Page 36 of Wade


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“I can’t believe he told on me.”

“I was grilling him one time about why youwere friends with such interesting people. I thought they were people Matthewhad collected, but no, it was you.” Which probably should have clued me in thatsomething about my image of Wade wasn’t right.

Wade had just been so relaxed and happythat I’d put him in a more vanilla category and never questioned it. He had awholesomeness about him that’d always made me want to pull him in for a hug,but that was just one side of his personality.

“Matthew dragged home interesting peopletoo. I’m looking at one of them. But the guys are a bit more dramatic than hewould’ve picked out himself.” Wade smiled. “I don’t seem to attract boring.”

Laughing, I had to agree. “Oh yeah, afterseeing your friends in their natural environment, I would have to agree.”

As we pulled up to a stoplight, I trailedmy fingers down his neck. “Now the big question is how wild you get when you’rein your natural environment. The scene at the club gave me a clue, but you’vebeen very well-behaved since then. Are you hiding that side from me or hasthere been a lot to work through?”

He shivered as I continued to stroke hisskin, but I could see his brain working on an answer. “I would say there’s justbeen a lot to work through, but I have a feeling the guys would say it’s a mixof both.”

That didn’t surprise me.

“I told you how sexy you looked when youwere getting flogged. I might have said it a little more politely than that,but you were incredible. Why would you need to hide anything like that from meif I’ve already told you what I thought of it?” Fear wasn’t always rational, butI wanted him to see it from another perspective.

Before he could find the answer, I keptgoing. “I don’t want you to feel you have to hide anything from me, and thatincludes your friends. No matter if it’s Austin and his dresses or what otherinteresting things you get up to that shocks Russ.”

Wade laughed. “We’re going to have to talkto him about oversharing.”

“He was probably just entertaining thetroublemakers. They have a tendency to make people overshare because they’re socurious and naughty.” I chuckled. “In fact, I think they would fit right inwith the rest of your naughty troop.”

“Honestly, it sounds like it.” He reachedover and rested his hand on my thigh. “I’ll have to spend more time getting toknow them.”

“They’d like that. But be forewarned, subtletyis not their strong suit.” That might have been an understatement but there wasno reason to scare him.

They could behave for a few hours overdinner, couldn’t they?

That idea was too frightening tocontemplate, so I pushed it away and went back to teasing Wade. “Is Dakotagoing to like me better now or is he still going to give me frustrated lookslike I’m a moron?”

At least I could understand now why he’dthought I was so stupid.

“He’s not really subtle either.” None ofthem were.

That take-charge attitude was probably whythey were all so successful, but it was hard to deal with sometimes.

Wade sighed. “Hopefully?”

He shook his head. “No, they do like you,even Dakota and Bradley, they’re just…not the most patient people when theythink someone is being deliberately obtuse. I’ve gotten several lecturesalready, but hopefully, they’ve moved past that since we’ve talked.”

“You make that sound so prim.” I caressedaround his ear and back down his neck. “I feel like I should have done more thankiss you just so they know I’m very serious about getting to know you better.”

Wade’s chuckle was tinged with a hint ofembarrassment, but he didn’t seem to mind the emotion. “You’re muchmore…comfortable than you were before.”

I shrugged. “I felt very off before, likethe world kept shifting under my feet and I was fighting to keep up. It wasunsettling, but I’m feeling more confident now that I’m getting to know thereal you and that you’re interested in me.”

As he turned down an unmarked lane, deeperinto the countryside, he nodded. “Yes, I can understand that, and I canunderstand why you felt unsure of things before.”

He took a deep breath. “I hope you aren’tquestioning things now?”

Using the blunt edge of my nails, I trailedthem down his neck. “Oh, I’m questioning things, but not in the way you meant.”

He made a low, breathy moan and a shiverran through him. “I…you…”

Since both words and driving requiredhigher functions, I backed off the teasing and went back to slow caresses.“Yes?”

My question seemed to jumpstart his brain.“What kind of questions?”