Page 18 of Rescuing Mary

“You’re right. You’re not. You’re hot. Beautiful. Gorgeous. Not cute.”

Now Mary knew she was blushing. “Hush. I thought you were going to introduce me.”

“I was. Now I don’t think I will. Not when you think they’re all hot,” Truck told her, turning to walk back the way they came.

Mary grabbed his arm and looked up at him, expecting to see him smiling at her.

But he wasn’t smiling at all. He looked completely serious.

Mary spoke without thinking, wanting only to reassure him. “I don’t have eyes for anyone but you, Truck. The first time I saw you, I knew you were trouble. That you could be the man to break me.”

“I don’t want to break you, Mare,” Truck said quietly.

“I know.” She reached up and put her hand on his scarred cheek. “I don’t want anyone but you,” she said softly, opening herself up, just a tiny bit, for the first time.

He understood exactly how much her words meant too, because his eyes got heavy and one hand came up to rest on her nape. “Yeah?”

Mary nodded. “I’m scared.”

“Of me?”

“Yes.” When he frowned, she quickly said, “But not how you think. I haven’t told anyone other than Rayne that I loved them since I was sixteen years old. And believe me when I say, that didn’t go so well. It’s hard for me…but I’m trying.”

Truck closed his eyes and rested his forehead on hers. “Thank you, baby. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

They stood like that for a moment longer, before Truck straightened and took her hand in his once more. “Come on. I’ll introduce you and then take you home.”

“Don’t you have to get back to post and report in or something?”

“I do, but that can wait until I get you settled and make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m okay.”

“Humor me, Mare. Let me take care of you. Hearing you say that you were in the bank when it was being held up by men with guns knocked me for a loop. I need to make sure you’re home safe and sound before I get back to work.”

What could she do other than nod?

With that, he started toward the group of men once more. They all turned to face them as they approached.

“Hey, guys. I’d like you to meet my wife, Mary.”

She startled at that. It was the first time Truck had introduced her that way to anyone. They’d been keeping it a secret for so long, she hadn’t thought about the fact that, now that everyone knew, they didn’t have to keep their relationship on the down low any longer.

One by one, she shook the seven men’s hands. They were all tall, as she’d observed, and good-looking. She could tell they were muscular even though they were wearing their long-sleeve BDUs.

Their nicknames were just as crazy as those in Truck’s group, but she didn’t comment on it. Trigger, Lefty, Oz, Grover, Lucky, Brain, and Doc. They greeted her warmly, and Mary’s head swam trying to keep them all straight.

“So you guys are headed off at the end of the week too, huh?” she asked, trying to make conversation.

“Yup,” Trigger said with a wink. “Truck and his team decided they needed us to show them how things are done.”

Mary rolled her eyes. She knew he was teasing but couldn’t resist messing with the other man. “Yeah, Truck mentioned that. Said they needed someone to flush out the bad guys. You know, like when hunting dogs run into the field and make the birds scatter so the hunters can shoot them?”

Lefty and Oz—at least she thought that was their names—threw their heads back and laughed, while the others simply smirked at her.

Feeling uncomfortable, like maybe she shouldn’t have shown her snarky side immediately upon meeting the other men, Mary did her best to smile gamely back at them. Truck pulled her against him and kissed the side of her head once more.

“Here’s some advice, Trigger. Don’t go up against my wife in a game of wits. She’ll win every fucking time.”