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“Ummm,” I stopped and cleared my throat nervously, barely able to get my voice above a whisper. “Wouldn’t you rather sit with your boyfriend?”
His deep chuckle radiated through me, making me need to hold back a shiver of pleasure at the sound. “You see how big that guy is? He’s a seat hog. I’d be half on the floor if I tried to sit in the same seat as him.”
I darted my eyes up to see the detective looking at me with serious eyes and a grin on his lips. Those eyes were just as golden inside as they had been in the sun. And the blond was right. He took up a lot of space for someone that wasn’t as muscular as the one sitting next to me. He had his suit jacket unbuttoned, with an arm spread over the back of his seat. I could see the handle of his service weapon peeking out from a shoulder holster. Why that would make me hot inside, I would have to take out and inspect later, once I wasn’t so overwhelmed.
“I’m pretty sure you take up more space than he does,” I mumbled as I pretended to study the menu and questioned my life choices.
His thigh was pressed up against mine, and I was certain he was further over in the seat than he needed to be. I would ask for more room, but... did I really want to?
“Oh, sugar,” the cop chuckled as he adjusted his weight in the booth. “I guarantee that he takes up plenty of space.”
My cheeks heated at the implication. These two were too much. I was already overheated, and I didn’t know if I could take sitting here with them for an entire meal.
The detective smirked. “I’m Ethan Hardgrove. He’s Brent Mason.” He jerked his chin over to the guy next to me.
“Nice to meet you,” I murmured, completely overwhelmed. I wasn’t sure if it was in a good way or not.
Five
ETHAN
She was a delight.Everything that Brent had said about her was true. I had always trusted him and his instincts, but he’d never been more right than he was about her.
She had a sassy streak inside her, one that two dominant fuckers like us would enjoy. It would offer up a great excuse to spank her ass and spoil her rotten at the same time. There was no doubt she was beautiful, but she was also kind and sweet. She didn’t have to share her table with us. Though we had blindsided her without giving her much of a choice, but she could have pitched a fit and told us to fuck off. Instead, she had given a shy nod while her face turned pink. I didn’t think it was from embarrassment, though.
Brent may have gotten to her first and been lucky enough to sit close to her, but I had the advantage of sitting across from her and being able to take in her gorgeous face. She was shy as hell. She hardly raised her eyes to meet mine, but when she did, the blue eyes I had wanted to see again since yesterday were filled with green and gold flecks I hadn’t had a chance to notice before.
I took in every inch of her face, from her adorable nose with the bump on the bridge that told me she had broken it at some point in her childhood to the light-colored freckles that dotted her cheeks and over that bump. They were so light that they nearly blended with her natural skin tone. I was almost certain they would get darker when she spent some time in the sun. She had dark, golden blonde hair, and I could imagine myself fisting her thick strands as I took her from behind.
Her lips had a subtle cupid’s bow, the bottom lip fuller than the top, giving her a pouty look and making me want to suck that lip into my mouth and hold it between my teeth.
“Here you go, loves.” Mom set down three glasses of coke on the table with one straw, knowing Brent and I would forgo the straw for drinking straight from the glass. Before I could do it, the fucker that I was going to punish later slid the glass in front of our girl. I glared at him as I snatched the straw before he could and ripped the paper open. He didn’t even give me the courtesy of looking up to see it.
“Did you figure out what you want to eat yet, Casey?” We all looked at her as she turned pink again from all the attention. I placed the straw in her glass as she shifted in her seat.
“I think I’ll try the breakfast. Can I have two eggs over medium and some hash browns, please?”
“Of course, hun. Would you like pancakes on the side or toast?”
“Pancakes, please, and thank you, Grace.”
She was quiet, but so polite. I just wanted to wrap her in my arms. She was too sweet for this shitty world. But she also had that cute little sassy streak that wanted to break free. Sugar and spice. My sugar. I looked over to Brent, and I could see the same thoughts rolling through his head. She needed us, and we were more than ready to protect her from anything and everything that would try to harm her sweetness. And she was sassy enough to keep her men from steamrolling her.
I was too distracted to even know what I was ordering, but Mom knew me well enough. She would make sure I got something I wanted. She was probably getting a kick out of this and had already told Dad what was going on out here while he cooked in the back. I was certain she would be heading straight back there to give him all the gossip.
“I noticed that you guys are both wearing matching wedding bands.” Her soft voice was like a caress to my balls. I held my hand up, displaying the black silicone band that was a perfect match to Brent’s. She didn’t sound like she was questioning them, just curious.
“We’ve been together for a long time, sugar.” I watched her closely, liking that she was asking about us. “We both tend to decide pretty quickly what we want in life.”
She pulled her glass closer to her and stirred the ice around a few times before bringing the straw to her lips and taking a small sip before speaking again in that same quiet voice. “I admire that trait in a person. I have a cousin who could never make a decision, even to save her life. It took her over a year to settle on a wedding dress. They had to push the wedding date back three times. Shopping with her was excruciating.” Her sad smile told me that she missed her cousin, regardless of her judgment.
“So, what brings you to Selene, Texas, dollface?” Brent’s question had her placing her drink back down. Her hands went into her lap, and she looked down at them. I glanced at Brent to see if he’d noticed how her shoulders had rolled in. What was so painful in her past that she needed to protect herself from?
“My parents thought I could use a vacation.” She said while keeping her eyes downcast and trying to sound nonchalant, but I’d been trained to read body language. Even if I weren’t a detective, I would have been able to see the hurt she couldn’t mask. Yesterday she had been wearing a hoodie, covering her body from prying eyes, but sitting in front of me in just a t-shirt, I had a great view of her arms. They were toned and smooth, not a single scar or bruise in sight. But I knew, from dealing with victims of violence, that many scars weren’t always visible. Some were on the inside.
Brent chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. “Well, you certainly came to the right place. As you can see,” he said, waving toward the window overlooking the hot street outside, “Selene has the best beaches on the planet. I hope you brought your bathing suit.” His lascivious eyebrow wiggle, though cute, was lost on her since she kept her eyes in her lap, but the quiet giggle she let out sent another jolt of lust straight to my balls. This girl was a danger to my ability to restrain myself.
“I was supposed to travel the states for as long as I wanted.” She finally lifted her head, but instead of meeting my gaze, she looked out the window Brent had just gestured toward and sighed. “I guess I needed a break from traveling for a little while.” Good. She didn’t know it, but there was no way we would be letting her get back on that bus. Not without one of us by her side.
