“I told you, I don’t do charity.”
“You made that perfectly clear when you sucked my dick and bailed.”
She shrugged. “I always pay my debts.”
“I don’t want you paying debts anymore. Especially not like that. The only dick you’re ever going to suck again is mine.” I didn’t realize how much I meant it until the words came out. Thinking of her pretty little lips on anybody else other than me and my cock made my blood boil.
“Like I’ve said to you a million times over… in your dreams.” The spice that was usually in her tone wasn’t there.
“We can discuss that another day. Right now, we’re going to go in there and bail your little sister out because as much as it kills you to let someone help you, I know it kills you more to know that she’s in there all alone without you. So, instead of arguing with me for the next hour, and having your sister sit with criminals for even longer than she has to, just take the fucking money.”
She bit her lip, and I could see a billion arguments brewing in her mind. “I’m going to pay you back every last cent.” I could hear the determination in her voice.
“Tell you what.” I rested a hand on her leg, unable to resist the urge to touch her. “Cook me dinner, and we’ll call it even.”
“How do you know I can cook?”
“Because I’ve been spending a lot of time with you in my dreams,” I said with a wink. “So, what do you say? We have a deal?” She let out a heavy breath, and I looked at my watch. “Tick tock.”
“Okay fine. Deal.” She held her hand out like it was a real business transaction, and I suppose it was. I took her hand in mine and the feeling of her soft skin against my hand had my cock pulsing with desire. I yanked her into me. She smacked into my chest, and I smiled. “I prefer to seal things with a kiss.”
Her lips parted, but before she could say anything, I captured her mouth with mine. She gasped as I thrust my tongue against hers, but she didn’t resist me. Her body melted into mine, and I held her tightly, hoping to kiss away her shitty day.
I reluctantly pulled away and rested my forehead against hers. “Let’s go get your sister.”
She nodded, and I guided her to the front door. I held it open, and as she passed by, I leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Just so you know, I like lasagna.”
Chapter 12
Mila
Of course, he had to like fucking lasagna. It was probably the only food I had never made. And it wasn’t something you could learn in a couple hours. It took four hours for them to process Mackenzie and get her out of that place. I sent Knox home. He gave me money and that was already more than enough. He didn’t need to sit around with me while I waited for them to release my delinquent sister.
The little bitch wasn’t even happy to see me. She looked at me with annoyance, and the first words uttered from her mouth were, “Took you long enough.” I swear to God, if I wasn’t in a place crawling with cops, I would have grabbed her by her pretty blonde hair and dragged her out of there.
I took a deep breath and tried to focus. After reading a million different recipes, I finally picked the one that seemed the easiest. I just hoped I’d be able to pull it off.
Mackenzie waltzed out of her room like she was the queen returning to her palace. She slipped onto the stool across from where I stood and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Why are you cooking dinner for some random again?”
“He’s not some random, and besides, that random is the reason you’re not sitting in jail, so you better be fucking nice to him.”
Mackenzie shrugged. “Maybe.”
I dropped my hands, slapping the spoon I just took out of the drawer against my thigh. “Mackenzie, I am not kidding!”
She rolled her eyes. “Sheesh, calm down. I’ll be nice to the guy.”
“And you better thank him for laying out your bail money.”
“Now, you’re pushing it.”
“No, you’re pushing it. I can’t believe how ungrateful you are. Things are going to change and they’re going to start changing now. I can’t keep living like this. I’ve worked too hard to keep a roof over our head and food on the table. I know you don’t approve of what I do, but I didn’t get a choice. I do what I do so you have choices. I want so much more for you, but your attitude is shit and I’m sick of it. So, knock it off. You want me to start treating you like an adult? Then grow up and start acting like one.”
She didn’t say anything, just chose to give me a bored look instead.
I raked my hands through my hair in an effort to keep my temper in check. Mackenzie sat on the stool, fidgeting and avoiding eye contact with me.
“Look, I really don’t want to fight with you anymore, so just do me a favor and think about what I’ve said. Now, I have to figure out how to make this. You can sit there or you can help me. Either way, you need to stay out of my way.”
She got up and headed for her room then came to a stop. I waited, expecting another snarky response, something in true Mackenzie fashion. “You’ll figure it out. You always do,” she said and disappeared into her room.
Was that a compliment? A compliment without the backhand? A smile settled on my face. Maybe things might actually change.
***
Somehow, I managed to slop something together that looked like lasagna and actually smelled pretty freaking good. I just hoped it tasted as good as it smelled. I glanced at the clock and noticed Knox was expected to arrive in the next few minutes. I wouldn’t even have time to do a taste test. My fingers were crossed and the rest sat in the hands of the higher ups.
There was a knock on the door, and I checked my reflection in the toaster, brushing my hair behind my ear and smiling to make sure my teeth were lipstick free. Once I was good to go, I spun, but it was too late. Mackenzie was already at the door. Her dress covered less than some of my stage costumes. She had to be kidding me. Not to mention, where the hell did she get the money to afford that?
She flung the door open and leaned against the frame, pushing her boobs out. “Well, hello there, sexy,” she cooed.
Anger surged through me, but, when I peered around her to Knox, the anger vanished. Knox didn’t even acknowledge Mackenzie; his eyes were locked on me. He looked amazing with his hair parted perfectly off centered and in what looked to be a custom suit. Beneath the sharp navy blue blazer, his button down shirt pulled tight across the hard defined muscles of his chest and tucked into pants that appeared to have been tailored to his every curve.
Suddenly, I felt completely underdressed in my jean shorts and black tank top. I knew I should have changed. Mackenzie did, of course. Fuck it. I am not out to impress him. In fact, I don’t even know what I’m doing at this point. Dinner. It’s just dinner to repay his generosity. I needed to remember that. I owed him for giving me the money to bail out Mackenzie and that was it. This was just partial payback. Not a date. Nothing else.
“Hey, beautiful.” He glided in and handed me a bottle of wine before placing a lingering kiss on my cheek. Heat shot through me and right to my core. My body ached for more. I wanted him to kiss me all over, to feel his tongue take me over the edge. My teeth slid over my bottom lip as the dirty thoughts ran rapid in my mind. “I didn’t know if you liked wine, and, if you did, what kind, so I went based on a friend’s recommendation. He said it’s the best wine money could buy.”