by Rhonda Shaw
I kissed her again, this time lingering longer on her soft lips, loving the way she melted in my arms, before grabbing my mug and walking out of the kitchen. Little did she realize, this was the least of our worries. I didn’t give a shit what the press said about me, and I hoped with time, she would get there too. Sure, it bothered me whenever they brought up her or Dani, but like I told her, the media would print whatever they wanted, regardless of what I did or said. Half the time, trying to prevent them from writing anything only made things worse, so why waste the effort. I learned to let the negativity slide off my back without a second thought, and I found a way to profit from the attention they slathered on me.
No, what we needed to worry about was much, much worse. I hoped nothing would come from the latest development, but I refused to be unprepared, just in case.
Terrell was out of jail.
I longed for the past to stay in the past, but as much as I wished for it, I recognized the pipe dream for what it was and ordered extra security for Dani and Gabrielle. I wasn’t going to take any fucking chances this time around, since I now possessed the resources to protect those I loved. They would have to go over my dead body and an army of bulked up bodyguards before laying a finger on my girls. It wasn’t going to happen. Not this time.
I stopped as I crossed through the family room to gaze out the picture window overlooking the in-ground pool lining the edge of the large cement patio before transitioning into rolling waves of grass, stretching out as far as I could see. A perimeter fence bordered the entire property, and security cameras caught every movement, which should make me feel safe, but it didn’t. Yanked back into the past, I found myself fighting the urge to glance over my shoulder, wondering what waited around the corner to pounce out at me. I’d let myself believe in the false security that came with money, even though I always feared my past would show its ugly face again. I didn’t want Gabrielle involved in the thick of things once more, but I refused to send her away. She was safer here in my house than outside of it, but I couldn’t keep her chained inside, as much as I wanted to. I’d made a promise to her that I wouldn’t keep things from her, and I wouldn’t. I just needed to be sure, know the whole story, and then I’d tell her. If I told her false information, she’d panic and run off with Dani somewhere I couldn’t protect them, and I couldn’t let that happen.
No, she couldn’t know anything until I had the whole report. Maybe we’d get lucky this time, and the past would move on rather than lurk in the shadows, plotting revenge, the promise made all those years ago going unfulfilled. But I didn’t think we’d be so fortunate. I hadn’t forgotten, and I knew Terrell hadn’t either.
Chapter 30
~ Danny ~
“Stop!” I yanked off my headphones. “Cut it.”
Dollar leaned down and spoke into the mic on the other side of the glass. “What’s the matter, D?”
I collapsed in a chair and scrubbed my hands over my face. I was tired and felt like crap. It weighed me down, preventing me from finding my groove and resulting in recorded garbage.
I glanced around at all the eyes on me and waved my hand. “I’m sorry. We have to call it a day. Everyone go home.”
I ignored the murmured rumblings of protest and was thankful when the room cleared out, leaving Dollar and Big T behind.
Big T sat in the chair next to me. “What’s going on with you, man?”
“I can’t sleep. It’s fucking killing me.”
Dollar raised one brow as he propped a hip on the table. “You mean you ain’t getting sleep now that you got your girl back in your bed.”
I smirked. “Nah, I mean I can’t fucking sleep. Simple as that. Nothing to do with G.”
He sneered. “Right man, like she ain’t fucking with your head at all.”
I leaned back and scowled. “What’s that fucking mean?”
“Come on, man. You telling me her showing up out of the blue with your kid, and now you all playing house together, hasn’t fucked with your head at all?” He shook his head. “It ain’t right, man. It ain’t right.”
“We’re not playing house, Dollar. This is the real shit. Hell, I plan on marrying her.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Marry her?”
“That’s awesome,” Big T said in stark contrast to Dollar’s alarm.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I? I love her, and I want to be with her. I want my family. I’m not letting her out of my sight again.”
“You can’t fucking marry her, D,” he said adamantly.
“Why the fuck not?”
“Think about it!” He poked his temple with his finger. “This will ruin your career. You think your fans want to see you as a married man? With a family? You can’t have both, man. It don’t work like that.”
I shot out of my chair with my arms spread wide. “I don’t care what they think I should be. My professional and personal lives are completely separate. One has nothing to do with the other. Nobody can tell me how I should live my life, including you.”
“Is that right? My opinion don’t mean shit?”
“You’re not giving me your opinion, and you know it. You’re telling me what I can and can’t do.”
“As your manager and best friend, I’m just looking out for what’s best for you and your career, man. That’s it, and she ain’t it.”
“You know, now that I think about it, you’ve never been a fan of G and me, Dollar. Why is that?” I crossed my arms across my chest. “Why don’t you tell me the real story, man?”
Dollar huffed with a lazy swipe of his hand in my direction. “I don’t know what you talking about, man.”
“No, I want to know.” I stood over him, glaring. “Give it to me, Dollar. Be straight with me for once. Tell me what’s really on your fucking mind.”
“Hey, hey, guys.” Big T tried to step between us, the tension rising to a palpable level in the small room.
“No, Dollar’s got something he wants to say, and I want to hear it.” I stared around Big T, my eyes never leaving Dollar’s.
Dollar appeared pensive for a second before shaking his head and standing. “You know, you’re right. I never liked the girl. She done nothing but fuck up your life, and I had to go around cleaning up behind you.”
“What? She’s been nothing but a fucking godsend in my life. I’d be in jail, or dead, if not for her, and we wouldn’t even be here. You fucking know it!” I yelled as I pointed at Dollar.
“Nah, man. You wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for me, not her.”
“You? You?” My voice rose, and I wanted to pull my hair out. “How the fuck is all this your doing?”
“Who helped you separate yourself from her and the fucked-up situation with Terrell, so you could focus and leave town? Me.” Dollar jabbed his finger into his chest for emphasis. “Who got you a ticket to LA and connected with a label? Me. Who kept this whole fucking kid thing at bay, so you could concentrate on being the superstar you became overnight and were destined to be, just like I told you? Me. That’s motherfucking who,” he said, spitting out the last words as he glared at me.
“Oh, man,” Big T muttered. “No, you didn’t, man…”
I froze, staring in disbelief at who I considered one of my best friends in the world.
“You…” I broke off and swallowed hard. “You knew about Dani?”
“Yeah. I got the fucking pathetic texts she and Kat wrote, and I kept them from you so you wouldn’t come running back here and fuck up all your chances. I hid all the whiny ass shit they put online. You had the world at your fucking feet, D, and someone had to keep you focused on that, and not some whore with a bastard.”
All the blood drained from my face as anger roared through me. I saw nothing but red, a bull charging a waving flag; the flag being Dollar, and only giving him a pounding would take the rage away. I lunged around Big T and gripped Dollar by the collar, shoving him out of the studio and against the brick wall in the hallway. He stumbled, but somehow regained his footi
ng, and braced himself when I launched myself again. Despite being taller than me and with a longer reach, it didn’t help him, as I was stronger, thicker, and had my fury as fuel.
Big T tried to pull me off him, but I was too quick and hauled Dollar up, tossing him halfway up the stairs before chasing after him. Throwing my body at his, we crashed through the door, landing in a heap on the floor outside the kitchen, wrestling as we both struggled to gain the upper hand.
As we rolled around, hitting each other amid curses and grunts as fists connected with skin, I heard Gabrielle scream.
“Danny!”
Big T attempted to separate us again, but his footing tangled between our flailing legs and he went tumbling. Gaining control, I jumped to my feet and yanked Dollar up by the front of his shirt, causing the fabric to rip and buttons to pop off. I shoved him toward the door and pointed.
“Get the fuck out of my house! I never want to see your motherfucking face again!”
Dollar’s breath was ragged and hard as he wiped blood from his lip with the back of his hand. He straightened his ruined shirt before glancing between Gabrielle and me.
“Fine. It’s your life, if you want to throw it all away for nothing.” He threw a bitter glance in her direction, where she stood plastered against the wall, her eyes wide with terror and disbelief. He walked backward to the door. “She’s nothin’, D. Nothin’. You remember that.”
“You’re wrong,” I said, my chest heaving. “She’s everything, and she’s what I want. I can have it all, you motherfucking asshole.”
All three of us watched Dollar leave out the back door without another glance. Silence fell over the room and nobody moved for a few seconds before Big T picked himself up off the floor.
“Danny?” Gabrielle’s voice trembled.
I stared at the empty space in front of me, my brain refusing to comprehend what had happened; that one of the people I trusted with my life had stabbed me in the back. I wondered what else he’d done that I was unaware of, and then I decided I didn’t want to find out.
“Not now, G.” I pushed past her and stormed upstairs.
~ Gabrielle ~
The slamming of our bedroom door reverberated throughout the house.
I turned to Big T. “What was that about?”
He let out a long breath as he lowered himself into a nearby chair and wiped sweat from his brow. “You, sweetie. You.”
“Me? What about me?”
“You need to talk to D about it. It ain’t pretty, that’s for sure.”
I rushed up the stairs and stepped into our bedroom. The room was empty, but I followed the sound of the shower running. His outline was visible through the frosted glass doors as he stood with his hands braced against the smoke-colored tiled wall, the water rushing over him.
“What’s going on, Danny? What was that about?”
He didn’t answer as he remained in the same position, the lines of his body tight and tense. Eventually, he turned off the water. Running a towel over his head and wrapping it around his waist, where it slung low, he stepped out of the shower, leaning against the long, gray marble counter.
He refused to meet my eyes as he passed a hand over his hair, causing droplets to spray the mirror behind him, his knuckles still red from where his fist had connected with Dollar’s face, before he cleared his throat. “I know why you thought I should know about Dani.”
“You mean my texts?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Dollar got them. He kept them from me.”
“What? Why would he do that?”
“Uh, well…he seems to think we shouldn’t be together. That I couldn’t have all this,” he said as he waved his hands, “if I had you as well.”
“Why would he think that? It doesn’t make sense.”
He continued to study the ground. “I know, I don’t get it either, but he’s always been telling me to get you out of the picture, for one reason or another.”
“I don’t understand what I ever did to him to make him not like me.”
“You didn’t do anything; he’s just an asshole.” He shook his head again. “He was so adamant about getting me away from you, after the whole thing with Terrell…”
“He was the one who told you to dump me at the club?”
He glanced up, an angry red scratch following the line of one brow. “He and I agreed on that, and I told you why.” He stepped forward and cupped my face, gazing deep into my eyes. “But you’ve got to believe me, baby. I would have been on the first plane back here had I known you were pregnant. Fuck Terrell, or whatever else.”
“Do you agree with him?”
“Hell, no. I can have it all. Just like I told him downstairs; I can, and I will. There’s no way I’m letting you go anywhere.”
“Is it always going to be like this?”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Are we always going to have people coming between us?” I shook my head. “Me, coming between you and your friends…”
“No.” He pulled me in against him and wrapped his arms around me. “Someone who does that is not my friend. Forget it, G.”
“I’m sorry, Danny.” I rested my head against his bare shoulder, feeling the moist heat from his shower against my cheek. Dollar had been a part of his life for so long that this deception was a huge blow for him.
“Hey.” He nudged his shoulder to get me to raise my head as he turned to look in the mirror. “You and me, we’re going out tonight, so go get ready.”
“Out?”
“Yep.” He smiled at my reflection as he ran a comb through his hair. “Wear something hot to torture me, so I won’t be able to keep my hands off you.”
I studied him, not following at first why he would want to go out since he hated being in public, when I caught on. He wanted to forget what happened, and if he sat around the house, he wouldn’t be able to put the events out of his mind. I might be glad Dollar was out of the picture, especially after finding out he was the one who’d kept my pregnancy from Danny, but I still recognized it as a huge loss for him. I loved him and hated to see him hurting, and because I realized what he was after—an escape—I took matters into my own hands.
I closed the bathroom door and gave a small smile when he frowned at me in the mirror. “I have a better idea.”
He raised one brow. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”
Reaching down, I unhooked the towel at his waist, letting it fall to the floor. “Why don’t you turn around and I’ll show you?”
His other eyebrow joined the first and he turned. “I might like the sound of this.”
I grinned in agreement. “Oh, I think you will.” I pushed him on the shoulder so he perched on the edge of the counter. I stepped between his thighs, dragging my nails over taut muscles and through coarse hair before taking him in my hand and caressing him. Leaning in, I nuzzled his neck, breathing in the spicy scent of his shower gel, before placing an open-mouthed kiss right below his ear. “Just sit there and relax. Can you handle that?”
“Baby, I’ll do whatever you want me to if you keep that up. Pun intended.” He nodded down to his now full erection in my hands.
Trailing my lips over his hard pecs and running my tongue along the ridges of his abs, I licked and kissed my way down as I dropped to my knees. I knelt before him and, glancing up, found his eyes hot on mine, his pupils appearing large beneath lowered lashes, as I took him in my mouth.
He groaned low in his throat and watched as I swallowed him as deep as I could. Releasing him, I licked up his length and one of his hands tangled in my hair.
“Fuck, baby,” he growled. “That feels so good.”
Sucking, I twirled my tongue across the crown, and he moaned in appreciation, his hips giving a slight twitch as he fought the urge to thrust. I gripped him, working him with both my mouth and my hand, and soon he was shuddering.
His hold on me tightened. “God, baby. I’m so close.”
I picked up the pace of my strokes and he curs
ed.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”
Before I could ask what was wrong, Dani’s voice came from inside our bedroom.
“Daddy? Daddy, where are you?” She came closer to the closed bathroom door.
“Do not open the door,” he gritted.
There was a quiet pause before Dani said, “What?”
“I said, do not open the door.” He sounded in pain and didn’t bother to cover his agony.
I released him from my mouth and stared up at him in disbelief at the horrible timing, before breaking into silent giggles, which only made me snort.
“It’s not fucking funny,” he muttered, even though there was a wide grin on his face. “You’re not the one who has to walk around with blue balls.”
“Daddy?”
“I’ll see what she wants.” I kissed him and waited for him to wrap the towel around his waist again, angling his back to hide the obvious tenting in the front. I sniggered again, and he turned his head to glower at me.
I opened the door a crack. “What do you need, sweetie?”
Dani danced in place as she tried to see around me. “Where’s Daddy?”
“He’s busy, honey. What do you need?”
“Well…” she hemmed and hawed. “It’s just that…”
He cursed under his breath and strode over, gently shoving me out of the way so he could stand behind the door, revealing only his top half.
“What is it, baby?”
“Oh!” Her eyes lit up at the sight of him and she beamed. “Um, the DVD player in the movie room won’t work.”
“Did you ask Teddy?”
She shook her head. “He’s not here.”
He sighed. “All right, I’ll be down in a sec. Give me ten minutes.”
“Okay.” She dashed out, mission accomplished.
“Say thank you, young lady,” I called out.
“Thank you,” she yelled over her shoulder.
I grinned at Danny. “So, this is what you want, huh?” I wrapped my arms around his waist. “Kids coming in and interrupting at the most inopportune times? Boring family stuff like watching a DVD, most likely a cartoon?”