Page 115 of X's and O's

She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

He cocked his head to one side, studying her. “You look so familiar.”

“This is Violet. Violet, Dax. He owns this place. And Violet is Fang’s sister.”

His forehead smoothed out. “Holy shit, no way? That explains some things. You two definitely have a familyresemblance, though thank God for you, you got all the pretty genes.”

Violet smiled at the sincerity in Dax’s tone. “Thanks.”

I kinda wanted to stab him in the eyeball with a piercing needle though.

I wanted her to smile at me like that. Jealousy coursed through me thick and fast, but I bit my tongue because I had no right to it. Dax was a nice guy. Everyone liked him. It was no surprise Violet sensed that.

Didn’t mean I wanted to stand here and watch him flirt with her though. “I was just wondering if you still have that bike for sale? The one you were selling?”

Dax pointed to the door at the back of the shop. “Yeah, I had to move it out there. No takers so far. You interested in it?”

“Might be. Can we take it out for a spin?”

Dax nodded in his easygoing way. “Absolutely. Help yourself. Tires are pumped up, and there’s a helmet on the handlebars. Just bring it back when you’re done.”

Violet’s forehead lined with wrinkles of concern, but she followed me out, mumbling at Dax that it was nice to meet him.

I opened the door for her and let her walk through it first. I glanced back at Dax, whose gaze was very clearly running all over Violet.

A possessive growl formed in my chest.

Dax laughed and shook his head. “Sorry. Sorry. I hear you.”

I hadn’t even said a word.

But clearly, I didn’t need to. The way I felt about Violet was written in every muscle, every expression, every breath I fucking took.

In the alley at the back of the shop, Violet stood beside the bike. “What are we doing?”

I plucked the helmet from the handlebars and fit it on her head. “Teaching you how to ride a bike.”

“Ah, how about no thanks?”

I adjusted the strap on the helmet and then buckled it beneath her chin, ignoring the way my brain screamed to just lean in and kiss her because her mouth was right there.

Clearly my brain couldn’t read the vibe, because kissing her right now while she was scowling at me would not end well.

So I stepped back and patted the seat of the bike. “Jump on.”

“You do remember how just this morning I said I couldn’t ride a bike?”

“I know. Because you had no one to teach you.” I threw her my most charming smile. “But now you do.”

She sighed heavily. “I can’t do it. I’m going to fall off and break my arm.”

“You didn’t fall off my bike this morning.”

“Only because I was hanging on to you.”

“This time I’ll hold on to you.”

“So, what? You’re going to run alongside me like I’m five years old, so I don’t fall off? No thank you.”