"Now, now," Stella said, her dimples popping as she smirked. "I don't think that's true. I think you meant every word, exactly as you said it."
I did. I absolutely did.
"And if I did? What do you think about that?" I asked.
Her gaze pawed over my features for a heavy beat. When I met her eyes, she arched a brow. "If I had a concern about it, you would've had a heel to the balls by now," she said with a sharp shake of her head.
Her dark hair spilled over her shoulder with the movement, and it sent a twinge to my gut, a fine ache that would only be soothed by dragging my fingers through that hair while I moved inside her.
And there we go: another mark in the Public Erections column for today.
"But I should warn you," she continued, "I don't belong to anyone but me."
I heard it as a challenge. There was a clear warning issued under those words but all I heard wascome and claim me. Others had tried and they'd failed, that was obvious. I wasn't going to be one of them. For all my awkwardness and fumbled moments, I knew how to set my mind on a target. I knew how to win.
"All right," I said. "Can I belong to you too?"
Stella studied me, her brow still arched up. "You seem like a lot of trouble," she said after a beat.
"More than you know."
"The good kind of trouble?" she asked. "Or are you telling me—reminding me—you're a naughty boy, Cal?"
My jaw locked, the muscles ticking as I fought off the urge to roar. To whip my belt open and rip my trousers off and prove to her that I could be everything she ever needed. But I shook my head. "I'm not saying that at all."
Stella leaned back in her seat, that sparkly smile faltering. "You're trouble," she started, "but not the fun kind? Hmm. Let me think on that for a minute."
"I'm plenty of fun," I said. "But you're wrong about something, Stel."
She snorted out a laugh and made no move to smother it. I loved her.Loved her. Not because she was a cool girl but because she didn't give a fuck what anyone thought. "Yeah? What's that?"
"I'm no boy, sweet thing."
I heard her gulp from across the table. Hell, they probably heard it back in the kitchen and down the street. "I don't doubt it, Cal." She held her index finger up, tapping a spot in the air between us. "I don't doubt it at all."
My breath was coming quickly, and I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins. "Stella. Let me take you home and—"
"So this fuckin' guy tells me that he worked for Whitey and all the other mobsters back in the day, and he knows where the bodies are buried."
"Let me guess: he was a consultant forThe Departedtoo. Everyone's a fuckin' expert when the film crews are in town."
Stella and I turned in unison, watching as two men settled at the table across from ours. It was less than an arm's length away and their conversation was jarringly loud. It was an inherently Bostonian moment, with these men sporting as much Red Sox- and Patriots-branded gear as they could manage on an evening when neither team was playing, and speaking at a level that superseded private conversation.
The Army was a lot like these guys. This town too. Unapologetic. Unflinchingly loyal. Physically incapable of quiet unless survival depended upon it. Unwilling to embrace newcomers until they'd proven their worth.
If it hadn't been for the Army, my sheltered Oregonian upbringing would have been in for one hell of a culture shock upon arriving in Beantown.
Stella bit her lip to hold back laughter. She slanted a glance at the table across from ours. "Should we—"
"I live on the other side of Beacon Hill," I said, thumbing some cash out of my wallet. "I can have you in my apartment and undressed in five minutes. Four if I throw you over my shoulder and run."
"That was also direct," she said. "For a guy who needed eight months to say hello, you're, like"—she punched her fist into her palm—"not holding back on the strong opinions."
"Come with me now," I said. I dragged my hand up her leg before reaching across the table for her hand. "We'll go somewhere quiet. We'll talk. I have a few other strong opinions to share with you."
"Just to clarify: I'm hearing your strong opinions while naked? Am I the only one naked or will you be joining me in that activity?"
I lifted a shoulder, let it fall. "Yeah," I replied. "If that's how you want it."
