For the most part, he was a loner who was only comfortable around the guys he worked with and a small group of long-time friends. Over the last two months, Makenna had worked her way inside that small circle, after having broken down his walls and accepted all the bullshit she found behind them. He’d never been happier in his life. And he was having a damn hard time trusting it.
In his experience, happiness didn’t last. Instead, it was ripped from you when you least expected, tearing you from the ones you loved and leaving you all alone. It was why he’d never before pursued a serious relationship with a woman. Until Makenna. Who was like a force of nature with her honesty and her positivity and her acceptance and her touch. He hadn’t been able to resist the temptation of having something so good, something that might be able to shine some light on all his darkness.
“Okay, I’m ready,” Makenna said, walking into the living room from the bedroom. She wore a beautiful smile and a lavender sweater over a pair of tight, sexy jeans tucked into knee-high brown leather boots. And, God, she was so damn pretty. Long, wavy red hair that he loved to play with swept across her face and settled around her shoulders. Her blue eyes were heaven in a stare, and saw right through all his masks. But instead of finding him unworthy—the way he felt—all that shined from those baby blues was affection and unconditional acceptance.
It slayed him. It really fucking did. Because she looked at him and never seemed to see all the defects he felt down deep.
“Great,” Caden said, rising and swallowing the sour taste in the back of his throat. On the one hand, he wanted to meet her family. They were important to her, and so far in their relationship, he hadn’t done nearly enough to meet her friends and get to know those she cared for the most. He owed this to her, and he wanted to be man enough—just once—to walk into a roomful of strangers and act like a normal freaking human being.
On the other hand, Caden was the furthest thing from normal. New people made him nervous as shit and he sucked at small talk. He never knew what to say, so he’d either clam up or end up with a foot in his mouth. Either way, he came off like an anti-social asshole. Much as he loved his ink and his facial piercings for a whole bunch of reasons, he couldn’t say he was unhappy with the fact that his appearance scared some people off. Because being alone was miles better than being rejected, left, or abandoned.
Been there, done that, got the blood-stained T-shirt. Thank you very much.
Makenna came right up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “You look very handsome, Mr. Grayson.” Her smile warmed his chest, and damn if her touch didn’t make it easier to breathe. It had been like that from the start with Makenna—her presence easing his anxiety. He’d never had that with another person. He’d never even thought it was possible. “I hope you’re not wearing long sleeves to cover your tattoos.”
He was, though his dragon tattoo extended onto the back of his right hand, so there was only so much he could do about that. And they’d already had the conversation about his piercings—Makenna didn’t want him to take them out for the visit, though he’d offered. “Just wanted to look nice.”
Still holding one of his hands, she stepped back and gave him a long, slow once-over. Her gaze raked over his black dress pants and charcoal gray button-down shirt, a few of the nicer pieces he owned. A jeans-and-T-shirt kinda guy who worked in a uniform, Caden didn’t have much use for dress clothes.
“So nice I’m tempted to take all this back off again.” Her smile was pure temptation. “But seriously, I want you to be comfortable. Okay?”
Releasing a breath, he unbuttoned a sleeve and rolled it up. Repeated it on the other arm, revealing the whole dragon. Better already. On a roll, he undid another button at the collar. So much better. “There.” He gave her a questioning smile.
“Perfection. And don’t worry. They’re going to love you. I promise.”
He couldn’t keep his eyebrow from arching. Highly fucking unlikely. “If you say so, Red.” He tucked a silky wave behind her ear. Makenna’s hair had been the very first thing he’d noticed about her.
Grinning, she nodded. “I do. Besides, with you being a paramedic and Patrick being a cop, I think you’ll have lots in common to talk about. All of them love stupid humor movies, too. So it’ll be just like us hanging out. Except with more penises.” Pushing up on tiptoes, she pressed her body against him and hugged him tight.
Chuckling, Caden breathed her in, and her scent made his shoulders relax and his heart rate slow. Get it together, Grayson. She needs this. “Then let’s do it,” he said, forcing as much enthusiasm into his voice as he could.
“Yay,” she said, with a radiant smile. “This is going to be great.”