My mind’s made up. We finish eating our meal in silence.
“If you keep giving that fucking trucker those looks, I’m going to tan your hide, Katie,” I warn her after she smiles at the trucker in question for like the hundredth time. She’s clearly offering him a taste of her honey and the fucker is all set to take her up on that. I may have to kill the asshole before it’s done.
She looks at me innocently. “What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play stupid. You know what the fuck you’re doing and it’s not going to work.”
“Maybe I’m just finding my good time tonight, since you’re planning one already.”
“That’s not going to happen. I told you, the only dick you have on the menu for the foreseeable future is mine. So if you need cock, you tell me. Other than that, you’re in for a bit of a dry spell.”
“That’s not hardly fair, is it?”
I lean into her because I like that her eyes are on me. I enjoy that I’m the fucker who holds her attention. Most of all, I like that she’s not looking at that hairy fucker sitting across from us.
“It doesn’t have to be fair. It just has to be true. Which it is. You know what I think your problem is, Katydid?”
“I told you to stop with that horrible nickname. But please, do tell me what my problem is. Unless it’s you insisting on dragging me back to Kentucky and closer to the men who want me and my sister dead, because I already know that problem, stud.”
“You’ve run too wild. You need a man who can contain you. Show you boundaries while also showing you how fucking far your body can stretch to receive the pleasure it’s capable of.”
“Let me guess. You’re the man to do that?”
“I’ve never wanted to be. That kind of training takes longer than I’ve wanted to invest before, but…” I trail off, studying her face. She’s beautiful. I can see something flare in her eyes at my sentence. I’m not sure what it is, but I’d like to pretend it’s hope.
“But?”
“But I think, with you, I’d like to play a lot longer than my usual timespan.”
“Timespan?” she asks, taking a drink of her soda. “Do tell, what is your usual timespan?”
“Few days. Couple weeks at most. You’re different, Katie. I think I could take my time with you and not grow bored. At least, for a month or two,” I admit. I’m being totally sincere, which is fucking hard for me, to be honest. I don’t know what it is about Katie, but I do know I want more time with her.
“Be still my beating heart. Do you even listen to yourself when you talk?”
“What? You can’t tell me you ever envisioned being with the same person for more than a couple of months.”
“Maybe I have. Maybe I want the white picket fence, babies, and a minivan. The whole damn thing. What makes you say that I don’t?”
“Because you’re too much like me.”
This time, it’s her who leans in closer, and those gray eyes get that stormy look again that I’m coming to crave. Usually that look means she’s horny. This time, it’s something else: a deep emotion that she doesn’t mean to let me see. But I do.
“Maybe the reason I appear not to want the normal things any girl does is because it’s not in the cards for me.”
“Tell me another one. Any man you smile at would want to give that to you.”
“Says the man who’s intent on taking me to someone who wants me dead.”
“Skull isn’t planning to do that. He won’t let anything happen to you.” I won’t let anything happen to you, I add silently.
“Your faith in Skull would warm me, if I didn’t know what a miserable fucker he is. I need to use the restroom.”
I want to growl, but I let it go. It is what it is, and there’s not much I can do to change the path we’re on. I throw some money down for the food, plus a tip for the waitress. “Let’s go.”
We walk towards the back of the diner where the bathrooms are located. When we pass the trucker’s table on the opposite side of the aisle, it might be my imagination, but I can totally admit I’m fucking jealous, which is upsetting enough. But when we walk by, it seems like Katie’s steps slow down, extending the time she comes in contact with the other man.
“Hey there, little lady,” the guy says as we pass. I already have Katie by the hand, but I move my hold up to her shoulder so there’s no mistaking my message.
“The little lady has a man,” I growl, and it’s fucking true. At least for now, damn it. He needs to know, that son of a bitch, as long as Katie doesn’t undermine my fucking claim.