Chapter 15 #2
She looked down at her clothes and then looked up at him with a grimace. “Do I need to change clothes?”
Duval looked at what she was wearing and had to bite the inside of his cheek. He wanted to tell her that he wanted her bare, but knowing that her daughter and her mother were in the room just beyond the door, he held back.
He could be a total dog when it came to Noelle, but he could also restrain himself.
A bit.
“We can order out and just sit around the table at my place.”
Her whole expression lit up. “Okay! Sounds great.”
She crossed to her closet and took out a hoodie to wear over her tank top and shorts. It was a little cold outside after sundown and even though they were going to go from her door to his truck and then from the truck to his door, he certainly didn’t want her to be cold.
As Noelle shrugged it on, he lifted a brow and leaned in.
When she pushed the bottom hem of the hoodie down to her hips, she looked up and gasped.
He was right there, almost nose to nose with her.
“I’ve been wondering where that hoodie disappeared to.”
She wrapped her arms around her body and her smile became more of a grimace. “Sorry.”
He reached out, putting his hands on her hips. He smoothed his hands down to her thighs until he had his skin against hers. The movement brought his cheek against hers and then he leaned in to whisper into her ear.
“I like seeing you in it.”
He heard her swallow, he didn’t need to see it.
He also heard her breaths shallow out, hitching in her throat.
“I’m also hoping you’ll let me take it off you.”
There was a squeak of noise and Noelle stumbled back a little.
She was just out of reach when he straightened up and looked at her.
“Too much?”
She hesitated for a moment and then shook her head.
He smiled at her and held out his hand. “Come on, babe. Let’s get you some food and I’ll rub your shoulders for a bit.”
Noelle lifted her chin and met his gaze with a look that seemed to carry more of challenge than he’d seen from her before. “A bit? I’m hoping you rub more than that.”
She smiled at him and squared her shoulders, lowering her arms to her side.
He had a feeling that she hadn’t intended for the gesture to pull his hoodie across her chest, but it did, reminding him that moments earlier her tank top made it clear that she didn’t have a bra on under it.
He’d filed that thought away for later, but later turned out to be before they’d even gotten out the door.
Fuck him.
He was going to have to hide his hard on from her mother.
His observational skills were sometimes more trouble than a help.
“Come on, McCrae.” She moved past him, hooking her arm through his. “Feed me and then rub me.”
Her laughter left him uncomfortably turned on as they stepped out of her bedroom and quietly moved down the hall toward the side door.
They could leave through the garage and that was likely as big of a break as he was going to get.
* * *
NOELLE
When McCrae said they were going to order out, she’d eagerly gone with the idea.
She didn’t even really care what they were going to eat.
She’d used her mind too much already.
Having someone take that decision out of her hands sounded like bliss.
When they’d pulled into a parking lot, she’d sat up and looked at the sign above the front door. “Velvet Taco?”
She knew that her voice sounded as cautious as her stomach felt.
“Relax,” he looked over at her with a big grin, “trust me.”
It was crazy to admit, given the odd name of the place they’d just pulled up to, but... “I do.”
McCrae winked at her and got out of the truck. “I’ll order some stuff for us. I guarantee you’ll love it.”
Again, she should be running for the hills, but-
“Okay... I’ll give it a chance.”
She thought that he’d close the door and walk away, but instead, he grabbed the frame of the door and leaned in, giving her a hard peck on her mouth.
“Sit here. I’ll be right back.”
The door closed and Noelle watched McCrae rush through the doors and it seemed like he got right up to the cashier.
She leaned to the side and smiled. There was a good number of people populating the chairs at the tables, even the outside area was half-full.
For a Monday night in San Antonio, that was good.
Really good.
Shifting on her chair she put her feet up on the dash, wiggling her sock covered toes as she waited.
There was something really... calming about spending time with McCrae.
Sure, she could easily get hot and bothered with him as well, but there hadn't been many men in her life who could put her at ease in the way he did. When they were together, she felt calm and capable.
It wasn’t anything he said or did.
It was just something about his energy that... that blended with hers.
Smiling, she looked out the window and realized that she sounded a little metaphysical in a way.
It was an elemental thing.
Something with no physical cause that she could find.
It just was.
They just were.
Funny how it had all started when he’d found her standing around one of her usual haunts, and now... now they were spending time together. Lots and lots of time together.
And the more time they spent together, the more that she was sure that she was crazy in love with McCrae King. Duval.
The man who made her laugh and melt.
The man who helped Ciela over her aversion to people with badges, espeically Texas Rangers.
The man who’d become a part of her family without even needing a ring or a formal declaration.
He was, in a word... everything.
The driver’s side door opened, and she scrambled to sit up and put her feet down on the ground.
McCrae was laughing as he handed her a large bag and climbed up into the cab of the truck. “What’s with the guilty look, babe?”
She sat up and adjusted her seatbelt.
“Sorry. I had my feet up on the dash.”
He shrugged and put his own seatbelt on. “I don’t care. I like that you’re comfortable in my truck.”
She looked over at him with a slightly curious expression. “It’s your Texas Ranger vehicle.”
He reached over a hand and put in on her knee. “It’s my personal vehicle. I use it for work. It’s not the same thing exactly. They want me to be on call? I have to get there.”
She nodded, but she wasn’t all that comfortable with the idea that she was possibly making a mess of his work truck.
“Now, let’s get over to my place,” he grinned at her and winked. “The smell of that food is going to drive me nuts if we don’t start eating soon.”
As he pulled out of the parking spot she tipped her chin down and took a long inhale from the open top of the bag.
He wasn’t kidding.
It smelled like heaven. Meaty, spicy, heaven.
“I can see you smiling,” he chuckled. “I told you to trust me.”
McCrae wasn’t wrong.
It only took a few minutes to get to his house, but when they did, they didn’t bother with setting the table or even getting out plates.
He took the top of the brown paper bag in his hands and ripped it down one side and then the other, folding the paperbag open like a kind of a placemat.
“This,” he announced as he took out the containers of food, “is the Backdoor Chicken special. Only available on Mondays, so we’re in luck. A whole damn rotisserie chicken, blue corn chips and a mess of sides.”
He reached in again and pulled out one last container.
“This,” he opened the top, “is probably the reason why they call it Velvet Taco.”
Inside of the take-out container was a two-layer red velvet cake covered with pure white whipped frosting and a little container of, “That looks like cajeta.”
McCrae looked at her with a little frown.
She waved him off. “It’s a caramel.”
“Ah... Okay.”
They sat down beside the coffee table, both of them on the floor and dug into what had to be the most delicious chicken she’d had in a long... long time.
Something she told McCrae, following it up with a shy smile. “Don’t tell my mom.”
He grinned at her. “Your secret’s safe with me.” He got up quickly and headed for the fridge. “I forgot drinks. What do you want?”
She bit into her bottom lip. She should say water or even iced tea, but what she wanted was-
“Beer?” McCrae was holding up a couple of bottles in one hand. “I’ve got Dos Equis and Modelo and...”
“Modelo is great,” she grinned at him. She was in the perfect mood for Modelo.
He opened the bottles and brought them over to the table.
She took a long, slow sip as soon as he placed it in her hand and leaned one arm on the top of the coffee table. “I really needed that.” Then she looked at the table, smiling even more. “And this...”
McCrae leaned closer to her, almost nose to nose. “And me?”