Forged in Steele (KGI #7)(29)

“You’re one to speak your mind, aren’t you?” he said dryly. “Guess I don’t ever have to worry about you trying to spare my feelings.”

“What can I say? I’m a say-it-like-I-see-it kind of girl. You have to admit that you underwent a pretty radical personality change. Either that or you had a lobotomy or maybe you got a little too close to those explosives that got Baker and suffered a head injury. It’s been documented that head injuries have radically changed people’s personalities.”

He groaned and shook his head. “Look, I like you, okay? And I don’t like very many people. That’s why I get the reputation for being a hard-ass, an ass**le, a machine, and a whole bunch of other not-so-nice names. As a rule, I hate people. But I like my team. I like the Kellys. And I like you.”

She grinned bigger. “Did that kill you to admit?”

“You can shut up anytime now,” he said in a sour voice. “You’re about one smart-ass remark away from having to cook your own damn steak.”

She held up her hands in surrender. “I give, I give. Cook away. I’ll shut up now and put my feet up like I was instructed. Surprise me and just pick a tea bag. I like them all.”

Before she could walk away, he hauled her up against him and thrust his hand into her hair, holding her in place as his mouth descended on hers. “Like those glasses on you. They’re cute. Make you look all serious and smart, even though I know you don’t need glasses to look that way. Gonna have to leave them on sometime when we have sex. It’s a serious turn-on.”

Okay, that tilted her universe just a bit. She didn’t reach to adjust them even though they slid down her nose just a bit when he kissed her. Instead she let him deepen the kiss, enjoying the feel of his mouth against hers.

He kissed her hungrily, his tongue sliding deep and then brushing over hers in light, teasing strokes. When he pulled away, his eyes gleamed and his pupils were slightly dilated. Arousal hummed from him, was thick in the air. Her own pulse quickened as she took in the evidence of his desire.

“I like that you give as good as you get,” he murmured. “Love that saucy tongue of yours, and I love that you give me shit. No one else does that.”

“That’s because they’re scared shitless of you,” she muttered.

“But you’re not,” he stated. And he looked quite pleased with that fact.

But she was scared of him. Not in the way he was talking about. But she was definitely terrified of him. Because she knew without a doubt that he had the power to hurt her. He wouldn’t do it maliciously or intentionally. But she was already in way over her head with no way out. She didn’t want out. Even knowing the eventuality of the hurt she’d endure.

She’d already been attracted to Steele. Fascinated by the side he presented to the world. But now that she’d gotten a good look at the man behind the hard-ass exterior? She was doomed with a capital D.

She’d liked him before. Had wanted to pull back those layers that surrounded him. But where she’d liked and admired him before? She was already falling hard for the man behind the brick wall.

CHAPTER 11

MAREN sat across from Steele at the tiny garden table that overlooked her small backyard. It was merely a clearing before the landscape plunged into dense foliage and thick trees. She’d always been mesmerized by the burst of green all around her. Everything was lush and vibrant and the air smelled clean.

No, she wasn’t a city girl nor could she ever imagine having a private practice with a cushy office and making rounds in a hospital. She loved what she did. It was immensely rewarding. It was who she was.

She’d traded her cup of tea for a glass of wine she saved for rare occasions, such as Steele cooking her a steak and their being immersed in actual conversation. If she’d had champagne, she’d have broken it out because this was definitely a moment that would likely never happen again. And though she normally removed her glasses as soon as she got home, she left them on this time. For him. Because he found them cute and sexy, and she liked that.

She sipped and savored the taste before lowering her glass to look over at Steele, who’d just pushed back his plate.

“Am I allowed to ask you personal questions, or am I supposed to just sleep with you and remain ignorant of everything but your sexual prowess?”

He’d just raised his own glass to take a sip, and he made a choking sound and set the glass back down with a clunk.

“What kind of personal questions?” he asked warily.

She grinned. “I haven’t decided yet. I just wondered if they were off-limits or if you’d actually tell me something nobody else knows about you. It’s a girl thing. We like to think we’re special. Especially if we’re sleeping with the guy.”

His teeth flashed as he relaxed and smiled. “I think it depends on the question.”

“Hmm, okay. Let’s do something general. Tell me about you.”

He blinked. “That covers a hell of a lot of territory. Where do you want me to start?”

She leaned forward. “Do you have family? Are you married—please don’t tell me you’re secretly married and have a wife squirreled away somewhere.”

He shook his head and uttered a sigh. “If you were worried that I was married, wouldn’t that have been a question to ask before I got your clothes off?”