“Guys, seriously, work,” a rough, annoyed, and very in control voice bit out. I almost jumped up and started working at his order, it was that firm. I, apparently, was the only one since the guys still stood around talking about desserts they liked. Jake looked up and inhaled deeply before going back to his paper. “Moving on. Why do baked goods need better speakers?”

“No, the baked goods don’t. I do.”

“Yours broke?”

“No.”

“Then why the speakers?”

“I spend a big chunk of time making deliveries. Have you ever tried driving without being able to really crank up your music?”

“What do you listen to?” Kase questioned.

If my vibe mumbled introvert, Kase’s seemed to shout extrovert, complete with neon sign, marching band, and flares. His friendly bordered on flirtatious, but there didn’t seem to be any actual interest.

In fact, all of the men appeared to be paying more attention to Jake’s reaction, not having any of their own.

Too bad for them since Jake was sticking to the mostly silent glowering.

“Almost anything,” I answered Kase. “But mostly rock. Can’t listen to rock at a ten when you can have an eleven.”

“Fuck,” I heard Jake mutter softly to himself.

“Did you just make a Spinal Tap joke?” Xavier asked.

Before I could answer, Kase laughed. “Damn, you’re full of surprises. Hiding a body of tats under that sexy librarian outfit you’re workin’?” he said jokingly. Which, of course, resulted in an immediate blush from me. “Oh, damn, I’m sorry, Piper, I didn’t mean to offend you, or make you feel uncomfortable. I don’t have a filter, so I—”

“Fuck,” Jake said again, loudly. I looked over to see him looking more than a little ticked.

“Damn, Jake, relax, I was apologizing. You know me, I didn’t mean to be a dick—” Kase started. Since Jake didn’t seem to like people finishing sentences, he was cut off again.

“That’s not why she blushed. Is it?” He turned his dark, intense green eyes to me.

“Well, no.” I smiled at Kase. “And I wasn’t offended, so don’t worry about it.”

“Ohhhhhkay.” Kase looked between Jake and I. “Well? What is it, then?” He glanced at Xavier and Eli who both appeared to be just as confused.

“He wasn’t wrong, was he?” Jake asked with a softer voice, though his eyes stayed intense. Scorching.

Get your mind out of your pants! Or, well, in this case, out of his pants!

“He was. I’m not a librarian,” I said, playing clueless.

“The tats?”

“Oh. About that. Well… I’m not covered.”

“No shit?” Warm Eyes asked.

“You can’t leave us hanging like that. We gotta see some ink,” Xavier said, his smooth voice accented slightly.