“He’ll do that to you. Growing up, he always knew what buttons to push with me.”
“I imagine that’s what little brothers are supposed to do,” I said wistfully. I’d often wished I weren’t an only child. It had been lonely, growing up in that big house with no one to play with.
“You really like him, don’t you?”
“Yes.” There was no point in denying it. I probably had lovesick puppy written all over my face.
“I can tell he really likes you, too.” She turned to me, so I did the same. “I can tell you’re a good person, Addison. You helped out Serena when she needed a job, and I know you’re trying to make this town a better place.”
“I sense a but.”
She smiled but only for a moment. “But, if you hurt my brother again…” She shook her head. “I don’t know what I’ll do to you. Just please don’t. He probably won’t tell you, but twelve years ago, he was devastated. First, Foster and then you. It was a good thing the military gave him an outlet, I suppose.”
I was shaking my head in confusion. I only understood about half of what she was saying. “Kelly, I’m not sure exactly what you’re saying, but I’ll do what I can to not hurt him.”
She smiled. “Good. That’s what I wanted to hear.”
I was glad she was placated, but I didn’t understand what she meant about hurting her brother again. I didn’t know there was a first time. I opened my mouth to ask her to expand on her earlier statement.
“Mom?” a voice called out from several feet away.
Kelly turned around and waved her arm in the air. “Over here.”
Serena came through the crowd, holding on to Maddox’s mom’s arm. Foster was walking up behind them.
“Hello, Mrs. Wolfe,” I said. “Hi, Serena.”
“You can call me Betty, dear.”
“Hello, Betty,” I said.
It was a change from the woman I remembered from when Maddox and I’d dated in high school. I still remembered when she’d come home one night while I was in Maddox’s room. I’d been hiding in his room, and she’d called me a slut while she was arguing with Maddox. She’d been drunk at the time, and she probably had no recollection of it, but at seventeen, I would never forget it.
“Are you having a nice time?” I asked her.
I was glad for Betty and her children that she had gotten sober. I didn’t see her around town much, but I knew she was sick. The day I’d gone to her house and asked for a dollar was the first time I saw her in months, and I had been in a rush, so I hadn’t stuck around to chat.
“Yes. It feels good to be outside.” She lifted an arm to shield her eyes from the sun. “Is that my Maddox playing out there?”
“Yep. He’s showing off his old football tricks.” I looked over at the field. “Or at least, he’s trying to.” I looked back at Betty. “I don’t know what he’s told you, but I’m doing everything I can, so you don’t lose your home or your place to live.”
Betty grabbed my hand and squeezed. Her skin was cold and rough. “He’s told me that you’ve been working your ass off.”
I laughed at hearing her say ass.
“Don’t worry about me. I can always move in with one of my children if I have to.”
Both Kelly’s and Foster’s eyes got big. I took it that this was news to them, and neither of them looked too thrilled with the idea.
“Hey, Mom, I’m going to go hang out with my friends,” Serena said.
“Sure.”
Serena kissed Betty on the cheek. “I’ll see you later, Grandma.”
“Okay, dear. Go have fun.”
Serena ran off and joined a couple of girls her age.
The whistle blew behind us, and we all turned to see what was going on with the game. Maddox came running over to us. The first thing he did was kiss his mom on the cheek, and it made me smile. He was a good son.
He nodded to his brother’s water. “Do you mind if I have some of that?”
Foster handed it over. “It’s all yours. I can get another.”
Maddox opened the bottle and drank all of it. I hoped no one noticed me staring at the way some of the water escaped and ran down his throat and onto his chest.
Kelly nudged me with her hip. “Your mouth’s open,” she whispered with a laugh.
I snapped my jaw shut, and once again, I turned red. I couldn’t remember the last time I had blushed, but today, I was on a roll.
There was a garbage can about five feet from us, and Maddox threw the empty bottle toward it. Of course, he made it.
“Hey, you should come and play with us,” Maddox said to Foster, nodding toward the field.
Foster had played football in middle school and the first two years of high school. He hadn’t been as good as Maddox, and he had stopped playing when he got involved with partying and drinking.
“Sure. Sounds like fun. I’ll be on the shirts team. Then, I can kick your ass.”
Maddox grinned. “You wish. You just don’t want to show off your pudgy body.”
Foster lifted the front of his shirt and showed off an impressive four-pack. “Pudgy body, my ass.”
“Boys, boys.” Betty rolled her eyes. “They never stop fighting.”
Despite the past, Maddox was lucky to have Foster. They obviously loved each other despite their bickering.
Maddox put his arm around me and kissed the side of my head. “You doing okay, babe?” he asked me in a low voice.
I wrapped my arm around his waist and squeezed. “Yeah, I’m doing good.”
“Good.” He dropped his arm and stepped back toward the field. “Come on, Foster. Let’s see who needs another teammate.”
Maddox turned, and Foster followed.
“Oh my word, Maddox. You need to be more careful out there,” Betty said.
Maddox looked over his shoulder at his mother with a puzzled expression on his face.
Betty pointed. “Your back, son. It’s all scratched up.”
Maddox barked out a laugh while I turned red. Again.
Thirty-Eight
Maddox
Sunday afternoon, there was a knock at my door. I’d just gotten back from brunch at my sister’s, and Addison was spending the day with friends. I opened my door to see the last person I’d expected.
“Hello. I’m Simon Deavor, and I work—”
“I know who you are and who you work for.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “What do you want?”
Simon pursed his lips at my rudeness. I hoped he’d take the hint and leave.
“Mr. Graham would like to speak to you.”
I had to admit, this surprised me, but I didn’t let it show. “Tell him no, thank you.” I dropped my arms and grabbed the door to slam it in Simon’s face.
He slapped his hand against it. “I think you’ll want to hear this. It concerns your mother.”
Fuck.
There was nothing good that could come from this conversation.
Once we arrived at the Graham home, Simon directed me toward the home office, and I tried my best not to look around in awe at the house Addison had grown up in even though I’d seen it years ago. I’d forgotten just how big it was. We’d had such different childhoods.
Once I reached the wooden double doors, Simon opened them and instructed me in.
Brantley Graham sat on the other end of his huge desk and smiled like we were old friends or something. “Ah, Mr. Wolfe, come in, please.”
When I reached the desk, Brantley swept his arm out.
“Please sit.”
“I’ll stand, thank you.”
“Very well,” he said, losing some of his smile.
I pointed to Simon behind me. “Your errand boy over there said you wanted to talk to me about my mother.”
“Yes. As I understand it, she hasn’t found a new home yet.”
I gritted my teeth. “No.”
“I’m sorry your mom had to become involved in the mess, but I saw a good opportunity for our town, and I could
n’t pass on it.”
This guy was feeding me some serious bullshit. Addison had told me how long she’d been trying to get her father to sell the land to the golf course company. Obviously, Brantley was up to something.
When I didn’t say anything, he continued, “I have decided to help your mother.”
“And what will it cost me?” I asked.
Brantley chuckled and then acted shocked.
“I might not be rich, Brantley, but I’m not stupid. You purposely asked me here when Addison was in Des Moines, and you knew I’d be alone. You want something in return.”
He raised his brow. “Okay, if that’s how you want to play it.” He looked around me. “Simon, bring me the envelope.”
I turned to watch Simon take a manila envelope off the shelf and bring it to me.
“I suggest you open that carefully, Mr. Wolfe.”
I slowly opened the envelope and slid out the contents. It was pictures of Addison and me. In very compromising positions. I squeezed my fist around them, furious. Someone had spied on our personal moments. Someone had taken pictures of Addison naked. And Addison had been betrayed by someone she should have been able to trust.
Her father was far worse than I’d ever thought.
“What the fuck do you want, Brantley?”
He stood. “I want you to stay away from my daughter.” He grabbed a piece of paper and threw it to my side of the desk. It was a real estate sheet of a house here in town. “You break things off with Addison, and I will buy this for your mother to live in. She can live there, rent-free.”
Until Brantley Graham was unhappy with something, and then he’d kick my mom out.
“And what about the other trailer park residents?”
Brantley shrugged. “I don’t wish them ill. They are simply a means to an end. I already gave away the land. There is nothing I can do.”
This guy was a heartless prick, but he had me thinking. My mom was sick. She needed a home.
I saw Brantley smile out of the corner of my eye, and I wanted to punch him.
“Mr. Wolfe?”
I looked up.
He slid a smaller piece of paper over to me. “Here is a little more incentive to help you accept my conditions.”
I picked it up and flipped it over. It was a check for more money than I’d made in a whole year as a Navy SEAL. I looked up at Brantley as if to confirm it was real.
He raised his eyebrows. “I’ll double that, but then that’s as high as I’ll go.”
The guy made me sick.
I put the photos, the home info sheet, and the check all in the manila envelope.
I could see the look of satisfaction on Brantley Graham’s face, and it took all my willpower to not slam his face on the desk.
“I take it, we have an understanding?” he asked me.
I took the envelope and walked over to the paper shredder I’d noticed in the corner. I pushed the envelope in the slot and watched as the automatic motor pulled it down and shredded the photos, the home sheet, and the check.
When the motor quieted, I looked up at Brantley. “Yes, we have an understanding. Your daughter means more to me than money, and there is nothing you can do to keep me away from her.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Even if it costs your mother a place to live?”
I shook my head and laughed. As if my mother didn’t have other options. “You let me worry about my mom.” I headed for the door. “If I were you, I’d worry about what your daughter is going to think when she hears this.” I reached the door and looked over at Simon. “See you later, errand boy.”
I shoved the door open and escaped from the house. I took one last look at it before I got in my SUV.
Poor Addison. All the money in the world wouldn’t make up for having a father like Brantley.
As I drove away, I picked up my phone and dialed.
“Hello?”
“Hey, baby. How’s it going?”
“Good. How are you? Enjoying your day off?”
I had to talk to her about her father, but I didn’t want to do it over the phone. “It’s fine.”
“Are you okay?” Her voice changed, now sounding concerned.
I smiled that she knew me well enough to know something was wrong. “Yeah, I just needed to hear your voice.”
“You’re so sweet.”
“Don’t tell anyone, okay?”
She laughed.
“You’ll be home tomorrow morning?”
“Yep. Bright and early.”
“Okay. Come say hi when you get back, all right?”
“Promise.”
I hung up the phone, feeling a little bit better but dreading the conversation I was going to have with her in the morning.
Thirty-Nine
Addison
I wish I were able to sneak into Maddox’s room like he was able to sneak into mine. I supposed I needed some military training in order to know how to do that. Instead, I pulled out the old spare key I had from when the Carson brothers had lived there. I had taken care of their dog a couple of times while they were on vacation. I just hoped the key still worked.
It worked but not without some jiggling.
Damn these old doors and old locks.
I pushed the door open and was greeted by darkness. It was only about ten at night, but Maddox must have already gone to bed. I was glad that I had used the key instead of knocking. I padded quietly into the room and shut the door.
The moment the latch clicked, a hand went around my mouth, and a hard body slammed me into the wall. I tried to yell out in fright.
“Addison?”
It was Maddox.
“Yes,” I said, but it came out muffled.
He dropped his hand and spun me around. My eyes had adjusted to the light. I could see a gun in one hand, thankfully pointed away from me.
I heard him flick the safety on.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came back early.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I can see that. But why?”
I put my hands on his chest. Ooh, it’s bare. I dragged my fingers down, down, down. “I wanted to see you,” I told him.
He brushed his lips against mine. “What are you doing?”
“Checking to see if you’re naked.”
He pushed his pelvis into me. “Spoiler alert: I am.”
I gasped as I took his length in my hand. “You’re hard.”
He nuzzled my neck. “Adrenaline. Plus, a hot woman just snuck into my apartment.” He sucked on my skin.
“Wow. You’re so lucky. What are you going to do to her?”
He chuckled again and put his mouth next to my ear. “Fuck her, of course.”
Maddox set his gun down on the bookshelf next to him and attacked my shorts and underwear. He yanked them down my legs, and I helped by trying to kick them off. He picked me up, I wrapped my legs around his waist, and he slammed into me.
My head fell back and hit the wall. “Ah.” I hadn’t quite expected that.
Maddox used one hand to hold me up and the other to pull down the straps of my tank top and bra. When my breasts were uncovered, he sucked one nipple into his mouth.
My pussy clamped down on him in immediate reaction, and I felt him smile against my skin.
“Have I ever told you how much I love how you respond to me?” he asked as he gripped my hips and pounded into me.
I shook my head and tightened my thighs on his hips. I couldn’t move my arms any higher because my tank top and bra had them pinned to my sides. “I don’t know.”
He laughed. “Rhetorical question, baby.” He kissed me. “But I do.”
“Have I ever told you how much I love how you fuck me?” I returned.
“Only every time I’m inside you.”
I dug my nails into his sides as he shifted and entered me at a new angle. I opened my mouth as little gasps escaped.
“You close, Addy?”
“Uh…uh…” I nodded.
I squeezed his cock with my pussy.
“Yeah, you like it when I come in you, don’t you?”
I could hear the grin in his voice.
I did. I really did. I’d always practiced safe sex, except with Maddox. If he ever tried to use a condom, I’d probably rip it off him.
“Yeah, I love coming in your bare pussy, too. I love knowing that my cum is inside you. I hope other males can smell it on you, so they know you’re mine.”
I screamed out and clutched Maddox to me as I came.
He pushed me hard against the wall, spread my legs out, and shoved inside me one last time as he exploded, filling me with his seed.
After we both caught our breaths, Maddox gently set my legs on the ground. I was grateful for the care, as they were shaking from having sex and the position they’d been in.
Maddox took my tank top and bra off and threw them behind him. “Better.” He ran his hand down my throat and to my crotch where he pushed two fingers into me. He was gentle but thorough.
I gasped and clutched his biceps.
He pulled his hand away and then stuck his fingers in my mouth. This wasn’t the first time he’d done that, and I loved watching the heat flare in his eyes when I seized hold of his hand and sucked his fingers clean.
He growled and kissed me, and I shared the taste of us with him.
He drew his mouth away, grabbed his gun, and picked me up under my knees.
I laughed. “What are you doing?”
“Taking you to bed.”
I sighed in contentment and rested my head on his shoulder. “Okay.”
He laid me down in his big bed, put his gun in the nightstand, and got in next to me.
“Why the gun when I got back tonight?” I understood he’d thought someone might be breaking in, but it seemed kind of extreme.
He put his arms behind his head. “It’s going to sound weird, but after I got back from working out this afternoon, I swear, someone had been in my apartment.”
I shivered. The whole thought of someone being in my personal space without my knowledge creeped me out. “Was anything missing or out of place?”
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