All Messed Up: Windy City Kink, Book 2 (26 page)

“When did you join the FBI?”

“I actually started my law enforcement career as a police officer here in Chicago.” Tim shot him a crooked smile. “Got my degree in Criminal Justice at Loyola. Pretty impressed that you ended up working for Chicago PD.”

Conversation continued to flow easily, the beers flowed easier, and Joe blinked when he realized most of the afternoon had passed. “Holy shit,” he said, checking his smart phone for the time. “We’ve been sitting here for hours.”

“Yeah.” Tim smiled, eyes crinkling up and Joe found the sincerity of it grabbing him by the throat. “I’ve enjoyed it.”

Joe nodded and met his eyes. “Me too.”

“We didn’t get off to a great start. I’m sorry about that.”

Joe grimaced. “Sorry I showed up out of the blue like that. Maybe wasn’t the best way to handle that.”

A moment stretched out, then Joe said, “Well. I better get home and changed. I’ll pick up Mallory and we’ll come pick you up too.”

“Sounds good.”

They parted in front of the hotel. Bemused, Joe replayed much of their conversation as he drove home.

It had gone a lot better than he’d expected. Or maybe he’d just been too afraid to expect much.

The things they hadn’t talked about were Joe’s mom and dad and brothers. Joe sucked in a big breath and let it out. Maybe he’d talk to Tim about them. He’d felt surprisingly comfortable by the end of their long lunch.

He found himself antsy to get to Mallory and talk to her, to tell her everything about what had happened and get her take on it. He called her as he rode up the elevator to his loft condo.

“Hey, babe,” he said when she answered. “How’s it going?”

“Good. You?”

“Good. Surprisingly good. I’m just getting home. Gonna change and come over, okay?”

“Sure. What time’s our reservation?”

“Seven. Lots of time.”

“I have beer in the fridge,” she said.

“Excellent. Though I better slow down. Had a few with…” Fuck. He almost said “my dad”. “With Tim. Anyway. See you soon.”

“You sound happy.”

“Um. Yeah. I guess I am. Sort of. Also confused. But that’s per usual.” He grinned and heard her soft laugh.

“I hear you. See you soon.”

He ended the call and entered his condo. He dropped his keys onto the kitchen island that separated kitchen from living area and then paused, gripping the counter with both hands. He dropped his head. And all he could think was, thank fuck he had Mallory to help him deal with this fucked-up shit.

Dinner with Mallory and Tim went well. Mallory and Tim hit it off. Turned out Tim had a twisted sense of humor that both he and Mal connected with, and also had a shit load of charm that had Mallory blushing and smiling. Joe thought he should be jealous, but he actually liked the harmless flirting between them.

Fuck. No wonder Mom had fallen for this guy. Alpha male, dominant, crime fighter with a fun flirtatious side that women apparently fell for all over the place.

He learned more about Tim’s personal life too, thanks to Mallory’s feminine questions. Tim had been married once, it had lasted about ten years, but they’d never had any kids. He had no other kids, besides Joe. And whenever Mom was mentioned in conversation, the tension in Tim vibrated all around them, even though he tried to be casual. He was pissed. There was no doubt about it. But he was also interested in any mention of Mom.

“I haven’t even met your mom yet,” Mallory reminded Joe softly over dessert. “We need to find out how she’s doing since she left your dad.”

The air became suddenly electric.

“What?” Tim said. “She left Brian?”

Joe’s eyes slid from Mallory to Tim and then back again. Mallory’s eyes popped open wide. She put her fingers to her mouth. “Oh,” she murmured. “You didn’t tell him?”

Joe gritted his teeth. “No. I didn’t.”

Her gaze now whipped back and forth between them. “Um. Oh. Well…”

“It’s okay,” Joe sighed. He picked up his wine glass and drained it.

“When did that happen?” Tim demanded.

“Last week.” Joe looked at him. “I didn’t think you needed to know that.”

Tim gazed at him, his face stony and impassive. “Yeah,” he finally said. “Makes no difference to me.” He lifted his chin. “Still wanna talk to her though.”

Joe’s mouth tightened. “Still thinking about that.”

Mallory licked her bottom lip and her eyes flicked around anxiously. “Sorry,” she whispered to Joe.

He reached for her hand and squeezed it. “S’okay.”

Her fingers twined with his and once again he was glad she was there with him, even though she’d just let something slip he hadn’t wanted Tim to know.

“You’ve got brothers,” Tim said, voice rough. “Older brothers.”

“Yeah.”

“How’re they dealing with this?”

“Not well,” Joe said honestly. “They were always great when I was growing up, when Dad used to…” His words trailed off. That was another thing he hadn’t told Tim about—how Dad had treated him as a kid. How he’d never been proud of him. How nothing he’d ever done had been good enough. Not something he was eager to share with anyone, but…fuck. This was his dad.

Mallory squeezed his fingers again. “Want me to talk?” she asked quietly.

Tim’s eyes narrowed on them. “What’s going on?”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Mallory took over and told Tim about Joe’s childhood. She didn’t dramatize it, just related the facts as she knew them. Joe listened and added the odd comment.

“Son of a bitch,” Tim muttered. He rubbed a hand over his eyes. Mallory held Joe’s hand, feeling the tension in him. Then Tim looked at Joe. “Now Jennifer has even more to answer for.”

Joe frowned. “Hold on—”

“How could she let you grow up in an environment like that? How could she let that asshole treat you like that?”

Joe’s fingers tightened on Mallory’s even more. “She did her best.”

Mallory’s chest tightened at the way the air around them had gone static.

“Fuck,” Tim muttered. He looked away, gazing across the restaurant. Then he took a big breath and turned back. “I gotta process this. All I can say right now is—I’m proud of you, son.”

Joe’s hand convulsed against hers.

“Things could’ve turned out different,” Tim continued. “Sometimes shit like that can break a person. In your case…it made you. It made you the man you are. Already I can see that. Built strength in you. Built determination. You’ve accomplished a helluva lot in your life. Haven’t even started getting to know you and I can see all that.”

Mallory sucked in a shaky breath. “I couldn’t agree more,” she murmured.

Joe’s throat worked as he swallowed. “Uh. Thanks.”

“It’s late,” Tim said. “We’ll talk more tomorrow. Like I said, I need to sort through all this.”

“Yeah.”

They took Tim back to his hotel and returned to Mallory’s place. In the last week, they’d spent almost every night together, either at her place or his.

“I don’t blame him for being angry,” Mallory said softly, when they were undressed and in bed. She snuggled up to him. “I was angry too when you told me about that. I still am.”

“You gonna be pissy with my mom?” His voice was mild, and she knew he was mostly teasing.

“No.” She kissed his chest. “I might be pissy with your dad though. I mean, your other dad.”

Joe huffed out a laugh. “I knew who you meant.”

“I’m going to work really hard to find a way to understand and forgive your mom. Because…” She paused. The words were there. They’d been there all along, hovering on her lips. She’d been holding them back but now she said them. “Because I love you, Joe.”

His arms tightened on her and she felt his indrawn breath. “Mallory.”

She tipped her head back to look into his eyes, nerves fluttering inside her. But there she saw her own feelings reflected back—gratitude and wonder and love. Moisture dampened her eyes and she blinked rapidly, her heart expanding fast and hot. “I love you too,” he whispered, his fingers touching her cheek with reverent gentleness, sliding over her jaw to the side of her neck, his thumb rubbing over her cheek.

Their mouths met in a long kiss that tasted like the sweetest promise.

“Everything I’ve ever wanted,” he murmured against her lips. “Everything I was afraid to hope for. You just gave it to me.”

“Oh, Joe. You give me so much too. I lived my life trying to avoid doing things I would regret. But when you got that one hotel room for both of us in Denver, I had a feeling I’d regret it more if I didn’t take that night to be with you. You made me feel so sexy and wild and free, and yet I felt so safe with you. It was hard to get past the way I shaped my life. I made mistakes and I didn’t want to repeat them.”

“I like some of your mistakes.”

“What?”

He trailed a hand down her back. “Like your tattoo.” He rolled her off him and flipped her onto her belly, and her skin tingled as he began to kiss his way down her spine starting at her nape, letting lips and tongue linger on the hearts inked there. “I love how you’re all prim and proper and professional looking in your neat clothes, with your hair all perfect when you go to work in the morning. I loved discovering this underneath that. I love finding that wild streak inside you. I love it when you talk dirty.”

She moaned but smiled. “I’m so fucking wet, just let me suck your dick, baby.”

He choked on laughter. “Yeah. Like that. And I love messing you up.”

Her belly fluttered at his beautiful words.

“I love you messing me up too,” she whispered, head resting on her arms, and turned to the side. Her eyes fell closed as he opened his mouth on the small of her back. “I tried to stay neat and tidy and perfect, and I was just paralyzed. So thank you for messing me up. And setting me free.”

“My life’s a mess,” Joe murmured.

“So’s mine. I mean, things seem to be working out, but I’ve got a big job ahead of me at work.”

“I know.”

“Nobody’s life is perfect.” She shivered as his tongue blazed up her spine.

“True that,” he agreed. “But no matter how messed up things are, we have each other.”

“Yes.” They had each other. They had love. And that was perfect.

Epilogue

Two months later

“This is the weirdest Christmas party ever.” Joe trapped Mallory against the counter in her kitchen where she was opening another bottle of wine. He pressed his front to her back and she loved the feel of his big warm body holding her there. She breathed in his scent as voices and loud laughter mingled with Bruce Springsteen singing
Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town
in the living room behind them.

“It’s fine,” she said. She tipped her head to glance over her shoulder at him. “Can you open this?”

“Yeah.” He stepped back and she turned to hand him the bottle. Before he opened it, he bent his head to kiss her mouth. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

“For what?” She smiled up at him.

“For…everything. The last few months have been crazy. For you and me. Just glad we went through it together.”

“Me too. You’ve supported me through everything at work. I know I’ve been really stressed, but you know just how to calm me down.” Her eyelashes lowered.

He grinned. “Yeah. I think I got that down.” He dropped another smooch on her lips. “And I’ve been kinda freaked out about things too, with my parents splitting up and Tim being here. Funny how calming you down works for me too.”

“What’s going on over there?” a male voice shouted.

They both dragged their eyes off each other and looked over at Joe’s brother Jamie. He lifted an empty glass. “Waiting for wine here!”

Joe laughed. “Coming.”

“I’m so glad your brothers came,” Mallory said as he began to work the cork out of the bottle.

Joe shook his head. “Surprised the hell out of me. But it’s good.” He glanced over at his mother, sitting in an armchair, Tim perched on the arm of it, leaning down to listen to what she was saying. “Not sure what’s happening with Mom and Tim.”

“She seems happy,” Mallory said softly. “I’m not sure either. But they’re both adults.”

“Weird, watching my mom dating,” Joe muttered. The cork gave a loud pop as he yanked it. “If that’s what they’re doing.” In the last couple of months, Tim had made three trips to Chicago, including this one for Christmas. He and Joe had spent time together, getting to know each other. And Tim had seen Jennifer, without Joe’s help or permission. Strangely, that had amused Joe.

On the other hand, Joe hadn’t made things up with the man who’d raised him. Joe had made an attempt to talk to him, but his dad had bitterly refused to see him. On the plus side, Joe’s brothers had come to see that it wasn’t Joe’s fault their parents’ marriage had ended, and they’d had a good talk one night and worked some stuff out.

Mallory followed Joe into the room and watched him pour wine into Jamie’s glass. Jamie was flirting up a storm with Paige, who was smiling but definitely distracted.

Paige had told Mallory that her ex-husband had showed up at her office yesterday. She’d seen it was him and hadn’t opened the locked door. Eventually he’d stopped pounding on the door and left, but she’d been shaken by it. He’d left her alone since that weekend in October he’d assaulted her and she’d just started to feel safe again, dammit. This worried Mallory, but she tried to push that aside and enjoy the party.

She and Joe sat back on the couch, and he picked up her hand and held it on his thigh, smiling down at her. In the New Year, they were moving in together, into a new condo they’d picked out together, something with a little more character than Mallory’s sleek condo, something a little more stylish than Joe’s renovated warehouse loft.

Across from them, Sasha sat on Jack’s lap, talking to Mallory’s mom and dad, who were visiting for Christmas. At first, everyone had been a little intimidated by the fact that her dad was a minister, but when he’d made an off-color joke about the similarity between a priest and a Christmas tree, everyone had burst out laughing and then loosened up.

It was definitely an assorted group, but it was their family and their friends all together, all getting to know each other, laughing and having fun. This was their life now, their life together, and even when things were messed up—they were perfect.