family, force, and
surprises
Link
I close my front door and make my way back to Avery.
Leo, a friend of the Maysons and a cop on the Nashville PD, has just left with Nico. I couldn’t let her put it off any longer—Avery needed to report what really happened. I’ve also spent an hour on the phone with the PD in Vegas so they can start looking for the owner of the strip club I managed and my old boss, Harry Brownlow. He did a stint in prison after they shut his club down for promoting prostitution, but he got out a month ago.
He’s apparently wandered all the way across the country to initiate some type of payback on me that resulted in an attack on Avery. Which means he’s here and trying to threaten me by hurting her.
No fucking way will I allow that to happen again.
He wanted my attention—he got it.
I’ve hired extra security for The Knot and, for the time being, I’m cutting our capacity by half to keep a closer eye. Until this is settled, my bottom line doesn’t matter. I’ll keep it up as long as it takes.
Avery wasn’t excited to explain why she didn’t tell the full truth to the campus police yesterday, but I convinced her the sooner she did, the sooner this would be done. Leo made her feel comfortable and assured us he’d follow up.
After what happened to her yesterday, I convinced her to sleep in and skip her classes this morning. Then I had to sway her to pack up and come to my house. She refused until I told her that if I had to use another pink towel, I’d have to hand in my man-card. She laughed out loud and finally gave in. Who knew she’d relent over pink towels when she didn’t give a shit about my high-tech security system?
The woman is something else.
When I get back to the kitchen, I find her ass in the air as she’s bent over digging through my refrigerator. I take a minute to enjoy the view before asking, “You hungry?”
She stands and looks to me, still holding the door wide open. “I’m trying not to be because if I were, there’d be nothing to eat.”
I shrug. “I’m not here much.”
“I can tell.” She shuts the door and puts her hands to her hips. “I’ll go to the store for you.”
I shake my head and go to her, not able to wait another second. Ever since I made her mine last night, it’s hard not to touch her. Putting one hand in her hair and the other on her ass, I pull her up for a kiss. “You’re not leaving my sight. I’ll take you to dinner, but I have to be at the club tonight, especially after what happened. Get ready—you’re coming with me.”
Her eyes widen. “Even in my illegal-underagedness?”
I squeeze her fine ass, enjoying the feel of it in my hand. “I’ll lock you up in my office. There’s no way I’d let you out on the floor after what happened. And quit talking about you being underaged. Makes me feel dirty.”
She grins. “After last night, I think you are kind of dirty.”
I shake my head and take a step back before I bend, putting my shoulder to her gut, hitching her over my shoulder.
“Link!”
“You think I’m dirty, huh?” I turn and head for the sofa as I put my hand on her ass to keep her from falling.
She grabs at mine where she’s hanging over my back and tries to keep from laughing. “You’ve definitely got some kink to your game.”
I flip her onto the sofa and come down on top of her, pinning her where she can’t move. “My game? My game is nothing compared to the spell you’ve cast on me. Who the hell are you, little one?”
Bringing her hands to my face, she runs her fingers up my neck and over my short hair. “I’m a Carpino. Unfortunately for the men in our lives, we breed sass. I should’ve warned you the night you bounced me from your club.”
I lean in, regretting the fact I don’t have time to strip her bare. If I’m going to feed her first, we need to be on our way—I’ve got too much to do at the club tonight. “It’s too late, baby. You’ve hooked me and I’m not letting go.”
I kiss her, pressing my now hard cock between her legs, wishing we were at the point where I could take her quick and not feel bad for it. But after yesterday, she deserves time and attention, not a fast fuck before we’re out the door.
She kisses me back and just when I’m about to rethink the quick fuck, my doorbell rings followed by edgy, sharp knocks. Sighing as I pull my lips away from hers, I lift my head and look over the arm of the sofa toward my front door where I see my fucking mother, of all people, glaring at me through the sidelight window.
“Fuck,” I groan and look back to Avery. “I’ll apologize now. It’s my mother.”
Her face falls and she whispers, “Can she see us?”
I can’t help but smile. “She can see me, but I’m a grown man and this is my house. I don’t give a shit what my mother thinks.”
My mother doesn’t like to be ignored, so in true fashion, she bangs on the door before ringing the bell twice in her bitchy form. When I lean down to kiss Avery again, she halts me with more whispered pleas. “Get off! You cannot lay here on top of me with your mother looking in. This is bad enough. Don’t make it worse.”
I push past her hold and kiss her fast before standing, holding a hand out to help her up. She fixes her rumpled clothes as best she can before I start to pull her with me, but she stops in place. When I look back, she’s staring at my front door with a horrified expression.
“What?” I ask.
“That’s your mother?” she whispers.
I shrug. “She might be a bitch and a pain in my ass, but I promise she’s harmless.”
“Holy shit. Of all the people in Nashville, what are the odds?”
“Open the door, Lincoln!” my mother shouts, still banging away.
“Link—” Avery calls, but I’ve already got the door open.
My mother wastes no time stepping over the threshold, but unlike what she usually does—starting in on me for some new way I’ve disappointed her—today she glares straight at Avery. Standing there in her expensive pant suit and low heels, she crosses her arms and sneers. “So, this is where you’ve been.”
I frown and look over at the woman who’s worked her way into my heart. She’s standing there biting her lip and looking one hundred percent guilty.
What the hell?