Page 11 of Mac's Vow

“Not everyone eats like a prison inmate, Mac,” she explained as she picked up a loaded chip and placed it ever so carefully in her mouth.

Mac was seconds away from dragging Alyssa out of the chair and carrying her off to her bedroom. The only thing keeping his ass planted was the fact that she was way too injured to be manhandled. Speaking of injury. “Are you sure you’re up to…playing tonight? We could hold off if you’re in pain.”

A chip fell from her hand and hit the table with a splat. “Are you changing your mind?”

Mac reached across the table and picked up another chip from Alyssa’s plate and held it to her lips. “No. Now eat,” he softly ordered. She opened and let him feed her. He kind of liked doing it so he did again by picking up another chip loaded with beef and cheese. He watched her eat that one before he stated, “The only person who could make me leave this apartment right now is you.”

“I don’t want you to leave,” she mumbled around another bite.

He grinned as he picked up her napkin and wiped a bit of cheese from the corner of her mouth. “Good.” He picked up another chip, but Alyssa held up a hand in surrender.

“I’m stuffed. No more or it’s all coming back up.”

He dropped it onto her plate, then stood and brought both their plates over to the trash and dumped the leftovers. He put the plates in the sink and ran water over them before he turned around. Alyssa sat there watching him. Her brows were scrunched together in that way that told Mac she was worried. That she was overthinking what was about to happen between them. He didn’t want that shit. He wanted her relaxed. Not pressured or unsure. He picked up the tube of pain-relieving ointment Jimmy had given him earlier and held it up for her to see. “Jimmy says you used this stuff before when you had a sprain.”

She stood and came toward him, then plucked the tube out of his hand. “Yeah, I had hurt my ankle pretty bad one time falling down the stairs at school. Jimmy went out and bought this and it really helped.”

Mac stroked a finger over the bruising around her left eye. “How about I rub it on you now? It might help with the soreness around your ribs and your hip where you hit the coffee table.”

She nodded and her cheeks turned pink. God, she was pretty. “That sounds wonderful, Mac.”

He loved the way she said his name. Her voice went a little husky and it made him think how she’d sound when he was buried deep inside her. His dick hardened further. Whenever he was around Alyssa he sported a semi-erection.

First things first. Mac picked up the bottle of pain pills that Jimmy had given him when he’d handed him the ointment. “Your brother also says you should take this. Half a pill or else you're loopy.” He thought of something else. “Also, I gave him your car keys. He’ll pick it up from Leo’s for you.”

“Okay.” Alyssa shook her head as she stared at the pill bottle in his hand. “Those make me too drowsy.” She went to a cupboard next to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of over-the-counter pain reliever. “This will help, and it won’t make me start confessing all my sins.”

He chuckled and shook the bottle of prescription pills. “But I kind of like the idea of hearing all your dirty secrets.”

She swallowed two pills with a gulp of water. “You want dirty, I can talk dirty. I don’t need a pill for that.”

Ah hell, there went his cock again. “Come on.” He took her by the hand and led her to the bedroom. “Lay down, little baby. Let me take away your aches.”

Alyssa cocked her head to the side. “Why do you call me that?”

He started reading the directions on the tube of ointment. “Huh?” he asked, distracted by the words: massage into area thoroughly. Yeah, he planned to do a lot of that.

“You call me little baby. Why?”

He dragged his attention away from the tube clutched in his hand. “You’re all of five foot nothing to my six foot two. You are little.”

She straightened her spine and glared at him as if he’d offended her. “I’m five foot one and a half.”

He rolled his eyes. “Practically an Amazon.”

She squinted in that way only a woman was capable of. “Do you use that endearment with all your girlfriends?”

Unable to stop himself from touching her, any part of her, Mac leaned down and flicked the tip of her nose. “No, I don’t, miss nosy. That one was only ever for you,” he murmured. “And I don’t have a harem, so stop acting like I do. To tell the truth, Saint Investigations keeps me pretty busy. Not a lot of time for dates.”

“My brother says you sleep with women, but you don’t keep them around for long.”

Shit. Thanks Jimmy. He sighed. “That’s partly true, but you’re different. We’re different together.”

“How?”

Damn, she had a lot of questions. “Because the minute we decided to take our relationship to the next level you became mine. I’m not giving you back either.”

A small smile slipped across her face. “All sales final, huh?”

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