The Four Stages of Loving Dutch Owen - Debra Kayn Page 0,60

always craved attention and was free with her affection through her teenage years. It killed him, sitting in prison, thinking she could give someone else what she'd always saved for him.

She belonged to him regardless if she had turned to sex to fill the years they were separated, but he was a man and had to admit that knowing she hadn't been with someone else bolstered his ego.

Rachel always worried about Marla Marie being too wild and careless, especially with him. Considering the lifestyle she'd grown up in, she could've easily had any man she looked at.

She stared at the coffee maker. He tagged her arm, bringing her up against the length of his body.

She met his gaze. "Why are you doing this to me? Haven't you hurt me enough?"

"I hurt you for your own good."

She shook her head. "You cut me out of your life."

He held on to her when she tried to push herself away. "You couldn't keep coming to the prison. It was killing you."

"No, it killed me to see you in prison." She shoved against him, and he let her go. "You promised never to leave me."

"I never did."

"You're so full of shit." She clamped her mouth shut and shook her head.

"What?"

She glanced at him. "All I ever wanted was you."

"I know that."

"You set me free." Her eyes welled up with tears. "You talk about me not handling all the prison visits—"

"You stopped living. You weren't going out with your friends. You wouldn't talk to Rachel and Skull. You were losing weight—weight you couldn't afford to lose."

"What you did by breaking up with me hurt more than anything I've experienced in my life." Her voice cracked, and she swallowed. "I thought I was dying not having you in my life. Now, you show up and have sex with me. I can't do it."

"You want me to go?"

She stared at him, opening and closing her mouth. He never gave it a thought that she'd not want him in her life.

He'd expected her to be pissed. But Marla Marie was his.

"Yeah, I do," she whispered.

"You don't."

She pressed a hand to her heart, but he could see her trembling. "I know you were with other women when you were released. I wasn't the first person you wanted to see or the second."

"Jesus Christ," he muttered.

She scoffed. The lifestyle he lived afforded him many benefits. One being sex was thought of as a recreational activity. What happened in the bedroom with Marla Marie wasn't the same.

"Do you think I could come to you after being in prison for five years, knowing I'd hurt you the minute I was out? Not only would my size scar you, but I wanted you too much. I would never be able to do what we did earlier," he said.

"That wasn't your decision to make." She rolled her shoulders inward. "I would never have a relationship like Rachel and Skull and allow you to be with other women.

"I don't want that." He exhaled loudly. "What we have between us doesn't compare to their relationship, or anyone else's, for that matter."

"You told me I belong to you."

"You do."

She snapped her gaze to him. "You broke the rules at the prison on purpose. You broke your promise to me."

"Marla Marie..."

"You need to leave." She hugged herself.

He had nine days with her. Lifting her chin, he kissed her softly. "I'll be at the pool hall if you need me."

She stared at his chest. Checking his back pocket for his pistol, he stepped away from her.

Turning her back toward him, she held on to the counter. He let himself out.

He'd be back. It wasn't over.

Knowing her better than she knew herself, he expected her to go through the four stages of loving him all over again. He wouldn't be surprised if the next time he came to her, she ripped him a new asshole.

Chapter 27

MARLA EXPECTED DUTCH to be at the pool hall, knowing he was in town for a while. She'd spent all day preparing herself for the next time she would come face to face with him.

She stared at the back of his head as he talked to one of his MC brothers. She was scheduled to work until two o'clock in the morning. That was eight hours of having him nearby. Eight hours she would be reminded of having sex with him.

Rubble lifted his brows and studied her without asking any questions about her leaving early yesterday. "Looks like a long night. There's an intense challenge