Page 41 of My Secret Bandit

If I didn’t know before, I damn sure did now; Mateo had superhuman abilities. He made me forget everything but him and my overwhelming need for him. I lost all concept of time or manners and he let me take control in a way I didn’t know I had in me. I had no idea how long I kissed him, teased him, readied him through his opened jeans before someone tapped on the dark glass, stopping me.

Without bothering to look over at our visitor, I chucked my purse in Mateo’s lap.

He grunted, laying his forehead on the steering wheel, “Oof!Careful, woman!”

“Sorry!” I covered my face with my cardigan, slid as far down as the seat would allow, and let the embarrassment run rampant. Not because I just threw my heavy bag into Mateo’s sensitive lap but because I was seconds away from getting caught with his dick in my mouth. I swallowed down the desperate need to taste him when a jolt of realization slammed into me. I scrunched my eyes closed and groaned silently.

“Little old to be makin’ out in your car like a couple teenagers, don’t ya think?” The man’s voice sounded older, deepened by a southern drawl.

“Yeah. You’re probably right, sir. Just got caught up in the moment.” Mateo turned on his charmer voice. Without seeing him I could describein vivid detailthe way his smile looked, how his dimples curved against his cheeks and his eyes crinkled around the corners.

“Wait. You’re—“

I threw my hand over my mouth to muffle my giggles. I loved these moments of recognition. Lucky for me, they happen at least once while we’re out together and I didn’t think they would ever get old.

“You’re Mateo Linx.” The man paused. “Looks like ya found that gal people been makin’ a fuss ’bout.”

Mateo chuckled.

With my face still covered, I jumped when his hand landed on my thigh and gave it a squeeze. “Yes, sir. I did.”

“Glad to hear it, son. Let’s just keep the make-out sessions where passersby can’t see. Sound good?”

“Absolutely. Will do, sir. Have a nice day.”

“You too and keep bein’ a beast on the field, bub.”

Mateo laughed again.

Sensing it was safe to come out of my cotton-knit cocoon by the sound of the man’s shoes crunching across the gravel parking lot, I readjusted in my seat. With my face burning hot, I couldn’t bring myself to look in Mateo’s direction.

“I love it when you blush,” he whispered, letting the backs of his fingers glide down my cheek.

Still too amped up to lean into his tantalizing touch, I looked out the rear window.

“That was a cop?” I said a little too loud as I caught a glimpse of the patrol car.

He shook his head with yet another low chuckle. “Jameson. What normal people do you know go around tapping on car windows?”

“I don’t fucking know,” I said, watching Mateo right his jeans and buckle up.

“Ready to head home?” he asked, looking at me while rubbing against my thigh.

“Definitely. I’ve had my fill of embarrassment for today, thank you.”

“Don’t be embarrassed, baby. Just think. This’ll be one of those cute stories we tell our grandkids when they think we’re old and boring and never knew how to have fun.” He winked. The ease in which he brought up our future turned the butterflies loose in my stomach.

“Right,” I said, letting out a short huff of laughter. “Hey kids, gather ’round. Y’all wanna hear the story of how Papa and Nana got together? Well, first I had to stop him from punching somebody. Then he tackled me. Then we almost got arrested for indecent exposure. Moral of the story is love may be real, but so is jail time.”

His smile worked to create a glow inside the car. “First of all, he fucking deserved it and second, that was the best tackle of my career.”

I laughed, then the near happenings just minutes ago slammed into me and I stiffened. “I’m sorry.”

He glanced at me and the quick change of tone. “For?”

“You know… that.” I gestured toward his lap. “Almost breaking your rule.”

He reached for my hand. “Hey, no. Don’t apologize. That rule was set to teach me to think before acting. To respect women, their bodies, and their choices. And it’s done me a lot of good in the last ten years. I said I’d ride it out because I think you deserve to see I’m committed and not going anywhere. But I’m with you, Jameson. Only you, a thousand percent. So if you decide you’re ready, we can take that jump. For now though, I need to know what’s for dinner. I’m starving.” The fire in his eyes said food wasn’t the only thing on his mind.

---