Rock Chick 06 Reckoning (49 page)

But now I was sitting there, going over my strategy in my head and I was worried.

Even though both Hector and Al y said I was doing the right thing, I was thinking maybe I was going too fast.

Maybe I should wait until al the other stuff was finished.

Maybe I should wait until Mace was used to us being back together, until I’d been able to work on him a bit longer.

Maybe Mace didn’t need to deal with his Mom and Stepmom when bul ets were flying and his Dad was being an asshole.

I heard the key in the door and Juno jolted up.

The door opened, the alarm started beeping and Mace walked in, his eyes coming directly to me.

“Hey, babe,” he said.

My heart did that settling thing again and I replied, “Hey.” He turned to the alarm, deactivated it, reactivated it then relocked the door as I walked across the room to him. Juno had already made it and he bent low to give her a rubdown while I stopped a few steps away and looked at him.

He looked good, faded jeans, black belt, black boots.

Today’s short-sleeved Henley was dark gray, the sleeves again tight around his biceps but with the way he was bent and rubbing Juno, the material had also stretched against his back, defining his lats. He was in a partial squat, the jeans too had stretched tight against the muscles of his knee and thigh. His dark hair needed a trim, so much so, it had started to have a bit of curl on the ends. But I could stil see some skin at the back of his neck, the skin was tan, the shoulders under the tee were broad.

Standing there, petting my dog, he was, put simply, beautiful.

I thought for a minute that he had to know it, how beautiful he was but it didn’t matter to him, not even a little bit.

For the first time in my life I found myself wondering how I got so lucky.

He kept bent low, his long fingers sifting through Juno’s fur as she wagged her tail and panted but his head tilted up to me when he said, “You’re up late.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “You hungry?”

“No, boys had a meet at Lincoln’s. Ate there.”

“They pick up Sid?” I asked.

He straightened and shook his head. “Gone to ground.

Eddie and Hank had a meet with Turner. They’ve made a deal with the Feds, workin’ together now. They’re bringing in Sid’s soldiers. The ones they got shit on, they’re lockin’

up. The rest of ‘em, they’re shakin’ down.”

“Progress then.”

“Yeah.”

“What about George?”

“George has backed down. Lee sent him the photos Smithie got hold of. He
does
like his women chesty and I won’t explain how I know that.” I grimaced and Mace kept talking. “George is no longer a problem.” I nodded and we stopped talking and stood there, about three feet apart. Juno had sat down between us and was looking from one to the other, stil panting.

Final y, Mace spoke. “You okay?”

I blinked. “Yeah, why do you ask?”

“‘Cause your body’s wound up tight.”

“No it isn’t,” I lied.

“Babe, it is.”

“I just have a lot on my mind.”

“You been playin’?” he meant guitar.

I shook my head.

“You should play,” he told me.

“I know,” I replied.

We stopped talking and started staring at each other again.

Why was this weird?

But it
was
weird, way weird, scary weird.

I worried that it was because I told him I loved him and he didn’t know what to do with that.

Things had always been intense between us, when we were together before and then getting back to it. He’d told me we were moving in together, real y moving in together even though we were somewhat moved in together now.

With al he was doing, I knew he had to care about me, a lot.

I didn’t know if he loved me but I didn’t think he’d think it was a bad thing that I loved him.

So, why was he so far away? Why didn’t he approach?

Why was he staring at me with his face blank like that? Why didn’t he even come ful y into the house?

“Are you okay?” I asked him.

“Fuck no,” he answered immediately.

“What’s wrong?”

He took a step forward, just one, but reached out the rest of the way. He grabbed a wrist and gently twisted my arm.

You could see the bruises, they weren’t angry but they were there.

there.

“Fucking hel ,” he muttered, eyes locked on my arm. His other hand came out and grabbed my other wrist, twisted it and his eyes moved to stare at the identical bruising there.

“Mace –”

His gaze came to mine and it wasn’t blank anymore. It was tortured but they were new demons now.

Beautiful.

Just what I needed,
new
demons.

“Never touched a woman like that,” he told me.

“Things are intense for you right about now,” I said, giving him what I thought was a logical explanation.

“Don’t make excuses for me, Kitten.”

“I shouldn’t have said what I said about Caitlin. I didn’t know what I was talking about.”

“You were tryin’ to be nice.”

“Yeah, but I went about it the wrong way.”

“Stel a –” he started but I pul ed my wrists from his fingers and stepped the last two feet so I was close. Juno backed off and trotted to the couch.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and tilted my head back to look at him. “You said you needed to learn to handle me with care. Wel , I need to learn the same thing.

You’re a pretty intense guy, Kai Mason.”

He dipped his head so his forehead was against mine.

“I’l never hurt you again, Kitten,” he promised, his voice soft, gentle, beautiful.

“I believe you.” And I did.

His arms came around me. “We should talk about some of the other shit you said today.”

Oh hel .

“Like what?” I asked, as if I didn’t know.

“Like what you said to my father.”

“Erm –”

“And you tel in’ me you loved me.”

Oh effing bloody
hell
.

“Erm, no. Let’s just forget about that,” I suggested.

His arms went tight. “No fuckin’ way.”

“It was the heat of the moment,” I explained.

His face got soft, his voice went low and it was, as ever, a kil er one-two combination. “Best time to say it.”

“Mace –” I started but he was walking me backwards and his head moved, his mouth going to my neck.

His lips against my skin, he kept walking me back while saying, “Let’s see if we can create more heat, that way, maybe you’l say it again.”

My stomach melted.

Oh dear.

I was both glad he wanted me to say it again and scared total y shitless.

“I need my guitar.” I tried to delay.

He stopped walking, his mouth slid to mine and he muttered, “Later,” right before he kissed me.

My arms went around his neck and I kissed him back.

Okay, so maybe I wasn’t pushing too hard, too fast.

Maybe I hadn’t jumped the gun. Maybe I’d done the right thing.

His mouth moved from mine and he bent low, picked me up in his arms and carried me to the bed.

Once there, he took his time with me, building it so the fire burned deep and he created another heated moment.

He was on top, deep inside me, my legs were wrapped around his hips, my hands sliding up and down his back and our mouths were touching when his hands came to either side of my face and he demanded, “Say it again.” My eyes focused on his and I whispered, “Please, Mace, harder.”

He grinned and touched his lips to mine then said, “Not that, babe.”

Oh.

Hel .

Al right. Whatever.

Both my hands slid into his hair to cup his head before I breathed, “I love you.”

I watched as his eyes closed, like they were moving in slow motion then he shoved his face in my neck and started moving again.

This time harder.

* * * * *

I sat in the armchair, rested the guitar on my knee and started to play.

Then I started to sing to Mace and what I sang to Mace was another song that said it al between us, a kickass power bal ad, Journey’s “Open Arms”.

After the first verse, I lifted my head and saw Mace was up, stil mostly on his bel y but now twisted slightly and up on an elbow.

His eyes were on me.

I kept on singing and this time, I sang the chorus directly to him.

Then with effort, I tore my eyes from him, looked back down at my guitar and kept singing.

My head lifted again when the song became about the lover coming back, I caught Mace’s eyes and I sang that part and the chorus to him as his eyes stayed locked with mine.

I finished singing, dipped my face down to stare at my hands again and mindlessly kept strumming some of the chords to the song.

Mace kept watching me, I knew it, I felt it and I had to admit I loved it.

“What kind of music did Caitlin like?” I asked softly, stil watching my hands moving.

“Tchaikovsky,” Mace answered immediately.

I lifted my head and smiled at him.

“I don’t know any Tchaikovsky,” I told him.

He shook his head, his lips turned up in a smal grin and I watched him, opening al my sensors to see where his head was at and sensing he was okay (and hoping I was right).

“Do you think she would have liked me?” I asked.

“Definitely,” Mace answered, again immediately.

My heart did what was becoming a familiar settle.

“Do you think she’d like me with you?” I went on.

“Yeah,” he replied.

“I know it’s hard for you to talk about her.”

“It’s gettin’ easier.”

I smiled at him. “Good.”

Take that demon scum!

“Come to bed, Kitten,” Mace muttered.

I quit strumming.

I put the guitar in its stand, took off my clothes, walked to the bed and slid in beside him. I turned to him, wrapping an arm around his waist, cocking a knee, resting it on his hard thigh and putting my cheek to his shoulder. His hand pressed under me, his arm coming up and curling around my waist.

“I love you, Kai Mason,” I whispered into his chest and I found that was getting easier too.

His fingers dug into my flesh.

“Sleep,” he replied.

I snuggled closer. Juno lifted her head and rested it on Mace and my ankles.

I fel asleep.

Stella

“Stop scratching,” Mace’s sleepy-gruff voice demanded.

“It itches,” my sleepy-grouchy voice returned.

His arm went across his body, his fingers wrapped around my wrist, taking my fingers away from where they were scratching around the stitches at my hip. He pul ed my hand up and pressed it against his chest.

“It’s healin’. You need to keep your fuckin’ nails clear,” he told me.

“Were you this damn bossy a year ago?” I grumbled.

“A year ago, I was too busy thinkin’ about how lucky I was that someone as beautiful and talented as you let me into her bed to be bossy. Now I know you love me, I can be as bossy as I want.”

At his words, my head shot up and I stared at him.

It was morning, early morning, the sun just peeping around the now ever-closed blinds.

Mace was on his back, I was tucked into his side. It appeared we’d slept the whole night without moving. His face was stil soft with sleep but his green eyes were alert and on me.

“You thought you were lucky?” I asked.

“Babe, I need to video you onstage. You could be butt-ugly but the way you move onstage and that fuckin’ voice of yours would stil make me hard. Singin’ or talkin’, it doesn’t matter. Your voice is the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard.” Uh…
wow.

Did he just say that?

“Seriously?” I breathed.

He grinned and rol ed into me. “Seriously,” he said and went on. “Lucky for me, you also got great hair, great eyes, great legs and an unbelievable heart-shaped ass.” As if to prove his point, his hand slid over my ass and his face went into my neck as he pressed me to my back.

Then he muttered, “Stil , I’m inside you and I hear that throaty fuckin’ voice of yours beggin’ me to fuck you harder, I swear it takes everything I got to keep control and not come.”

I wasn’t sure but I thought I had a smal orgasm just listening to him.

I decided to switch topics before I lost what little control
I
had. “Just because I love you doesn’t mean you can boss me around.”

His head came up and he looked at me just as his hand slid from my ass, up my side, to cup my breast.

“Yeah it does,” he said.

“No, it doesn’t,” I shot back.

He grinned. “It does.”

I frowned. “It doesn’t.”

His thumb slid across my nipple.

It felt so good, my teeth sunk into my lower lip to stop myself from moaning.

His eyes dropped to my mouth. “Oh yeah it does,” he muttered and he sounded pretty effing pleased.

“I take it back, I don’t love you. I think
you’re
a pain in
my
ass.”

His body started shaking like he was laughing. “You can’t take it back.”

“I can.”

His mouth touched mine before he said, “Jesus, you’re cute, Kitten.”

“I’m not cute. I’m sultry and sexy,” I returned.

His mouth came back to my mouth, his eyes open and staring into mine, his were both soft and amused and I figured, somewhere in his head, that look was kicking demon ass.

“You’re that too,” he said and did another nipple swipe.

My back arched and my arms wrapped around him.

“Okay, maybe you’re not a pain in my ass.” His head slanted and his lips hit mine, no touch now, he was serious and I knew it when his tongue slid inside.