Melina’s stride slowed, forcing him to slow down his walk, too. “Why was that? Boss’s new pet?”
Despite her teasing, he could hear the honest curiosity in her tone.
“It was more like Luca’s way of punishing me.”
She glanced up at him, her brow furrowed. “What, why?”
Sighing, Mac urged her to keep walking, and she did. He knew this moment had been coming, and he owed her the truth. “The day of your sentencing, I disobeyed him by making a fucking scene like I did. He wasn’t impressed, to say the least.”
Luca’s way of punishing Mac had been to fuck him around with anything and everything he could. From interrupting Mac’s time with his family, pulling him out of church, to even having Mac do what would be considered message runs that any fucking soldier could do. But no, Luca called on Mac.
A lot of the time, it forced Mac to lose time in his days.
Lost time meant work lost.
Lost work meant less money.
Then, when tribute rolled around, Mac would be left explaining why his money wasn’t as good as it normally would be when he paid his boss. He was still over the minimum, but barely.
And of course, Mac couldn’t blame Luca.
Nonetheless, Mac did what Luca wanted, and took his punishment without a fucking complaint. He didn’t follow the rules all those months ago, so he had to answer for that.
Frankly, Luca could have dealt with Mac in a much more violent way than he had.
Mac was grateful.
“He had a fit over that?” Melina asked, anger heating her tone.
Mac checked his impulse to smirk, because even when his girl wasn’t pleased about something, he still found her anger hot as hell. Now was not the right time for that nonsense.
“Like I said, it caused a scene. The media was on that for days after. It was too much attention, and any sort of attention is bad for this business.”
Melina frowned, her lips pouting in that way of hers. Mac didn’t bother to check his impulse this time. He slid a finger under her chin, turned her to look at him, and pressed a fast, hard kiss to her mouth.
He fucking loved it when she pouted.
She probably didn’t even know how hard it made him.
Melina grinned, sighing happily against Mac’s kiss. His hand slid lower on her back, pressing firmly enough so that the curve of her body was tight to his form and she could feel his erection beginning to grow beneath his pants.
Though he didn’t want to, Mac pulled away.
Luca had guards all over his property—Mac was not interested in giving people a show.
Melina smiled softly at him. “That was nice.”
Mac winked. “Let me get you home and it’ll get a lot better.”
“Deal.”
Before Mac knew what had happened, Melina turned on her heel and made a move for the grassy section just off the walkway. It would be a shortcut back to the mansion.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her back just in time.
Melina’s eyes grew wide as growls echoed from deeper in the darkness where they had yet to walk. “What in the fuck is that?”
“Dogs,” Mac said. “Stay on the path, okay?”
“Seriously?”
“They’re not nice dogs.”
Mac had learned that while Melina was away, too.
Melina stiffened a bit as the growling ceased. Not once had the dogs shown themselves. Mac had learned that they wouldn’t unless Luca called them out—they would then proceed to act like overgrown Rottie puppies—or if someone stepped off the pathway while their master was not with the person.
Then, they acted like the guard dogs they were.
“Can we go?” Melina asked, still staring into the darkness.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
“Tired?” Mac asked.
Melina nodded, never taking her gaze off the passenger window as Mac drove up to the toll, digging out the change he needed to pass over the bridge. His girl had been tired, and didn’t want to drive all the way back to their place, so Mac had taken the wheel.
“Doll?”
“Hmm?”
Mac’s right hand left the steering wheel, sliding up Melina’s thigh and just under the skirt of her dress. The warmth of her flesh heated his fingertips, and he felt her shiver work its way over her body.
“Are we good?” Mac asked.
Melina looked away from the window finally. “Good for what?”
“Us, I guess.”
“Do we have a reason not to be?”
Mac shot her a sly smile. “Well, a man never really knows.”
Melina pursed her lips before leaning over in the seat and pressing a kiss to his jaw. “We’re good.”
“How good?” he asked.
She cocked a brow. “Are you trying to go somewhere with this?”
“I—”
“Because I am not giving you road head, Mac.”
Mac couldn’t have stopped his reaction if he tried, laughing hard and loud. Through his chuckles, he managed to say, “No, but never say never, Melina.”
She opened her mouth to give a retort, but he squeezed her thigh roughly, quieting her. “Never say never,” he repeated.
“We’re not having this argument.”