The Valentine's Arrangement (13 page)

“You too Cam,” he said softly. He looked over at Ronnie who was just watching them impassively, her smirk no longer sneaking to the surface.

The women sat down at a table next to them and it was Kale’s turn to suppress his laugh as he watched them glower at Ronnie as she went about her way and returned to giving his buddies a hard time. Ronnie didn’t even give them a second glance. She didn’t take shit from anyone, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to let those females intimidate her either.

Kale turned his head away from the table in time to see the looming figure of a beefed up, shaggy headed douche bag making his way toward their table. “Fuck, Andy. Is anyone else planning on making an appearance that I should know about?” Kale asked between clinched teeth as he made eye contact with Mason Muller, a walking piece of shit who ran his mouth and treated women like cheap whores.

Kale and Mason had a few run-ins back in school. The guy was bad news and Kale never had much tolerance for bottom feeders with an agenda. Mason was the epitome of a womanizer.

Mason’s eyes trailed from Kale to Ronnie and Kale watched as his lips slowly lifted on the corners. Kale instantly stepped closer to her. He knew Ronnie wouldn’t give that piece of shit the time of day, but that didn’t mean that Mason wouldn’t try.

Ronnie could obviously hold her own and he knew good and well that she would never fall for his sleazy act, but he couldn’t help the urge that swept through him as Mason got closer to them. He took the final step that separated him from Ronnie and grabbed her hand. He moved his eyes over hers, knowing that his little public display of affection would have roiled her; but she didn’t jerk away or lash out, or spit out some ‘fuck you’ comment. She just offered him a slight smile; and it was fucking beautiful.

“Looks like I picked the perfect night to come out for pizza,” Mason said when he approached the table. Cammie and Trisha eyed Kale suspiciously; they obviously remembered how he felt about him.

“Mason,” Kale said calmly, evenly, yet a threat saturated the single word as it left his lips.

“Well if it isn’t Army boy,” Mason replied, and Kale felt Ronnie’s hand flex in his and he knew she was biting her tongue.

Mason slowly and purposefully licked his lips as he nodded his head at Ronnie. “Hey,” he said with what Kale assumed Mason thought was a smooth greeting. Little did Mason know just what kind of a woman he was pressing his luck with.

Ronnie laughed at Mason’s attempt at whatever the hell he was attempting, and it was a low and luscious sound. Then just like that, she turned it off and snapped her eyes at Mason making him blink in surprise. “Hey your-fucking-self,” she spat.

All eyes flashed in surprise at Ronnie. Not too many women had the balls to talk to Mason like that, but not too many women were like Ronnie either.

Mason nodded his head up and down in approval.. “Ah, sexy and mouthy, I like it.”

Kale moved Ronnie slightly behind him keeping her hand secured tightly in his. Kale didn’t get worked up easily but it was taking everything he had in him not to swing at this asshole and Ronnie’s hand in his was a small preventative.

He gritted his teeth together. “You need to back off, Mason.”

“I need to back off?” Mason laughed, and the sound ran through Kale’s ears like nails on a chalkboard. “What are you doing with a sweet little piece of ass like her anyway—” he lifted his hands out in front of him, gesturing toward Ronnie—“this bad girl needs a man who can handle her.”

Kale’s previously level head tipped the scale and teetered over to losing it when he felt Ronnie’s body tense behind him. In one quick graceful movement, Kale slipped his hand from Ronnie’s and clocked Mason in the jaw spinning him to the ground. Kale leaned over him and grabbed a hold of his shirt, lifting Mason’s head slightly off the ground.

Leaning in close so he was nose to nose with him, Kale whispered so only Mason could hear, “First of all, you need to watch your fucking mouth. Second, that sweet little piece of bad girl ass as you like to call her, is mine.” Kale swung his fist back around and it connected with Mason’s face again, dropping his head back to the hard floor.

Kale stood up keeping his back to Ronnie and his friends. He had no claim over Ronnie, she wasn’t his and he was afraid to see what look was waiting for him in her eyes…

He was pleasantly surprised when he turned around and saw her hand hoisted up on her hip and a plausive smile forming on her lips. She surprised him again when she grabbed her purse and stepped around the table to him grabbing his hand.

Kale drank her in, the high of his adrenaline still swimming in his head. Finally, he leaned down and whispered, “Ready to go?”

She looked up at him through her lashes and she didn’t say a word, just winked. That was all it took for him to pull her through the bar and through the parking lot. Neither one said anything until they were in the car and pulling onto the road.

Ronnie leaned back against the seat. “Are you sure you are okay to drive? I for one was enjoying that beer a little too much. I’m going to have to make monthly trips down here now thanks to you.”

“Don’t come without me.”

“Why?”

“Just don’t. Mason isn’t known for his ability to take a hint from a woman and after what happened back there, he would be all too eager to attempt something on you. So don’t come here without me.”

“He could try all he wants but—”

“Ronnie, please.” Kale knew the reputation Mason had was based off a lot more than just rumors, and the thought of Mason being near Ronnie was enough to make him see red.

“Okay. I was just kidding anyway. I have no intention to drive four hours for beer.”

Kale sighed as his body relaxed and the crimson haze cleared his vision. “I’m sorry about grabbing onto you back there.” That wasn’t true. He wasn’t sorry. He would never be sorry for holding that woman close to him if she let him.

“I can tell a testosterone pissing match when I see one. It was no problem.” She winked and he knew then that she only did it so Kale could send his message to Mason. Who was he kidding, Ronnie would have loved to lash out at that piece of shit, he knew she was holding back. She was playing along.

A stab in his chest shot like a hundred tiny daggers. She didn’t let him hold onto her and pull her to his side because she wanted him to; she was just playing along.

“Nice right hook by the way. Very hot if I do say so,” Ronnie said, slipping out of her boots. Kale smiled and winked at her, pushing aside his mental run through.

“Holy shit, it’s already 9:00, how long were we there for?” Ronnie mumbled.

Kale laughed as her words slurred. Normally girls this drunk annoyed the shit out of him, but with Ronnie, it was rather amusing. “Almost four hours.”

“Well shit. You never answered me. Are you okay to drive?”

“Yes, Sweetheart, I only had three beers and it takes a lot more than that to affect me.”

“Okay good, because I’m just going to lay my head down right here”—she unbuckled her seatbelt and laid her head down on the bench seat next to Kale’s lap—“and I’m going to take a little nap.”

He lifted his hand and ran his fingers through her hair. “You do that, baby.”

“Mmm,” she moaned, closing her eyes and pulling her legs up on the seat so she was curled into a ball next to him. Her blouse pulled up when she tucked her arms under her head and the sweet soft skin of her side was making an appearance, showing off her delicate tattoo that traveled down the side of her body. He wanted to move his fingers down to skim over the soft flesh on her side but he didn’t. He kept his fingers working through her hair, brushing her temple with his thumb. She sighed and tucked in tighter to herself letting little moans of satisfaction roll off her lips.

“This isn’t part of our arrangement, but I’m going to let it slide,” she said, and Kale decided touching her like this, making her sigh and moan, and making her body relax under his fingertips, was even better.

Chapter 9

Ronnie woke up as the truck pulled to a stop. She kept her eyes closed, wishing they were still driving so she wouldn’t have to move. She felt a hand run over the top of her head, down her neck and to her back softly jostling her until her eyes opened.

“Hey,” Kale whispered. He rubbed his hand softly over her back and she laid there for a second longer relishing the roughness of his fingertips bushing the sheer fabric of her blouse. The two textures caused a friction that felt amazing. “Sorry to wake up, but you’re home.”

Ronnie groaned as she pushed herself up, causing Kale’s hand to drop to the side. “I can’t believe I slept the whole way. Sorry I wasn’t much of a road trip partner.” She yawned and reached down to grab her boots, not even bothering with putting them on.

“Don’t worry about it. Come on let’s get you to bed, lush.”

“Oh what-the-fuck ever. I didn’t drink that much.”

Kale raised his eyebrows in speculation of her idea of what constituted as ‘that much’.

Ronnie frowned. “Yeah you’re right.”

Kale just laughed and got out of the car walking around to open the door for her.

She hopped out and walked to her front door digging in her purse for her keys as Kale followed next to her. “Damn it.”

“What?”

“I think I left my phone in the cup holder in your truck. I don’t see it in my purse,” she said, unlocking the door.

“I’ll go check.”

Kale turned and jogged back toward the truck and Ronnie pushed open the door. The warm air inside the house wrapped around her cold body when she walked inside. She dropped her purse and boots by the door and headed straight for her bedroom. She wanted to get out of her clothes and into her sweats so she could curl up in bed and pass out. For some unknown reason, car trips made her exhausted, apparently even if she slept the whole damn time.

Ronnie peeled off her jeans, stepping out of them and kicking them to the side when she heard the front door shut. “Help yourself to whatever,” she hollered to Kale. “I will be right there.” She unbuttoned her blouse letting it drop to the ground and gasped when she felt the lightest of touches trace over her back.

She froze letting every nerve ending fire to life as Kale’s fingers traced over the lines of her tattoo. The softness of his touch was so light, so careful, it was as if she was feeling the light pressure of a needle pressing ink into her skin. It was like he was tattooing her body all over again with the tip of his finger, and the feeling was addictive. She wanted more, and she wanted it everywhere.

His lips came down and closed on her shoulder, pressing feather light kisses to her now heated skin. His hand was gently running down her arm, now following the directions of the tattoos trickling down her shoulder to her elbow, sending goose bumps cascading in every direction. His body pressed against her back and she could feel his bare chest warm against her.

It was hard and inviting and she welcomed the feel of it as his weight crushed into her, his stomach molding into the dip in her back. His lips slowly found their way to her neck, taking their time getting there, kissing and licking her tender skin along the way. Ronnie tilted her head to the side, laying it back so it rested on his shoulder. He ran both hands down her arms stopping as they tickled her palms, and then he laced his fingers through hers, continuing to set flames to her skin. The way he touched her was so sincere that it made her heart ache like it was breaking into a thousand pieces at the same time that it was gluing it back together.

She tightened her hands in his turning her head slightly more to the side. He lifted his head from her neck and his eyes zoned in on hers. They were flooded with need—raw, hungry intense need—and it terrified her.

Kale dropped one of Ronnie’s hands and spun her around, pulling her body flush against his. “I’ve been dying to touch you all day,” he whispered, trailing a single finger up her spine. The touch was so light, the sensation almost unbearable. When it reached her bra strap, he unsnapped it in one single flick. He slowly pushed the straps down her shoulders, like he was savoring every single inch as it fell down her arms, before he let it drop to the floor.

“I’m gonna kiss you now, okay?” His voice was hushed and low, as if he didn’t know what answer he was going to get.

Ronnie could only nod like a dumbfounded idiot. He had her in a trance. His hands and his eyes locked her in an intimacy that she was petrified of, yet she wanted it more than she has ever wanted anything. She wanted him more than she has ever wanted anyone.

“Are you sure?” he asked carefully, his lips only a breath away from connecting to hers.

Why was he asking her if she was sure? He never asked for her permission before. But even as the question ran through her mind, she had the answer. This was different, he knew it and she knew it. It felt different.

He remained still, his mouth hovering over hers, his fingers kneading her knuckles softly as he kept a hold of her hand. He grasped her chin and held her head firmly in place as he raised his gaze to her eyes.

“Ronnie?” he asked, his eyes forming clouds like a deadly thunderstorm reaching the horizon.

Seeing him so gentle with her, so concerned, was almost too much to bear, but regardless, she only had this man for a few more days and she wasn’t going to waste them contemplating soft touches and intimate looks. No, she was going to just feel; just like he told her to on Valentine’s Day. Just feel, and right now she just wanted to feel him—against her, on her, inside her, all of it.

“I’m sure,” she said, and before the word finished bouncing through the sliver of air between them, he kissed her.

His lips were soft and easy, like no kiss she has ever shared with him. It was powerful and overwhelming and possessing. His mouth moved over hers with purpose, slowly and carefully dripping everything he had into her, like he was giving her a piece of him; and she willingly took it.

Her hands trailed up his naked chest and wrapped around the back of his neck. He moaned in her mouth as she pressed her nails into his flesh, bringing him closer to her.

Kale wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her feet off the ground, carrying her to her bed. He slowly lowered her, never once taking his mouth off hers.