He had?
When?
“Oh.” I paused. “Well, sorry. I didn’t see you. I was busy reading Hastings’ newest book and didn’t really pay attention. I’m sorry. Then I got onto social media and it degraded from there.”
“K. Well, it’ll take me a few minutes to get there and then you can explain this juicy book,” he murmured softly.
Then he was gone, just as fast as he’d called.
He was always abrupt like that. Always very short on the phone, and I wondered if there was a reason for that.
Going back to all the comments on the post I was reading, I didn’t stop until Malachi opened the door to his truck.
He grinned when he found me sitting in the driver’s seat.
“Unless you want to drive…” he teased.
I didn’t.
Though I was confident that, if I ever was forced to at gunpoint, I could get from point A to B in his six-speed truck, I sure didn’t want to drive it for fun.
Especially around fucking Longview, where the traffic was insane.
“Absolutely,” I teased in return as I swung my legs to the side and jumped out of the truck.
My body slid down the length of his, and both of us froze at the close contact.
A thrilling sensation of excitement hung in the air between us, and I nearly moaned at the feel of him so close.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
Was his voice huskier? Rougher?
Or was that just me?
“Yes,” I replied breathlessly. “I’m sure.”
He hummed something underneath his breath as he slid his hand up the outside of my thigh.
“Took the seatbelt with you,” he said when he saw my eyes flare.
I was all but panting as I slid past his hard body and made my way around the truck.
It was only when I got to my side that I realized he’d rounded the truck too, ever the gentleman, to open my door for me.
“Thank you,” I said as I hefted my leg up on the step.
He steadied me when I started to teeter—damn my nerves went haywire when I was around the man—and waited until I was fully inside the vehicle to pull out of the parking lot.
And even then I was fairly sure that things were starting to come to a head.
I was feeling these things and it wouldn’t take long for me to self-combust.
I just hoped that I was in the privacy of my own room when it happened.
Only, I wasn’t.
Fast forward five hours, and Malachi was still at my house, and I was at my boiling point.
“Hey, what about steak?” he asked, looking over his shoulder at me.
I licked my lips, unable to help myself, as I stared at his ass.
“What about steak?” I asked, unable to focus.
I grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled it a bit away from my body quickly, fanning myself.
“Steaks. For dinner. You know that thing that you do around six in the evening?” he teased.
He was teasing me.
He had no clue that with each flick of a smile. Each absent itch of his fingers across his abs. Every little slide of his tongue along that full bottom lip. He was slowly driving me absolutely insane.
I wanted him. So. Bad.
There were things going on inside my body that I hadn’t felt for any man.CHAPTER 14Forget the she shed. I need a bitch barn.-Sierra to MalachiMALACHISierra,
I’m going out on deployment again. A new place. Hold your letters again until I can tell you where and when to send.
Thank you for your last care package. I love cheesecake, and I can’t believe that you found a place that delivers. It had to cost you a fortune.
I had to share with the guys, though. They wouldn’t stop crying and whining until I did.
You’re officially their hero now, too.
So guess what Luca talked me into? Cryogenically freezing my sperm.
He did it for his girlfriend, Frankie. And it was like he was having performance anxiety or something, so I jokingly said that I’d go first. He took me up on the offer, and now my boys are frozen somewhere in Dallas, Texas. I’m not sure what, exactly, I’m expected to do with them. But I did it. Now I’m wishing that Luca wasn’t such a little bitch.
Also, is this something that we can talk about? I know that we haven’t actually gone this far into ‘personal business’ before. I hope that it wasn’t too out there to talk about. But I needed to talk to someone about it. I feel so freakin’ weird that I did it. And you’re an ‘adult’ now. Not that you weren’t an ‘adult’ even when you were underage. You’ve always been way older than you actually are.
Hope to talk to you soon,
Gabriel
• • •
“Are you okay?” I asked, closing the fridge and turning to face her.
Her face was flushed, and she was fanning herself with her shirt as if it was hot in here.