Macey
A WEEK LATER, I walked out of the hospital and to my car, finding a note under the wiper blade. I wondered if someone was advertising something, but when I glanced around the crowded parking lot, I saw mine was the only car with anything on it. I grabbed the note and unlocked my door, climbing inside. Before I could read the note or even start the engine, my phone rang. “Hello?”
“Hi, babe. You left work yet?” Dallas asked.
“Sort of.” I shoved the letter in my purse, started the car, and pulled out of the lot. “I’m leaving now.”
“Do you want to go out for dinner or cook?”
“You cooking or me cooking?” I asked.
He chuckled. “If you come straight to my place, I’ll cook.”
“As tempting as that is, I really need to get out of these scrubs.”
“You know, if you kept a few things here, you’d be set.”
I smiled. We’d had this conversation more than once before.
“I’ll run home and grab a shower, then meet you at your place. Sound good?” I asked.
“You could shower here while I cook.”
I bit my lip. “Next time. But I’ll be quick. I promise.”
“Pork chops good?”
“Sounds delicious.”
“Okay, see you soon. Love you.”
I grinned. “Love you, too.”
I hung up and headed home.
After a quick shower, I decided to pack a small bag to leave at Dallas’s place. It was a huge step for me, but it was also nice to think that I’d have an alternative if I ever wanted one. I texted Payton to let her know that I may or may not be home later, then texted Dallas to say I was leaving the apartment, before climbing into my car and pulling out of my garage.
The sun was setting when I’d left the hospital, but it was now fully dark, and it brought to light the one thing I didn’t like about Dallas’s home. There was no garage and the only parking was on the street. I started to feel anxious about walking in the dark, but willed myself to calm down. I could always call him, and he’d meet my outside.
As I neared his house, I saw him standing on the sidewalk, but he stepped into the road as I approached. I pulled up alongside him and lowered my passenger window. “Hi.”
He grinned. “Hi. I’m gonna move my truck, so you can park here.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
“I know,” he said, and grinned. “Back up a bit.”
I nodded, my heart warming at his kindness. I backed my car up and waited for him to pull out before taking his spot. I gathered up my purse and bag, and climbed out of my car, closing and locking the door just as Dallas jogged up to me. He took my bag and leaned down to kiss me quickly. “Hi. This is a little heavy for one night.”
I grinned. “I brought a few things to leave here.”
“Perfect.” He kissed me again. “Come on, chops are almost done.”
I took his hand and followed him up the porch stairs and into the house. I walked into the kitchen and my stomach rumbled. “It smells amazing in here,” I said.
Dallas grinned and opened the oven. “Almost ready.”
“Shall I pour some wine?”
“That would be great. Merlot’s in the rack.”
Dallas prepared the stuffing while I opened and poured wine, and I was struck by how incredibly perfect I felt in the midst of such a domestic scene.
“What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?” he asked.
I sipped my wine and then smiled. “I’m just thinking how I could totally get used to this.”
“You working a long day and coming home to your man cooking for you?”
I chuckled. “Absolutely.”
Dallas wrapped an arm around me and gave me a gentle squeeze. “Anytime, baby. I’ll cook for you every night if it means you come home to me.”
I looped my arms around his neck. “Do you know what I want to do?”
“What?”
I swallowed and bit my lip. My heart raced as I considered saying out loud what I’d felt since we’d reconnected. “I want to try.”
His eyes widened. “We don’t have to.”
“I know, but I want to.”
Dallas smiled. “Whatever you want, baby.”
The timer sounded, effectively distracting us, and Dallas served everything up and carried it to the table. I couldn’t focus on dinner conversation, only managing to give Dallas one or two-word answers to his questions. I forced myself to swallow my food, even though I tasted none of it.
After dinner, we did the dishes and Dallas took my hand. “Your pace, honey.”
I nodded. “I know. I still want to.”
“We can stop whenever you need to.”
“Dallas, would you please shut up?”
He smiled. “Yes ma’am.”
I squeezed his hand and tugged him to his bedroom in the back of the house. Once inside, Dallas pulled me close and kissed me. “Your pace.”
“I heard you the first fifty times you said it, honey.” I smiled and tugged at his shirt. “Off.”
He pulled his T-shirt over his head, revealing his hard-chiseled upper body. I’d missed him. Missed his body. In the times he’d held my recently, he’d slept in a T-shirt and shorts, which was sensitive on his part, but now I realized I was ready for more.
“My turn,” I said, and pulled my long-sleeved T-shirt over my head, revealing my favorite black lace camisole. It had a shelf bra, but no sense of support, unfortunately. However, it kept my scars covered, which was my objective tonight.
“God, baby, you’re magnificent,” he said.
“I’ve gained a little weight.”
He ran his knuckles along my cheek. “Perfect, Mace. You’re perfect.”
I felt my cheeks heat up.
Dallas smiled again after he removed the rest of his clothes. “You okay?”
I nodded and stretched out on the bed, my heart racing, but I tamped down my panic. Dallas lay down beside me, pulling me into his arms and kissing me.
I broke the kiss and shifted my body, trying to stamp down my nervousness.
He lifted my chin and frowned. “You look petrified.”
I swallowed. “Do I?”
“We don’t have to do this.”
“I want to.”
“I have an idea,” he said, and rolled onto his back, settling his hands behind his head. “It’s all you, baby. You set the pace and I will do whatever you tell me to do.”
“I feel like a virgin.”
“That’s not a bad thing, honey.”
I blinked back tears. “I want to be wild and sexy and uninhibited.”
“You are sexy, baby,” he assured. “The wild and uninhibited will come.”
“Do you really think so?”
“I really think so.” He reached for my hand. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I smiled. “I love you.”
“Love you, too.” He slid his hands back behind his head. “Okay. This is all you. You do whatever you want. Anything, baby. Yeah?”
I nodded.
“Condoms are in the nightstand,” he said.
“I’m on the pill, we don’t need them.”
“God, babe.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m gonna keep my hands right here unless you tell me otherwise, got it?”
I nodded again, and he smiled. I bit my lip. He was glorious. Totally comfortable with his nudity, his body and cock hard. Waiting.
My breasts grew heavy and my nipples pebbled with desire as I thought about what I wanted to do with him. “Um… can you lean up against the headboard?” I requested.
Dallas grinned, shifting to do as I asked.
I took a deep breath and straddled his hips.
“Can I touch you?” he asked.
I smiled. “I thought I was directing.”
Dallas chuckled wrapping his hands around the headboard. “Sorry.”
“As you should be.” I giggled. “Yes, you can touch me.”
He reached for my neck, pulling me gently down so he could kiss me. Shifting his body slightly, he slipped a hand between our bodies, and ran a finger gently across my clit. I gasped, sitting up and dropping my head back. “Oh, wow.”
“You okay?” he asked as he eased up.
“Yes, don’t stop,” I rasped, gripping his arm.
“You’re so wet,” he said.
“I’m not surprised.” I smiled down at him. “I’m a little backed up.”
“You okay?”
I sighed. “Honey, if you keep asking me if I’m okay, we’re never going to get this done.”
Dallas chuckled. “Romantic.”
I lifted up, reaching between us to guide him inside of me. It was his turn to gasp; only it was much more of a manly grunt. “Fuck,” he breathed.
“That’s the plan,” I retorted.
I lifted up again, lowering myself, forcing the nervousness away. I loved him, but more importantly, I trusted him.
“You okay?” he asked again.
I pressed my lips together and nodded, getting used to his size.
“You’re tight, Mace. Is it hurting?”
I shook my head. I lifted up and lowered again, this time I relaxed a little more.
“Babe, you look like you’re going to cry.”
I opened my eyes and frowned, laying my hands on his chest. “I really need you to shut up, Dallas. I’m determined to do this, and I need to work it out.”
He moved to shift me off of him. “No.”
“What?” I asked, refusing to budge.
“I’m not going to watch you do something that’s obviously upsetting you.”
“Oh my God, Dallas, shut up.”
“Mace—”
I raised myself up again and lowered, then again faster than before and he finally shut up. Sitting up again, I leaned back, bracing my hands on his thighs for leverage so I could move more freely and rode him, letting the feeling of ecstasy wash over me. God, I’d missed this.
“Fuck, baby,” he said.
I dropped my head back and moved faster. My orgasm hit me fast and hard and I found myself falling across Dallas, my breath coming in short bursts.
“Babe.” Dallas wrapped his arms around me, kissing my neck.
“I’m so sorry, Dallas.”
“For what?”
“I kind of took and didn’t give… and I snapped at you.”
Dallas laughed. “Baby, this was the best sex I’ve had in a long time.”
I raised my head, so I could look him in the eye. “Technically, it was the best sex I’ve had in a long time.”
He cupped my cheeks. “Your pleasure’s mine, and believe me, this was amazing.”
My eyes filled with tears. “I love you.”
Dallas grinned. “I know.”
I leaned down and kissed him. “Do you?”
“Yeah, baby, I do.”
“Can I…?”
“Whatever you want.”
“You don’t even know what I was going to ask,” I pointed out.
“Doesn’t matter. Whatever you want.”
“In that case…” I smiled, separating myself from him and kissing his chest. “Your turn.” I slid further down his body and wrapped my lips around his cock.
“Fuck,” he whispered as his fingers wove into my hair.
I closed my eyes and focused on the task at hand. I still loved his body. Loved his response to me. Even in my limited experience, I knew what we had was special. When Dallas gripped my hair and his body locked, I could feel he was close, so I added my hand to speed up the process.
“Now, Mace,” he rasped, and groaned as he climaxed.
I kissed his cock and then crawled up beside him as he caught his breath and folded myself against him. He wrapped his arm around me, slipping his fingers into my hair and kissing my forehead. “Amazing, baby.”
I buried my face in his neck. “That was fun.”
Dallas chuckled. “Yeah, it was.”
“Can we do it again?”
“What do you think?”
I giggled. “No?”
Dallas dragged me back over him and kissed me.
By the time I fell asleep, my body felt like goo and I didn’t wake again until the morning.
* * *
Dallas
“Macey?” I called as I pulled on a pair of shorts. She’d slipped out of my bed more than twenty minutes ago, and I’d expected her back by now. I dragged my hands through my hair and frowned when she didn’t answer me. “Mace?”
I walked into the living room and found her hunkered down against the wall, her head buried in her knees and her body shaking. I rushed to her, kneeling beside her. “Baby? What’s wrong?” She didn’t answer me right away. “Mace, honey, you’re scaring me. Tell me what’s happened.”
She raised her head, her face ashen. “I… I…” she handed me a piece of paper I hadn’t seen her holding.
I looked at letters that had been cut out of what looked like magazines and newspapers. It read: Well, hi there, pretty.
“Where did you get this?” I asked, trying to keep the rage from my voice.
“It…” she swallowed.
“It’s okay, baby. Take your time.”
“It was on my windshield when I came out of work yesterday. I… I thought it was some kind of flyer. You know, like, come take my yoga class or something. I forgot about it, but I was looking through my purse for my migraine stuff and the envelope was in there and I figured I’d just see what it was before I recycled it.”
“Did you take your meds?”
“No. I got sidetracked and I got sidetracked because the note was so fricking unexpected. Brock killed him. That information wasn’t public, at least it wasn’t supposed to be, and—”
“Breathe, Mace.” I waited until she did and then squeezed her arm. “Did you notice anything else? Were there flyers on any of the other cars?”
“I didn’t see any.” Macey closed her eyes. “It’s what… it’s what he said when… right before…”
“I know, baby.”
Her eyes flew open. “What do you mean, you know? Is that an, I know because you’re being sweet, or an I know because you really do know?”
“I really do know,” I said. “I read the file.”
“No!” Macey shook her head. “You weren’t supposed to do that! I told Brock you should never see it. He promised me.”
I didn’t comment as I went to her purse and opened it to look for her meds. I found them and peeled open a square, kneeling beside her again. “Here.”
“Thanks.” She took the pill and set it under her tongue.
“Come on. I’m gonna call the guys and see what we can do.” I rose to my feet again and held my hand out.
“How?”
“Well, I’m going to use this new contraption called a telephone,” I retorted in a southern drawl.
“Dallas,” she admonished.
She stared up at me, her deep blue eyes even darker filled with tears and my heart broke. “Macey. We’re going to figure this out.”
“No, I mean, how did you find out? You weren’t supposed to see the report.”
“Why, honey?”
“Because then you’ll know what he did. You’ll see me differently.”
I hunkered beside her again. “How will I see you differently?”
“Broken. Used. Dirty,” she whispered, dropping her forehead to her knees.
“Mace? Look at me.” I waited until she did and then I smiled. “Did you feel like I saw you differently last night?”
She blinked, her face forming a confused expression.
I smiled again. “I know you have a migraine, baby, and I know that makes things cloudy for you sometimes, but I have seen the file, I do know everything, and I see you as more beautiful than before, if that’s even possible.”
“Are you sure?”
“Was there any question last night?”
She bit her lip and shook her head.
“Come on.” I stood and held my hand out again. “Let’s give the meds time to work and I’ll make coffee after I call Brock.”
I pulled her to her feet, bracing as she fell against me, wrapping her arms around my waist. “Best chest ever.”
I smiled. “You… and then Kate Upton.”
“Oh yeah, she’s got a great rack.”
“Macey,” I said, and laughed.
“What? I can’t admire a nice pair of breasts?”
“Admire away, honey.”
She frowned up at me. “Now you’re imagining her and me naked, aren’t you?”
I nodded. “Definitely.”
“Now you’re imagining her and me naked together, aren’t you?”
“Oh, I was doing that before,” I admitted.
“I love you so much it hurts,” she rasped, and hugged me again.
I gave her a gentle squeeze. “Ditto, baby.”
“Since you love me so much,” she said. “You’re gonna have to hold me back from murdering Brock. Are you okay with that?”
“No.” I chuckled. “Because he doesn’t know I looked at the file.”
“What?” She pushed away from me. “How did you even get access to it without him? Brock promised he’d make sure it was out of your reach.” She frowned, laying her fingers over my lips before I could answer. “Never mind. I probably don’t want to know.”
“No, you probably don’t,” I mumbled, before kissing her fingers and grabbing my phone from the kitchen island. I dialed Brock and frowned when I got voicemail. “Brock. Got a situation. Can you swing by my place as soon as possible? Thanks, brother.” I hung up and faced Macey. She was chewing her lower lip, her fear still written on her face. I pulled her close. “No one’s going to hurt you. I got you, yeah?”
She did a face-plant into my chest again, nodding as she burrowed deeper.
“I’m going to take you and pick you up from work, I’ll either stay at your place or you’ll stay at mine, but no more being alone. If you must be without me, stay at your building. It’s more secure and you’ve got doormen.”
She dropped her head back to look at me. “Honey, you driving me and picking me up isn’t always going to work. In case you haven’t noticed, you and I sometimes have really different schedules.”
“That letter,” I said, pointing to the paper now sitting on the island, “has officially become FBI business. And what’s my job, baby?”
“You guard.”
“I guard. So, guess who’s getting guarded?”
“Melody Morgan.”
I laughed. “Holy shit, if I had to guard that bimbo, I’d quit.”
Melody was once the biggest and brightest child-actor now turned slutty wannabe, surrounded by a posse, vicious rumors of drug and alcohol problems, orgies, and legal troubles. Most would say she was beautiful, but the others would say she looked used up and beaten down.
“Maybe she’s misunderstood,” Macey said.
“And maybe monkeys will fly out of my ass.”
Macey smiled. “That would be quite the trick.”
I ran my knuckles down her cheek. “No one will ever hurt you again.”
She nodded. “I hate that this is who I’ve become.”
“Who’s that?”
“The woman who can’t be alone. The one who has to lock her bedroom door in her own apartment. Whose heart races just getting out of her car and making a run for the elevator in case she’s being followed. The one who suddenly needs someone to hold her and tell her everything’s going to be all right.”
“Baby, you were that woman before, you just didn’t want to admit it out loud.”
Macey snorted. “You don’t know me.”
I chuckled. “My mistake.”
She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed me. “Even though you’ve often been a pain in my butt, I love you for not letting me hide.”
“No point in hiding, baby. There’s too much to see.”
Macey ran a finger down my chest. “I’m gonna take a shower. Join me?”
“Definitely. I’ll start the coffee and be right in.”
She pulled off her cami and grinned. “Don’t be long.”
“I won’t.” I watched her walk away. She still tried to hide the front of her, the part of her body scarred the worst, but it was a start. I waited until she disappeared into the bedroom before starting the coffee and sliding the note and envelope into a plastic Ziploc bag. I stamped down my anger again and took a deep breath. My phone buzzed and since it was Brock, I answered it. “Hey.”
“What’s up?” Brock asked.
“Someone’s stalking Macey.”
“What the hell? Seriously?”
“Looks that way,” I said. “Someone who knows confidential things about the case.”
“Such as?” Brock pressed.
“What the bastard said before he raped her.”
“Which was what?”
I rubbed my forehead. “Brock, stop fuckin’ around. I saw the other file.”
“And exactly how did you see the other file?”
“I’m thinkin’ I’m not gonna tell you that.”
“Nita,” Brock said.
“I plead the fifth.”
“How pissed is Macey?” Brock asked.
“She’s no longer pissed at you if that helps.”
Brock sighed. “It’s your day off, so what do you want to do?”
I glanced toward the bedroom. “I need to get this note over to the office for processing.”
“How about I swing by your place in an hour and pick it up?”
“That would be appreciated.”
“Okay, see you later.”
“’Bye.” I hung up and headed into my bathroom, slipping out of my shorts and into the shower, pulling Macey’s back against my chest. “Hi.”
She dropped her head back onto my shoulder. “Hi.”
“Brock’s gonna swing by and pick up the note.”
“Okay.”
I turned her to face me, but she stepped closer again, and I guessed it was so I couldn’t look too closely at her. “One day, Macey.”
She blinked up at me. “But not today.”
I let her hide as I slid my hands in her hair, gently tugging her head back so the water covered her. I squeezed shampoo in my palm and then massaged it into her scalp.
Macey closed her eyes and sighed with a smile. “I think that works better than the meds.”
“Good to know.” I guided her head further under the spray and rinsed the soap from her locks before conditioning and then rinsing again. “Your hair is incredible.”
“Really?”
“Definitely.”
She wiped her hands down her face and looked up at me. “I was thinking about cutting it.”
“No,” I said, frowning.
“Is that an order?” she retorted.
“Yeah, kinda.”
“Seriously?”
“Macey.” I sighed. “No, of course it’s not an ‘order.’ It’s just that only women who have given up cut their hair.”
Macey let out a surprised snort. “Pardon?”
“At the risk of sounding like a dick, have you noticed that the older women get and the more kids they have, the shorter their hair gets?”
“Um, no, I guess I haven’t noticed that.” She giggled. “What about Nita? She’s almost bald and totally gorgeous.”
“She’s the exception.” I leaned down and kissed her neck. “Think about it.”
Macey hummed as I kissed her pulse. “I’ll think about thinking about it.”
“So contrary.” I grinned.
“Only to you.”
“Promise me you won’t cut your hair.” I ran my tongue across her lower lip. “Not because I’m making demands, but just because you love me… and your only desire is to please me.”
“Oh, honey, you picked the wrong woman if that’s what you want.”
I chuckled. “No, I didn’t.”
“You don’t think so?”
“Absolutely not. You please me greatly.” I smiled, cupping her bottom. “Maybe you just don’t know you’re doing it.”
“I won’t cut it.” She stared up at me and smiled. “For now.”
“Wrap your legs around me,” I growled.
She didn’t hesitate, and I positioned her against the wall, sliding into her and forcing myself to go slow. I dropped my head to her shoulder and took a deep breath. “You okay?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Shit,” I ground out as I shifted. “Are you sure? I can stop if you need me to.”
“You can stop asking me if I’m okay, Dallas. I will tell you if I’m not.”
I stared at her, her face relaxed, her eyes hooded with desire. “Promise?”
If she said she wanted to stop, I’d stop, but I was well past of the point of no return and if she stopped me now, I’d be in a hell of a lot of pain.
“Promise.” Macey giggled. “Time for you to please me, baby.”
And I did. Twice.