Page 13 of Awakened (Steel Brothers Saga 16)

We leave the guesthouse and walk to my truck. It’s an old pickup that I’ve had for almost ten years, but it runs great and I love it. No need for a new one until it dies. I have a dark-green Dodge Viper for when I drive off the ranch, but it lies dormant in the garage most of the time.

I open the passenger side door for Ashley, and because it’s a high step, I help her inside.

That’s the only reason I help her.

I get in and start the engine. “Settle in. It’s about a half-hour drive to the vineyards.”

“This place must be huge,” she says.

“An understatement. When I first came here, I couldn’t believe how big it was. My brother and I had been living in a tiny cracker box in North Denver with our mother.”

And after that, in a dark room where we feared for our lives. But I’ll keep that tidbit to myself.

“It must have been a big adjustment.”

“It was.” For reasons she’ll never know.

She clears her throat. “I’m sorry about… You know.”

I hold back shock. She can’t know about my past. Dee doesn’t even know. “What?”

“Your mother. I mean, your real mother. Diana told me.”

I stare straight ahead at the road. “Jade is my real mother.”

“I know that. I only meant—”

“I don’t talk about that.”

“I’m sorry. You just said you’d been living in a tiny house with your mother, so I thought—”

“You thought wrong.”

Yeah, I’m being an ass again. She’s right. I brought it up. I stop the truck on the side of the road with a jerk.

Then I turn to her. “Look. This is only going to work if you understand something about me.”

Her eyes are wide as she nods.

“I’m a closed book, okay? I prefer my own company to anyone else’s. That’s just who I am, and it’s served me well for thirty-five years. I’m not going to change for anyone.”

“I never asked you to—”

“I know that. But it’s little things. Like you asking why I didn’t do a DNA test on Penny. Or talking about my biological mother.” Or talking about all the other things I keep trapped inside.

“I didn’t mean—”

“I said I know. I’ll help you through this internship. I’ll do my part. But I don’t want to get personal.”

She sighs. “I don’t understand. I saw you with your family. You’re at ease with your dad. With Diana and Bree.”

“I am. I’ve had twenty-five years of practice with all of them.”

“What about your uncle?”

I huff. “Ashley, I just asked you not to get personal. That includes asking me about my family.”

“But—”

“Oh my God.” I riffle my fingers through my mass of hair. “You’re not hearing me.”

“How can I not hear you, Dale? Your voice is all I hear. It’s all I see. It’s a deep red pouring over me as long as I’m in your presence. Trust me. I fucking hear you, okay?”

Right. Her synesthesia. I don’t get it.

“Though I only heard it for the first time a few hours ago,” she continues, “your voice is like a drug to me. Even when you’re angry. But God, when you laughed… I swear I felt the high.”

I still don’t get it. And the fact that my voice is a drug to her doesn’t affect me at all.

At least I wish it didn’t.

“I’m sorry if my voice bothers you.”

“Now you’re not hearing me. It doesn’t bother me.”

“You said it’s like a drug.”

“Yeah. Like a good drug.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Come on, Dale. Haven’t you ever gotten high?”

“No,” I say. “I haven’t. Never had the desire to do any kind of drugs, other than the occasional drink. I enjoy a good bourbon, and of course I love wine.”

“I don’t do drugs either,” she says, “but I’ve experimented in the past. The best high, though—for me, at least—is after a long hike to the top of a mountain. Muscles burning as I see the beauty of the scenery. That’s when my mind rests and the colors are finally silent. Rather, that’s the second-best high.”

“What’s the first, then?”

“I just told you. The sound—and color—of your voice.”

Chapter Nine

Ashley

His green gaze burns me.

Have I gone too far? I just met the man, and I have to spend the next three months working beside him.

Maybe I should have saved that “your voice is my drug of choice thing” for another time.

His lips are so full, and he parts them slightly.

I want to kiss him. I want to feel his lips slide over mine, his tongue touch mine.

I squirm. God, I’m tingling all over, and especially down there.

I have a massive sex drive. Massive. But even I don’t get there just from a look.

But damn, I’m getting there now.

Already I know I’m wet.

Does Dale know?

Does he have a clue what he does to me?

Do I have any effect on him at all?

I fear the answer is no.