Page 21 of The Taste of Deceit

I reach for her before I can stop myself. She lets out a startled sound as I pull her against me. Her hands land on my chest, but I don’t give her a chance to say another word. I kiss her hard enough to steal the breath from her lungs.

I back her toward the counter until the edge digs into the backs of her thighs, and she makes a soft noise against my mouth. One hand slides into her hair while the other settles at her waist.

When I finally pull away, we’re both breathing harder.

“I fucking love you.”

“I love you too,” she says. She looks into my eyes intently. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Let’s eat for real this time.”

She turns and opens the cabinet. I reach above her for the bowls and hand one down.

“Thanks.”

I grin. “Ladies first.”

She gives me a look but goes ahead and fills her bowl. A minute later we’re sitting across from each other at the table. For a while, the only sound in the room is the clink of spoons against ceramic.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Go for it.”

She takes another bite before looking up at me.

“Where are your guns?”

I nearly choke on a mouthful of chili. She waits while I cough.

“My what?”

“Your guns. The ones you had on the other night. You’re not wearing them. Where’d they go?”

I stare at her. Two days ago she could barely say the word Mafia. Now she’s asking about firearms over a bowl of chili.

“In the SUV,” I finally say. “I don’t usually bring those inside.”

She nods.

“Why’d you have them that night?”

“You were supposed to be at work. They needed to be cleaned. I was going to do it while the house was empty.”

Another nod. There’s no anger on her face. There’s only curiosity.

“Do you keep other guns in the house though?”

I lean back in my chair and take a drink of my beer before answering.

“Yes.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“Does that scare you?” I ask. “Make you angry?”

She looks down at her lap before lifting her gaze back to mine. Then she shakes her head.

“You know I lived on a ranch. My Daddy always had guns in the house.”