Page 56 of Fast Justice

He gave her a smile, those dimples appearing in his freshly-shaved cheeks, his arms full of brown paper takeout bags. “Hope you guys are hungry. I brought Mexican.”

It was a nice touch that he’d thought to buy dinner for the FBI agents too. He was so mouthwatering standing there in his dark jeans and button-down shirt.

She wanted to walk right over there, throw her arms around him and kiss him senseless, but that would be hella awkward given their audience, so instead she took two of the bags from him with a thanks and started putting everything onto the kitchen table.

Her security detail thanked Malcolm for the food, filled their plates and made themselves scarce in another room. Rowan sipped at the wine he’d brought, drinking in the sight of him over the rim of her glass. What she wouldn’t give to be alone with him right now. All she could think about was what he’d done to her this morning, the way he’d pinned her beneath him. The feel of his hands, his mouth, the way he’d filled her…

He looked up and met her gaze, his brown eyes darkening at the look she was giving him. Then his mouth twitched. “So, you make any headway with work today?”

She was thankful one of them was able to play it cool. Her body was on edge, needy as hell, and it was damn hard to sit here and pretend otherwise. Still, she wasn’t up for an audience the next time she got sexy with him. “Some. Spoke to Val a few times, and my parents. My last update from Nick was that Kevin was awake and talking. He seems alert and like his normal self, so they’ve cut back the pain meds so he’s not all drugged up. Nick said he’d call back tonight if Kev’s up to it so I can talk to him.”

“And your parents?”

“They’re both at the hospital.”

“How’s your dad handling that, with Nick there?”

“Surprisingly well, according to Nick,” she said with a small smile. “A bit stiff at first, but he’s loosened up some since. He’s making progress.”

“About goddamn time.”

Rowan cocked her head slightly, smiling at him. “I love that you’re so accepting of Kev.” From what he’d told her he’d been raised in a strict, religious home. Sometimes that made people judgmental about things like sexual orientation.

Malcolm shrugged the broad shoulders she wished were naked and she was stroking her hands over right now. “He’s a good guy. Deserves to be happy.”

That put a knot in her throat. “Yeah, he sure does.” Setting down her fork, she reached across the table for his hand, grasped it and lowered her voice. “And so do we.”

A slow smile curved his lips, making those crazy sexy dimples appear again. They were so much more evident without all the stubble on his face. “I’m glad you see it that way.” He squeezed her fingers, his eyes promising untold pleasure the next time they got naked together.

“Kev somehow knew the way I still felt about you. The night he was injured, up in my office he warned me that we don’t get any do-overs in this life. He’d had the courage to go after his own happiness. I finally found mine too.”

Malcolm raised their joined hands to his mouth, turned them to press a slow, lingering kiss to the back of hers. “Then I guess I owe him a thank you next time I see him.” He lowered their hands to the table.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Why did you leave the Navy? You told me once that you loved being a SEAL.”

“I did love it. It was the hardest, most punishing yet most rewarding thing I’d ever done.” He sat back, thought about it for a moment. “I was starting to get numb. I saw it happen to other guys, and I wanted to get out before I didn’t feel anything anymore.”

God, she couldn’t imagine him being like that. “I’m glad you got out.”

“It was the right decision for me. And it gave me a solid background to try out for FAST selection.”

Suddenly the uncertainty of the days stretching out before her seemed like an eternity. An eternity of not having Malcolm. “So you’ll be back with the rest of your team now?”

He nodded. “Rodriguez is flying back tonight. His mom’s been real sick, but she’s on the upswing now so we’ve got the whole team together again as of tomorrow morning, and it’ll be good to have him back. He’s been on the team almost as long as me.”

It was obvious how much he loved his teammates from the way he talked about them. But her mind was trying to work out the logistics of where this new transition left her and Malcolm. “You’re going to wait for me, right?”

He eyed her in amusement, eyebrows raised. “You seriously worried I might not, after I waited this long?”

She shrugged. “Just looking for some reassurance.”

He lowered his eyebrows, leaned closer and dropped his voice. “I might wait for you, if you promise to make it worth my while.”

The sensual purr slid over her skin like the stroke of velvet, making her shiver. “I will.”

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