14
Shit,” Slade muttered under his breath as he pinched the bridge of hisnose.
“Was that an admission ofguilt?”
Slade shook his head. He’d known the moment Macy had suddenly needed to go to the ladies’ room a few moments after Mandisa that his scandalous stepmother was up to no fuckinggood.
“Darlin’, however Macy made this seem, I’m sure she didn’t provide you with an honest picture of what reallyhappened.”
Mandisa nodded and sat down next to him on the bed. “So, there’s a story behind you sleeping with your father’s wife? Good, let’s hearit.”
Slade stood up from his perch on the mattress. He walked away from Mandisa, keeping his back to her. God, he didn’t want to relive this shit again. No matter how he explained things, he’d come off looking weak and shameful. He never wanted Mandisa to think of him in those terms. Nother.
Mandisa was bright, beautiful, and awe-inspiring. For some reason, she saw him in a similar way. Slade knew deep within himself all that would change if Mandisa knew the truth. Unwilling to compromise her view of him, he kept his gaze fixed on the wall before him while she stood behindhim.
“Mandisa, I’m not the kind of man to sleep with my father’s wife. I would hope you would be able to tell that much about me in the time you’ve spent here inAustin.”
“Slade, there’s something going on that I’m not aware of. I don’t like feeling as if I’m walking into an ambush. That’s exactly what Macy did to me. She ambushed me in that bathroom. I just want to know how to protect myself, protectyou.”
His heart jumped at those words. He was six-feet-four, a hulk of a man—he shouldn’t need protecting from anyone or anything on this earth. Yet the sound of those words on her lips gripped him so tightly he had to steadyhimself.
“Please,” he whispered. “Just let thisgo.”
“Slade, I’m sorry, but I’m notcomfortable—”
“I said dropit!”
He whirled around, his lungs tight with anger as he struggled for air. He regretted his outburst the moment he saw her step back from him, folding her arms across her chest, retreating intoherself.
“Darlin’, I’m sorry.” He attempted to step closer to her, but she retreated, deliberately maintaining what felt like a chasm between them. “Mandisa, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to speak to you like that. Talking about my father and his wife is very difficult for me. There’s a lot of family drama and history that I just don’t want to dredge up. Please, can you respectthat?”
He watched her chest lift as she took in a deep breath through her nose. When she looked at him again, the anger he saw building was replaced by a slight wariness. She blinked a few times, her dark, full lashes fanning her cheeks. When she opened her eyes again, she walked to him, taking his hands, wrapping them around her body, and burying herself in hischest.
“For now, Slade,” was all she said before going up on tiptoe and placing a soft kiss on his cheek. She stepped out of his embrace and climbed into his bed. When she was settled, she held up the end of the bedding and gazed at him. “Coming?”
* * *
Mandisa knew she was alone in bed before she opened her eyes. The now-familiar way Slade blanketed her with his body was gone. He literally curled around her, covering almost every inch of her with his big, warm physique. She always felt so secure and treasured when the early rays of the sun pulled her from slumber. Not so today,though.
Whatever this deal was with Slade, Macy, and Bull, it made all Mandisa’s warning signals ring in herhead.
She reached over to the nightstand and grabbed her phone. Opening a browser, she was just about to type all their names in the search engine when she heard the pain in Slade’s voice from the previousnight.
There’s a lot of family drama and history that I just don’t want to dredge up. Please, can you respectthat?
Guilt began to set in. She’d promised him to leave it alone, and here she was not even a full day later looking to get the goods on the internet. Whatever this thing was had changed their easygoing dynamic, and Mandisa didn’t like it one bit.Really, girl? spying on him? If you can’t trust him with this, how are you going to do it long distance when you go backhome?
She closed the browser and tossed the phone back on the nightstand as she made a final decision. Whatever this family drama was, she wasn’t about to let it change what was quickly becoming something significant between her and Slade. He meant toomuch.
She pulled herself up against the headboard and crossed her arms. “All right, Slade. We’ll play it your way…fornow.”
She swung her legs out of the bed, showered, dressed, and headed downstairs. In desperate need of a hit of Indira’s coffee, Mandisa headed directly for thekitchen.
Her first footfall into the room, Mandisa met a smiling Indira holding a cup of the treasuredbrew.
“Please tell me that’s forme?”
Mama Indy waved Mandisa to the table, placing the cup carefully in front of Mandisa when she wasseated.
