Shame on Him (Fool Me Once #3)(21)

Dallas tightens his hold on me. “Do you really have a tattoo?”

I’m sorry, what? He storms out here and kisses me like that and the first question he asks is about my tattoo?

“Are you kidding me?” I fire back.

“Kind of. Not really. But to answer your question, I don’t know what the hell that was, but I wish it would have happened sooner,” he admits.

“You can’t stand me. You put me down every chance you get. And you expect me to believe you wished you kissed me sooner?”

I feel like I just entered the Twilight Zone.

He just shrugs. “What can I say? You drive me crazy and for some strange reason, it’s the biggest f*cking turn-on. I’ve wanted to kiss you ever since you first called me a pompous ass.”

Now this is a shocking development. I guess what they say about little boys picking on the girls they like on the playground when they’re younger is also true for adults.

“And for the record, watching you stand up to those *s was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. That, and hearing you say the word ‘f*ck,’” he adds with a smile.

I look away from him in embarrassment. “I think I took that a little too far. They’re probably never going to speak to me again.”

He shrugs. “Fuck it. They’re not worth it. If they can’t see how amazing you are, they don’t deserve to have you in their life.”

All of this insight coming from him is a little shocking. I mean, I thought he felt the exact same way about me as they did.

I push away from him and slide away from my car. I need some distance. This is a little too much right now. I just spilled my guts to my parents and now Dallas is telling me he thinks I’m amazing. I don’t know what to think.

“You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t exactly believe what you’re saying right now. You’ve taken every opportunity to tell me I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. You put me down left and right and I’m always second-guessing myself, wondering if I really am making a mistake.”

He grabs my arms and pulls me back to him, bending down to look into my eyes. “Let’s get one thing straight here. I admit I’m an * most of the time. But I have never underestimated you. I’ve been waiting for months to see that spitfire come out of you that I knew was hiding in there somewhere.”

“Right. So your telling me outside of Stephanie Covington’s house last week that I’m in over my head and I should go back to the courtroom was what? Tough love?”

The words tumble from my mouth and I immediately want to take them back. Do I really want him to know I’ve been dwelling on what he said to me every single day since then?

He sighs and pulls me against him. The warmth of his body feels so good that I instantly slide my arms around his waist even though I’m confused by what is happening.

“Why do you have to question everything? You told your parents where to stick it and now we don’t hate each other. Much. We should be celebrating this momentous occasion, preferably by getting naked,” Dallas informs me with a grin as his arms tighten around me.

“As much as I’m enjoying standing out here not hating you, I think we should probably leave. My parents will lose their minds if they see us out here like this. I think I’ve done enough damage for one night.”

Dallas sighs. “You’re probably right. Tearing your clothes off and f*cking you on the hood of your car would probably push them over the edge.”

And just like that, I’m hot all over again. I never thought hearing someone speak like this to me would be a turn-on. Out of anyone else’s mouth, those words would have me smacking them across the face. But hearing them from Dallas, I want nothing more than to take him up on his suggestion.

“Well, I lied earlier when I told you I wasn’t planning on doing any more investigating without you. I have the file for Miles Harper in my car. I was planning on stopping at his office when I left here.”

Since he’s been so honest with me tonight, I feel it’s only right to go with full disclosure at this point.

He chuckles and pulls away from me, grabbing my hand and lacing his fingers through mine. “Yeah, I already figured as much. That’s why I trailed your ass here. Crashing dinner with your parents was just an added bonus.”

We walk around the front of my car and he opens my door for me.

“So are we really doing this? Working together without killing each other?” I ask as I slide into the seat and Dallas leans his arm on top of my open door.

“I’m not about to let you out of my sight, so that’s affirmative.”

I bristle at his words and glare at him.

“Don’t give me that look. I know you’re perfectly capable of handling this. It’s for my own peace of mind, all right? I don’t want to walk in on another scene like the one at Jameson’s house.”

His words calm me somewhat and I’m shocked that I believe him. And to be honest, it will be nice to have someone with experience by my side.

And someone who kisses so well.

“I’ll follow you to Harper’s office. Are they expecting you?”

I start my car and nod. “Yes. I called his secretary. He’s staying at the office late for a meeting so he agreed to speak with me.”

Dallas leans into the car and presses his lips to mine. I immediately get wrapped up in the kiss as his tongue slowly swirls around my own. He pulls back much too soon, pressing a kiss to my cheek before backing out of my car. He closes my door for me and I watch in my rearview mirror as he walks back to his car.