One More Time

“You're not fine,” he said. “And listen, I can explain everything. I promise.”

“Oh. You can explain why you've been ignoring all my texts?” I said, heat creeping into my voice. “I told you, we need to talk, Malcolm. I wasn't fucking around.”

“You went through all this trouble with Adam just to talk to me?” he asked, looking completely taken aback by me going through all of this just to see him.

“Yes,” I said.

“Okay, then talk.”

There was an edge to his voice I hadn't heard before. He was angry at me, or maybe it was Adam. I couldn't tell.

“What about your family dinner?” I asked, a sneer in my voice.

He shrugged. “Fuck them. I don't like most of my family anyway,” he said. “You came all this way, you endured the hell that is spending time with Adam, so talk to me, Casey. What's so important that it couldn't wait?”

“I thought you were cutting things off with me,” I said. “Not that we were every anything more than – well, you know. But given the fact that you seemed like you were cutting me off, I wasn't sure if our agreement still stood or not.”

Malcolm sighed and closed his eyes. He relaxed into me, and I found it hard not to reach out and touch his face or run my fingers through his hair. He was so sickeningly sexy and being so near him made my body react. My heart raced, my stomach churned, and it felt like my every nerve ending was on fire.

He didn't have to necessarily do a damn thing. My body just reacted on its own whenever we were together – and judging by the bulge in his pants pressing against me, I guess the feeling was mutual.

“Casey, I –”

Alba’s voice came from behind him, interrupting our talk.

“Malcolm, your father is asking for you.” “Tell him I'll be right there,” Malcolm said through clenched teeth.

“He's going to come looking for you himself if you don't hurry.”

Malcolm sighed again, this time in frustration. He straightened himself up, and suddenly, the blank, emotionless mask he'd been wearing was back. Only his eyes held any hint of softness toward me now.

“Casey, I promise I'll explain everything later,” he said. “But, for now, would you care to join us for dinner?”

“Care to join you?” I asked. “I mean, after everything that had happened, you wouldn't mind? I'm not sure it'd go over too well, honestly.”

“Of course I wouldn't mind,” he said. “But until we talk, can we downplay our relationship, please? I usually don't tell these people any more than they need to know at any given time. Things are safer that way.”

Our relationship.

“That's fine. Yes,” I said, my voice barely more a whisper.

Malcolm took my hand and brought it to his lips, placing a soft kiss on the back of my knuckles. He looked into my eyes, the intensity of his gaze burning a hole through me.

“Trust me, Casey,” he said. “Just trust me for right now, okay?”

I nodded, and he let go of my hand. I followed him into the di

ning room. Alba squeezed my arm as I walked by, and we shared a look. She knew about Malcolm and me. She saw the tension between us. If Malcolm cared that she knew though, it didn't show.

She smiled pleasantly and followed us into the dining room.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

MALCOLM

“There you are,” Mom said,

She stood up from the table when I entered the room. She looked past me at Casey and shot me a quizzical look.