One Dance for Case (Possessed 2)

“Yeah.” For a while, they seemed to be lost in thought as they held each other’s gazes. He’d never been so nervous with a woman before; it was driving him insane. He thought back to his conversation with Deedee the day before and knew he had to try harder to really get to know her. Find out what made her tick. So he figured, why not start with the basics. “Did you grow up in Baltimore?”

“Huh?” She seemed surprised by his question. “Oh, umm, yes. Mostly in Belair. Moved around a lot, though.” She hesitated when answering him like she didn’t want to admit it. He knew the neighborhood she was referring to. It was one of the worst in the city. Picturing her as a sweet, little girl there didn’t mesh well with him.

“What about you?” she countered.

“Born and raised in Federal Hill.” He wouldn’t say he was proud of where he grew up. His parents were strict Christians. They did their best to put the fear of God into him and his siblings. They didn’t take disobedience well; it was met with a thick leather strap that more often than not left welts the size of golf balls on their asses.

“That must have been nice.” Her tone sounded wistful as if she couldn’t imagine living in such luxury.

“I suppose.” His parents weren’t the most loving and sure as shit hadn’t accepted what he’d chosen to do with his life, but at least, he went to bed without fear of rodents, insects, or gang bangers waking him from a night of rest.

“Do you have any family? Besides your sister and nephew?” Thinking of his own had him curious about hers. What her home life was like.

“No,” she answered quickly. “You?” It was almost as an afterthought.

“Parents, one brother, one sister.” Seemed neither of them wanted to speak of their families. He was at a loss on how to lighten things up, but he wanted to see her smile again. It made him feel like he could climb mountains when she did.

“Is it supposed to be this hard?” Her sudden and frank question shocked him for about two seconds before he chuckled lightly.

“I have no damn clue. Haven’t been on a date in years.”

She smiled at his admission, and he felt like he was in heaven. Her eyes sparkled, and she had this dimple on her cheek that he wanted to dip his tongue into. “I’ve never been on one.”

Her soft confession left him shocked for what felt like the tenth time that night. “Never? Not in high school? I find that hard to believe.”

Her brows drew down in consternation at his words. “Why?”

He hadn’t meant it the way it obviously sounded to her. “Because if a man hasn’t asked you out, then he’s a fucking idiot. Then again, their loss is my gain.”

“If you say so.” She wasn’t convinced.

“Here we are!” Derek bounced over with their food, placing each plate in front of them. “Can I get you anything else?” Ev shook her head at him.

“We’re good, thanks,” Case told the other man gruffly.

As they dug into their food, the flavors of the salsa exploded on his palate. The chicken was cooked to tender perfection, and if Ev’s moan of culinary pleasure was anything to go by, she was enjoying it just as much. When she licked a drop of salsa from the corner of her mouth he froze, forgetting what he was doing. Enjoyment was written across her features, and he was stuck in a trance as she swallowed every delicious morsel of food.

“Good?” he finally croaked out.

Her eyes popped open as if she forgot that he was there. Wiping her mouth with a napkin, she beamed. “Delicious.”

Somehow Case had convinced Ev to go back to his place. He told her he had something to show her. Something she could only enjoy in the early morning hours just before sunrise. Since dawn was approaching faster than she’d anticipated, she agreed. An hour out of the city and fully into the country and she was feeling nervous again.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, as moody as he could be. It was the unknown that she was uncomfortable with. “Not much further,” he told her, breaking the silence. “You ok?” Grabbing her hand, he brought it to his lips for a light kiss.

“Yes,” she lied. “No.” What was the point? “I don’t like not knowing where I am or where I’m going, and with it being nearly five in the morning and completely dark, I’m slightly terrified you could be an ax murderer ready to chop me in pieces and leave me in a field somewhere.” So she was exaggerating, sue her.

“I prefer to harvest organs, first. Makes for good iron.” Her startled eyes and loud gasp had him laughing so hard he was bent over the steering wheel.

“That is so not funny, Casey,” she admonished him. The ass.

“Oh, Kitten, the only eating I plan to do of you will be with light nips and tender kisses.” She felt the blush work its way up her chest and into her cheeks.

“Here we are,” he announced as they drove down a winding gravel driveway, past a large house, and parked in front of a smaller cabin.

As she jumped from his over-sized truck, she looked between the cabin they were standing in front of and the house they had just passed. “Who lives there?” Ev inquired.

“You remember Dom?” he asked, grabbing her hand and pulling her behind him.