100°

Foreplay

"Not bad huh?" she asked as they returned to the suite. "You thought Jax was going to be an asshole and he wasn't. I know."

Tyler let her walk in first and shut the door behind them.

Soft light touched the floor and furniture.

"He seems alright."

Alex's lip curled up right before grinning. "You handled yourself professionally. I'm proud."

"How'd you think I was gonna act?"

Alex glanced to the side.

"I want some dessert. You want something?" he asked as he stripped off his jacket.

He walked over to the hotel phone, she assumed to call room service.

"You want to eat this late? Even after the steak?"

"Yes."

Thirty minutes later they were sitting on the carpeted floor in front of the couch while an MMA match played on the huge wall mounted TV. It wasn't even turned up loud and she could hear every hit.

Tyler got more comfortable, ditching his shoes and rolling the sleeves up on his white shirt. He almost came across as ... happy? It was something to behold.

And having him as her project this afternoon had been fun, kind of making her happy too.

Getting his big ass out of his comfort zone and following her lead was an accomplishment she quietly treasured.

Maybe she could unlock one more achievement before the night wrapped up.

She chose her words carefully. "Bobby seemed a little upset over the fight with your cousin."

Tyler's eyes didn't lower from the TV.

Yes, he told her to stay out of it and she was probably pushing her luck, but it was far from the first time.

Alex took another bite of her apple pie a la mode, needing to finish it before the vanilla ice cream melted.

So much silence passed she assumed the subject was dropped.

Never looking down from the tv he sliced a fork into his red velvet cake. "Actually he was upset because the pretty money manager found out he's a lonely, desperate old man."

The tone of the night shifted with his response.

Wait.

Was he trying to imply Bobby liked her or something?

"I don't think that's true." Her fork fiddled with the pie.

Tyler's jaw wound as he chewed.

That's when his eyes lowered from the screen to level on her. "You been around a week."

There wasn't really any turning back now. "I get that I didn't know the backstory about you and your dad. But that animosity you get whenever you see him or he's brought up is no good."

He leaned back against the front of the couch, resting his arm on the seat. "What's your suggestion?"

His body language was calm, relaxed even. But right then it was all about the eyes. It was almost like he was lying in wait.

Quietly her mind was trying to figure out how to smooth this over and go to bed.

Maybe this was his version of sarcasm. And he'd already made up his mind, and was now just amusing himself.