her to wear something skin tight out in public. I hadn't been lying when I said she'd draw attention, but mostly I knew I couldn't handle the way the men would be looking at her. I'd end up fighting every bastard in this place.

That would just piss Lock off, so the best course of action was to have her change her clothes. She was going to be the death of me. You don't expect an innocent woman to be such a fucking knock out. My dick was hard, and my balls ached, just from being close to her for the hour it took to pack up her shit. Who had that many clothes?

As it was, men were still staring at her. I leveled my gaze on a younger guy who was standing there gawking. He must have caught the movement when I shifted because he glanced at me and froze, eyes widening. He scrambled to grab whatever he'd been reaching for on the shelves and beat a hasty retreat. Eva didn't even notice.

"Do we really need all this stuff?" she asked, frowning as she looked down at the basket.

"We do if you want to eat."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I do, but this seems like too much for two people."

She wasn't taking into account the size of my appetite. I ate enough for two men most days. That's what it took to fuel my body from sunup well past sundown. "Have you ever been grocery shopping, Duchess?"

Her head snapped up, and she looked around. "Maybe you shouldn't be calling me that," she suggested. Her hair was up in a bun, but strands were beginning to fall out and were drawing my attention to her neck. Everything about her was graceful. Even when her friends had dressed her up in trashy clothing, she'd managed to class it up.

"No one is paying attention," I told her. "Besides, no one's going to take me seriously and think you're a duchess. In fact, this being Tucson, most won't know what a duchess is."

"Only my enemies," she pointed out.

"True, but that would mean they already know who, and what, you are. So, there's no harm in it."

She muttered something under her breath, but turned away when I raised a brow at her. She wasn't ready to take me on, but she was getting brattier. As much as it irritated me, I had to admit a part of me fucking loved it, too. She needed to stand up for herself and not let people walk all over her. It was clear from the way she spoke about her father that he did just that.

"If you want to be more careful, we can go somewhere else," I offered.

"Where?" she asked.

I ground my teeth together. I was being sarcastic, but now I wanted to not only tell her I could bring her to a hotel, but actually do it. This was going to be harder than I originally thought. Keeping my hands off all those curves was putting me in a foul mood. "Never mind. Let's finish up here."

"I don't even know how to make most of this," she admitted, flashing me a guilty look as I pushed the cart into another aisle.

"Don't worry, Duchess. I don't expect you to do the cooking." This was also relaxing for me in a way. I hadn't had to shop or cook for myself in years. When I said 'I have a guy for that', I meant it. This time away, it was a rewind back to the early days. The good days. Something as simple as grocery shopping and cooking for a woman…I missed this.

"I'd like to be helpful in some way while I stay with you."

I looked down at her and shot her a smirk. "You want to help?" She nodded, eager to be useful. "Stay out of trouble and do what I tell you to do. That's how you can help."

"Jerk," she muttered.

My laughter echoed around us as she stomped farther up the aisle to get away from me. There was just something fun about pushing her buttons. I knew, deep down, it was because teasing her was all I could do. It would help if she was pissed off at me. Maybe then I could force myself to fucking behave.