“Morning,” he said, low, all husky and rough.
Good freaking God.
He didn’t even need to try and he turned me into a puddle of over-excited hormones.
“People generally do the good morning thing first,” I said, babbling, trying to eliminate the intimacy of this whole crazy moment. “Before they say anything else.”
He shrugged. “I’m saying it now.” Another swipe of that fingertip. “How’d you sleep?”
Better than I had in a very long time. “I . . .” I cleared my throat. “I should . . . I need to pee.”
His brow lifted.
I pulled away . . . groaning in pain at the sudden movement, then jerked back to correct myself, and almost flipped off the side of the bed. Neco fisted my shirt, stopping me from eating carpet and adding more bruises to my collection.
“Jesus. Hold still,” he muttered.
“I’m . . .” I gasped. “I’m fine. I’ll just . . .”
“I said don’t fuckin’ move.” He ab curled and my brain went a little fuzzy at the sight of his rippling, dancing muscles. He slid out the end of the bed—he was still wearing his jeans—walked around, and scooped me up. The covers slipped away, flashing my panties. I shoved down my shirt. “Neco!”
“Quit your squawking.” He grabbed my glasses from the bedside table and handed them to me.
I slid them on. “I do not squawk.”
He smirked. “My ringing ears say different.”
I shoved at his chest—ouch—and winced. Note to self. I hated that he was partly right, but I needed to stop with all the jerky movements. I didn’t tell him this, though, instead I said, “Christ. What is it with you guys? I can walk.”
“Looks to me like you can’t even lie down without hurting yourself.”
“Whatever.” Right then, pressed against him like I was, that’s the best I could come up with.
He chuckled and opened the door, walking the short distance to the bathroom. He didn’t stop there though. He walked right on in and set me down in front of the toilet.
My face exploded with molten heat. “To the door would have been sufficient.”
He swiped the pad of his thumb over my overheated cheek. “Wouldn’t have seen you get all red and embarrassed if I did that.”
“I’m not embarrassed,” I lied.
“Yeah, you are.”
“Am not.”
He smirked again. “You wanna stand here and debate this all morning, or pee?”
“Jesus.” I pointed to the door. “Get the hell out of here.”
He chuckled again and walked out, swagger in full effect, shutting the door behind him.
I stared after him.
Who the hell was that masked man? I barely recognized the Neco I’d woken up with this morning. I still couldn’t believe I had woken up with him this morning. I felt like I was in some alternate reality.
I quickly took care of business, washed my face, and brushed my teeth, avoiding looking at myself in the mirror, and then shuffled to the door. My face was still a mess. Every damn color of the rainbow. Looking at myself only served as a reminder of my own stupidity.
I just had to make sure I remembered this change in his attitude toward me was fueled by guilt, nothing more.
He’d get over it and we’d be back to where we’d been before. If I let myself get sucked in by this temporary change in him, I’d only be hurting myself when it came to an end.
And it would end.
CHAPTER TEN
Neco
I was leaning against the breakfast bar when Ruby walked out. She was wearing black yoga pants and a baggy T-shirt. My eyes dropped to her chest before I could stop myself. Her tits were big for her size, made more obvious since she wasn’t wearing a bra. Probably couldn’t get it on without help since she was still pretty banged up. But the alternative was to look at her face, at her bruises. Not a good idea, when I was barely keeping the rage riding me on a leash. Her right cheek was still a little swollen, a smallish cut held together with Steri-Strips. And though she was walking fine, I knew she was still uncomfortable.
I ate up the sight of her. I was powerless to do anything else.
Her hair was a messy, dark tumble and with her spare glasses on, larger than her usual ones, her heart-shaped face looked smaller. She looked like a delicate fairy. Fragile.
I wanted to take her home, with me, where she belonged.
Lulu handed her a mug of coffee and some ibuprofen and they sat on the couch together. Josh squeezed in between them waving his book around, trying to get one of them to read it.
A delicate fairy who’d had the ever-loving fuck beaten out of her. When I looked at Ruby, I didn’t just see the woman she was now, I saw the little girl she’d been, the one clinging to me after her mother had finished cutting her down. It used to take me hours to build her back up, to make her believe she was worth ten of that fucking bitch. Jesus, this whole situation with her was a mind fuck on every level.
But bottom line, Ruby was mine, and seeing her like this set off every one of my already over the top possessive instincts. I’d gone into her room last night, intending to check on her and leave. I couldn’t. I’d taken one look at her bruised face, hands curled under her chin, knees drawn up, and I’d tugged off my shirt and climbed in with her before I knew what the fuck I was doing. I’d needed her beside me. I’d barely slept, had done what I had to to appease the protective monster inside me, roaring to take her home, chain her there where I could keep her safe, keep her to myself. So I’d know exactly where she was while I hunted down the fucker who hurt her and made him scream the same way I’d heard Ruby scream on that goddamn message she’d left me.
My gaze slid over her petite, curvy little body and I had to resist the urge to reach down and adjust my dick. It was probably wrong to want her as bad as I did at a time like this, but there was no denying it. I wanted her in a way that was driving me half mad. I’d resisted for so long that now I’d decided to stop fighting it, there was no reining it in. It didn’t help that Ruby made these little noises when she slept, always had. I’d thought they were cute when she was a kid, but now they were kind of different. Breathy, lower. Honestly, they sounded like someone was playing with her pussy, sucking her sweet little nipples, getting her all worked up. And just to make matters worse, I’d realized when I slid in beside her and felt her silky thigh under my hand that she’d taken her pants off. Which meant I spent most of the night worked up as well, my jeans strangling my dick.
Then she’d woken up, all sleepy and cute and sexy as fuck, blinking up at me with those big, doll-like baby blues, and I’d nearly blown in my boxers. My hand had ended up on her hip, all on its own, right over the Superman symbol ink there, and it had taken everything in me not to shove down the side of her panties and press my lips to it. But she wasn’t ready for what I wanted from her—shit, I didn’t know if I was. But it was going to happen. Everything was going to be different from here on out.
Instead of sharing this with her, I’d kept it light, kept that leash tight, doing my damnedest to build back the trust between us that I’d decimated.
“You keep looking at her like that, you’ll freak her out,” Hunter said, coming to stand beside me.
“Like what?” Shit, my voice sounded as tight as my jeans felt right then.
“Like you just stamped Property of Neco across her forehead,” Hunter said low, so only I could hear him.
I grunted. Not looking at her wasn’t an option. And he wasn’t wrong, that’s exactly how I felt.
“You hear from Jude this morning?” he asked.
I shook my head. Jude was using his contacts in the force to keep me updated on Ruby’s case. If they had a lead on Scott, I wanted to know about it. I planned to get to him first. “Not yet, but I’ve put out a few lines of my own as well.”
“I called Raul. He’ll keep his ear to the ground.”
“Thanks.”
Hunter frowned. “You don’t need to
I held my best friend’s stare, letting him see how serious I was, because Hunter meant what he said. He considered Ruby family, which meant I had to give him something, whether I felt I needed to or not. “What I should have done a long time ago.”
One of his brows lifted. “She know about this?”
“She will.” I crossed my arms.
Hunter glanced over at his woman then back. “And what if she doesn’t want the same thing?”
Then God help us both. I didn’t say that, though. Instead, I said simply, “She’s mine.” If anyone understood where I was coming from, it was Hunter.
My friend crossed his arms. “I get that, but Ruby isn’t someone to try this relationship thing out on to see if it sticks, Nec. You fuck her around, even unintentionally, and the end result is you hurting her? You will lose her forever.”
That’s why I had every intention of keeping the part of myself, the part capable of just that, away from her. “I won’t let that happen.”
“Emotions are high, brother. Why don’t you let shit die down before you make a decision like this?”
“Remember when I told you the same thing? When I told you to cool down before you went after Lulu?” I shook my head. “Did you listen to me?”
His nostrils flared. “No, but then I abducted her and fucked up so bad she was taken by her stepfather and almost raped and killed.”
Shit. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Just think before you act. Once you get her in your bed, you can never go back,” Hunter growled. “You don’t know this, because you’ve never been a real relationship, but once you take that step with her, nothing will ever be the same between you again.”
I knew it, which is exactly why I wanted it so bad. Once I had her under me, once she’d taken me inside her, and I’d heard her scream in pleasure instead of pain, she’d know exactly who she belonged to. There’d be no more of her reckless shit. I’d know exactly where she was, who she was with. I could keep her safe. I’d come home to her, have her in my bed every night, wake up beside her every morning.
Sounded perfect to me.
My phone started ringing, ending our conversation, thank fuck. Jude’s name flashed up on my screen. I answered. “What’s up?”
“Got something for you.”
“Talk to me.”
“Scott’s laptop. It’s locked down tight, so tight none of the guys here can get into it. Told them I know a guy.”
“When can you get it to me?”
“I’m on my bike now. I’ll be at your place in a few.”
“Meet you there.” I disconnected, shoved my phone back in my pocket, and quickly filled Hunter in.
“Let me know if you find something.” The look he gave me was hard. Hunter knew me well, which meant he more than likely knew I would take Scott out as soon as an opportunity presented itself, backup be damned.
I gave him a chin lift, purposely not answering, and strode over to Ruby. She looked up at me, startled when I kept coming. I planted my hand on the back of the couch and leaned in, heard her soft intake of breath when I pressed my lips to her smooth skin, kissing her forehead.
I lifted my head, caught her eyes. “Be back later.”
Her mouth kinda hung open. Fucking cute. I wanted to kiss her again, kiss that mouth more than anything.
Instead, I straightened and headed out.
I was going to find Scott, and I was going to make him pay.
* * *
Ruby
Jude sat with Josh on his lap reading him a story. The guy was the size of a Mack truck, could be meaner than a bear with a sore head when he was in a mood, and could be terrifying when he went after someone that had pissed him off. But put a kid and a woman with a face covered in bruises in front of him and he turned into the best nursemaid and nanny in the known world. Jude had a soft side that was so damn squishy, I’d think he was made of marshmallow if I didn’t already know him and what he was capable of.
Hopefully looking at me didn’t bring up too many bad memories for him.
“You want a beer?” I asked, heading to the kitchen.
Hunter and Lulu had gone out to dinner to celebrate some anniversary. I didn’t know what for, but I’d seen Hunter growl something in her ear before they’d left and Lulu had flushed bright red. She didn’t know, but they were staying in a hotel the night. I assumed I was in for a quiet night with Josh, but then Jude had arrived armed with a six-pack and an overnight bag, as well as the entire Die Hard series on DVD.
“Yeah,” he rumbled. “You got any chips?” He glanced down at Josh. “This little guy’s looking wiped. We’ll start the marathon once he’s out.”
“Good plan. Let me check out the food situation.” I opened the pantry and started riffling through. I found two bags of chips, snatched them up, and turned with a triumphant grin on my face. “We shall dine like kings tonight.”
My gaze shot to the other side of the apartment. Neco was standing in the open door. Apparently, he had a key now. Jude was still on the couch with Josh, and was twisted around, looking at Neco over his shoulder.
“Wasn’t expecting you,” Jude said as Josh wriggled off his lap, groggily stumbling in Neco’s direction with his arms up.
Neco scooped him up and planted a kiss on the top of his head. “You can go if you like. I’m staying.”
I swallowed, mouth suddenly dry. He was staying?
Jude stood, walked to the kitchen, and got his own beer since I was still standing there gaping like a trout.
“Nah, me and Ruby are gonna watch Die Hard, it’s all sorted. Plus, Hunt and Lulu are away tonight. I was gonna camp out on the couch, keep our girl company.” He took a deep pull of his beer, snatched one of the bags of chips from my hand, and went back to the couch.
“I’m staying tonight,” Neco said. “She’s covered.”
Jude shrugged, grabbed the DVD, and started setting up, obviously not planning on going anywhere. “You putting the little man to bed or should I? We were just about to get started.”
I saw Neco’s jaw tighten, just a fraction, but enough I knew something was annoying him. “I’ll put Josh to bed.” Then he headed down the hall, Josh cradled in his arms.
Jude’s eyes slid to me and he winked, a wicked grin curving his lips. Like there was some major joke going on and it was entertaining the hell out of him.
“You ready?” he patted the spot beside him on the couch, scooped up the remote, and hit play. “Bring those other chips, and check out the fridge, maybe they’ve got dip?”
I did a quick search of the fridge, found some dip, and was heading across the living room when Neco walked back in.
“Is he asleep already?” I asked.
“Out as soon as his head hit the pillow.”
“I’m not surprised, Jude wore him out.” I glanced at Jude. “You’re good at this kid stuff.”
The wicked glint from before slid from his gaze, and I quickly changed the subject. I’d inadvertently veered too close to a painful past that Jude chose not to talk about. Ever. “So how many times have you watched Die Hard?”
He smirked. “A few.”
I was relieved to see that grin back on Jude’s face and plonked down on the couch beside him. Neco was standing beside the couch staring at us, his gaze moving between Jude and me. He scowled, then took the chair closest to me. He had to walk the farthest to get to it. I tried not to read too much into that.
I took a sip of my soda, wishing like hell it were beer. Seeing as I still had the odd headache, a side effect from my concussion, I didn’t think getting wasted would be a great idea, and that’s exactly what would happen if I started drinking. I glanced at Neco. Yeah, after the hellish few days I’d had, getting blind drunk was appealing as hell right now.
Jude started the movie and I tried to relax.
An hour later, I was close to squirming in my seat, while praying every few minutes that the damn movie would end already.
Neco was making me crazy. I could feel his eyes boring into the side of my head, which meant I’d become self-conscious of every move I made. Every time I slid my glasses higher, the way I held my mouth, how many freaking times I blinked.
Then he’d gone and stretched his long legs out, crossing them at the ankle. The new position had brought the side of his calf against mine. He kept it there. My initial reaction was to jerk mine back, but I didn’t want him to think I saw him touching me as a big deal. So, I kept it there, trying to act all casual. But now that’s all I could focus on. I literally had no idea what was going on in the movie. All I knew was Neco’s leg was touching mine. It was touching mine and it was warm and hard and the denim of his jeans was rough against my bare skin. I wished I were wearing my tights instead of shorts.
He made a low, rough sound beside me, and my nipples tightened, hardening to the point of pain. I crossed my arms over my chest.
Jude barked out a laugh at something that happened in the movie, and I forced a smile, though I still didn’t know what the hell was so damned funny.
Neco didn’t laugh.
We were three-quarters of the way through when Jude’s phone buzzed on the coffee table. He checked it and cursed under his breath.
“Everything okay?” I used the sudden distraction as an excuse to move and curled my legs up under me.
“My tenant. Some trouble with the water heater.” He stood, shoved his phone in his pocket, and dragged on his jacket. “I better head over there.”
Jude owned a house in Brooklyn that he rented out. He’d bought it for his sister and niece to live in after she left her husband. A shiver moved through me. He only went there when he had to. The place held too many bad memories for him, too much pain.
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