Chapter Seven

Carla

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We’d been riding for probably close to an hour and a half when Havoc pulled off the road and cut the engine.  We were somewhere in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, and the cafe he’d stopped at looked inviting.  I was a little cold because I hadn’t dressed for the cooler air in the mountains, and the warmth that hit me as we entered was welcome.

“What do you want to drink?” Havoc asked.

“Coffee, white with one please.  And cake.  I need cake.”  I was firm.  Cake always made me feel better.

He chuckled.  “What kind of cake, babe?”

I licked my lips thinking about it.  “White chocolate mud cake if they have it.  But if not, anything will do so long as there are no sultanas or fruit in it.”  I pointed at him sternly.  “If you bring me back fruit cake of any kind, there will be hell to pay.”

His face broke out in a huge grin and my stomach did somersaults.  I’d never seen Havoc smile.  Not once.  In fact, until just now, I’d never heard him laugh or even chuckle.  I liked it; a lot.  He turned me around and smacked me on the ass before placing his hands on my shoulders and whispering in my ear, “Go and sit this gorgeous ass down and I will bring you cake that doesn’t contain any fuckin’ fruit.  Trust me sweetheart, the last thing I want to do is incur your wrath.”

Warmth spread through me.  This was a side of Havoc that I really liked.  I did what he said, and checked out the cafe while I waited patiently for him.  It was a country style cafe with lots of wood, and a pot belly fire burning in the corner.  No wonder it was so warm in here.  Nearly every table was occupied and people were laughing and enjoying themselves.  The staff seemed chirpy too.  I bet they had a brilliant boss.

Just as I was about to wallow in self pity about the turn my life had taken this week, Havoc pulled up a seat and sat with me.  I looked at him, and enjoyed the thrill that run through me at the sight.  “Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” I said, the words spilling out of me before I could censor them.  Censoring and me didn’t really go hand in hand so I was used to saying shit I shouldn’t, and didn’t get embarrassed that I’d just said that to him.

He laid a sexy grin on me.  “You just say what you’re thinking, don’t you?”

I shrugged.  “Yeah, one of my many good traits,” I said with a wink.

His grin turned into a laugh.  “I’d have to agree with you there, babe.  Nothing sexier than a woman who knows what she believes and isn’t afraid to say it.”

I leant forward, and asked, “What cake did you get me?”

“Well it sure as shit wasn’t fruit cake, but I think I’ll make you wait until they bring it out.”

“You’re playing with me now, aren’t you?”

“Maybe,” he agreed, and then leant forward too, and added, “Playing with you is fast becoming one of my favourite activities.”

Fuck.  Talk about desire hitting all points in my body at once.  This man had it going on, and I was sure I might burst into flames from the heat surrounding us.

I gathered my wits and then said, “You’re a smooth talker, Havoc.  I bet you have no trouble scoring wherever you go.”

He shifted back in his chair, his gaze stuck on mine.  The depth in his eyes got to me; Havoc was not a shallow man, of this I was sure.  He nodded slowly, contemplating what I’d said.  “You’re right, I have no trouble in that department.  But babe, I don’t say yes very often.”

I wasn’t able to hide my surprise.  “What?  You knock back sex?”

“Yeah.”

I settled into my chair, enjoying this conversation because it was giving me a small glimpse at who he was.  “Okay, so how often do you have sex?”

“I don’t fuckin’ count it, Carla.  My point is that it takes a lot for a woman to interest me.  I don’t just fuck someone because they’ve got a good set of tits or a hot ass.  There has to be something more for me; something to the woman.”

I let his words settle over me and soaked them in.  Because what he’d just given me was a huge compliment.  It made me feel good about myself, and that was something I desperately needed after this week.

While I was processing that, he changed the subject.  “Tell me why you’re so down.”

I expelled a long breath.  “Do we have to talk about me?” I asked.  “I’d rather talk about you.  That’s so much more interesting.”

The waitress brought our coffee and cake at that moment, and I smiled at him when I saw what he’d ordered.  “Wow, and you project such a badass image, Havoc.  Who would have thought?”  He’d ordered me a small piece of every type of cake they had except for fruit cake.  There must have been six different mini cakes sitting in front of me.

“Shut up and eat, woman,” he muttered, clearly uncomfortable with my backhanded compliment.

I laughed, but did as he said.  My mind was spinning in a million different directions.  He’d managed to confuse me all over again.  I’d kind of been relieved when his ex had turned up this morning.  I’d thought it was a woman he had something going on with and that thought helped me at the time to make a decision to cut and run.  It was the decision I’d been trying to make where he was concerned, but I’d been having trouble making it.  Now that I knew who she was, and now that he’d treated me to this other side of him, I was back to being confused.