Chapter 14 Sevyn #2
There was something in his voice that told me not to press the issue. So, I didn’t. I only replied, “Not too old. But whatever. You’re fine, and I know you’ll be a fine silver fox.”
He grumbled and rolled his eyes at me. “Already with the jokes, huh?”
“Just speaking it as I see it.”
We continued making small talk over breakfast. When I had finished my meal, and he was almost finished with his, I returned to the conversation.
“Deuce, about last night. I owe you an apology for the way that I behaved. I did not mean to overstep my boundaries or invade your privacy.”
“You didn’t overstep any boundaries or invade my privacy, Sevyn. You were actually the balm that I needed. I wasn’t offended at all. How did you even hear me?”
“I was in the laundry room, and I—”
“What did I tell you about trying to carry that basket without me?”
“I wasn’t. I was just getting a blanket out of there.”
“And it couldn’t wait for me?”
I stared into his eyes. “Deuce, eventually, I’ll have to get used to doing things for myself again. The sooner the better.”
He searched my gaze for a while before he turned back and spooned the last of his oatmeal into his mouth.
“Anyway, I was in the laundry room when I heard a banging sound. I tried to ignore it at first, thinking maybe you were hanging something on the wall. But it kept on, and I realized that it was coming from the bathroom. I didn’t know if something was wrong or not, but I was determined to be there for you the way you had been for me. ”
I slid off the barstool to take my plate to the sink. Deuce stood abruptly, catching me off guard. He grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. I felt good in his arms again, but I couldn’t help but think about last night. I hadn’t necessarily felt rejected, but in the aftermath, I was starting to.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure what I was feeling either. There were days when all I could think about was Ethan.
“Thank you for being what I needed last night.” Deuce muttered against the top of my head after he kissed me on it.
I looked up at him and smiled. “I couldn’t help but be there for you, Deuce. You’re such a good person, and you deserve to have someone there for you. Why don’t you have a woman?”
I could tell by the distant look in his eyes that he was shutting me out. In the months that I had been here, I knew that he wasn’t involved with anyone. No woman ever came over other than Amani, on the few occasions that she did, along with his sister-in-law, Varasia.
“I’m married to my profession, Sevyn,” he replied grimly.
“Sorry. There I go overstepping again.”
He smiled at me, but I could see the pain in his eyes. Who had damaged him this way?
“It’s okay,” he replied.
I couldn’t help it. My fingers itched to touch him, and after all, he was still holding me and hadn’t let go. Creating a level of intimacy like he had made me feel free to do what I wanted to do.
I reached up and caressed his face, but he grabbed my hands and squeezed them as his mouth set into a grim line.
I pulled my hands free and stepped out of his embrace. With a deep inhale, I replied, “Maybe it’s time for me to go stay with Waverleigh. I know that you probably want your space back, and I seem to be repeatedly invading your privacy.”
“You’re good, Sevyn,” he replied dismissively, grabbing our plates and heading into the kitchen.
“No, I’m not good, Deuce. I can’t seem to keep my emotions in check when I’m around you. I’m touching you, melting into a ball of emotions, and overstepping my boundaries. I’m sure that you’d like to get back to your life.”
“Come on, what are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about how I keep pressing up on you, and you keep pushing back. You were just a kind guy who happened to be a cop and doing a good thing for me. I doubt that you find me attractive, walking on a cane with only a partial memory. I’m damaged goods at best.”
He winced, and I turned to walk away. Unfortunately, because I didn’t move fast, he caught up with me, grabbed my hand, and snatched me around to face him.
With his eyelids at half-mast, his gaze shot fire out at me, and his teeth were borne in a snarl as he spoke. He grabbed my jaw tightly and leaned in so close that our noses were only inches apart.
“I had better never hear you speak of yourself that way again. Do you hear me?”
“I’m just telling the truth, Deuce. I get that I’m a pretty girl, and I’m not saying that to brag or be arrogant. I always have been told that since I was a child, but I also know my limitations now. Whereas my face might be pretty, my body and my mind not so much.”
“Shut up, Sevyn, and I mean it, damn it.”
Shock floored me and rooted me into that spot. He had never spoken to me that way or looked at me the way that he was at that moment.
“You got one more time to open your mouth and let some stupid shit come out, and I swear it’s gon’ be you and me right here in the middle of this floor.
I’ll be damned if I’m ’bout to let your handicapped ass whup mine.
I’ve spoken all these words about how intelligent, strong, determined, and capable you are, but I’ve never said what I really wanted to say. ”
“Which is?”
“You’re beautiful, gorgeous even, sexy as hell, and that booty juts out like a donkey’s ass with that cane. Make me wanna hop on that donkey and ride it all night long.”
I was shocked and laughed so hard, but he quickly shut me up with a possessive kiss that sucked all the oxygen from my lungs and any objections from my brain.
This kiss was much hotter and more passionate than the one last night.
All the release that I had achieved earlier in the bed went straight out the window as he fired every nerve ending in my body up again.
I wanted Deuce so desperately, and he had no idea how badly I needed him.
When he finally ended the kiss, it took me a moment to recover. But when I did, I asked, “What was that?”
“That was me showing you that you’re every bit of a woman as you ever were. That accident hasn’t changed anything, beautiful.”