I dragged Mack’s sweatshirt off and grimaced as it rubbed against my stitches. I closed my eyes and tried to calm my way out of the ache. Gah! I didn’t want to still be in pain. It was seriously cutting into my sex life.
Mack walked out of the bathroom with a bottle of Tylenol and stalled. “Babe.”
I opened my eyes and scowled. “I wanted to prove you wrong, but I can’t. It hurts too much.”
He gave me a gentle smile. “I think you should take the oxy.”
“I really don’t want to be all loopy. It’s not nearly as bad as it was.”
“Okay. We’ll start with these then.” He handed me the Tylenol and I grabbed the water next to the bed. “Hungry?”
I nodded. “Starving.”
“Get dressed and we’ll see what we’ve got in the kitchen.”
“And find Barney.”
“And we’ll find Barney.” He leaned down and kissed me gently and I headed to the bathroom.
I WAS PLEASANTLY surprised to find that Pauley had grabbed my favorite yoga pants (seriously, I owned six pairs and I didn’t even do yoga), so I pulled those on along with a shelf cami and another one of Mack’s T-shirts, just because I loved his smell on me. He pulled on a loose pair of jeans and a T-shirt and we headed downstairs. A little bark and a fluff of white came running toward me and I knelt down to catch Barney in my lap. “Hey, little doggle. How’s my boy?”
I swear sometimes this dog acted like I was a soldier coming back from war, because he would wrap his paws around my neck and lick me, holding on for dear life if I didn’t forcibly remove him. I couldn’t stop a giggle as he growled at me when I stood up. “What? I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
Bark.
“I missed you too, buddy.”
“I fed him,” Pauley said, and headed toward me, pulling me in for a gentle hug. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. Thanks for taking care of Barney.”
“It’s all good, honey.”
“Sit down, Darien, and I’ll find breakfast,” Mack said.
“I put on a pot of coffee,” Pauley piped in. “Don’t know if I did it right, but it should be almost done.”
“Thanks, babe.”
Mack waited until I sat on one of the sofas before he made his way to the kitchen. Barney jumped up next to me and laid his head on my lap.
“I may have misjudged him,” Pauley admitted as she sat next to me.
I smiled. “He loves me.”
“Yeah, I see that, honey.”
“I love him more.”
“Well, that might be debatable.” Pauley giggled. “He’s been a mess. Booker had to drag him out of the room more than once in order for him to eat. I stayed with you while he forced down some food and then rushed right back to your side.”
“Don’t tell me that,” I whispered. “I’m horny as hell and he won’t do anything about it. Hearing how sweet he is even when I’m not in my right mind only makes it worse.”
Pauley giggled. “I see your priorities are set.”
“Is this normal?”
“To be horny when you’re madly in love with someone who’s good to you?”
I nodded.
She grinned. “No.”
“Really?”
“No. It’s really special, honey. Don’t let him go.”
I blushed. “I have no intention of ever letting him get away... again.”
“He didn’t get away before, Dare. Remember that.”
“I will.”
Mack set a cup of coffee on the side table and handed me a piece of peanut butter toast. “If you feel good and are still hungry, I’ll make you an omelet.”
I smiled up at him. “Thanks, honey.”
He leaned down and kissed me gently. “You’re welcome.”
I sipped my coffee and sighed. “You make the best coffee.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere.” He walked back toward the kitchen. “Can I get you anything, Pauley?”
“I’d love one of those coffees, please,” she said.
“You got it.”
“The locksmith called,” Pauley said as she stroked Barney. “The locks are changed, move in can happen anytime.”
“Awesome. Mack wants Knight to put in a security system.” I took another bite of toast and felt my headache ebb.
“Yeah. Knight went over today. I gave him a key, I hope that’s okay.”
“Definitely.” I squeezed her hand. “Thank you for doing all this.”
“I can’t say I’ve hated being here.”
“Oh, really?” I raised an eyebrow. “What’s his name?”
“What? Why does there have to be a guy?” Mack returned and handed Pauley a mug. She took a sip and sighed. “Damn, you really do make a great cup of coffee.”
Mack grinned. “Shorty taught me.”
I gasped. “Oh, so his name is Shorty.”
“Suck it. Both of you,” Pauley retorted, rose to her feet. “I’m going to grab some toast. Can I get anyone anything?”
“Nope,” Mack said. “Shorty can show you where everything is.”
“I might still maim you.”
On that note, Pauley sauntered out of the room and Mack took her spot. “How’s your head?”
“It’s good, honey.” I settled my head in my palm. “I’m glad I didn’t take the oxy.”
“You’re going to later, though.”
“I am?”
He nodded. “Yeah. You need to sleep.”
“Ohmigod, Mack.” I rolled my eyes. “I’ve been asleep for two days.”
He slid his hand to my neck. “And you’ll sleep some more.”
Before I could make a witty retort, Knight walked into the room and smiled. “Hey, Darien. You look better.”
“Yes, I’m good. Thanks.” I gave Mack a snarky look and he grinned before rising to his feet.
“What ya got?” he asked Knight.
“Install can happen tomorrow. I’ll write everything up.”
“Can I see the estimate?” I asked. “I need to find out if I have the budget.”
Mack narrowed his eyes. “It’s covered, Darien.”
“I’m sorry?”
“We’ll talk about it later.”
“Logan,” I said, this time my voice had a bite of warning.
“Thanks, brother.”
“No problem.” Knight walked away and Mack sat back down beside me.
“You are not paying for my security system,” I said.
“Babe, I’m gonna be living there at some point, so yeah, I am paying for the security system.”
I choked down a sip of coffee. “Excuse me?”
He smiled his sexy shit-eating grin.
“Logan, Pauley’s moving in with me. You are not.”
“That’s actually changed.”
“What?” I squeaked.
“She’s movin’ into my place and I’m movin’ in with you.”
“Pauley!” I bellowed.
Pauley came out of the kitchen and into my line of sight, a tall, blond guy behind her, and she glanced between me and Mack and then frowned. “You told her?”
Mack just shrugged.
“You’ve discussed this?” I snapped.
“Yes, but no decisions have been made,” Pauley rushed to say. “Right, Mack?”
He shrugged again.
I scowled and set my coffee cup aside. “Ohmigod, I can’t believe you two.”
“Nothing’s been decided, Dare.”
“Sissy, get a clue. The second Mack says anything and you don’t disagree, he’s decided it’s decided!” I rose to my feet and sighed. “I’m going to lie down.”
I moved a little slower than I would have liked, which pissed me off even more, because I wanted to stomp away and maybe slam a few doors, but head injuries make that virtually impossible. Barney followed me... and so did Mack. I felt his hand on my back as I pushed open his bedroom door.
I stretched out on the bed and felt the dip of the mat
tress as both Mack and Barney joined me. Mack slid his front to my back and wrapped an arm around my waist. “Break it down for me, baby.”
“No.”
“Okay, I’ll break it down then.”
“Why? It’s not like I have any say in any of this apparently.”
He chuckled.
“This isn’t funny.”
“Yeah, baby, it is.” He gave me a gentle squeeze. “Pauley’s right, at least in her assessment, nothing’s been decided, but that’s not what you’re pissed about, admit it.”
“No,” I snapped. “You two discussed something, which means you go all Tarzan on me and decide that what you’ve discussed is what’s going to happen. What if I don’t want you to move in with me?”
“You want me to move in with you.”
“No I don’t.”
“Babe, you do and you know it.”
“I am not giving the cow away, Logan. It’s my house and you don’t get to arbitrarily make decisions for me. It’s my house!”
He laughed and I let out a frustrated squeal and moved away from him, but he pulled me back. “Settle, Darien.”
“Suck it, Logan.”
“You settle down and I’ll fill you in on all the shit you’re missin’.” He rolled me to face him and I scowled as I set my head on my pillow. He smiled at me as he reached out to stroke my face. “One, I’m buyin’ the cow, so you’re most definitely not givin’ it away.”
I scowled deeper.
“Two, it’s still your house. But we’re gonna be married, so we’re gonna need to make some decisions together on if it’s where we want to be permanently, or if we want to buy somethin’ bigger for when we have kids.”
“Now we’re getting married and having kids?” I tried to say it in a way to drive home the fact I didn’t appreciate him making decisions for me, but my stomach had just gone jelly-like and my throat had gone dry.
He smiled. “Damn straight we are, Darien. The only thing you gotta decide right now, though, is if you want to trust me to buy your ring or if you want to go with me to pick it out.”
“I want to pick it out,” I said, and then growled. “I mean, I haven’t agreed to marry you, so nothing. I don’t want to do anything.”
He grinned.
“Pauley was moving in with me to save money on rent, FYI, so how is she going to pay for an entire house when she didn’t even want to pay for a one-bedroom apartment?”
“She’s payin’ less than what she would for a one-bedroom apartment.”
“What?” I whispered.
“Darien, I own that house outright, so she’s payin’ me the equivalent of property taxes and upkeep, which means she’s payin’ me less than seven-hundred a month.”
“Well, that’s really sweet, Mack, but I was kind of hoping for her contribution to my mortgage.”
“You don’t need it because I’ll be providing that.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
He laughed again and then kissed me gently. “You’re a fuckin’ nut, baby.”
“This is all too much and I have the headache from hell.”
“I’m gonna say somethin’, then you’re gonna take some meds and sleep.” I opened my mouth to object, but he kissed me, then whispered, “Shush.”
I wrinkled my nose, but gave him a quick nod.
“I love you, Darien. And not just the, holy-shit-you’re-the-sexiest-woman-on-earth-and-all-I-want-to-do-is-fuck-you-all-day-long, kind of love.”
“That exists?” I retorted.
He grinned. “I can’t imagine my life without you, sweetheart... just the three days apart nearly killed me, and I don’t see any reason for us to wait... especially, considering, your author mind gets working and makes up scenarios of all the things that can go wrong.”
“It does not.”
“So,” he continued. “You and I are gonna make a life together. If you want to wait a bit to get married, we can, but I’m not sleepin’ apart from you anymore, so might as well move in.”
“You don’t think this is all a little fast?”
He shrugged. “Do you love me?”
“Most days.”
He laughed. “And on the other days?”
“I make a conscious effort to choose to love you.”
“See? You’ve figured it out already.”
I sighed. “You really think we’re not just being dumb about all of this and rushing it?”
“People get together and break up for all sorts of reasons, Dare. I love you... and I know I love you because I’ve never loved anyone before. Not like this. You’re the person I want to share everything with, you’re my best friend, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you’re my soul. Without you I’m nothing.”
“Logan,” I whispered, and wrapped my arms around him. “I love you the same.”
“I know.” He settled me against his chest.
“We’re going to need to buy a bed.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded. “Yours is too soft and mine’s too small.”
“Okay, baby, we’ll buy a bed.”
I burrowed my face into his neck and yawned. “I want the Pottery Barn one. The king-sized one with the padded headboard that costs, like, five-grand.”
“For a bed?”
“For the bed I want.” I yawned again. “And you’re gonna buy it for us.”
“Whatever you want, Darien.”
“Damn straight.”
I didn’t know if he said anything after that, because I fell asleep in my favorite place (nestled against his body) and didn’t wake again until just past three.
TWO WEEKS LATER, I was sequestered in my new place, knowing I wouldn’t get to see Mack until late that night or early the next morning. My stitches had been removed a week earlier and I finally felt like myself again, so I was back to writing.
Mack and I moved into my new house... our new house... three days ago. Technically, I didn’t have to do much other than direct traffic, because the club handled everything heavy-lifting-wise, and the women of the club, plus Pauley and Millie, helped me unpack.
Having just sent off the final pages of the sequel of my book to my editor, I had some time to kill, so I was sitting on the sofa with a glass of wine and trying to decide if I was going to cook or dive into a bag of Cheetos puffs. Barney jumped up next to me and we settled in for a quiet night.
I was browsing the internet, checking Facebook, just generally wasting time, and my conversation with Mack a while ago popped into my head. I had no point of reference for anything, but wondered if a vibrator might be fun. It would certainly be a tax write off, so I looked for one that might work.
I was in the privacy of my own home, no one was around, and still, I couldn’t help but blush uncontrollably as I scrolled through my options. I started when my cell phone rang, but seeing it was Mack had me blushing again. “Hi, honey.”
“Hey. You okay? You sound weird.”
I giggled. “You’ll never guess what I’m doing.”
“Yeah? Tell me.”
“Looking at... um... personal items.”
He chuckled. “Yeah? Good for you.”
“I feel like an idiot.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I know nothing about any of this. What should I get?”
“That I can’t answer for you, babe.”
I groaned. “You’re useless.”
“Pick what looks fun and, I promise I’ll be far from useless.”
I giggled. “Promise?”
“Promise.”
“Okay.” I smiled. “How’s your day going?”
“Miss you.”
“I miss you too.” I sighed. “Are you sure you’re gonna be late tonight?”
“Yeah, babe. Too much goin’ on.”
“I’m going to buy me a big ol’ vibrator, then.”
He laughed. “Yeah?”
“Yes, one that rivals you.”
“I don’t think they make one that big,
” he said.
“You might be right.” I giggled. “That’s what I love the most about you.”
“My big cock?”
“Your humility.”
“I’ve worked hard to develop that.”
“I can tell,” I said. “Do you want me to order anything for you?”
“Like what?”
“Oh, I don’t know. A cock ring or butt plug maybe?” Mack made a choking sound and I laughed. “So that’s a no, then?”
“That’s a definite no, babe.”
I sighed. “Killjoy.”
He laughed. “I have to go, baby. I’ll call you later.”
“Okay. I’m going to sit here and occupy my time by ordering toys for us... oooh, free lube with purchase.”
I lost Mack for a second because he was laughing so hard, and for whatever reason, that made me happy. I loved to catch him off guard, particularly if I could make him laugh.
“Don’t wait up, Dare,” he said once he’d stopped laughing.
“Okay, honey.”
“You set the alarm?”
“Yessuh, I sure did.” I gave him a deep southern accent. “But I sure do appreciate you checkin’ in on lil ol me, honey chil’.”
He chuckled. “Love you.”
“Love you too.” I hung up, placed my order, and then decided to find something to eat.
As was the way once I finished a book, I puttered around the house with no direction, bored out of my mind, and then ended up on my kick-ass new bed with my kindle and Barney.
We’d tried (not hard, but we did try) not to let Barney on the bed, considering we’d dropped a “shit ton of money” (Mack’s words) on the new bed and bedding from Pottery Barn and he wanted it pet free. But when I was home alone, I liked having Barney next to me, so Mack had to deal.
I got sucked into a book by a new to me author and I loved it, so when I felt soft lips on mine, I opened my eyes not realizing I’d fallen asleep. “Hi.”
“Hey, baby.” Mack smiled and lifted Barney off the bed, setting him in his crate. “Good book?”
“Yes, actually, it is. I didn’t realize I’d fallen asleep.” I giggled, forcing back a yawn. I dropped my kindle into the nightstand drawer and sat up. “How was church?”
“Not good.”
“Still the Kozlov stuff?”
Road to Passion Page 14
