Page 21 of Malice

“I’ll take that. It’s better than I had from the last person I saw even semi-seriously.”

“Is that what we’re doing now? Seeing each other?” She hadn’t wanted to ask. And she hadn’t wanted to put a title on it without his input. But she also didn’t fall into bed with just anyone. And they’d done more than fall into bed together a few hours ago.

“That’s the least I’d say about it, considering this afternoon. And just so you know, as long as this thing lasts between us, you’ll be the only one I’m seeing. I’m not the kind of guy to string several women along while screwing them all. Sex is kind of a commitment with me, at least a commitment that you’re the only one. I know we didn’t talk about it before, but I hope it’s the same for you.”

She looked up from the trail to watch his face for a moment, trying to gauge what he was thinking. But his expression had gone blank.

“The last person I’d slept with was Phillip, and we know how that turned out. I wasn’t planning on getting involved with anyone for a long while.”

“I can see why you might feel that way. He leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and I’ve barely met the man.”

“Bad taste? Yeah, you could say that. He’s enough to make a woman swear off men entirely,” she said as they approached a two story house that looked like it had been there for years. It was an older style, and looked like someone had let the maintenance go for a long time, but someone was working on it now. New railing on the porch and freshly painted stairs leading up to it told her they had likely been replaced too.

“I’m sure glad you didn’t do that.” He tugged her to a stop beside him. “It gets loud in there sometimes, and it can be overwhelming. But don’t worry. I’ll be there with you and if it gets to be too much, say something and we can leave.”

“Are you sure?” She didn’t know why he thought she might get overwhelmed, then it occurred to her. Did it overwhelm him sometimes? Was he worried about her enduring something that caused him problems?

“I’m sure, sweetness. You say the word and I’ll come up with a reason to get us out of there.” He squeezed her hand.

“Thank you.” She stretched up to place a quick kiss on his cheek. His being worried about her and wanting her to be comfortable was sweet. In return, she would watch him and make sure he wasn’t getting overwhelmed. If it looked like he was, she’d let him know she was ready to leave. She didn’t even mind if he used her as the reason.

17

Maliceledherupthe steps and into the house for dinner. He didn’t know why he was so nervous about this, but his stomach churned. He hadn’t planned on being this invested in her either. Then again, he hadn’t planned this afternoon. Not that he could regret it.

He liked to think he’d had his share of sex in his life, maybe not as much as he could have but enough. But he hadn’t planned on Bonnie. Not the way she made him feel or the way she reacted to him. Once things had gotten that far and she’d told him she sometimes had a hard time climaxing, he’d known his will to walk away on his own was gone. If she had said not or stop, he would have found a way but now, he was so happy that she said yes and asked for more.

Inside, he led her to the kitchen where people were already assembling for dinner.

“Hi, everyone,” he said, drawing everyone’s attention. “This is Bonnie. Her ex is being difficult so she’s staying at my cabin for a few days. Bonnie, this is London, Kerry, and Robyn.” He motioned to each of the women as he named them. “That’s Ghost and you’ve already met Lurch. Tuck is around somewhere, and I’ll introduce you to the rest of the guys as they arrive.”

“Nice to meet you all and thanks so much for giving me somewhere to go where I wouldn’t have to worry about Phillip finding me and trying to abduct me again.”

From the way the women’s eyes widened, it looked like they hadn’t been told that part of Bonnie’s story. Malice looked at Lurch, one brow lifted in question.

“I didn’t think it was my story to tell.” He shrugged then went back to setting the table.

Malice looked at Bonnie to see how she was handling it. She seemed unphased as she looked around a moment then to London. “What can I do to help?”

“Nothing. We’ve got it all handled tonight. Have a seat, the rest of the guys will be in soon, then you’ll be hard pressed to shove your way in amongst them.” London tilted the top of her head toward the table.

Malice looked at the long table with only two chairs, one on each end, then benches along each side. He remembered the first time he’d seen it. The first meal he’d had here, it hadn’t been that long ago. He was used to group meals from his time with the military, but now he tried to see it from her perspective. How must it look. How intimidating might it be?

“Should I sit anywhere in particular?”

“Tuck sits there, with London beside him,” he motioned to one end of the table, “and Lurch there with Kerry beside him. Everywhere else is first come, first serve.”

“Where do you sit?”

“Depends on when I get here. If I get to choose like today, I usually sit about there.” He pointed toward the far end of the table. “But if I’m late, I always get stuck in the middle.”

She looked back and forth from him to the table for a few seconds, then went to the end where she would be sitting across from London. “How’s this?”

“I’m good with it if you’re good.” He watched while she took a seat, then stepped over the bench and sat beside her.

Around them, Lurch, Ghost and the women spoke to let each other know when one was behind another with something hot or asked about some last-minute thing as they moved around and got dinner on the table.

“Ghost, call everyone to dinner please,” Robyn said as she set the last large bowl on the table. She stepped over the bench and sat, smiling across the laden table at Bonnie. “How are you doing with the change? Has Malice shown you around the ranch yet?”

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