Road to Passion (9 page)

“So this is going to happen
again, then?”

Mack chuckled. “A lot.”

I giggled. “Promises, promises.”

He slid his hand along my belly.
“Just statin’ fact, baby.”

“Now?” I asked hopefully.

“No, honey. You’re still too
tender, but tomorrow we’ll try again.”

I ran my thumb along his lower
lip. “I can’t wait to do research for my next book.”

“We’ll be real thorough.” Mack
grinned, drawing my thumb into his mouth and sucking gently.

“Ohmigod, you’re irresistible!” I
moved my hand to his chest.

“Good to know.” He kissed me
quickly and then settled next to me. “But I need to shut this down, baby, or
I’ll hurt you.”

“Gentleman to the end,” I said,
and rolled onto my side, settling my head on his chest.

“I will always protect you,
Darien.” He ran his finger along my side and laid his palm on my bottom. “Even
if it’s from yourself.”

“I know. It’s one of the things I
love the most about you.” I kissed his chest. “But try to remember I’m a
grown-ass woman who doesn’t always need protecting.” Mack’s body shook with
laughter, although, he didn’t make any sound. “Not funny, honey.”

“Yeah, Darien, it’s funny.” He
gave my bottom a gentle smack. “It’s one of the things I love the most about
you.” I smiled, biting back another yawn. Mack pulled the covers up our bodies
and kissed the top of my head. “Sleep, sweetheart.”

I yawned again as I slid my arm
over his stomach. “’Night, bossy.”

Mack chuckled. “’Night, Darien.”

* * *

Saturday I awoke
to an empty bed, but the soft scent of Mack was left on the sheets next to me
so I burrowed in. I closed my eyes and kept them closed, even when I felt the
bed dip and soft lips kiss the sensitive spot just below my ear. “Good
morning.”

I smiled, reaching my hand behind
me and sliding it into his hair. “Good morning.”

Mack rolled me onto my back and
leaned down to kiss me. “How’d you sleep?”

“Really well,” I said. “You?”

“Once I pinned you to the bed,
great.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What do you
mean?”

He grinned and settled beside me.
“You did the alligator death roll more than a few times.”

I giggled. “What the heck is an
alligator death roll?”

Mack slid his hand under the
shirt I was wearing and laid it on my belly. “Well, it’s when you threw all
your blankets off, but then you’d throw your arm over me, grab mine, and roll
with them. I had to chase you to keep from freezing.”

“You did?”

“I did.” He kissed my neck. “But
I pinned you to the bed and you settled and stayed that way as long as I kept
you close.”

I arched against his mouth. “I
did?”

His hand slid to my breast,
cupping it gently. “You did.”

“I think I love sleeping next to
you.”

“Ditto, baby.” He rolled a nipple
between his finger and thumb as he kissed me. He stopped kissing me long enough
to pull off my shirt and panties, and then his hand slipped between my legs and
his thumb circled my clit. “I love how wet you get for me.” I mewed as he slid
a finger inside of me, then two. “Too much?”

“No, it’s perfect,” I breathed
out.

“Want more?”

“Ohmigod, yes.”

He chuckled and removed his hand
only long enough to roll on a condom and slip into me slowly. “How’s that,
baby?”

I shifted so I could draw him
further into my body. “So good.”

“You’re not too sore?”

I raised my head so I could look
him in the eye and cupped his face. “I’m fine, Logan. I love everything we’re
doing here, and I love you for making sure I’m okay, but I’d super duper
appreciate it if you’d just fuck me now and worry about me later.”

He grinned and kissed me as he
thrust forward, surging deeply into me. I hooked my ankles around his waist as
he continued to drive his hips, slowly at first, but building up speed as I
grew louder and louder. He slipped a hand between us and fingered my clit and I
couldn’t stop myself from exploding around him. He wasn’t far behind me and I
felt him pulse inside of me as he rolled us onto our sides.

“I love you.” I stroked his cheek
with a smile. “Sorry about the morning breath.”

He chuckled. “Sorry about the
quickie. There’ll be more later.”

“Well, as you know, I’m not an
expert, but that was amazing, so if that’s what a quickie does to me, I’m all
for it.”

“God, I love you.” Mack grinned.
“Come shower with me and then I’ll make you breakfast.”

“Yes, please.”

T
HREE DAYS LATER, it was the last day of
the month, and I was checking my bank balance to see what my book had yielded
as far as royalties. For the most part, my royalties were paid monthly,
although, occasionally they were paid quarterly.

“Pauley!” I screamed as I stared
at the screen.

“What? What’s wrong?” she asked,
rushing to me.

“Royalty deposit.”

“Ohmigod, Darien, I thought you
were hurt.”

I waved my hand toward the screen
and took a deep breath. “Look.”

Pauley leaned down. “Holy shit.”

“I’m reading it wrong, right?”

“If fifty-six thousand, four
hundred two dollars and ninety-two cents is not what you read, then yeah.”

“Omigod, Pauley, that’s more than
my yearly salary.”

“And that’s just one month.” She
looked again. “NY Times bestseller, Dare. This will only get bigger.”

“You think?”

“I know.” Pauley smiled. “So, you
gonna quit?”

“Um, yeah, I’m gonna quit.” I
grabbed my cell phone. “After I call Logan.”

Pauley giggled. “Dinner on you
Friday night.”

“Sounds good.” I headed to my
bedroom and dialed Mack.

He answered on the first ring.
“Hey, baby, I’m in the middle of something, can I call you back?”

“I just wanted to let you know, I
can quit my job.”

“That’s great, Dare.”

He sounded distracted which was
unlike him. “Call me later,” I said.

“I will.”

“I love you.”

“Me too,” he said, and he was
gone.

* * *

Mack hung up and
scowled as he paced his office.

“What the fuck are they tryin’ to
do?” Knight asked.

“Set us up, I’d guess,” Booker
answered.

“Fuck!” Mack snapped. “What does
Jax say?”

Knight shook his head. “Haven’t
brought him in yet. Want me to?”

Mack glanced at Booker who
nodded.

“Yeah, brother,” Mack said.
“Bring him in. This just got bigger than us.”

* * *

Wednesday
morning, I arrived at work to chaos. An orderly was out sick and we’d lost one
of our patients (the one who’d puked on me not so long ago), so the coroner was
there to assist with removing the body.

“Oh, Darien, thank you for being
early. Have a seat.” Eleanor, our director, smiled up at me from her desk.
“Would you mind taking on a tour for me?”

“Now?” I asked, and sat in one of
the chairs facing her desk. Eleanor always canceled tours if there was a
death... it never looked good for a potential client to check out the facility
after losing a patient.

She shook her head. “In about an
hour. The coroner’s just finishing up.”

“Of course. Not a problem.” I
grimaced. “I actually have something to speak with you about.”

“What’s up?”

“I’m leaving.” I set my
resignation letter in front of her. “Here’s my two week notice.”

She sighed. “Please tell me it’s
because of something fabulous.”

I smiled. I adored my boss, but
not quite enough to stay. “I wrote a book and it’s kind of taking off.”

“Shut up. You did?” She sat back.
“Please tell me it’s something sexy.”

I laughed. “Um, yeah, it is
actually, but I honestly didn’t expect you’d read that.”

“Oh, honey, I love a good
romance. Did you write it under your name?”

I shook my head. “No, I wanted a
little anonymity. I wrote it under D.W. Foxblood.”

“Forbidden Pleasures?” she
whispered.

I gasped. “Yes. Did you read it?”

“Hell, yeah I did. I loved it.
That’s you?”

I giggled. “Yes, it’s me.”

“Are you going to write another
one?” she asked. “Please tell me you’re going to write Miller’s book.”

“I hope to. I’ve kind of started
the second in the series, but haven’t had a whole lot of time lately. And yes,
it’s Miller’s book.”

“Well, honey, you get right on
that! I’ll buy whatever you write.”

“Thanks, Eleanor. I appreciate
it. Do you think I could still come back, maybe once a week? I don’t think I
can go cold turkey on my checkers game with Mr. Akerman.”

“You’re welcome anytime and you
know how much we love our volunteers.”

I smiled. “That’s very true.”

A knock came at the open door and
I craned my head to see Mike, one of the orderlies. “Coroner’s done. Just needs
you to sign.”

“Thanks, Mike.” Eleanor rose to
her feet. “Don’t change until after the tour, if you don’t mind, Darien. You
know the drill.”

I smiled. “No problem.”

Eleanor followed Mike down the
hall and I pulled out my phone. I had a reprieve of sorts, so fired off a quick
text to Mack. He’d called me back the night before, but I was so tired, we’d
barely gotten to talk for ten minutes before I had to sleep. I missed him and I
wouldn’t see him tonight because it was “Church,” the club’s weekly meeting.

I was surprised when my phone
rang just as I pressed send on my text. I smiled. “Hi, honey.”

“Hey,” Mack said.

“I’m surprised you’re awake.”

He chuckled. “Had no one to keep
me up all night.”

“Oh, you’re funny,” I retorted.

“Feel like stayin’ at my place
tonight? I’ll drop you into work tomorrow.”

“That sounds amazing. You don’t
mind?”

“No. Miss you, baby.”

I smiled again. “Miss you too.
Want me to come down right after work, or meet you after church?”

“Church got pushed back an hour,
so come here after work and we can eat, then I’ll go.”

“Perfect. Just have to drop by
home and grab the dog and then I’ll be there.”

“Sounds good, honey. I’ll see you
then.”

“Love you,” I said.

“Love you too.” Mack hung up and
I slipped my phone into my pocket.

I headed out to the front and let
the receptionist know I’d be in the day room and that I was expecting a
potential client.

I was pleasantly surprised to
find Mr. Akerman in the day room and he waved me over to the Checkers board.
“Let me beat you, honeygirl.”

He’d been so sick lately and we’d
all been sure it wouldn’t be long before he passed away, but today he appeared
to be rallying.

I giggled and sat across from him.
“You think you can?”

“I’m sure gonna try.”

“You’re on.”

We managed four games (three of
which he “won”) before I was called up for the tour. “I’ll try and come back in
a bit, Mr. Akerman.”

“Okay, honeygirl. I’ll be
waitin’.”

I smiled and made my way to the
lobby. A very good looking and tall, blond man with longish hair, dressed in a
suit that had obviously been made for him, turned to me with a sexy smile.

“Mr. Kozlov?” I asked, and
reached a hand out to him.

“Hello.” He took my hand with
both of his.

“I’m Darien Aherne. I understand
you’re looking at our facility for your grandfather?”

“Yes. I understand you have good
reputation,” he said in a thick Russian accent.

“We have a first class facility
and we do everything we can to keep our residents healthy and happy.”

“So I heard.”

“Right.” I forced a smile. There
was something a little disconcerting about him. “Shall we?”

“
Da
.”

For the next hour, I walked the
man around the facility, showing him a typical suite, the day room, cafeteria,
and so forth. Not once did he speak in full sentences. Just hummed in a tone
that could neither be considered positive or negative. By the time I bid him
farewell, I had no idea if he liked or disliked what he saw. But I’d done
everything I could, so I changed into scrubs and went about my day.

Eleanor called me into her office
just after lunch. “I don’t know what you said to Mr. Kozlov, but he’s bringing
his grandfather here tomorrow. We’ve never had someone commit that quickly.”

“Really? That’s great,” I said.

“I think he was quite taken with
you.”

“What? Seriously?”

Eleanor giggled. “Yes. He was
asking if you had a boyfriend. I informed him we don’t discuss our employees’
personal lives, but I won’t be surprised if he seeks you out over the next
couple of weeks.”

I shook my head. “You’re crazy.
But thanks for the heads up.”

“No problem, hon.”

“I’ll see you later. I have to
check on Mr. Akerman.”

“Sounds good. Thanks again.”

“You’re welcome,” I said, and
went back to work.

Four o’clock came faster than
expected and I almost squealed with glee as I made a run for my car and headed
home. I’d gone shopping the day before and picked up a few things so I could
have makeup remover and hair stuff at Mack’s. I’d also grabbed Barney’s
favorite food and an extra water and food bowl for him. Although I had no
intention of moving in with Mack so quickly, he had suggested I leave a few
things at his place since it was the only place we were guaranteed absolute
privacy.

There was something quite strange
about packing for my boyfriend’s place. Something that felt a little more grown
up than normal. Probably because I was Dork Darien.

I had to make two trips to my
car, but I packed in record time and gathered Barney and a few bottles of wine
(priorities), then called Mack.

“Hey, babe.”

“Hi. I’m leaving now. Need me to
pick up anything?” I asked as I started the car.

“Not unless you need wine.”

I giggled. “Oh, I have wine.”

“Figured.” He chuckled. “Be safe,
yeah?”

“Yes, bossy. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

We hung up and I drove (safely)
to his place where he met me in the driveway. I barely got the car turned off
before my door was opened and I was pulled into his arms and kissed rather
thoroughly for all his neighbors to see.

“Damn, baby, I’ve missed you.”

I stroked his cheek. “Missed you
too, honey.”

Barney whined behind me in an
effort to get to Mack, so I moved out of the way and Mack picked him up and
gave him a few ear scratches. “Hey, boy.”

“I think he loves you more than
me now.”

“Evil plan complete.” Mack
chuckled. “Pop your trunk and I’ll grab your stuff.”

Once inside, he took care of the
dog and my bags while I hung up my coat and took off my shoes. He put Barney
out back for a few minutes and kissed me again on his way to the kitchen. “How
was your day?”

“Good. I gave my notice. Two weeks
and I’m done.”

“Baby, that’s great.” He grinned
and grabbed a beer. “Want one?”

“Yes, please.”

He popped the top and handed me
the bottle then grabbed another one for himself. “How did they take it?”

“Well, I found out Eleanor read
the book.”

“She didn’t know about it
before?”

“I’m writing under a pen name,
remember?” I said as I flopped onto the sofa.

“Right. What’s the pen name
again?”

I rolled my eyes. “Do you ever
listen to me when I speak?”

“Huh?”

“Oh, very funny,” I retorted.

He grinned. “I do listen, we just
never drilled down into all the details of your book remember?”

“No, I guess we didn’t, did we?”
I conceded.

“No.”

I giggled. “D.W. Foxblood.”

“The book’s that’s Forbidden
somethin’?”

“Forbidden Pleasures, yes.”

“Shit, seriously?”

“Yes, why?” I asked.

“Babe, that book’s huge,” he
said, and opened the door for the dog. “The women were havin’ a book club a
while back and were reading it.”

“At the club?”

“Yeah, babe. It’s Dani’s favorite
book.”

I choked on my beer. “Ohmigod,
seriously?”

“Seriously.” He grinned as he sat
next to me. “Fuck me, my woman’s famous.”

“Well, not quite. But I’m working
on it.”

Mack chuckled. “I’m proud of you,
Darien.”

“Thanks, honey.” Barney jumped
onto the sofa and settled next to me, his head on my lap. “Can you keep the
secret for a bit?”

“Yeah, if you want me to,” he
said.

“Thanks. I’m just not quite ready
for people to be weird. I don’t even know if this will last for long.”

“It’ll last, Darien,” he said.
“Now you just gotta write somethin’ else and keep your name out there.”

“I know.” I sighed. “I’ll get
through the next two weeks and then my new career can really start.”

“I’m gonna like you workin’ from
home.”

“You are?”

He nodded. “Research all day,
every day.”

I laughed. “You have a point.
Make sure you keep your phone handy. I want you at my beck and call at all
times.”

“Whatever you need, baby.”

I set my beer down and shifted so
I was in his lap, straddling his hips. “Speaking of research.”

He grinned, setting his beer next
to mine. “Yeah?”

“Do we have time before you go?”

“We’ll make time.” He rose to his
feet, keeping me wrapped around him, and carried me into the bedroom, kicking
the door closed on Barney. The dog was none too happy and whined at the door,
but I couldn’t bring myself to let him in. It was a little too weird.