Page 75 of Seductive Scoundrel

Mia and I make our way to the rental car in silence, and when I start driving, she stares at me so intently that I pull over.

“What are you thinking?” I ask.

“Robert usually drives us and I wish he didn’t. You look sexy when you drive.”

“You look sexy always. But what are you really thinking?”

“Why are you here? Are we rekindling being fuck buddies? This is an intense move for that label.”

I wince. “We were never fuck buddies.”

“The first thing you ever did was send me a picture of your dick.”

I give her a pointed look. “I thought you were someone else. Someone who asked for that picture.”

She sighs. “I know. And I said I’m sorry –”

“Mia, I don’t care anymore. That’s why I’m here. I wouldn’t be in bloody Kansas for less than a day missing countless meetings over a fuck buddy. Just don’t lie to me again, and we’re golden.” She looks like the weight of the world is resting on her shoulders. “Is that too difficult for you?”

There’s a pause.

A long pause.

It’s enough time for me to take a good look around the little suburb where all the houses are cookie-cutter and complete with white picket fences. This is the ideal Mia grew up believing in, her version of a fairytale, and it’s probably what she wants for herself in the future.

It’s still not enough to scare me away, so that tells me just how deep I’m in this thing with her.

I can’t get over how quiet it is here. Not a single car has passed while we’ve been pulled over, and the low orange glow of the streetlights has only illuminated the occasional couple walking their dog.

It’s the exact opposite of everything I love about New York. Surely she can’t want to live here. I can give her diamonds and penthouses and she wants…Labradoodles and PTA meetings?

We’re going to have to talk. But I want to figure it out and find a way forward that makes us both happy.

We have to. I never lose, and I’m not looking to start now with so much at stake.

Mia is everything.

She owns me now and doesn’t even realize it.

“Mia.” My voice is a lot sharper than I intended, but my heart has been in my throat waiting for her answer.

“No. It’s not hard, and I won’t lie to you anymore. It’s just that, well, Wally isn’t really mine. I volunteer at the Greyhound Rescue Center, and he’s one of the dogs waiting to be adopted.”

I chuckle as relief floods my system. If her biggest concern is the damn dog, then we’re good. “The dog thing never made sense to me, but it was surprising you pulled one out of your ass on such short notice. At least my instincts are dead on. Any other skeletons in that closet of yours?”

She takes a deep breath. “There’s a picture of me with my ex making the rounds on social media. He ambushed me at the pumpkin patch, and it looks like we went together. We didn’t. The thing is, he’s a senator and it looks like I was campaigning with him.”

Another puzzle piece slides into place and it explains why she knew how to handle Gwynne.

“Thanks for telling me. As long as I hear it from you, I’m happy. I know how the press can manipulate images and skew the narrative, hence why I’ve never let myself become tabloid fodder. You may have noticed I’m not exactly insecure, and I’m not going to cry over a picture. You’ve had my dick, so I know you don’t want any others.”

She laughs, the tension in her body visibly easing. “You’re the worst.”

“Some say the best.”

“So are we…I don’t want to be your toy anymore. I want…everything from you. All of you. Even the parts no one else has ever had. Especially those parts.”

I take her hands. We are so far beyond any of that, and I need to make her understand. “Mia, the way you make me feel is not something I’m prepared to walk away from. If you want to be my girlfriend, you’ve got it. All I want is you, and I don’t care what we call it. You want the label, it’s yours. There was never anyone else since we met.” Her overjoyed smile makes me laugh, so apparently we’re finally on the same page. “So, how’s my girlfriend doing?”

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