Page 161

He sipped and said casually, “No debate, babe. You’re callin’ the shots with this. And I’m making sure he knows you are.”
“Can I call the shots and ask you not to go confront my dad?” I requested.
“No,” he denied.
“Javi!” I snapped.
Suddenly, his coffee was down, my coffee was down, and I was astride his hips, my chest pressed to his, and his face was in mine.
Oh boy.
“I get you,” he growled. “I’m not letting you do what I’m gonna do. But my decision about my father is made. There’s nothing he can do about it. Yours isn’t. You need space. You need time to think. And you’re gonna get it without getting into some text shit or taking some phone call and having them wiggle into your head, fucking it up.”
“Jav—”
He cut me off. “So it’s gotta be me who shares they wait. If they can’t, that helps you make your decision. But until you’re ready to do whatever you’re gonna do, they are gonna lay the fuck off. I’m starting with your dad. He can tell the other two.”
“I could just block him until I’m ready to talk to him.”
“He know where you live?”
“I’m not living there at the moment.”
“He know where you work?”
Bluh.
I said nothing.
“Yeah,” Javi grunted. “Your fruit is in my fridge. Your yoga mat is in my other bedroom. Your ass is in my bed. I’m your guy. And I’m not only gonna do this, I gotta do this.”
This was definitely Alpha Man Territory (with capital letters), and since I as yet had not had my training, I had to tread cautiously.
“I can take care of myself, sweetheart,” I said carefully.
“I know. And you been doin’ that with them for thirty years,” he returned. “But you’re not alone now.”
“You’re not either,” I pointed out.
“I know,” he replied.
“So…you take care of me, what quid pro quo do I get with that?”
He stared at me.
Hard.
“And don’t you mention slutty cheerleaders,” I warned.
“Babe,” he whispered, and his tone made me go on high alert.
“What?” I whispered back.
“This is why my sisters will never get it, but it’s something”—he gave me a powerful squeeze—“you’ve gotta get.”
“What?” I said a lot more tremulously this time.
He didn’t hesitate to rock my world.