Part 22 (2/2)

He was wearing a smile that practically lit up the room.

”Stop looking at her shorts.” Sebastian suddenly growled from behind me, making me jolt.

I looked in between the two in confusion. ”What's wrong with my shorts? They're not really that bad.” I said hesitantly.

Sebastian snorted while Kettle decided to put in his two cents. ”You're wearing black panties with pink hearts.”

I gasped, and looked down at my legs.

Okay, they were a little short, but they really weren't that bad!

Instead of arguing, I crossed my arms and glared at the man.

He laughed.

The b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

Wanting to change the subject, I turned in Sebastian's arms and looked at his dirty, smudged face. ”Do you want a drink or something? Do you need anything?”

Sebastian shook his head.

”You're not leaving my side. Especially not in those shorts.” He growled, sending s.h.i.+vers down my spine.

”Who's the man that's glaring a whole in my chest?” I whispered into Sebastian's ear.

He snorted. ”That's my boss.”

His lips moved over my skin as he spoke, and I really started to feel the heat.

My nipples puckered, and I was supremely happy that I was wearing the leather vest. It concealed my nipples quite nicely.

Just as I was about to say something else, Trance, in his black BPD uniform, came through the door with a notebook in hand. ”Hey, brother. How ya doin'?”

Sebastian's boss growled and left the room, a trail of aggravation trailing in his wake.

Stepping out of Sebastian's arms, I went to the doorway and watched as the man stomped down the hallway. Turning back around, I placed my arms on my hips. ”What's his problem?” I asked the three men.

They hadn't been surprised at his abrupt departure, but I was. Didn't he need to answer just as much as Sebastian did? Wasn't he there? Wasn't he concerned about his employee?

Three sets of Warden eyes turned to me, all three a.s.sessing.

Kettle was the one to answer, though. ”He's mad that he got reprimanded in front of the whole department. Not to mention demoted. Sebastian's the new Captain.”

My mouth fell open, and I smiled widely. ”Really?” I asked excitedly, bouncing on my toes.

Sebastian shrugged. ”We'll see. The Chief got wind of all the fires, finally, and he had a lot of questions; ones The Captain didn't have the answers to. I did, and it made him look bad. When he reacted badly, The Chief told him to he needed to speak with him in private. The Chief showed up here about twenty minutes ago, telling me I was the new acting Captain.”

”Well...” I said, trying valiantly to control the smile that I had no hope of containing. ”That's just f.u.c.king awesome!”

”What's f.u.c.king awesome? That you finally got your head out of your a.s.s?” Silas growled from behind her.

I spun and glared at him.

I crossed my arms across my chest, planted my feet, and said, ”What kind of woman would take on a man like Sebastian without a little hesitation? He's vice president of a prominent motorcycle club that nearly dominates the area below the Mason-Dixon Line. I'm not stupid. I didn't want to jump into this without having my feet firmly planted on both sides. Not to mention the fact that I only got the full picture three days ago. I think I did remarkably well, if you want the truth. You can just...suck it.”

My hand flew to my mouth, covering it, while my eyes went wide in surprise. I hadn't meant to say that, and by the look on Silas' face, he hadn't expected me to speak to him like that, either. But he also looked a little...proud.

”You're lucky we don't beat our women.” Silas muttered as he walked fully into the room and held up the wall beside Kettle.

I turned, and was surprised to see the worried looks on the other three faces in the room. ”What?” I asked.

Trance came unstuck first, glancing from me to Silas and back again. Sebastian did the same, only a little more wide eyed.

What? Had no one ever said 'suck it' before? What was the big deal?

I learned later that night, as I started cooking dinner, what the big deal was.

”Hey,” Sebastian said, walking up next to me and leaning his hips against the counter. ”My dad's old fas.h.i.+oned. He doesn't like when women speak so...strongly. He also hates change. He was trying to make you feel bad, yes, but he was also worried about me. So try not to say 'suck it' to him anymore, okay?”

I snorted, poured one of the cheese packets into the cooked noodles, and began to stir.

I was making fake macaroni since it was one of the few things Sebastian had in the house. He'd said he hadn't had time to go to the store in a while, and it showed. Which was why we were eating macaroni and sausage instead of a home cooked meal made by scratch.

I didn't much like boxed food.

Then again, I'd been spoiled growing up. My mom made something homemade every night. It was very rare for the family to actually go out to dinner. Now, when I had the chance, I made sure to cook from scratch, craving that touch of home.

”Why are you ma.s.sacring that box?” Sebastian asked concerned.

”I spilled the cheese out of the other one. I need another cheese, so I'm trying to get it out of this one, but the stupid 'press here' perforated edged s.h.i.+t doesn't work. Mother of pearl!” I growled.

”Give me the box.” Sebastian snapped his fingers holding his hand out.

I glared at him, determined to do it myself.

After the next minute of struggling, I finally relented and handed him the box.

With smooth, deft movements, the son of a b.i.t.c.h opened it, and handed it to me with a look of incredulity. ”Are you serious...you couldn't open that?”

I s.n.a.t.c.hed the box out of his hand, spilling uncooked noodles all over the ground in the process. Extracting the cheese, I poured the package into the pot and stirred.

”Why didn't you make the third box?” Sebastian asked as he nudged me out of the way and took over the stirring portion of the job.

I glared at him. He did that easily as well.

”Two boxes seemed enough. Why?” I asked warily.

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