Chapter Six

Dex

I tipped back a beer as I waited for Cora, thinking about our argument that day, if it could be considered an argument. We were used to the bitter fights that ended with tears, slamming doors, squealing tires and broken drywall. But this wasn’t like that. It was civil.

Sure, we’d deferred the rest of the ‘discussion’ until tonight, but I was confident it wouldn’t escalate. Mainly because I was determined to prove to her that I’d grown up. I wasn’t the same hothead she’d left behind, even if I still had that fucking jealous streak a country mile wide where she was concerned.

The doorbell rang and I took a deep breath before slamming my longneck down on the oak coffee table. It took about three seconds for my heart to start battering my chest when I saw her. Damn. She looked gorgeous. Her black hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders, her makeup accentuated her light blue eyes, and her pouty pink lips were begging to be kissed. But it was the outfit that did me in. Sexy without being over-the-top, just like the lady herself, it was effortless.

She looked down at the fitted black sleeveless jumpsuit she’d paired with high heels. “Um, I hope this is okay? I wasn’t sure where we’d be going.”

It wasn’t until she spoke I realized I’d been staring and probably making her uncomfortable. “Sorry,” I said, pulling her into my arms. “I was just thinking about how hot you look.”

She laughed as she wound her arms around my neck, pressing her belly against my erection. “You sure you want to go out? I’m sure I could whip up something here. Dinner in bed, maybe?”

I’d love nothing more, but if I took her up on her offer we wouldn’t be able to continue our discussion. “No way, I want to take you out and show you off.” I wanted everyone to know we were a couple again, or on the verge of being. It’s not that we lived in a tiny town where everyone knew everyone else, but it wasn’t an impersonal city either. Word got around.

“Is that so?” she asked, looking amused, as though she could read my mind.

“I’m almost afraid to kiss you,” I said, letting my lips hover over hers.

“Lip stain,” she whispered. “Won’t come off so easily.”

I growled, cupping her ass as I nibbled at her full lips. I was getting painfully hard and knew if we didn’t get out the door in the next ten seconds we wouldn’t be going anywhere. “Let’s go, beautiful.”

“Not so fast,” she said, tugging on my hand when I tried to usher her out the door. “I want a tour.” She glanced at the large gold watch on her wrist. “We have time, don’t we?”

Cora in my bedroom. Yeah, this dinner was not gonna happen. “Sure, let me show you around.”

I was pretty proud of the place, especially since it had been a dump when I bought it. It was a period home with most of the original doors, trim, and fixtures. I’d even managed to strip and refinish the hardwood floors and banister to preserve as much of the home’s original character as I could. My effort was apparently worth it, judging by the way my ex was oohing and aahing as we moved through the open space.

“I had to knock out a few walls,” I explained, holding her hand as I led her from the living / kitchen area into the home office. “But I think it was worth it. It opened it up a lot.”

She looked up at me. “Since when do you like old homes, Dex? That was always my thing.”

It was true she’d been bugging me about buying a century home for the longest time, but I didn’t want to invest a lot of time and money to fix someone else’s problems. “I guess I started to see what you see in these places,” I said, leading her into the formal dining room across from the office. “Charm. Character.” I chuckled when I caught her staring. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I really like what I see. I don’t just mean the house.”

I loved being able to show her my new life. The changes extended beyond my business. When we’d been together I’d been secretly afraid of failing if I left my club to pursue a legit business venture. I didn’t want her to witness that. When she left, I just went for it, ‘cause I didn’t give a shit about anyone else’s opinion of me. I won’t say Cora leaving me was a good thing, but it did free me up to make better choices.

“Thanks.”

We walked down a narrow hallway to a mud room that consisted of a washer/dryer and built-in cabinets before backtracking to give her a peek at the powder room.

I led her up the back staircase, not trusting myself if I had to admire her ass the entire way. If I wanted this relationship to be about more than sex I had to make the effort to take her out on actual dates outside of my bedroom. A shame, since I knew we could have way more fun here than we could at a restaurant.

“There are three bedrooms and two baths up here,” I said, leading her through the two bedrooms that shared a bathroom. “And here’s the master.” I opened the double doors and watched her gasp when she saw the bed. It was ours. We’d bought it on a whim a few weeks after we got married. It was hand-carved and crazy-expensive, but I talked her into it, convincing her it would get more use than any other piece of furniture we owned. And it had.

“I didn’t know…” Her eyed flicked to mine. “Um, I didn’t see any of our old furniture downstairs. I just assumed you’d gotten rid of it all.”

Since she was moving so far away she hadn’t wanted anything from our old apartment, but this was the one thing I couldn’t stand to part with. “This was the only thing I kept.”

“Honestly,” she said, staring at the large four poster bed covered with a chocolate suede duvet. “I’m not sure how I feel about that, knowing you’ve shared our bed with other women.”

“I haven’t.” I knew it was telling, but I didn’t care. “Um, I haven’t brought any women here. I’ve only lived here a couple of years and the first year it was under construction.”

“But it’s been finished for a year,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “And I know you’ve been seeing people. I met Amber, remember?”

“Seeing people,” I repeated. “Nothing serious.”

“So, you would see them at their place?” she teased, slipping her arms around my waist.

“Something like that,” I muttered, hating this conversation. I didn’t want her to think about the other women I’d been with and I sure as hell didn’t want to think about the other men she’d been with.

“Good.” She hooked her thumbs through the belt loops of my black jeans. “I like that you haven’t shared our bed with anyone else.”

My lips twitched as I tried to keep a straight face. “Whose jealous now, babe?”

She smacked my ass. “You wouldn’t like it if I’d slept with other men in our bed.”

I glared at her before smacking her ass. Hard. “Don’t say shit like that. Ever.” In so many ways I’d changed, but in one way I’d stayed the same. My feelings for her still made me say and do crazy things.

She took a step back, looking apprehensive. “Dex, I—”

“Can we just go?” I was not going to let this shit ruin our evening, not when I had big plans to impress her. “Please?”

She hesitated for a minute before she nodded, slipping her hand through mine. “Sure, let’s go.”

***

The dinner flew by, with some of the best conversation I’d had in years. She filled me in on her family, her job, her plans for the restaurant and the apartment. But just as I was leaning in for a kiss while we waited for dessert, I caught a glimpse of a familiar face out of the corner of my eye. Her fucking dentist friend, and he was headed our way.

She caught me glaring over her shoulder and turned her head just in time to catch his kiss on her cheek.

“Oh, I thought I’d surprise you,” he said, smiling. “What are you doing here? I tried to call you earlier to ask if you’d like to join us for my brother’s birthday dinner.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder to indicate a boisterous crowd at a corner table. “But you didn’t call me back.”

She gave me a tight smile before she said, “Um, I was going to. Later.”

He glanced at me, as though noticing me for the first time. “You look familiar. Have we met?”

“He was at Cheryl’s and Jared’s party last night,” Cora offered. “Iain, this is Dex.”

He extended his hand and narrowed his gaze. “Dex. That’s an uncommon name.” His gaze swung back to Cora. “Didn’t you say your ex-husband’s name was Dex…the biker?”

I shook his hand a little harder than necessary to get his attention. “That would be me.”

He frowned at Cora. “I’m afraid I don’t understand. You said you and your ex-husband weren’t on good terms.”

“We weren’t,” Cora said, blushing. “But, um, we talked last night—”

“Tell him the truth, baby.” I winked at her, deepening the flush staining her cheeks. “We did a hell of a lot more than talk.” I knew I was crossing a line, but I didn’t give a shit. It may have been an asshole move, but I wanted this guy to know Cora was mine.

Iain’s jaw dropped momentarily before his gaze swung back to Cora. “Is this true?”

She closed her eyes, looking mortified. “Iain, it’s not like we were exclusive. We’d only been on a few dates.”

“But you knew I wanted you to meet my family,” he said, between clenched teeth. “I thought that would have given you some indication that I was serious about taking things to the next level.”

“Yeah, too bad about that,” I said, swirling the remaining wine in my glass before knocking it back. “I guess you win some, you lose some, huh buddy?”

Cora narrowed her eyes at me and I knew she’d let me have it later, but in the meantime I was enjoying this. It meant one less threat for me to worry about.

“Iain, I’m sorry you had to find out like this,” Cora said, shooting me a warning glare. “I honestly planned to call you when I got home tonight—”

“If you got home tonight,” I said, grinning.

No question about it, she was going to lower the boom later. But angry sex with Cora had always been a highlight of the week for me, so I really didn’t mind.

“What is wrong with you?” she hissed, kicking me under the table.

I rolled my tongue in my cheek. “What’s the problem?”

“You’re the problem.” She threw her napkin down on the table before standing.

Uh oh. Looks like I pushed her a little too far.

I reached into my pocket and peeled a few hundreds off the top of my billfold. No way was I going to wait around for a bill and risk her getting away.

“Cora, can I give you a ride home?” the dentist asked, gripping her wrist.

“Take your fucking hands off her,” I warned. “She came with me. She’s leaving with me.”

“I don’t believe this,” Cora said, slipping out of his grasp as she muttered, “I’m sorry, Iain. I have to go.”

I followed her out of the restaurant, grabbing her arm when she tried to cross the street to hail a cab. “Don’t even think about it.” I steered her to the parking lot at the side of the building. “Get in,” I said, opening the passenger’s door of my car.

“Fuck off, Dex!”

“Okay, I admit maybe I crossed a line in there, but—”

“Why do you have to act like such a fucking Neanderthal?”

Wasn’t it obvious? Because she brought out the caveman in me. But I didn’t think she’d appreciate that response, so my tone was soft as I crowded her against the car, “You make me crazy, girl. You always have.”

She closed her eyes when my hand grazed her cheek. “We are so messed up. I’m afraid we haven’t changed at all.”

“Sure, we have.” I was ready to have babies with her now. I hadn’t been then. Nothing says stay the fuck away from my woman like a big pregnant belly. I’d just keep her pregnant for the next ten years. Problem solved. Ah, she was right. I was a fucking Neanderthal. What was wrong with me?

“You want me to apologize?” I whispered, running my hand down her back to rest on her ass. “Fine, I’m sorry. But I’d much rather show you than tell you.”

She let out a strangled scream, sounding cute and frustrated at the same time. “Sex is not the answer to everything. Haven’t you learned that by now?”

I should have, but when it came to sex and Cora, I got easily distracted. “Teach me,” I whispered, nipping her bottom lip while pinning her against the doorframe with my body. “Tell me what you want from me.” My voice was low and husky, full of naughty innuendo. I swept my tongue inside her mouth and she responded without hesitation, putting my fears to rest.

When we broke apart, she said, “I want you to recognize the fact that I’m my own person, that I’m free to talk to anyone I want without you getting all territorial.”

She wasn’t being unreasonable. Logically, I knew that. But sex, jealousy, regret and love created a potent cocktail that made me irrational. “As long as we’re not talking about guys you’ve dated.”

She rolled her eyes. “Have you noticed I’ve never made these demands on you?”

“Wouldn’t bother me if you did,” I said, shrugging. “I’m only interested in one of my ex’s.” I leaned in to kiss her again. “The one I married… and never should have divorced.”

She gasped. “Dex…”

“It’s true.” I was done holding back. Divorcing her was the stupidest mistake I’d ever made and if I could rectify it I would. “I was an idiot to let you go.”

Her smile was sad as she laid her hand on my chest. “It wasn’t right. The way we treated each other.” She shook her head. “All we did was hurt each other, Dex. It was too intense. The fights, the—”

“I never learned how to fight fair,” I admitted. “In my world you just went for the jugular.” And that’s what I’d done with her, said the things I knew would hurt the most. I wasn’t proud of it. Hell, I was ashamed of it. But I was doing the best I could. Now I knew better and I could do better. If she’d let me.

“Tell me what’s different now,” she challenged. “You’re still a hothead. How do I know we won’t get into more nasty fights and say things that wind up hurting each other all over again?”

“Will we fight?’ I grinned. “I can pretty much guarantee that. We’re both stubborn, passionate people. But we’ve been around the block, Cor. We know what we’ve got is worth fighting for.”

“I can’t believe I’m feeling like this again,” she said, lowering her head. “Especially about you. This is crazy.”

I never thought we’d get another shot either, but I was glad we were. “Here’s the deal,” I said, linking my hands behind her neck. “I loved you.” Still do. “What we had, that was real. Was it perfect? Hell no. But show me a relationship that is.” I could tell I was wearing her down. “Answer one question for me.”

“Sure.”

“Did you accept that job in Paris believing I’d go with you or expecting me not to?” That question had been plaguing me for years.

“I wanted you to come,” she said, holding on to my arms. “I really thought you would. Until we had that last blowout. That’s when I knew we’d reached the point of no return.”

I remembered that fight like it was yesterday. Some guy in a bar grabbed her ass when she walked past and I laid him out. I thought I was justified. She thought I overreacted. In hindsight maybe I did, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t do it again.

“Seeing you again was wild,” I said, preferring to think about the recent past. “I never expected to have those feelings after all this time.”

“Neither did I.” Her expression was somber. “That really caught me off guard.”

“You know what caught me off guard,” I whispered in her ear. “How hot it was, being back in your bed.”

Her sigh was shaky, like she was trying to hold it together. “That was hot,” she agreed. “So hot.”

“It’s something to build on,” I suggested, wanting so badly to believe it was true.

“Is it?” She closed her eyes. “We tried building a relationship on sex once before, remember? That didn’t work out so well for us.”

She’d always been the mature, responsible one. The plotter and planner. I wasn’t surprised she wanted a written guarantee that I wouldn’t break her heart again. “We may have rushed into it,” I conceded. “But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t right.”

“You can honestly say that?” she asked. “Given how things turned out.”

“Baby,” I said, kissing her. “That was just the first chapter of our story. It’s not over yet, not by a long shot.”