“A few hours, that’s all I’ll be able to take,” he warned. “Besides, you forget who’s in charge.”
“What if I want to be in charge?” she tested, her eyes sparkling mischievously.
“I think we can make a deal, once in awhile.” He wasn’t opposed to switching roles with Grace. He’d never done so with another woman because it wasn’t easy for him to give control over to someone he didn’t trust.
She surprised him when she caught him behind the neck and brought him close enough to kiss him softly. When she stepped back, she looked as if she wanted to say something, but bit her tongue.
“What was that for?” he asked.
“Just wanted to kiss you,” she said, grinning. She turned and walked toward the kitchen. “I’m going to be in here for awhile. Could you do me a huge favor, Dallas?”
“Sure, what do you need?”
“Can you get me any files or information you have from the police investigation into your birth mother’s disappearance, as well as anything you have regarding the doctor and your adoption papers? I especially need the birth certificate and the photo. I promise I will take care of them.”
A little nervous about taking this step toward actually finding his biological parents, he nodded. “I’ll get what I have and meet you in the kitchen.”
“That’d be great.” Grace continued on, her long-legged stride giving a sweet sway to her hips and fine ass.
Damn, he wanted to fuck her fine ass. Not tonight, but soon.
Dallas kicked off his boots, then went off to his office, located the file she’d need and returned to the kitchen. Grace had already fired up her computer and was typing away. Her cell phone sat close to the laptop. “Here, I think this is what you want.”
“And the photo?” she asked.
“It’s in my wallet upstairs, be right back.”
“Wait,” she said before he took a step toward the door.
“Something wrong with the file?”
“No, no,” she answered. “I want to ask you something before I get started.”
“Okay.”
“I know you want this kept super-secret and I will honor that to the best of my ability. But I want to suggest bringing in the assistance of another PI that I trust. I have a hunch about the doctor and I think he’s the man who can follow it.”
Jealousy gripped his balls hard, stilling him. “Who do you want to bring in?”
“Phalen Maddox,” she answered. “I told you, I met him a few months ago. He owns a tattoo shop, but he’s also a top notch P.I. with resources that I simply don’t have yet. He helped Anna and Kyran, remember?”
Maddox was the guy who dropped everything and flew out to California to help Kyran when he’d been attacked by a crazy man wielding a crowbar. He’d also dated Grace before. But this wasn’t the time for jealousy, nor was it fair to Grace.
“What hunch do you have?”
“I think it’s really odd that the police gave up looking for the doctor so easily. Sure, they claim the man disappeared after burning all his records. Why? What was he hiding?”
“Maybe it’s exactly what the police thought. He was a fraud afraid of malpractice or didn’t have a license to practice medicine?”
“Possible, but there’d been no attempt to take his name off the birth record, so I believe at that point he was a legitimate practicing obstetrician,” Grace said. “If you don’t want me to call Phalen, that’s okay. I’ll do what I can. But I can find answers sooner and faster if I concentrate on your birth parents while Phalen investigates the doctor. My gut tells me that the doctor knew your mother and father and helped them. He may have been a relative.”
“You trust Phalen with this?” Dallas was jealous as fuck about Phalen coming anywhere near his woman, but he’d have to trust Grace.
“Yes, I do.”
“And you’ll want him to come to Virginia to help?” Dallas asked.
“Actually, I think it’d be best. You are a household name. I don’t want to take the chance that anything I do in the next few weeks will make headline news because some hacker breaks into my network. He’s a wiz at computers and can help me protect any information I might find online. Most of your teammates know Phalen and like him. It wouldn’t be odd to them if he came to visit Anna and Kyran.”
“Okay, call him. But if he steps over the line with you once, his ass is fired.”
“He won’t do that. Phalen Maddox has someone up there in Massachusetts. I’m sure of it.”
“If you trust him, I’m good with it.” It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but Dallas thought it was right.
“Excellent,” Grace said, picking up her phone to punch in numbers automatically.
“What are you doing?”
“Texting him. He’ll hit me back when he can. Don’t worry.”
“I’m not.”
Dallas left Grace in the kitchen. She was focused on the files he’d given her and didn’t notice. He quickly put on a flannel shirt, a pair of socks and shoes from his closet, and then found his wallet and his birth mother’s photo. He took it out, reading the back. For the first time in years, he knew he was closer to knowing her identity than he’d ever been. He hoped that once he learned who she was, he’d also find his father.
He didn’t want to hurt his birth parents or make them feel guilty for decisions they’d made as teenagers. He simply wanted to know where he’d come from so he could look forward to a future with Grace, whatever that may be. Incredibly, instead of panicking over the idea of commitment he was feeling good.
Taking the photo with him, Dallas returned to the kitchen. Her cell phone played an Irish jig. “Hey Phalen, thanks for calling,” she greeted. “What? Oh, no, Anna and Kyran are fine. Listen, I’m going to put you on speaker. I have Dallas McKay with me and we need to talk to you.”
“Here,” Dallas said, walking into the room and taking a seat near her. “Photo.”
“Thanks,” she murmured, punching a button. “Okay, speaker’s on, Phalen.”
“What can I do you for, darlin’?” Maddox asked back in a thick Boston accent.
“Careful, man, Gracie’s mine,” Dallas interrupted.
“Enough said, McKay,” Phalen rushed in. “Let’s try again. What do y’all need?”
“Help on a case that I’m working on for Dallas,” Grace answered. “He wants this to remain way under the radar, know what I mean?”
“I hear you. What’s the case?”
“He’s hired me to find his birth parents.” Grace picked up a copy of Dallas’ birth certificate. “But I’d like to hire you to trace the whereabouts of a Dr. Joseph Mathews. He’s listed on the birth record as the attending physician, but he went missing shortly after Dallas was born.”
“How far back am I looking?”
“Thirty-two years,” Dallas answered.
“Was the adoption closed, Dallas?” Phalen asked.
“It’s more complicated than that,” Dallas told him.
“How complicated are we talking?” Phalen sounded interested.
Dallas knew he was going to have to come clean to the other investigator. Grace sensed his hesitation and reached over. Her hand rested on his, gently squeezing. “It’ll be okay, Dallas. You can tell him whatever you’re comfortable with. Phalen was an Army Ranger. He knows how to be discreet.”
He looked at Grace, saw her pretty smile, and decided to do what he needed to do to find his mother and father. Turning his attention to the phone, he told Phalen about being left at a police station in South Dakota. After he finished, Grace gave Phalen all the information listed on the birth certificate and included details of the police investigation into Dr. Mathews’ disappearance. Phalen promised to get right on it and would call back soon with his flight schedule.
Grace ended the call with a quick thank-you. “Hey, Dallas, are you sure you’re okay with this?”
“I’m good,” he said. “I trust your judgment. Telling someone other than family about my adop
tion and why I need to find my biological parents wasn’t easy.”
She set everything aside, staying focused on him. “I have tremendous respect for you, you know that?”
“You do?”
“Oh yes,” she said. “I know this isn’t easy for you, but you’re willing to do what it takes. If, for any reason, you decide to call a halt to this investigation, say the word. I’ll stop, no questions asked.”
Dallas felt himself shake his head no. “I’m not going to do that, Gracie. For too long, I buried the need to know because I was afraid of being rejected again. There’s a chance that when you do find my mother and father, they’ll want nothing to do with me. When my mom and dad first petitioned to adopt me, there’d been another attempt to find my biological parents. No one stepped up other than my foster father, Kohana Blackstone, and a judge who made everything legal. After that, I left my childhood behind in South Dakota. If my parents choose to maintain their anonymity, I’ll respect their decision. But at least I’ll find some closure as to what happened when I was an infant.”
“There’s also a chance that they’d want to know their son grew up to become a fantastic man.”
Grace had a point. Nodding his head, he took her hand in his and brought it up to his mouth. “You think I’m fantastic?”
“Fantastic, sexy, gorgeous, a little more alpha than the men I’ve dated before, but definitely fantastic.”
“Thanks, Gracie,” he said, kissing the back of her hand. “Now, while you’re working, I’m going to dig out something for dinner from the freezer. I’m pretty sure there’s lasagna in there.”
“Sounds good,” she agreed. “But it doesn’t matter if we have soup or something.”
“Wait until you have Jeanie’s lasagna. You’ll be glad you didn’t settle for soup.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Well, to be honest, I’m not a big fan of soup unless I’m sick.”
Dallas went over to the freezer. He found the pan of lasagna and placed it on the counter. “I’m going to set the oven on very low, then head out to the garage to work on Veronica.”
Grace looked over at him. “Veronica?”
“The Road Runner,” he said. “Something about the car reminds me of the Archie comics.”
“Cool, did you name the other cars?”
“The Shelby is Josie. She runs like a pussy cat,” he explained.
Grace grinned. “Ha, I love it. What about the Mustang?”
“Raquel.”
“After the actress?”
“No, I thought it suited the car,” he admitted.
“You need a classic Camaro,” Grace suggested. “With all the horsepower in your garage already, you need a Camaro or a Firebird.”
“I plan to build a bigger garage first.”
“There’s a spot open,” she said.
“I have a feeling that spot’s going to be taken by a new red Camaro very soon.”
Grace stared back, looking both shocked that he remembered what kind of car she drove, and that he wanted her to park in his garage.
“Really?” she whispered, blushing bright red.
“Really,” he stated.
She smiled up at him before getting back to work. Dallas turned on the smaller of the two ovens and set the lasagna inside. He walked back to Grace, kissed the back of her head and retreated to the garage for awhile.
If he didn’t, he’d unplug Grace’s computer and take her back to bed.
Out in the garage, Dallas turned on his shop radio and fired up the small electric space heater he kept for times like this. He’d learned to work on cars when he was a teenager and used it as a way to keep his head on straight. There was nothing like cracking open the hood of a car or crawling under the belly of a beast to keep him focused.
While he worked on Veronica, he kept looking at the Shelby and seeing Grace splayed out on the hood. Had it only been last night when he’d fucked her there? He’d like to try out the Mustang next, preferably inside the car because the leather seats in that baby were way softer than the hood. But hell if he hadn’t liked laying her across the Shelby, which meant he’d fuck her on the car again real soon.
Even though he didn’t plan to turn on the Road Runner, he went over and opened two small windows he’d had installed in the back of the garage. Part of him wanted to close up shop and return to the kitchen. However he thought it was best to give Grace the space she’d need to work.
As he tinkered, he listened to the radio and plotted exactly what he was going to do to Grace Daniels later tonight. She was sure becoming important to him and he wanted her to know it.
* * * * *
It was near dinnertime by the time Dallas wrapped up in the garage and headed inside. Grace was still at the kitchen table, her hand on his file while she read. Max had insinuated himself next to her, with his head in her lap. “Now this is what a man likes to come home to,” he said, moving up behind Grace.
He’d been about to put his hands on her shoulders when he noticed the grease. Instead of messing her up, he leaned down and kissed her cheek.
“This is how a woman likes to be greeted when her man comes home,” she said, grinning as she looked up at him. “How’d the work go on Veronica?”
“Pretty routine, I like looking under that car’s hood. She’s got a sweet, powerful engine,” he answered, retreating to the kitchen sink to wash his hands with industrial strength soap made to cut through the grime and grease. It worked pretty well, but didn’t smell all that great.
“When will you take it in for body work?” she asked, sounding genuinely interested.
“After football season,” he said. “I only drive the truck in the winter.”
“Can’t blame you for that,” Grace commented. “What year is the Road Runner?”
Impressed that she knew that much about muscle cars, Dallas dried his hands on a paper towel, tossed it into the trash can under the sink and went to take a seat. Max transferred his attention from Grace to him. “The model’s a ‘69, when Plymouth first made the car. They wanted a fast muscle car without a lot of bells and whistles.”
“Why’d you get into collecting cars?” she asked.
“I like restoring the engines to their original design. They’re also fast as hell. Maybe in another life, I’d have been stock car driver. For now, I’ll stick to one career.”
Grace closed the file. “Whew, I’m so glad I won’t have to worry about you crashing or something.”
“You’d worry about me?”
“Yes, but I think you’re a phenomenal football player,” she said. “Just don’t tell anyone that until I watched you on the field, I was a baseball fan.”
Planting his hand against his heart, he groaned. “Careful, baby, talk like that will break my heart.”
She grinned and leaned in to him. “Well, I wouldn’t want to do that. I’ve been completely reformed.”
“Good thing, Grace,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to have to punish you for switching loyalties.”
“I’d only switch with your permission.”
Rock-hard in an instant, Dallas decided to retreat upstairs for a bit. He needed a decent shower before dinner. Yeah, he’d had a quick wash that morning, but he was still dirty from the garage, not to mention he wanted to be ready for what he’d planned for his woman later.
“Did I say something wrong?” she asked, frowning.
“No, baby, I need to run upstairs and take a shower. Care to join me?”
Grace stood. “Love too, McKay, but beware, no sex yet.”
Now it was his turn to frown. “Still too sore, Gracie?”
“A little,” she admitted. “But I’ll be okay by bedtime. A warm shower with you should do the trick, plus, I’d like to borrow a razor if you have any I could use? I couldn’t find one this morning.”
An idea formed. Dallas nodded yes. “Come on, I’ll get what you need.”
“What about the lasagna?” The kitchen smelled faintly like tomato sauce, cheese, ground
beef and sausage.
Dallas went to the oven to check their dinner. He carefully lifted the foil. The outside was warm, but the middle was still cool. He recovered the dish and turned up the heat. “I think we have an hour before it’s done.”
“Awesome, I’ll race you upstairs,” she dared, taking off before he could close the oven door.
“Oh, baby, you have no idea what you unleashed,” he warned, telling Max to stay as he ran after Grace.
He saw a flash of her excellent ass framed by tight jeans and her long legs rushing up the stairs. Her laughter drew him like a fucking magnet. She’d made it to the bedroom before he caught up to her, managing to tackle her right down to the bed.
“Oomph,” she grunted.
Fuck it, he was so damn hard, he couldn’t see straight. Grace put up a fake struggle until he discovered she was ticklish. She tried to scoot out of reach, but he overcame her by pinning her to the bed with his leg. “No, no, Dallas…don’t you…fucking…dare.”
“I dare,” he stated, running his fingers up and down her sides without mercy. “You mess with the bull, you get the horns.”
“Ugh,” she groaned. He slowed a little, letting her catch her breath. “You could have chosen…a better line.”
“And you, my little vixen, need to answer to that dare. I caught you, now you’re my slave.”
“Your slave?” she repeated, giggling while his fingers skated over her ribs. “I don’t… Stop that, McKay!”
“It seems we’ll have to do this the hard way.” Keeping her right where he wanted her with most of his weight and his leg, he tugged the t-shirt off her and flung it aside. She wore her bra, much to his disappointment. Unhooking it, he slid the straps down her arms and flipped her over to remove it. She put up no real struggle, making it easy for him to carefully turn her back over. His cock felt hard as a pike. His sweats were tented in front.
“Well, would you look at that,” she purred. “All that manly goodness just waiting for a mouth to suck it, makes a woman wet.”
“Are you daring to take charge without permission, Grace Daniels?”
She smiled like a devilish imp. Her luscious, wide mouth tempted him to fuck it, especially when she nibbled her bottom lip.
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