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“Fine. I’ll stay,” I said as I lowered myself and straddled his lap. His arms instantly wrapped around me.
“Thank you for coming back, Firefly,” he whispered against my neck.
“Why do you call me that, Mack?” There was silence for a long time. I felt him inhaling and exhaling against the side of my neck.
“You bring light to my darkness,” he murmured against my skin, and I held him tighter.
****
Mack never did tell me what was bothering him earlier, but he was adamant it wasn’t me. He didn’t want me to leave for work that evening, so I’d gotten Carina to cover my shift. It felt like he was used to people leaving, and all I wanted was to stay with him, for as long as he wanted me. I insisted on cooking dinner in his unused kitchen and after a trip to the grocery store, I baked lasagna and tossed together a salad. His phone rang several times throughout the evening, and he would go out on the back deck to talk. His actions worried me, and I knew he would never tell me what was wrong. It made me feel helpless, not that there was anything I could do, most likely, but I wanted to be there for him anyway.
After dinner, we couldn’t decide what to do. Neither of us seemed in the mood to watch a movie on television, so instead we got into Mack’s car and sped down the empty back roads for a while, both of us enjoying the thrill. We felt alone in the world that was illuminated by only a pair of headlights. I always thought that Mack King was sexy, but seeing the way he handled his car at high speeds first hand, with sharp focus on the road as he shifted gears, was hot.
And when we pulled back into the garage it was late. As the heavy door closed behind us with a clunk, our eyes met. When I smiled over at him, he reached out and wound a finger into one of my curls. God, he was gorgeous. His dark eyes were clear with intent as he stared at me. He wanted me. I licked my bottom lip, feeling the exact same way. I would never get used to the power he had to own my body with just one glance.
“There’s that look again,” Mack said, then leaned over and kissed me hungrily before we hurried upstairs to his bedroom. After worshipping every part of my body for what seemed like hours, he finally slipped inside of me and whispered, “God, Jonna. Never stop looking at me that way.” Then he placed his lips on mine as we came together, moaning into each other’s mouths.
Chapter Fourteen
“Excuse me, miss. What’s the time?” It was the same elderly gentleman who’d been coming in here every night for a week. He always stopped me to ask the time, and it was quite annoying. And to make things worse, he really wasn’t as old as I’d first thought, once I really studied him. He was a short man with a head full of gray hair, and glasses. He usually wore a tan-colored jacket and dark slacks, and stared at the newspaper for hours. Odd behavior for a man in a crowded bar full of people drinking and laughing.
“Um?.?.?.” I pulled out my phone and glanced at it. “It’s nine thirty. No, wait, nine twenty-seven,” I corrected myself, hating that Carina’s scolding actually made sense to me.
“So do you have any plans on taking the ferry over to see your boyfriend in Key City tonight?” he called after me.
“What?” I whirled around and narrowed my eyes as I stepped closer to him. His tight smile stretched across his wrinkled face, and the knowing look in his eyes made me instantly uncomfortable. “What are you talking about?” I repeated.
“King. You’re seeing him aren’t you?”
“Whaa?.?.?.?” I didn’t know how to respond. How would this guy know anything about me and Mack? No one else in my life knew besides Tayia and Blake.
“Look, you seem like a nice girl, so I’m going to strongly advise you to steer clear of him.” My mouth dropped opened while the man stood up. “Just so you know he’s currently under investigation, so if you choose to hitch your wagon to his star, you’ll see me again real soon.” With a wink he folded the newspaper in his hand, and then tucked it under his arm before he made his way to the door.
“Who was that guy, and why do you look like someone just ran over your cat?” Harley asked from behind me. I knew I couldn’t tell her. She would wonder why he was talking to me about Mack. She still didn’t know anything about us, and I wasn’t sure how to tell her that I was falling for her ex-boyfriend. I realized I felt this way last night while Mack made slow love to me with our eyes locked and hands entwined. It was almost comical how I thought in the beginning that I’d be able to avoid feeling that way for him.
“Jonna?” Harley’s voice brought me out of my thoughts.
“Oh, nothing. He was asking me about the time and random stuff I wasn’t paying much attention to.” I waved a hand dismissively and walked past her. Thankfully she didn’t ask me anymore about it, and we finished up the rest of the night as usual.
****
“Fuck! It was Rollins,” Mack shouted on the other end of the phone. As soon as I’d gotten to my apartment, I immediately called him and told him about the guy from the restaurant.
“Rollins?” I asked as I sat down on my bed, my aching feet begging for a break.
“Detective Rollins,” he answered, sounding grim.
“Detective!” I shrieked and shot up again.
“Yeah.” Mack let out a long breath. “I don’t want you to worry about it, okay? He’s been following me and Brando around for months. Digging in my trash cans and bothering people who know me. If he had something he would have acted already. For now I think he gets off being a pain in my ass.”
“But, Mack, what are you going to do? His interests aren’t made up. I’m sure he’s building something against you.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“How can I not?”
“Jonna, I’ll take care of it.”
