Page 22 of Treasured
He asked, “Are you safe here?”
I sucked my bottom lip and ignored the ice that inched up my back. I was different now. I took his hands in mine and squeezed. “I hope so. I mean, Arthur coming over makes me nervous, but that’s just started happening. For the past year, since I became a mom, I’ve been really learning to believe in myself, and we’ve been fine.”
He tilted his head toward me and said, “Good.”
I swallowed and nodded now that the truth was all coming out of me. “And I started online classes for a degree in management.”
He smiled at me, and I swear I saw acceptance in the gleam of his eyes when he said, “You already manage a shelter.”
I exhaled, and the coldness in my veins dissipated. “True, but I want to be respected and learn things. I skipped learning a lot about myself, but learning about other things is almost easier than looking inward.”
He scooted closer, and my heart thumped. I hoped he would kiss me finally. “And you want to be honored, I imagine.”
“Yeah, that too.” I ignored the tremble in my body and asked, “What about you?”
He traced down the side of my body with his fingers and said, “I’m learning about you, Mary.”
My eyes fluttered closed, and this time, his lips met mine.
Fireworks exploded in my cells, and I sighed when he ended it. His brown eyes made me all soft and tingly. “What else?”
He picked up my wine, gave it to me, and took his own. We clinked our glasses together, and then he said, “Well, I left the service a few weeks ago, but I’ve debated going back in for another term.”
“Not that long ago.” We both took a sip. “Why did you leave?”
He took another gulp, finishing his off, then said, “Cole Securities informed me of what was happening at my brother’s company, which I own majority shares in.”
I sipped more slowly, and moments passed before I asked, “You mean where Wanda and Arthur work?”
“Clearly your ex had no idea who I was.” He put the empty glasses back down and said, “I’d never met him before and never heard his name, really. I took the meeting with Cole Securities thinking it was about some job they had for me. My brother died, and they were with him when he was killed. But they convinced me fast to start a legal battle.”
Oh no. I would be a wreck without my own brother. I rested my head on his shoulder and said, “Oh, wow. That’s so hard about your brother.”
He turned toward me again, and I sat up. Our bodies touching felt good. “So now I have all these people looking over my shoulder to help me, but I’m in a waiting pattern to actually do anything.”
I curled my fingers around my head and scrunched my hair then asked, “How much longer are you stuck?”
Our noses touched as I climbed on his lap. He didn’t stop me. “Hopefully not long. Now, tell me something funny about you.”
I let myself go and curled around him, letting out a sigh. “Funny?”
His gaze seemed darker, and his cock was clearly stiff underneath me, but still, he said, “Yeah.”
Nothing funny about me came to mind immediately. I stalled as I tried to come up with something. “Hmm, I sing the princess songs from animated movies when they play.”
His dimples appeared. “Cute.”
His hand went to my ass, and he pulled me closer to him. Goose bumps grew all over me, making me warm and fuzzy, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and asked, “And you?”
He pressed his forehead to mine and then said, “My call sign in the SEALs was Thunder Thighs, and my brother’s friend Mark thinks that’s hilarious.”
The man under me was nothing but hard muscles everywhere, but I raised my eyebrows. “Thunder Thighs?”
“Yeah.” His hands played with my spine and sent warm sparks through me. “When I joined, my legs and ass were thicker than the other guys.”
I curled my hand on his abs and patted him. “You’re all muscle, Dwayne.”
He lifted his shirt up to let me touch his six-pack as he asked, “You like what you see?”
