Page 42 of Never Going to Care

On second thought, maybe it’s not Ezra I get this need to win from. Maybe it’s just genetic.

“Hit.” Hale narrows his eyes at me when I look up at him.

There’s a glint in his eyes which makes me want to forget all about the game and just go to the prizes. I stop myself, but just barely. There’s also a fleeting idea that the hit is a lie. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I’m, clearly, not a good loser.

I purse my lips and challenge him, “Was it really? I think you might be just saying that to make me feel better.”

The corner of his eyes crinkle as he grins at me and shrugs casually. I know I won’t get an answer from him, but it was worth a shot. Even if he is throwing that one hit, I don’t see him letting me win. Not with what we put on the line.

Still, win-win.

I eye my board and see he only needs one more hit to be a winner. My stomach sinks because now I realize why he was willing to give me that last semblance of victory. It’s only because it is really in his sights, and he wants to soften the blow.

I knew I should have moved my boat before he got the one hit in. I wonder if I could still swing it around, but that damn pride won’t let me do it either. I’m not a cheater. I like to win fair and square.

Living with him for two weeks won’t be much of a hardship. Considering I slept really well the night after the wedding, I’m looking forward to it. When I woke up the next morning, even as I was sneaking out, I felt rejuvenated. I simply didn’t want to recognize it at the time, but now I find I don’t mind being honest with myself.

I think it’s because under the gaze of Hale, I feel a little bit more like myself. He’s shown me what lies underneath his stoic mask and grumpy exterior. He’s a good man with a good heart.

The way he talks about his family shows me how much he values them. It’s clear he had a great childhood. He told me about his parents, how they’re still happily married, like mine are. I laughed when he told me about growing up with three younger sisters and how he always felt like he had to be their protector.

I could relate considering I grew up with Ezra making sure I didn’t get into too much trouble. I can almost imagine a hulking Hale standing over his three sisters and never letting a man get close to them. It must have been hard on them and him when he enlisted.

I’m sure his sisters found some more freedom, but at what cost? If I had been in a similar situation with Ezra leaving me for a long time, I think I would have missed his overprotective attitude. Maybe. Well, eventually.

I probably would have gone wild for a little while, but then the pendulum would have swung the other way again, I’m sure.

“I-5,” Hale’s whispered coordinates make me shiver because I know, without even looking at the board that it’s not only a hit, but the last one of the game.

I huff out a breath and press my lips together. His eyes narrow and he arches an eyebrow at me in challenge. If I tell him he’s won, I know what is going to happen. Hell, I know what’s going to happen next even if I don’t tell him he got a hit.

He leans over the board slightly, amusement in his words, “Not going to tell me I’ve won?”

I shake my head from side to side quickly, pressing my lips even harder together. Heat fills my core as the look in his eyes turns dominantly feral. My thighs clench with the promises in their depths.

There are dirty promises in his question, “Should I just look then?”

I let out a squeak and almost shriek, “No.”

He arches an eyebrow and jostles the game as he reaches for me, pulling me over where it’s been resting on the couch between us and not caring in the least as it falls to the ground. I’m straddling his lap before I can take a breath and my heart pounds loud enough that he must hear it.

“No?” A chuckle comes from deep in his chest and wraps around me like smoke to accompany the cedar scent of him. He nuzzles into the crook of my neck as his hands clamp down on my hips and presses me down against the hard ridge of his cock. “I know I won, Starlight.”

I sigh the word begrudgingly, “Hit.”

The smile he gives me is the biggest one I’ve seen from him yet. I knew from the first time I met him that smiles don’t come easily for him. Getting one like this makes me pant and feel a little dizzy. It’s dazzling.

“I win,” he grunts as his fingers press harder into my hips.

I’m glad I went home to change after work and am wearing jeans now or else he’d probably be ripping my panties off me from underneath the pencil skirt I had on at work today. I don’t think I would be too saddened by that, but I get the feeling that in the next two weeks this man is going to be the ruin of many pairs of panties. In more than one way.

“So it seems,” I try and keep my voice calm and neutral, but it comes out as more of a needy whine.

Hale kisses my lips quickly, a chaste press which has me chasing him when he pulls back from me. The flash of victory in his eyes tells me he got exactly what he wanted from me in the moment. Normally I would bristle, but right now I don’t mind.

“Do you want to go and get stuff from your place now?” There’s so much care in the question that I blink back tears which makes no damn sense. His voice drops to a low rumble, “I want you comfortable, Starlight.”

I swallow hard and barely get the word out, “Later.”

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