She put her hand on his arm. “Dad, I believe we can repair our relationship. I want that.”
“Bullshit.”
The word was spoken so quietly she wasn’t sure that was what he’d said. “What?”
His head came up like a snake ready to strike. Red eyes, a scowling brow, and a sneer had taken the place of the concerned man she’d sat down with. “I said, bullshit. If you wanted a relationship, then you would have done what I asked you to do. You’ve ruined everything for me. You’ve cost me millions of dollars in this broken deal and for what? Because I didn’t hug you enough as a child? Give me a break. You’re a grown woman who knows the score. We had a agreement and you broke it.” He stood and kicked the rocker. “I’m done with you.”
She braced herself for the devastating reality that it was really over, but all she felt was an overwhelming sense of relief. She was sure she’d be sad for some time to come, but not devastated. This man hadn’t earned her adoration, her love, her loyalty. He was toxic to her, exactly like he’d been to her mother. “I’m sorry you feel that way.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” he mocked. “Let’s see how sorry you are when you’re homeless and begging for a job. I’ll be taking your law practice, your house, and your car.”
She laughed. She couldn’t help it. “Are you kidding me right now? I may have acted like an idiot by agreeing to marry Doug, but I assure you that I’m anything but. You gifted me those things, and they’re mine.” His threat was so empty and yet so cruel that she knew this was the end for her. No more trying to be what he wanted in hopes of an honest relationship with him, just no more. “But you know what, I don’t want them. Not one thing. I don’t need your money or your things. Take ’em. Take ’em all. I can buy my own.” She spread her arms wide. “You bought me a fantastic education, Dad. I can do anything I want.” The truth of those words shot confidence to her soul.
His hands went to his hips. “Oh, really. How are you going to do that? You have nothing now.” He spit out a half laugh. “You’re like your mother. Always wanting someone else to take care of you.”
His hateful words, that usually stung, rolled off her and pooled in a scummy puddle at her feet. She wasn’t her mother, even though she understood her mother much better now. And she was capable of taking care of herself.
Excitement for a new challenge in her life and freedom from his kind of poison loosened her muscles, and she smiled. “I’m not sure yet, but I’ll figure it out. Until then, I have friends who will help and support me.”
She’d lived off the scraps of his affection for so long that her heart was malnourished. But she deserved a banquet of love in her life, and she had people ready and willing to give her exactly that. Scarlett and Gavin, Floyd, Honey, and Joyce…but mostly she knew Jack would be in her corner until she could get on her feet.
Speaking of the man, she could see him behind her dad at the screen door with murder on his face. All she had to do was say the word and he’d storm into the situation and deal with her father. But that was her job and her right to send him away. She crossed her arms over her chest. “You should go, Dad.”
“Now wait a damn minute.” Pink colored his neck and cheeks. “Let’s talk about this.”
She knew he thought he could bully her into doing what he wanted, and now he was scrambling to find another way to get her to comply. “There’s nothing else to talk about. Goodbye.”
“I’m not leaving without you.” He grabbed for her elbow.
Jack was on him before he ever touched her. He bent Marcus’s arm behind his back and Jack growled into his ear, “Try to put your hands on her again. You won’t like what happens.” He shoved Marcus into the porch rail.
The screech of the screen door and the cocking of a shotgun punctuated Jack’s threat. Kyle, Mitch, Mimi, and Leslie all poured onto the porch. Kyle handed the weapon to Mimi. “There you go, Mimi. It’s cocked and ready for you.
She wasn’t alone. These people cared for her and would stand with her. Amazing. She wasn’t one of them, but they had taken her in as if she were blood. This was what family felt like. The sensation fit perfectly in the hole that lived in her heart, filling it seamlessly. Something that made her stronger, better, and braver thumped through her newly healed organ.
The older woman pinned Marcus with the mother of all evil eyes. “I believe you’ve worn out your welcome, sir. I’d appreciate it if you’d move along now.” She leveled the firearm at him. “I hope you do what I say. Cleaning up blood is hard as hell.”
Marcus held his hands up and backed down the steps. “There’s no need to get crazy. I’m leaving.” He pinned Luanne with a glare. “I don’t deserve to be treated this way.”
As his car sped down the driveway, his last statement hung in the air.
Neither do I, Dad. Neither do I.
Chapter 27
Fury pounded against the inside of Jack’s skull. It had taken every ounce of self-control he possessed not to take Marcus Price to the ground and beat the piss out of him. How could a father be so heartless?
“You can unclench your teeth, Jack.” Luanne wrapped her arms around his waist. “He’s gone.”
His jaw ached from the effort of keeping his mouth closed while the man had been spouting his sewage. “I’m sorry, Luanne. I know you wanted me to stay inside. But I—”
“Thank you.” The softly spoken word helped quiet the storm raging through him.
“Anytime. But I am sorry that it didn’t go the way you wanted.”
She shrugged. “I’m okay.”
Kyle squeezed her shoulder. “Maybe not completely, but you will be. At least now you know.”
“Mother, give me that.” Mitch grabbed the shotgun from Mimi. “What were you thinking?” Before she could answer he turned to Kyle. “And what were you thinking?”
Kyle took the weapon from Mitch and broke the barrel apart. “It’s not loaded.”
“I—” Mitch’s anger deflated. “Oh, well.”
“Don’t worry, Mitch. I’m not in the business of arming senior citizens.” Kyle gave him a we’ll-talk-about-this-later glare.
“Hey, who are you calling a senior citizen?” Mimi asked.
Pride beat through Jack’s chest as he listened to his family. They’d stood up for Luanne. He’d tell them how much that meant to him, but not now. The only person who had his attention was the woman who owned him completely. “If you all will excuse us, Luanne and I have some things to discuss.”
“We do?”
He snagged her hand and towed her toward the door. “Oh, yeah.”
When they were inside the house and away from his family, she jerked him to a stop. “Do these things involve being naked?”
“Definitely.”
The naughtiest grin curled her lips. “Race you.” She took off up the stairs. Her laughter trailed behind her like flower petals floating in the wind.
“You don’t stand a chance, woman.” He caught up to her in three strides. Her squeal filled the air as he scooped her into his arms and ran with her the rest of the way up the staircase. “Get the door.”
She turned the knob and narrowed her gaze on him. “Is this how this is going to go? You bossin’ me around?”
He kicked the door closed. “Darlin’, I can boss you, you can boss me, I don’t really give a damn as long as we’re naked and tangled up together.”
Her fingers slid into his hair and she pulled his head down so their lips were only millimeters apart. “Good answer.”
Dizziness swam around his head when she opened her mouth over his. His heart sped to a crazy pace. The intensity of his desire firing off rockets through his bloodstream was making it hard to stand. Fine with him. He wanted her naked and underneath him as soon as possible.
Her lips were warm, sensual, and sinfully soft on his skin. His need for her cranked up one hot kiss after another. He welcomed the ache building inside him every single time she was near. He welcomed it like his next breath.
>
His fingers lightly trailed under her slender arms, still wrapped around his neck, and down the curve of her waist. Liquid fire burned deep inside him and his thoughts skipped from one delicious part of her to another. This had to slow down or it would be over way too soon. He pulled back enough to bury his head in the crook of her neck.
“You smell so good.” Her vanilla and citrus scent filled his head. The smell of her, the feel of her, the taste of her were all around him and in him. With every swipe of her tongue and slide of her lips, he fell deeper and deeper under her spell.
“Jack, put me down.”
Her urgent whisper confused him. That was the last damn thing he wanted to do. “What’s the matter? Did I hurt you? Wha—”
“I want to touch all of you.”
He wanted that too, more than anything. He released her legs and let her slide down the length of him. The pressure of her small body against his dick made them both gasp. One tiny movement shattered coherent thought as she flicked open the button of his jeans. “You’re killing me, Luanne.”
She glided her fingers over his nipples, through his t-shirt. “No dying before I’m done with you.”
He laughed. “You got it.” He knotted his fingers in her hair and bent to take her mouth again. Cinnamon and lust swirled on his tongue. Only she would satisfy his hunger, only she would fill his need. He ripped his mouth from hers. “Get on the bed, Luanne.”
For a moment, he wasn’t sure she’d comply. But then, with a sultry sway of her hips, she sat on the edge of the bed. “Like this?”
“Not quite. I think we discussed nakedness.” He stalked toward her.
Her pink-tipped nail went between her teeth. “You first.”
Damn, she wanted to play, but he was way past messing around. He took a deep breath then let it out slowly and shook his head. “Uh-uh. You first. Take it all off.”
She ripped her shirt over her head without an argument and tossed it to the side. He wasn’t exactly sure of the rules of the game they were playing, but he’d just scored. His already swollen cock nearly busted through his jeans when she unhooked her pink bra and let it fall to the ground.
“Perfect.” His vocal chords strangled around the word.
He bent and took one pebbled peak into his mouth and was rewarded with a desperate moan when he ran his tongue over the tip.
“Too many clothes.” She scooted higher on the bed and propped herself against the pillows, then shimmied down her pants and thong. Unashamed, brazen, and so damn hot that he wasn’t sure she wouldn’t scald him to death.
“Now you.”
There was no slow reveal or teasing show—he wanted his bare skin pressed against hers as fast as he could get there.
She batted her baby blues. “Counselor, what a big…ego you have.”
He laughed and gathered her to him. “Come here, baby. I’ll show you a big ego.”
Her leg hitched around his and she rolled him onto his back. “I think I’ll start here.”
She circled his flat nipple with her tongue and shivers raced over his body. With every slick pass of her mouth desire wound him tighter, until he was ready to break. “Lou, I want you.”
Her wicked smirk almost undid him. “I know. But not yet. I’m still playing. Besides, I owe you.”
The slow path she took down his body was better than all his fantasies. When her wet mouth closed over him, he nearly came undone. “Luanne.” Her name was a strangled cry.
Her lust drunk eyes peered up his body at him. “Hmm?” She purred around him.
“Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.
Jack’s strong arms clutched Luanne and hauled her up his body. His beautiful, fine body. There were no two ways about it—Jack Avery was man candy in every sense of the word.
His gaze burned for her. “You got something on your mind, counselor?” she asked him. His lazy grin had the same effect on her it always did. It was like drizzling hot chocolate over her girly parts.
He pushed a lock of hair from her face. “I’m wondering where you’ve been all my life.” His hand slid up and down her back. “Oh, I remember, trying to castrate me at every turn. How do you plead, Ms. Price?”
“Guilty as charged. A girl’s got to have goals.” She pushed herself into a sitting position until she straddled him. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ve changed my wicked ways.”
His big hands wrapped her bottom. “Mmmm, I hope not.”
She arched into his touch, needing more contact. “I have different plans for you now.”
“Do you now?” His finger skimmed the cleft of her bottom. “Funny, I have a few plans of my own.”
“Are they good? Wholesome?” The broad expanse of muscle and bone of his chest tapered down to the flat plane of his stomach and begged to be touched. Her fingers slipped down along each rib to the dark line of hair that disappeared between the apex of her thighs. He was magnificent.
“No.” He drew the word out, making it a promise, then threaded his fingers through her hair and pulled her down to him.
“Oh, good.” The game was over. She needed release.
The wet heat of his mouth covered the tip of her breast, the pleasure of it so shocking that she lost her breath. Only this man had ever made her feel this way. How had she lived her adult life not knowing this kind of pleasure, need, connection? That was the difference. She was connected to him on every level, body, mind, and soul.
Every touch of his lips, every word he spoke, every penetrating look went past her skin and her bones, right to her center.
She rose up on her knees, slipped her hand between them, and found him hard and ready. “Ready so soon, counselor?”
An intensity she’d never seen from him before washed over his eyes. “I’ve been ready since the moment I met you, Luanne.”
His words stole her breath, and two words were all she could manage. “Now, Jack.”
He sheathed himself with quick, jerky movements. “Whatever you want, baby. I’m yours.”
He encircled her hips and lifted her back over him. She slowly lowered herself onto him and stilled.
A hiss of air slid between his clenched teeth. “Oh, my God.” It was the exultation of a man dying who’d found water in the desert. Primal and raw, and so sincere that it made her want to cry. “Nothing has ever felt this good. Nothing. Give me a minute or this will be over before it starts.”
Gladly. She needed the time to get her riotous emotions under control. He overwhelmed her in every way. Also, he was large and she was small—two things that generally didn’t go together. She closed her eyes, let her head fall back, and tried to relax.
“You are a sight, Luanne Price.” The praise in his voice only made her want him more.
A chuckled slipped out while she was concentrating. “You think so?”
“I know so. Are you alright?”
“Yes. I’m reluctant to mention this, given your gigantic ego, but you’re rather large.”
“Am I now?” He clearly couldn’t hide the pleasure in his voice.
She snorted. “You know you are.”
He trailed his fingers along the tops of her legs. “Go slow. We’ve got all night.”
This was why she trusted him, because he trusted her. Slowly she began to move.
“Sweet Jesus.”
Power surged through her that she could make a strong man like Jack feel so much. “You like that?”
A long growl rumbled from his chest. “You have no idea. Come here.”
He took her by the shoulders and lowered her to him. He claimed her with his lips, not letting up until she was a mindless puddle. She pushed in closer, stroking his tongue with hers, mating, giving, taking. Her heart tripped into a free fall as he took control of the rhythm.
His hot, harsh breathing broke the silence of the room. “I want to take it slow, Lou. I want to give you time. But I don’t think I can.” His broken admission only pushed her higher.
“I want it all, Jack.”
>
He rolled them over, and the crumbling dam burst. He drove into her over and over again. Her heart rode the tidal wave, careening and crashing while their bodies moved in time with one another. He gave, and she took. She gave, and he took. On and on it went and with every touch, every point of contact he took possession of her body and soul.
With a final push, he spilled himself into her and she came apart in his arms. Her world shrank to this bedroom, his heart pounding against her breast, and the sound of their erratic breathing. She could live in this moment forever.
Time righted itself and the night closed in around them. Her skin cooled as they lay under the large ceiling fan.
“Are you alright?” His warm voice cocooned around her spent body.
“I’m great.” And she was. She couldn’t ever remember feeling this whole. This alive.
“I’ll be right back.” He made his way to the bathroom as she drifted between sleep and wakefulness. Then the bed dipped and he pulled her against his body. “Sleep, Luanne. I’ve got you.”
Much later, deep in the night when secrets are shared in the dark, he reached for her. She went willingly. She had nothing to hide from him. Their love-making was slow and deliberate. He held her face while he moved inside her and adored her with his body.
Incoherent and desperate whispers fell from their lips. She clung to him, giving and receiving things that neither could say during the light of day, words that promised things that would usually scare her to death. But she didn’t care. All that mattered was that they both reached that place where everything seemed possible, and consequences were far, far away.
They found it together. They both flew apart individually, but when they came back to themselves they were no longer two people, but their own creation, made of things she didn’t have words for but knew she couldn’t live without.
Brides on the Run (Books 1-4) Page 49