Road to Passion (15 page)

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 mattress 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.

T
WO 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?”

He studied me and then nodded.
“Yeah, it’s a shit storm.”

“Are you sure I can’t help?”

Mack sighed. “Yeah, I’m sure. I’m
gonna hit the shower. Wanna join me?”

“Yes, actually, I do.” I threw
the covers off and slid off the mattress.

He grinned and pulled his T-shirt
off, and I followed him to the bathroom. I’d just gotten totally naked (Mack
was already there) and he’d turned on the water, when I found myself lifted and
pressed against the bathroom wall. I wrapped my legs around him and he kissed
me as he slid into me slowly. “Yes,” I breathed as he filled me.

Mack drew one nipple then the
other into his mouth. “Your tits are bigger.”

“What?” I giggled. “They are not.”

“Yeah, babe, they are.”

“I’ve gained a little weight. But
not
that
much.”

He grinned. “It’s workin’, Dare.”

“It is?”

“Fuck, yeah, it is.” He anchored
me against the wall and slammed into me. I dropped my head to his shoulder and
let him do all the work. Even though this was my least favorite position
(meaning, I would typically only come once this way), it was still sexy as hell
which fueled the fire. Despite my weight gain, he still had no problem throwing
me up against a wall and fucking me. It was awesome.

We both came quickly and Mack
disposed of the condom before we stepped into the shower. “Can’t wait for your
pill to kick back in,” he mentioned (again).

I’d had to go on antibiotics
until my head healed and, although I never stopped taking the pill, I’d heard
that sometimes antibiotics messed with the contraceptive so we’d gone back to
condoms for a little while.

“I think I’m good now, don’t
you?”

“Babe, we don’t have to use ’em.
You get pregnant, I’m good with that. But it’s up to you. You could already be
pregnant, you know.”

“I highly doubt it.” A couple of
weeks ago, we’d had a broken condom, which was a little scary, but I’d kind of
put it out of my mind.

He leaned down and kissed me. “I
got you something today.”

“What?” I asked excitedly.

“Your ring.”

“What? Seriously? It wasn’t going
to be ready until next week.”

“They got it done early.”

“I want to see it.”

“Shit.” He smiled. “I shouldn’t
have told you. Now we’re gonna have to actually get clean.”

“But then we can get super dirty
again.”

“You’ve got a point.”

We finished up in the shower and
then toweled off. Mack dug in his discarded jeans for the ring and I let out a
frustrated groan. “You did not actually drop my engagement ring on the floor of
our bathroom, Logan Reed, did you?”

He shook his head, even as he
pulled the leather box from his pocket. “I’d never do that.” I reached for it,
but he pulled his hand back. “Gonna do this right, Dare.”

He took my hand and led me to the
bed, leaning me against it (still naked) and kneeling in front of me. “Darien
Alana Aherne, will you marry me?”

I smiled down at him. “Yes, I
will marry you, Logan Andrew Reed.”

He grinned, slipped the ring on
my finger, but before I could admire it, his face was between my legs and his
mouth was on my clit. I whimpered with need and he pushed me onto the mattress,
holding me down with a hand on my chest. He drew a nipple into his mouth and
bit gently. I gasped at the sensation, then he pushed open my knees, sliding my
thighs over his shoulders and began a delicious assault on my clit. I mewed as
he sucked, licked, and kissed his way around my pussy.

He slid one finger inside of me,
and then two, and as much as I tried to make my climax wait, it wouldn’t. I
cried out as my orgasm hit and he kissed my inner thighs before releasing my
shaking legs and climbing back up my body. “Now you can see if the ring fits.”

I giggled, breathlessly. “I’ll
just catch my breath, honey.”

Mack grinned and kissed me
quickly before settling beside me. I lifted my hand and smiled. The ring was
beautiful and it fit perfectly. I gasped. “This isn’t the diamond we picked
out.” We’d chosen a simple white gold band with four small diamonds on each
side of a point seven five carat emerald center diamond and our wedding bands
were matching white gold, although, his was a satin finish while mine was
shinier.

Mack grinned. “I know. I upped it
a bit.”

“A bit? What is this?”

“Two carats.”

“Seriously? Honey, are you sure?”

“You like it?”

“I love it,” I whispered.

“Then I’m sure.”

I rolled over him and kissed him.
“It’s stunning. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“My turn,” I said, and kissed my
way down his body, wrapping my mouth around him. Mack’s hands slipped into my
hair as I ran my tongue along his length and then wrapped my mouth around his
tip again. I loved the taste of him. All of him and I added my hands as I
cupped his balls gently and squeezed. I stroked him with my other hand,
following my mouth up and down, faster and faster, until he bucked into me and
began to fuck my mouth. I felt his body tighten and then he came into my mouth
and I took it all, sucking him dry and swallowing before climbing back up his
body and straddling him. “I think that’s my favorite.”

Mack smiled as he took a few deep
breaths. “I’ve discovered pretty much anything you do to me is your favorite.”

I settled my chin on his chest so
I could look at him. “This is true. But I do like all the stuff you do to me
too.”

He slid his hands to my bottom
and gave it a gentle smack. “You obviously love the ring.”

“Yes, I love the ring.” I held it
up again and sighed at the sparkle. “I can’t believe you went up to two
carats.”

“You’re a famous author, baby.
Gotta keep you in the lifestyle you’ve become accustomed to.”

I giggled. “In my head.”

“There is that, yeah.” He smiled.
“Plus, you and I are goin’ out on the bike tomorrow, so I had to butter you
up.”

“I told you I would. You didn’t
need to go up an entire carat to get me back on your bike.”

“It all helps,” he said.

“Yes, that’s true, but you keep
up with this precedent, I’m going to expect things.”

“I’ll give you anything you want,
Darien.” He slid my hair behind my ears and cupped my face. “I’ll do anything
to make you happy.”

I kissed his chin. “I’m getting
that message, honey.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” I whispered.

“Gonna have my baby?”

I smiled. “One day.”

He flipped me onto my back. “Or
we can start practicing now.”

He slid into me and I arched
against him. “Okay,” I rasped.