Once Bitten - C.M. Steele Page 0,1
that. I don’t need to be rich like many of these people around here in the marina, but I can make a fairly good living.”
“Smart woman.”
Needing to change the subject, I asked, “Does Ian usually bring his women to his home?”
“No. I don’t even remember when Ian dated anyone, but why are we talking about Ian?”
“I was just thinking about Mia. She deserves the best. She’s been dealt a shitty hand and doesn’t need to have her heart broken.”
He reached over and placed his hand over mine, squeezing it gently, “Retract the claws, kitten. He’s not like that.” Panties ruined. I loved that he called me Kitten. I was practically purring. “So were you given a shitty hand in life?”
“No, I’d say I had two pairs, but no high cards. It’s been straight through the middle. Not that it’s been easy, but I have two amazing parents who refuse to let me move out so that I can save all my money.”
“They sound pretty great.” Just then the waitress brought our food and gave us another drink. After she walked away, the tension grew as the silence continued. “Kitten, you’re adorable. I’m curious, what do you do for fun?”
“I’m a homebody for the most part. I exercise a lot and then put on some Marvel movies and chill out.”
“Which one is your favorite?”
I felt like he asked a trick question. How can one have just one favorite when it came to Marvel? “Character or Movie?”
“Movie.”
“That’s so hard. Let me think about that one.”
“I’ve got all night, kitten.” He takes another bite of his food.
I can’t get the question out of my head, so I tossed out, “I’d go with the First Avengers movie or Thor Ragnarök.”
“Those are good. I’m an Ironman guy myself, although the first Captain America movie is pretty cool.”
“Great choices.”
We finished our dinner, but we decided to have one drink.
“How about you show me your boat after we finish here?” I wanted him so badly that I was willing to climb onto the boat and lose my virginity to Devin Malcolm.
We walked in a comfortable silence to the boat. He helped me to board and then took my hand and led me to the main cabin area. “This is the place where we convene to talk shop and eat, plus just to hang out because it’s a lot of long days and nights.”
“Is the smell terrible?” His smell was the only thing that bothered me—making me hot and bothered to be exact.
“No. Down here, it smells like bleach and like Lemon Pledge or something.”
“We try to keep everything clean. We’re not complete savages.” He chuckled and the sound reverberated through my soul. I wanted him to pick me up and carry me to his bed, so he could fuck me stupid. An insane rush of jealousy pumped through me as I thought about wanting to see where he slept.
“So do you usually bring girls on here to fuck?”
“That’s not why I brought you here.” So he only brought other women here? Was I not sexy enough? I wasn’t good at this dating thing. I thought he was interested in me. I guess I was wrong. “Are you thirsty?”
For some of him. I walked over to the fridge on board and pulled out some booze and started to drink. The thought of his rejection was hard to bear. I hoped we never ran into each other again, but I knew that would be impossible if Ian and Mia got married.
Chapter One
Devin
I adjusted my tie for the tenth time in the spare bedroom mirror. My best friend, Ian, was getting married to a woman he met a month ago. I would say that’s fucking fast, but I was only upset that he beat me to the altar. While he fell in love with Mia at first sight, I had let her sexy cousin Jamie steal my heart right out of my chest.
From the second I saw her in her Star Wars tee with her hardened nipples pressing against the fabric, I knew that I wanted her. Initially, I thought I’d gone crazy, feeling nothing but lust, but by the end of the day, I pictured her green eyes and brown hair in my dreams. She did everything to avoid me, but I wouldn’t give up. Malcolm men never gave up.
“Still messing with the tie?” Ian’s mother said as she entered the room.
With a sheepish smile, I confessed, “I hate these things.”
She stepped up to me, and I lifted my