Free Carolina King (Drive Me Wild Book 2) by Gwendolyn Grace

and walked to stand near him. Besides the high-back stools at the counter my dad recycled from the restaurant, the sofa was the only other place to sit. There was no way I’d be able to sit next to him, though. My mind lost all rational thought and allowed my body to do the thinking when it came to him. It was something I couldn’t let happen right now. Mack smirked at me, fully aware of my dilemma. So instead I sat down cross-legged on the floor, just on the other side of the coffee table.
    “How did you know I lived here?” I decided to start the discussion with a question.
    Mack shrugged and answered, “I make it my business to know everything about people in my life.”
    In his life? Was I in his life? What sort of life did he lead where it was important that he had to know everything about everyone he came in contact with? The kind of things that needed to get handled or someone would be handled?
    As if he could read my mind, he started speaking. “Jonna, there are things going on right now. Things that I can’t get into with you because I don’t want you involved in them.” He rubbed a hand over his face and sat forward. “Look, I never claimed to be a saint. I’ve done things that I can’t undo, but I’ve reached a point in my life where I’m ready to put it all behind me. It’s just not that easy to walk away from some of it.” I decided that I didn’t want to know the kind of things he was referring to and was grateful that he didn’t want to share it with me. My mind couldn’t even fathom what they could be, but I did remember the scene out front of Jamie Risto’s house, and how it didn’t look like a friendly conversation. When I didn’t say anything he kept speaking.
    “But I want you to know that none of this has anything to do with Harley or your brother. Maybe it did at first, but not anymore. The other night at my house was about ending something that should have been over a long time ago.” His words confirmed what Harley said about their relationship. “I made a lot of mistakes where Harley was concerned, and I was too stupid to realize it for a long time. The box she took had been at my house since the first day we met, and she kept it there for five years, even with all of the times that she took off and would disappear for weeks at a time. I somehow knew as long as her box was there that she’d be back. When she took it the other night it symbolized the end for good. I didn’t know how to feel about it at first. I still cared about her even though she was an expert at causing trouble in my life. But after she walked out of the door, and I saw you standing in my living room, I realized I was more concerned about you, not her.”
    “Mack . . .”
    “Listen, I don’t know what I’m really trying to say, but I just wanted you to know that you aren’t some kind of casual fuck for me. I’m not in any position to promise you things, but I do know that I’d like to be able to see you, that is, if you’d like to see me.”
    “S-see you? H-how?” I stammered, feeling tongue-tied.
    “From the moment I laid eyes on you, I was drawn to you. I can’t seem to stay away from you. I don’t want to stay away, but I don’t need you to be involved in some of the things I have going on right now. Would you be willing to be with me when it safe to have you around?”
    My heart did a flip, and I chewed on my bottom lip as I studied him. I really had no idea what to say. Safe to have me around? What did that mean? I was trying to force my brain to think rationally, but my body wanted him in the worst way, so instead I felt myself softening to the idea of being with him again. Images of him using his tongue on me while I was pressed against the wall as he stroked himself filled my head. I heard Mack’s sharp intake of air and noticed that his eyes were focused on the way my hardened nipples were visible through my top. He licked his lips, then lowered himself to the floor where he