I turn my head and blink at her. “Absolutely fucking not.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, the cab fills with her annoyance at my reaction.
“Look,” I continue. “I wasn’t joking about you steering clear of him. Something’s not right about that guy. I don’t like the way he looks at the women in the complex.”
Her arms loosen and she returns her hand to Zeus’ head. “He was kinda creepy.”
I nod. “So, you’ll stay away from him?”
Zeus moves his head to rest on her thigh.
She smiles down at him before grumbling, “Fine. I’ll stay away from him.”
I haven’t told her where I’m taking her for dinner and, when I park, she starts bouncing in her seat.
I can’t help it, I grin at her reaction. “I owed you a sushi dinner.”
Once I was out of the hospital, I called Yuki, the owner of the place I was supposed to take McKenzie, Alec, and Rachel before I was stabbed. After I explained what happened she was cool with me being a no show for our reservation and was happy to rebook me. I decided against bringing Alec and Rachel this time since I wanted an opportunity to spend some more one on one time with McKenzie.
“I love sushi,” she gushes, not even waiting for me to come to her side of the truck.
Instead, she meets me by the hood, and, taking my hand, pulls me toward the entrance. Yuki beams when she sees us and takes us back to our private dining room. The table is already set for two with an extra, unopened bottle of water and a bowl for Zeus next to my place setting. I know plastic bottles aren’t great for the environment but, unless I bring the water with me, I still don’t trust Zeus to drink it.
I pull out her chair, gulping as her body brushes mine before she sinks into it.
Her eyes move around the space. This restaurant is on the newer side and looks good.
When her eyes finally land on mine, her face breaks into a wide smile. “This place is so cool.”
“It’s the one I was going to take you to before . . .”
I don’t finish my sentence. We both know what I was going to say.
She changes the subject. “What are you going to get?”
We end up ordering the same sampler. However, McKenzie uses the wasabi where I don’t. She orders sake with dinner and is giggling by the end of it. I stick to water since I’m driving and have never tried sake.
“We need to do sake bombs sometime.”
Her hand reaches over the table to grip my forearm. She gets the funniest look on her face as she starts to squeeze my arm, moving her hand closer to my elbow and then back toward my wrist.
“You have the sexiest arms. Like, I’ve never even thought about someone’s arm before you; but seriously, your arms are so hot.”
I’m caught off guard by her compliment and laugh.
Her eyes widen. “I’m not saying that the rest of you isn’t hot. All of you is hot. And, even stuff I never thought was hot until you.”
She pauses to point at my face. “Like your beard. Oh, my God, your beard is so hot when we kiss, and when you kiss other parts of me. You have no idea how much I wonder how it will feel when you—”
She blushes and covers her face.
I’m no longer laughing. I’m imagining my lips between her legs and am suddenly painfully hard at the picture in my head.
“I can’t believe I said that. Oh, my God. It’s the sake. I get so tipsy on sake. It’s bad news, bad, bad news.”
Her embarrassment cools my raging lust.
“Should I order you another?” I joke.
She laughs, “Don’t.”
I lean back in my chair, watching her. It’s strange to think of my life before I met her. To know I would be sitting in my apartment right now, eating a microwave dinner, if it wasn’t for her.
Yuki comes to give me the bill, staying for a moment to ask how we enjoyed our meals.
“Your dog is so well behaved.”
“Zeus is the best dog ever,” McKenzie replies, reaching over to rub his head.
After Yuki leaves, she keeps rubbing Zeus’ head and looks at me, as if she wants to ask me something.
“Everything okay?” I offer.
She stops petting Zeus and sets her elbows on the table, clasping her hands together and resting her chin where they meet. “Is Zeus a disability dog for your leg?”
I look down at him and snap, “What?”
She jumps at my tone, sitting back, and dropping her hands to her lap. “It’s just that he’s always with you.”
My neck flushes and my heart starts thumping.
I grip the edge of the table as her words penetrate. “Is that what you think of me, that I’m disabled?”
She shakes her head and gulps. “I was only curious about Zeus. I don’t know anyone else who takes their dog everywhere with them.”
I knew she was too good to be true. “Is it a problem for you?”
She stiffens. “No, not at all. I was only curious.”
It takes a moment for me to speak. “Does it bother you?”
She tilts her head, and asks, “Zeus?”
“No,” I gulp. “My leg.”
Zeus whines.
McKenzie’s mouth falls open and she shakes her head. Before I know it, she’s out of her chair and around the table, pushing it from me so she can fit in my lap.
Her hands are on either side of my face; her lips are pressed to mine. “Mitchell Brooks, I think I’m falling in love with you,” she whispers against them.
My arms lock around her as her eyes pierce mine. “Good, you’re finally catching up then.”
She gasps and I kiss her hard, slipping my tongue inside her mouth to taste her.
Pulling back I ask, “Are you sure?”
She nods, tugging my face back to hers. I want to enjoy this moment in ways that are not legal in a public place. I stand, taking her with me, and set her feet on the ground. Reaching for my wallet, I empty it into the bill folder, not caring I probably just overpaid by a shitload.
Then I grab Zeus’ leash in one hand and McKenzie’s hand in my other hand and book it to my truck. I focus on the road and keep both of my hands on the wheel the whole drive back to Gramercy Square. Once I park, I unclip Zeus and step out so he can jump down.
Before McKenzie can open her door, I haul her across the bench seat and carry her to my apartment.
“You shouldn’t carry me,” she argues.
“Shut up,” I mutter.
“But, your stitches,” she replies.
“You still want to feel my beard between your legs?”
Her eyes widen, her mouth hanging open, she nods.
I lift one finger up to push the bottom of her chin until her mouth closes. “Then shut up.”
She gulps, but doesn’t say another word.
I press her against my door as I unlock it. It takes longer than normal since I have a million fucking keys on my ring and can’t see which one I’m grabbing. It doesn’t help that my brain blanks each time McKenzie shifts her hips against mine.
My cock wants inside her. A sliver of restraint is keeping me from taking her right here. That, and the fact I want every glorious inch of her skin bared to me and only me. That means no show for the neighbors.
“Thank fuck,” I murmur when the key I try turns the lock.
Slamming the door behind me, I cross the room to rest McKenzie on my bed. I glance over my shoulder to make sure Zeus made it in and grin when I see his back; he’s curled up on his bed, his head facing the wall. It’s good to know my dog isn’t a voyeur.
I sit down next to McKenzie and take my leg off as fast as possible.
The last thing I want to do is accidentally scratch her with it. Once it’s off, I turn back to her, shifting us both until we’re facing each other on our sides.
My hands move to the hem of her tank and she shifts so I can pull it over her head. I want to feel her skin against mine so reaching behind my head I tug my shirt forward over my head
and fling it somewhere in the direction of my table.
Our mouths crash, my hands going for the back closure of her bra, her hands gripping first my shoulders and then sinking into my hair. The second I have her bra unhooked, I drag it free of her and fill my hands with her breasts. She groans into my mouth when I tug on her nipple and wrap her leg around my hip.
One of my hands moves down the silken skin of her back right into her shorts and panties to grip her ass. Her skin is hot and soft to the touch. All I want is to fill my hands with her ass as I pound into her. Her hands move from my head in between us to unbutton and unzip her shorts. She wiggles, trying to push them down.
I sit up, gripping both sides and pulling both her shorts and panties down her legs in one fluid motion.
They get hung up on her sandals so she kicks those off before she’s finally free of them. I take a breath to stare at her. She is honest to God the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. Tonight, tipsy as hell, she admitted she thinks she’s falling for me. I’m flat out gone for her, and I still can’t believe she’s in my arms right now.
Locking eyes with her, I drag my fingertip over her hipbone to just below her belly button and then straight down. She lifts her hips when I graze her clit. She sucks in air and moves her hands to cup her perfect tits when my finger parts her lips. Her eyes go fucking hooded as I sink my finger into her.
I’m so turned on there’s a chance I’ll blow before I even get my pants off. She’s so wet for me. I’ve waited too long to taste her. Pulling my finger from her, I hold her eyes as I suck her juices off of it. It’s not enough. I shift further down the bed and bury my face between her legs.
“Oh, Lord,” she pants as I push both of my hands under her and lift her to me.
One of her hands moves up from her breast to cover her face as she moans.
I pull back and growl, “Don’t look away.”
Her eyes instantly return to mine and I resume loving her with my mouth. When my lips close around her clit, her body trembles. I massage and flick it with my tongue and her hand moves down to rest on my head.
“Don’t stop,” she begs.
I move one of my hands from her ass so I can ease two fingers inside her. She’s so wet and tight there’s no way I’m going to last once I’m inside her. I move my other hand to my jeans. Fighting with my belt, button and fly until I manage to free my cock. I pump my hand slowly up and down my shaft, a bead of wetness already spilling from its head.
My eyes stay locked on hers. Seeing her, laid out across my bed, her hair spread over my pillow, her entire body flush with desire is the stuff of dreams.
“Mitch, Oh God, Mitch,” she pants right before she lets go.
Her soft cries are music to my ears. I don’t stop though, I continue to suck, flick, and nibble at her until the tremors shaking her body leave her. She lifts her hand to her chest to catch her breath. I watch her stare back at me with wide eyes and have to hold back from raising my fist in victory.
To bring pleasure to the woman I feel so powerless around is the single most erotic thing I have done to date.
Her hand moves from her chest to thread her fingers through my hair. My head moves with her hand and I gently kiss her inner thighs.
She clears her throat, and then calmly states, “I need you inside me.”
My cock jumps at her words.
“Bedside table,” I croak.
Her body twists as she moves to open the drawer and her hand lands on the box I bought the second I got my truck back. I had no idea I’d need a condom this soon, but I thank whatever intuition led me to buy them. She rips open the box, pulling at a strip and tearing off the first one. She does an ab curl and sits up as I pull off my other sock and shoe and kick off my pants and boxers.
I grit my teeth when her soft fingers grip my cock, sliding up and down my firm length. She holds the condom up for me. I take it from her and hold it as I pull her by the back of her neck until our lips crash again. She releases her hold on me and loops her arms around my neck as our tongues collide. I open the packet and slide the condom down my shaft.
Once it’s on, I ease her back down onto the bed and cover her body with mine. Her legs part and my hips fall between them. I slide my length up and down her core as her hips shift restlessly up and down. Easing my hand down her body, I grip my cock and line it up.
Lifting my head, I break our kiss and watch as her eyes flutter open to meet mine. Her lips are parted, her face flushed, her gorgeous hair a halo around her head.
“Please,” she whispers, and I sink into her.
“That was intense,” I mutter, tucking my face into his neck.
He chuckles, his neck twitching against my skin. I lift my head to glare down at him and lose my annoyance the moment my eyes meet his.
He reaches up to push my hair away from my face and over my shoulder, his eyes gentle.
I’m struck in that moment by how gentle he is with me, given his bulk. It has to be a conscious decision on his part. That focus, that caring attention makes my heart melt even more. He’s my gentle giant.
“Can I ask you something?”
His smile fades but his reply of “yes” is immediate.
“What happened to your leg?”
He stiffens against me. It’s clear, by always wearing long pants, he doesn’t like people seeing his prosthetic.
“I was in the Air Force.”
I suck my lips between my teeth, my mind spinning with more questions.
“I wrote contracts. I know most people think Air Force means pilots, but tons of jobs have nothing to do with flying. Besides, only the officers are pilots and I was enlisted.”
I nod and he keeps going.
“There are tons of regulations around military personal; the quality of water at the bases and basic supplies, it’s endless. I wrote some of those contracts and dealt with the paperwork of receiving and accepting bids.”
He pulls my face back down to his body and strokes my hair as he continues.
“I joined for the GI bill, to help pay for school. I was stationed in Colorado when I was deployed to Iraq. Given my job . . .” He gulps, and I realize this is the most he’s ever said in one go since we’ve met.
“I was the only airman from my squadron to go join the contracting folks already there. It’s not as if they needed a bunch of us. It was someone’s turn from my base to go, so I volunteered because the other guys I worked with had kids. I was relieving a guy who was deployed from a base in Arizona.”
His hand pauses before resuming its downward stroke of my hair.
“Everyone told me I had nothing to worry about because I never had to leave the base. My plane ride in was jacked though. They flew high to avoid insurgents and then nosedived at the last possible moment to land in the green zone.”
“We slept in trailers. Work, sleep, eat, and repeat. I was there two weeks when it happened.”
He gets quiet. The only noise I hear is the thump of his heartbeat since my head is on his chest. He slowly shifts me to pull his arm out from under me and moves to sit in his wheelchair. He pulls on his boxers and I watch as he rolls himself to the sink to pour himself a glass of water.
He doesn’t roll back but turns his chair so he’s facing me, and sits there, holding his glass in his hands.
I lift my hand and rest my head on it, focusing on him.
“I was asleep when it happened. A mortar round hit my trailer. I found out later that the insurgents who set it up were long gone by the time it fired. They had frozen it and the drips of water as it melted triggered it to go off.”
He gulps in air, before looking down at the glass in his hands. I wonder if he’ll break it or throw it. Zeus has been watching him as well and after this pause gets up from his dog bed to sit in front of Mitch, pushing his face into Mitch’s lap. Mitch lifts the drink to his lips and finishes it before reaching behind him to set it in the sink.
When his hand is back in front of him, he rests i
t on Zeus’ head. It’s then that it becomes clear what Zeus’ role is in his life. Whether trained or not for the purpose, I have no doubt he calms Mitch down. I wrack my brain trying to remember the acronym, something with traumatic.
My thoughts are interrupted when Mitch begins to speak again. “I don’t remember the blast, just waking up in pain. I couldn’t move. I’m not sure what was worse, the pain or the fear that came with not understanding what had happened. I don’t know how long I was awake. I was unconscious when they found me and stayed that way until I got to Germany. They amputated my leg there.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I admit.
He nods but makes no move to come back to the bed.
Taking the sheet with me, I move across the room to him. I pat Zeus on the head before crawling into Mitch’s lap and wrapping my arms around his neck. When his arms curve around me, I relax.
“Is there anything I can do?” I ask.
“You’re already doing it,” he replies his mouth against my temple.
We sit in silence until Zeus goes to lay back down on his bed and, unhooking his arms from around me, Mitch moves us back to his bed. I shift back onto it and curl my body into his once he’s next to me.
“I’ve never really talked about it,” he murmurs.
“Does it upset you that I asked?”
He shakes his head.
“Maybe it will help.”
He shrugs. “They had therapists at Walter Reed.”
That name is familiar. “Is that a hospital?”
He nods.
“What was it like?”
He shakes his head. “I’d rather not talk about it.”
I gulp and let it go.
“And you’ve never talked about it with anyone?”
He nods.
“Zeus helps you though. I’ve seen him move over to you.”
“I got him through a program called Warrior Dogs. It’s a charity that matches dogs from their program with soldiers who have stress issues.”
I keep it in, but I thank heaven for that organization bringing Mitch and Zeus together. I can’t imagine one without the other. Mitch, loner that he is, would have had no one at all to comfort him.
“The first time I saw you I was scared of you,” I admit.
Chasing Daylight Page 14
