Mack tried to keep from laughing, but he failed. “Sorry, baby, I don’t mean to laugh, honestly, but you really are fuckin’ funny when I least expect it.”
“Defense mechanism.”
“You’re beautiful, Darien. Last night proved it for me.”
I smiled. “The bun was workin’ for you, huh?”
“Everything about you works for me, baby. I’m tryin’ not to let that freak me out too much.”
“Well, you kind of failed a little bit today.”
“I know I did. I wish I could say it won’t happen again, but you’re not what I expected.”
I got that. More than he probably realized. “Ditto.”
“Will you forgive me?”
I smiled. “I will if you feed me.”
“Out or in?”
“I guess that depends on if you cook.”
“Yeah, baby, I cook, but lunch is usually sandwiches.”
“That works.”
Mack grinned and slid his hand to the back of my head, pulling me in for a kiss. I relaxed my defensive stance and laid my hands on his chest to deepen the kiss, before breaking the connection and dropping my forehead to his. “I want your life story over lunch.”
“Deal, baby.”
I cupped his face. “I’m sorry I was kind of reactive.”
“Darien, I get it. We’re gonna make mistakes. We just gotta try to move past them.”
“Deal, baby,” I retorted, and kissed him gently.
Mack helped me off his lap and then he removed his jacket and headed to the kitchen. I took mine off as well and slid it over the back of the sofa. “What can I help with?”
“If you want to grab the bread from the pantry, I’ll get everything else.”
“Okay,” I said, and stepped into the small pantry. I found two types of bread and set them on the island.
Mack had turkey and ham, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, and condiments on the counter within seconds of me grabbing bread, so we made our lunch in easy comfort, opting to eat on the sofa. He grabbed beers and followed me with the sandwiches, and we took a few minutes to eat before I pressed him for his history.
“My life’s a bit like yours, I guess. Although, it’s my mom who ran off and Dad’s not dead, he’s doing twenty years in Salem for armed robbery, drug running, you name it. Got a sister, Eve, who married some dentist and lives in California, but we don’t talk. My grandfather left us some money when he died, so it paid for law school, this house, and a few other things. As far as family, the club’s my family, and we’re closer than blood. They’ve got my back more than my blood did anyway, so it’s all good.”
I smiled. “I need to learn how to give my life story in six sentences or less. Much more efficient.”
“Not much to tell.”
“What about your grandfather? Were you close?”
Mack shook his head. “Granddad was a dick, but he felt guilty at the end, so he left us money. Shocked the hell out of me and Eve to get a call from a lawyer informing us of our inheritance. Pissed Dad off too, so bonus.”
“Are you burying this or do you really not care?”
“I really don’t care,” he said. “It’s done. My dad was violent. Knocked me and Eve around more times than I can count. I separated myself from him a long time ago emotionally, and in law school, dated a psych major, so she “practiced” on me. It helped to talk, but I don’t dwell.”
“What do you do for the club? Do you practice law part time?”
“No, I work pretty much full-time, although the hours are somewhat flexible. I’m on retainer with the club and I have an office there. Plus I work out of here when I need quiet.”
“I wish I had a job I could do from home.”
He chuckled. “Like what?”
“I love to write. I’ve actually written a book and self-published, but it’s super slow going.”
“What’s the book about?”
“It’s an erotic romance.”
“Erotica written by a virgin?” he challenged.
I giggled. “I know, it seems weird.”
Before he could agree or disagree, his phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket frowning at the screen. “Sorry, babe, gotta take it.”
“It’s okay.”
“Hey, Booker. Yeah? Damn it.” He glanced my way with another frown. “Can it wait? Shit. Yeah, okay. Give me an hour.” He hung up with a sigh. “Sorry, Darien, I have to drop you home. Club business.”
“No worries,” I said, and rose to my feet.
After gathering the dishes and putting the food away, we grabbed our jackets and Mack drove me home... in his very nice BMW. If I was being honest, and if I chose to be some kind of a whore, I’d be a car whore. I loved nice cars and this one didn’t disappoint.
Mack walked me to my door, promised he’d call later, and then took off. I locked up the apartment, saw the note from Pauley that she’d picked up another shift at the restaurant, so I took Barney out and then settled in for the rest of the day.
I missed Mack about ten minutes after he left, so I put on a sappy movie and curled up on the sofa with my dog.
AFTER DROPPING DARIEN home, Mack walked into the Dogs of Fire compound and stalled. In the main room, he found no less than a dozen women, including Dani and her high-class friends, sitting around giggling with club women, some kind of fruity drink in front of each of them.
“Hey, Mack,” Susie called.
Susie was the club’s president’s old lady and, knock Mack over with a fucking feather, he never thought he’d see the day she’d be laughing with the likes of Dani and her designer clad friends.
“Ladies.”
Kim rose to her feet and made her way to him. “Hey.”
Mack smiled and pulled her in for a hug. “Hey, babe.”
“A few of us want to come to Blush next week,” she whispered.
He glanced at the women and grabbed Kim’s hand, pulling her toward the kitchen. “No fuckin’ way.”
Kim dropped her beautiful head back and laughed. “Kidding!”
“I’m thinkin’ I might ban you, Kim.”
She gasped. “You wouldn’t.”
“Don’t push me.”
“Heard you had a really cute, really sweet visitor recently. One who you can’t resist.” Kim gave him a small, knowing smile. “Remember who introduced you.”
“Okay, babe, we’re done with this conversation.”
“Love you, honey.” She giggled, kissing his cheek, and walked back to the group.
Dani grinned and called, “Austin’s in his office hiding, Mack.”
He nodded. “I’m gonna join him.”
That comment elicited a mass of giggles as Mack high-tailed it out of the room. He stopped in his office first, partly to grab a file and partly to take a minute to compartmentalize Kim’s observation. Fuck! He hated that she knew him so well. Hated that he’d let her in, but that was Kim. She pushed until you either told her to fuck off or just went with it, and he loved her too much to tell her to fuck off, so he was stuck with one highly observant, highly annoying woman.
He reached for the folder he wanted to get Booker’s feedback on and dislodged the picture of Darien he kept hidden on his desk. He shook his head. God, she was beautiful. He ran a finger gently over her cheek and then covered the photo again and headed to Booker’s office. He knocked on Booker’s door and pushed it open when bid.
Booker grinned. “You saw?”
“What the fuck’s goin’ on?”
“Book club.”
Mack frowned. “Come again?”
Booker linked his fingers behind his head and laughed. “Swear to Christ, brother. It’s fuckin’ book club.”
Mack sat in one of Booker’s chairs and set the file on his desk. “You’re sayin’ Dani brought together fuckin’ club women and her ladies and they’re readin’ the same book?”
“That’s exactly what I’m sayin’.”
“And this book is...?”
“I don’t know the name of it; it’s some kind of romance, but who the fuck cares? Some Fox person wrote it,” he said. “Dani’s been... ah... how do you say...?”
“Yeah, got the picture,” Mack cut in.
“Anyway, it’s pretty popular apparently, and my girl’s lovin’ it.” Booker smiled. “Which means, I’m lovin’ it.”
“Stop talking,” Mack demanded. “Just show me what you got on the Kozlovs.”
Booker chuckled again and slid a file toward him.
Mack read everything over and scowled. “Shit. It’s worse than we thought.”
“Yeah,” Booker said. “It is.”
Mack realized his day had just been shot to hell and so had his plans for seeing Darien later. He shook his head and he and Booker got down to business.
* * *
Thursday after work, I walked into my apartment just as my phone rang. It was Mack. “Hey, honey.”
“Hey. You wanna grab dinner?”
“Yeah, that sounds great.” I was actually exhausted, but I hadn’t seen him all week and I missed him like crazy.
“Okay, see you in a few.” He hung up and I did a quick freshen up and changed into something cuter than my scrubs. I also slapped on a little makeup to try to hide the bags under my eyes. Mack arrived twenty minutes later and I opened the door to the best kiss I’d had since last time I saw him.
“God, I missed you,” he said between kisses.
I smiled against his lips. “Me too. I thought you had stuff to do tonight.”
“Case got pushed back, so I’m taking tonight off to take my girl out.”
“And me?” He gave my bottom a smack and I grinned. “I like that plan.”
“Serratto good?” he asked.
“Yes!” I exclaimed. “Their happy hour rocks.”
“I know. Ready?”
“I’ll just grab my purse.” I locked up and took his hand, heading down to the car.
The restaurant was located in the Pearl and it was packed. Lucky for us, Mack had connections in town and we were shown to a table right away. We ordered and our server brought us drinks while we waited for our food.
“How’s your week been?” I asked.
“Shitty.” He took a sip of his beer and frowned.
“I’m sorry.” I squeezed his hand. “I hate that you can’t talk to me about it.”
“Me too, babe.” He smiled. “What about you?”
“Oh, me? Well, I also had a shitty week, but I got home tonight to find out that my book is number one on Amazon.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded, trying not to squee in excitement. “Yes. I hope this means traction for more royalties. I’d like to justify doing this for a living... quit the dirty day job.”
“You’ll do it, baby. I have no doubt.”
“Says the man who doesn’t even know the title of my book.”
“I don’t need to know the title to know the woman who wrote it is talented and beautiful, right?”
I giggled. “Even when you’re admitting you won’t read it, you still have a way of making me feel special.”
He smiled. “You are special, honey, but no, I’m not readin’ some romance book, even written by you. Not my jam.”
I shrugged. “Fair enough.”
“You really okay with it?” he asked.
“Yes.” I chuckled. “I get it. If you were some hip-hop singer, I’d bail on concerts... it’s kind of the same thing.”
He laughed. “Even Eminem?”
“Ohmigod, if you were Eminem, we’d be off somewhere amazing in a private jet, so that would be different.” I buttered a piece of bread and waved it at him. “F.Y.I., if there’s a private jet involved, I’d listen to hip-hop.”
“Good to know.”
I sipped my wine. “Do I get you this weekend?”
“Depends. There’s club get together.”
“For Blush?”
He shook his head. “Dogs. Pig roast on Saturday night.”
“So, do you want me to come?”
“Sure.”
“You really want me at a club thing?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Isn’t that kind of a big deal?” I asked. “For us, I mean?”
Mack smiled. “Yeah, baby, it is. You not ready?”
“I’m very ready, but are you?”
“I invited you, didn’t I?”
“You didn’t actually,” I pointed out.
The server arrived with our food and Mack sat back and studied me. I hated when he stared at me like he could see into my soul. It disconcerted me and made me feel like I’d done something wrong.
“Where’s this coming from, Darien?” he asked once the server left.
“What?”
“Babe, don’t be obtuse. Does it really matter that I didn’t give you a formal invitation embossed in gold for a club party?”
“I just don’t want you to feel pressured into inviting me to something if you don’t want to. We’re getting to know each other, but we haven’t defined the relationship so to speak, so I want you to know you have an out.”
“Fuck me,” he whispered. He looked pissed.
“You’re mad?”
“Yeah, babe, I’m mad. Let’s eat and we’ll hash it out somewhere I can yell.”
I pushed my plate away. “I’m not really hungry anymore.”
Mack waved his hand toward the server and he returned to the table. “Everything all right?”
“We’ve got to go.” He handed him his credit card. “Can you run this and grab us a couple of boxes.”
“Right away.”
“We’re really leaving?” I asked.
“You gonna eat?”
I shook my head.
“Then we’re really leaving. You and I obviously need to have a conversation.”
Now I was really confused, but I wasn’t going to make a scene in the middle of my favorite restaurant, so I stayed silent until we got back into the car.
“What the fuck, Darien?” Mack demanded as he pulled off of Kearney.
“What the fuck what?” I challenged.
“What the hell do you think we’re doing here?”
“I think we’re driving away from my favorite restaurant,” I snapped.
“Seriously, Darien? Snarky isn’t the way to go here.”
“I don’t even know what we’re fighting about.”
“How about the bullshit of not defining the relationship?” he said. “I defined it the day you brought me the book.”
“You said we would get to know each other and while we were doing that, you wouldn’t sleep with anyone else.”
“Yeah.”
“How does that translate into us being into something enough for me to go to a club get-together as your date?”
“Fuck me,” he ground out. “You’re fuckin’ clueless.”
“Lovely. So now I’m stupid?”
We pulled up in front of Mack’s house and he faced me. “I never said you were stupid, Darien. I said you were clueless.”
“What’s the difference?”
He dragged his hands down his face and sighed. “Let’s take this inside.”
“Fine,” I snapped, and pushed open my door.
Mack grabbed the food and led me into the house, dropping everything on the counter and facing me. “When I said we’re exclusive, I meant we’re exclusive.”
“That’s not in question, Logan.”
“Yeah, baby, it is... for you.”
“I just don’t want to back you into a corner.”
He pulled me to him and stroked my neck. “I think I just figured out the problem.”
“Oh, yeah?” I said, sarcastically.
“Yeah.” Mack smiled. “I haven’t been clear enough, so I’m gonna make myself clear now, yeah?”
“Knock yourself out.”
“I’m with you, Darien. With you. Not just getting to know you, but in it for the long haul. Official-like. Yes, bringing you on Saturday is
a statement, but it’s a statement I wanna make, because you’re my woman. You’re beautiful and funny and I want to show you off.”
I bit my lip. “Really?”
“Yeah, baby, really. We would have talked about the club party, it just came up a little differently than I expected.”
I settled against him with a sigh. “It’s just that sometimes I still feel like the chubby kid who no one likes. I’m half-expecting you to figure out I’m not only overweight, but a dork as well, and run far and fast away from me.”
“You’re beautiful, baby, and even if you gained a hundred pounds that wouldn’t change.”
I let out an inelegant snort. “Yeah, right. No one likes the fat girl.”
“Hey.” He gave me a squeeze. “First off, you’re not fat, second off, I like women with some meat on their bones. It’s sexy.”
I stared up at him. “You really mean that, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I really mean that.” He leaned down and kissed me gently. “Now, you gonna eat?”
“Yes. I’ve got a hundred pounds to gain.”
Mack laughed, kissing me quickly before we grabbed our food and spent the rest of the night on his sofa watching a movie (and making out). It was awesome.
* * *
Saturday night rolled around and I was a bundle of nerves. I’d changed outfits three times. I pulled my hair up, hated it, so styled it down, hated that, and now it was somewhere in between. I almost bailed completely, but Millie talked me down off the ledge. I wish she was coming with me, but she worked early on Sunday mornings, so I was destined to go it alone.
Mack arrived at six and I was in the middle of changing my earrings (again), so I had only one in when I opened the door. “You ready?” he asked.
“Do I look ready?” I snapped. I secured my earring and focused on him. “Is this okay?”
“Are you gonna wear two different shoes?”
I glanced at my feet. “Shit!” I’d put one black and one brown on.
Before I could make a rush for my room, he grabbed my arm. “Hey. You look beautiful, Darien.”
“I feel totally out of your league.”
And I was. Gone was his suit, replaced with jeans that fit him entirely too well, a tight, white T-shirt, black motorcycle boots, and a leather jacket with the Dogs of Fire logo on the back. He was illegally gorgeous.
Road to Passion Page 6
