“He loves her,” she says, looking down once we step into the elevator. I look at our reflection in the gold mirrored doors. We look perfect together. Her legs reach to Heaven in those heels. My eyes run up her body beside mine.
“I just don’t understand it,” she says. “I mean, she put you in jail. You almost got sent to prison. How can he give two shits about her?”
My eyes reach her face. It was reckless what my brother did with that girl. I had a bad feeling the moment I walked into the basement the night I got arrested. I knew something was off. I could have put my hands around Jace’s throat for letting that bitch in.
“It’ll pass,” I say. “Jace isn’t the kind to settle. He’ll get over it.”
“What if he doesn’t?” she says as the doors slide open for us to step off.
“Trust me. I know my brother. He will. Another chick will come along, and he’ll forget about the cunt who tried to ruin everything for us.”
“I hope you’re right.” She exhales. With her hand in mine, we walk inside my apartment.
“Well, that took long enough,” Lou says.
I glance over at K to see if she’s blushing. She holds it together well. Pride fills my chest. My girl is sneaky. I just fucked her, and now she stands in front of my family composed and gorgeous as ever.
“Yeah, the wait was insane,” she says. “Want a beer, baby?” She turns to me.
I nod as Pops walks over. “Glad to see you home, my boy.” He gives me a hug and pats my back. “I’ve got to get home. It’s getting late, and Emily will be worried about me driving in the dark.” He winks.
I narrow my eyes because it’s weird to hear Pops talk like that. He is getting older, but I don’t care to think about it.
“You better get on then, old man,” I say with a playful smile.
“You two come on out and stay for a while. Figure out what your next step is.”
I nod as K hands me a beer before taking a sip of her own. “I’ve got other plans, but maybe soon.”
He hugs Lou and then K. “Give me a call.” He walks out, and all that’s left are Lou, K, and I. I lean against the countertop and enjoy my beer, pulling K beside me. I can’t get enough of her. She slips her heels off and leans on me with her ankles crossed.
Lou’s eyes move from me to my girl. “I’m glad to see you two back together,” she says.
I look down at K. “Yeah,” I reply. “That was a big shitshow.”
Lou leans on the kitchen island, linking her fingers together with narrowed eyes. “I don’t know how you got out of it, Bryson.” She unclasps her hands and holds them up. “And I don’t want to know, but I’m damn sure glad you did.
“Maybe this family can have some peace for a while if Jace doesn’t do anything insane.” She exhales. Standing upright, she pushes her blue-jeaned sleeves up her arms. “I’m afraid he’s seeing that detective, though.”
“You think so?” K says, lifting her head from my shoulder.
“Oh, I’m pretty sure.”
My blood starts to boil. “Well, he won’t bring her around me.”
Lou sighs. “Don’t let something like this tear you two apart. We can’t help who we love. You know that just as much as anyone.”
She’s referring to Mary, but that’s different. That’s the woman who gave birth to me. I didn’t choose her.
“He better fucking help it,” I say, bringing my beer to my lips.
Lou gives me a look, but I ignore it. It’s getting late, I’m tired, and I just want to hang out with my woman. I don’t want to be rude, but damn.
Lou gets the hint when I don’t apologize at her look. “I’ll give you two some privacy. Call me if you need anything.”
I nod. “’Preciate it.”
“Bye, Lou,” K says.
The door clicks shut after Lou says her goodbyes and gives us both a hug. K lifts her shoes from the floor and places her bottle on the counter.
I down mine before grabbing her and setting her up on the counter beside her beer. With her heels hooked in her fingers, she laughs, her hair falling around her face. I move it, my eyes roaming over her smiling lips. I swallow, my stomach in knots. I know I’m an asshole. I know I demand things of this woman, but the truth is, she has me by the balls. She’s completely in charge, and for the first time in my life, I don’t care. “Go somewhere with me.”
She halts her smile at my serious expression, her hand going up to the side of my face. “Anywhere,” she says. “Where you go, I go.”
Chapter Eleven
Kathrine
Golden splits of light come in through the blinds in our bedroom, filled with a swirl of dust. I inhale, feeling a heavy weight on my chest. Looking down, I see a head full of brown hair and a sleeping Bryce. He’s curled around me, like he’s floating in the vast sea and I’m his life raft.
But I’m fucking hot and I gotta pee like something serious. I move, but he grips tighter.
“Bryce, I gotta get up.”
“Uh-uh.”
“No?” I question with a smirk.
“No, I’m too comfortable.” I reach up and run my fingers through his hair. “Don’t you need to go work out or something?”
“No. I’m fucking tired. Stop talking,” he says.
I exhale. Shortly after Lou left, we went up and took a shower and then Bryce got a phone call. He told me it was the loose ends he had to tie up. It was late when he got home, and I didn’t sleep well until he crawled into bed. He pulled me to him, and we fell asleep contently. I’m tired, he’s tired, but I have a life I need to get back to. Mugs & Books hasn’t been getting my full attention, and I need to talk to Claire and Austin. I move again and he reaches up and digs his fingers into my ribcage. I jerk and try to move away from him, laughing.
“Don’t move,” he says.
“Bryce I gotta pee, man,”
“I don’t care.” He holds me, but I wiggle again, earning another dig into my ribs, which makes me laugh more. He jumps up, his hair wild and all over his head. I grin at how adorable he is, but then his fingers go nuts on my ribs and side relentlessly.
I laugh until it hurts, crossing my legs, because I’m about to pee in this damn bed.
“Stop,” I say, trying to breathe.
“Promise you’ll come back to bed once you go to the bathroom,” he says, still tickling me.
“Okay, okay!” I say, laughing.
“Say you promise,” he says, keeping up his onslaught.
“Fuck, I promise. I promise!”
He stops and looks down at me in a ball. He lifts his hands. “You may go.”
I huff and jump out of the bed, pissed that I had to deal with that. Before I shut the bathroom door, I turn around to look at him on his knees, shirtless with bed hair and gray sweats hanging from his hips. His tattoos stand out against his pale skin. His lean body, perfect in every way.
He looks eatable.
“Tricked ya,” I say, sticking my tongue out, seeing him jump off the bed before I shut the door and click the lock.
“K, you better open this door.”
I laugh as I get to my business.
“I’ll take it off the hinges,” he says.
“Do what you must.” I roll my eyes. So overdramatic. He slams his hand against the door, causing me to jump. I giggle to myself and wash my hands after I flush the toilet. I brush my teeth and splash water onto my face and then I hear a drill.
I turn, looking at the door with the towel in my hands. I narrow my eyes as my mouth opens slightly. “Bryce. You better not be doing what I think you are.”
“I fucking am,” he barks. My jaw hits the floor as the door comes loose at the top. I rest my hand on my hip, watching as he removes it.
“This is insane,” I say. “We need privacy.”
With easy grace he lifts the door and places it against the bedroom wall.
“Not from me you don’t.” He grabs ahold of the top of the doorway, black ink stretching, his Mad Hatter tattoo
smiling mischievously. His tongue hits the roof of his mouth. His eyes drop to my bare legs. I’m in his T-shirt, which smells like him and me mixed. His blues jump back to my face.
“You better run,” he says. “I’m giving you a head start, but when I catch you, and I will catch you, K,” he licks his lips, “you’ll be sorry you locked me out.”
I swallow, my eyes darting to the bedroom door. My pulse quickens as my throat closes in on itself. Being chased by someone isn’t something that thrills me.
But being chased by Bryce Grant…now that’s different.
A burst of adrenaline flies throughout my nervous system, buzzing everything inside of me to life.
“Five seconds,” he says, stepping out of the way.
I toss the towel onto the countertop.
Fuck me.
I dart out of the bathroom and head for the door, bolting down the hall, just as I’m swooped up off my feet. I squeal and laugh hard as he grips my stomach. My spine prickles, my heart beats happy. He carries me back to the room and tosses me onto the bed before his body covers mine. Hard muscles on top of soft. “I like when you run, K.”
His face is serious, his lips pouty. His hair is a perfect mess, the whites in his eyes clear and bright, causing the sapphire to stand out like the gems they are. I feel his hardness touch my belly, and my clit flutters with anticipation.
I want him.
Inside me.
Touching me.
Fucking me until I grip the bed sheets in my fists and come around his cock. He looks down at me, his eyes drilling into my soul.
“Don’t move,” he demands against my neck before he kisses my skin softly. He walks to the bathroom and leaves me looking at the ceiling fan as it spins above. I think about how I almost didn’t have this, because my guy is a bad boy and does reckless things. He walks back out, and I sit up on my elbows.
“Take my shirt off,” he says.
The way he looks at me. Adoration and love.
Wonder and lust.
No one could ever make me feel like he does.
I sit up, reaching for the bottom of the shirt before I pull it over my head. I toss it onto the floor, lying before him in nothing but my panties. My breasts are heavy, my nipples harden.
It doesn’t go unnoticed by him.
“Now your panties,” he says.
His voice is lust-filled and makes my stomach flutter. I feel so exposed, but I’ve never cared less.
I lie back on the bed and lift my hips. Sliding my underwear down, I toss them over with the shirt. My thighs are clammy, my wetness sticking to them and he hasn’t even touched me.
“Spread your legs,” he says. I lick my lips anxiously, but one thigh at a time, I spread them for him.
“Fuck,” he says as he cups his dick through his sweats. “I could come just looking at you.”
Normally, I’d be shy and super self-conscious, but I love this man. Through and through. I’d do anything for him.
He walks over to me, dropping to his knees. I watch him, his eyes focusing on my center. His fingers rise and he slides one from my clit to my entrance. I shiver and shut my eyes as he repeats this movement. “You’re fucking soaked,” he says, his voice thick with want. He sounds so damn hot I could die.
Over and over he rubs me. It’s just light enough of a touch to drive me fucking mad.
I shift my feet, lifting my hips because I need more. I need this to be harder. My clit throbs, and my core tightens.
“You want me?” he asks.
“Yes,” I say.
He dips two fingers inside of me, and I arch my back as I grab the comforter.
And then I feel his tongue.
Bryce licks me like I’m ice cream on a hot summer day, causing me to shut my eyes and ride his face with pure shameless pleasure. He works his fingers, curving them as he sucks, and rolls his tongue. My thighs tighten, my toes curl, and a burst of hot satisfaction rushes throughout my body.
I’m soaring above the clouds, arms wide, my soul filled with ecstasy.
I hardly register love as he climbs on top of me. His breath is minty from just brushing his teeth. That Bryce smell surrounds me, soaking comfort into my bones. It’s like running through the Georgia woods, breathing in fresh pine and earth.
“Tell me you love me,” he says. “Tell me that everything I feel you feel, too.”
I open my eyes, descending from my flight in the clouds. I look at my guy, so beautiful. Heart of gold but could rip you to shreds in the next beat. Love isn’t just a word between us two. It’s a gut-shattering feeling that’s changed us both in so many fucking ways. It’s opened up a whole new life for us. Once upon a time, two people couldn’t have been more closed-off and hesitant.
Our past did a number on us.
But in the midst of the darkness, we found each other. And to know that he found me when I was just a girl. A scared, lonely girl.
I no longer feel lost.
I always wondered about the boy I looked at out my window and now here he is. I know his history, and his heart. “I love you more than any person could ever love another.”
“Not possible,” he says with a slight lift of his lip. He slips inside me and his smile turns into a sexy pout. He groans as he loves me. I reach up and kiss his lips. His arms shake beside me, his body moving effortlessly. The world outside fades, leaving only us as the comforter falls to the floor. The sheets bunch under us, and we love like it’ll be our last.
Chapter Twelve
Bryce
After I reluctantly let K go to Mugs & Books, I get a shower and call my brother. His phone goes to voicemail, which isn’t like him. He always answers my calls, even when we’re fighting.
“Hey, punk. Call me.”
I toss my phone onto the coffee table and flop down on the couch. Running my hand through my wet hair, I roll my neck, thinking about last night after I got the phone call from my lawyer.
I hated to leave Kat. I wanted to settle the fuck down and enjoy being home, but I knew I needed to take care of this shit as soon as possible. Especially since I have plans to take her out of the country.
Walking into the judge’s chambers after hours seemed shady as fuck. No one was there except a few security officers. My lawyer met me at the back entrance.
“This won’t take long,” he says.
I nod. “Good.”
The judge sits with his glasses on in his leather office chair behind a mahogany desk. His white sleeves are rolled up to his elbows and he looks tired. Not the tired you look after a long day, but tired like life’s hard and he’s just dealing.
He looks up. “Let’s get this over with.” He grabs his phone. “Come in,” he says into the headset. Moments later, a man strolls in with a brown suit on. He sets a laptop down onto the desk and fires it up.
“After this, no one will ever know you were arrested. It will be as if it never happened,” the judge says. “I’m a man of my word.”
“Good.” I nod.
I watch as the computer guy logs into a system filled with convicts and wrongdoers just like me, and one by one he erases me as if I was never there at all.
No fingerprints, no mug shot. Nothing. To the rest of the world, I’m just a guy who once owned a nightclub. To me, I’m a man who built an empire and sold it to the highest bidder so he could be with the woman he loves.
I’m pussy-whipped, and I thought I’d never see the day. Once we’re finished with the technicalities, I stand up as does my lawyer. With ease in my step and a better feeling in my chest than when I came in here, I head for the door after we say our goodbyes, but the judge stops us.
“Can I give you a word of advice, boy?”
With my hand on the doorknob I turn to face him. “By all means,” I reply.
“Pick better friends,” he says.
I narrow my eyes. “I think my friend just got me out of a shitload of trouble.”
He nods. “Yeah, but you know what they say when you lay down wit
h dogs.”
I chuckle. “I haven’t felt an itch yet.”
He eyeballs me. “This is a warning. I’ve been in this business a long time. Just because you got out of one mess doesn’t mean you won’t get into another.”
I wonder why this man feels the need to tell me this, but for some reason, his warning stirs something within me. I know Danny and his crew are rough men. I knew that the moment I laid eyes on him in the basement, but the boy just got me out of a prison sentence, so all I can do is be grateful and move on with my life. This feeling will fade.
“Noted,” I say.
“Y’all go on now.” He dismisses us and we head back where we came from. Once outside, my lawyer turns to me and hands me an envelope. It’s thick and heavy.
“No paper trail this way,” he says. “Don’t open it here. Trust me when I say it’s all there.”
“Okay.”
“Bones says you’re welcome at Red anytime. He also says he hopes you’ll stay in touch.” He slides a card from his front pocket to hand to me.
I remember back on my conversation with Danny in that visiting room. I remember how I got to see the man behind the black and how in a different life we might have been friends.
“But if I were you, I’d toss that card and leave all of this behind. Move on,” he says. “The judge is right to warn you. Being connected with men like Bones…” He shakes his head. “It never ends up good. Take care, Bryce. If you ever need anything, you know where to find me.”
With that, he hurries off to his car, leaving me standing with an envelope full of cash and a card that comes with a warning.
_____________
Kathrine
The air feels different, the sun smiles bigger, the wind is cooler, and the pep in my step is surely noticed.
I’m happy.
Fucking ecstatic.
I’m driving through Atlanta traffic, and there’s roadwork so I get detoured. I get stopped at red lights, staring out my window at drainpipes filled with cigarette butts and swept-up leaves. I almost hit a person on his bike as he comes off the Atlanta BeltLine. My car is on empty, and I have to stop for gas just as the bottom falls out.
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