Page 11

Chapter Ten

Jeff

When we pull into a tree-lined drive, my heart is pounding. Lu is barely holding herself together. She’s trembling uncontrollably, and her face is so pale I’m considering turning us around and heading for a hospital. Of course, there’s a problem with that. Satan’s Ransom is so connected they’d know the second we arrived.

“Sit tight for a minute,” I tell her in my most soothing but stern voice and reach for the glove box where I pull out the keys for the cabin. “We’ll be safe here.”

Jumping out of the truck, I head up the steps for the door which is lit by the headlights. The cabin needs upkeep as no one’s been here for a while, but it’ll be safe.

Too many memories assault me as I enter and flick on the lights. Lisa lived here full time when she was pregnant with Reece. I can almost see her sitting on the old sofa, her belly round, cheeks flushed from the fire, and a pile of knitting on her lap. It’s like a punch to the gut, especially the smile I remember on her face.

My sister had never been happier than when she was in this cabin, pregnant and safe from Preacher. When I turn back to get Lu, her shivering form is lit by the interior light of my truck. Her vacant-looking wide blue eyes, and ghostly pale appearance sends the reverie away just as fast as it came. The emotion lingers though, and I have to swallow hard to work away the thickness sitting in my throat.

Lu will not end up like Lisa. I won’t let that happen. No. Fucking. Way.

I scoop Lu up. “You need to wrap your arms around my neck. Hold on to me, okay?” I look down at her in my arms. She’s so light. I press my lips, a bit annoyed with myself for not pushing her to eat more. Goddammit, why didn’t I? It was obvious by the way she reacted to my dominance in the truck that she could handle it. In fact, better than handle it. But I know the answer. She didn’t trust me then. And maybe only barely now.

I have a lot of explaining to do. And some of what I tell her could end that trust. Setting her on the old sofa, I grab an Afghan and tuck it around her.

“Lu?”

“Hm?”

Lu answers me in a tone that makes my blood run cold and my gut sink like a rock. No different than the way Lisa used to answer my demanding questions after she’d been in a fight with Preacher. Like she’s not even there—just as automatic as an answering machine message.

Lu’s not here right now. Leave a message and she’ll get back to you.

“Babydoll, look at me.” My words are curt, demanding, and a little fear filled.

She cocks her head, but her expression remains neutral.

“Tell me what happened back there.” I swallow hard. After what my sister went through, after learning what sick bastards both Slash and Preacher could be, I’m afraid to hear the answer. But she was okay in the truck and she wouldn’t have been if something horrific happened, right?

It’s just shock.

She makes some sort of noise and I can’t tell if it’s a murmur or an actual word, but I don’t waste time trying to figure it out. I head back to the bathroom and twist the taps on to get water through the pipes. The nearest neighbor around here is seven acres to the right, but he lives in his cabin full time. His cabin doesn’t have direct access to the lake but ours does, so we let him use our property for both hunting and launching and mooring his boat from our dock. He returns our kindness by checking on our cabin regularly, running the water weekly, and although we never ask, filling our freezer with fresh fish and keeping our wood pile high.

The water is clear and warms quickly so I pop the plug in the bottom of the clawfoot. I glance around for something girly to put in the tub and find some lavender bath beads and dump in the rest of the jar.

I glance at Lu as I head to the front to grab wood, her gaze catching mine and she nods as if reading my mind.

You still okay?

Yep, all good.

I load my arms and carry the wood to the stone hearth, dropping the logs with a clatter before heading back to turn off the water. Lu’s still shivering under the blanket, as I pile kindling in the fire. As soon as I get the fire to take, I leave it, grabbing her off the sofa, again noting how light she is, and carrying her, blanket and all, to the bathroom.

The tub is full and the water has a purple hue, steam curling from it. The silence seems heavier in the small moist bathroom. I lean down, kiss Lu’s head and set her gently onto her feet.

“I’m going to take care of you, okay? You can trust me.” I start by taking the blanket, setting it on the commode. Then watching her, reading her expression, I ask, “Do you trust me? Can I help you get into the tub?”

She nods.

“I need to hear it, babydoll.”

“Yes.” It comes out quietly and she’s not looking at me when she says it, but then her eyes flick to mine. “I trust you.”

I release a breath, knowing how hard that was for her, for the strong survivor to ask for help. She lifts her arms and I remove her sweatshirt. It’s a grey hoodie with too many holes and I toss it to the side like that damn garbage it is. I’ll buy her a hundred good ones to replace it. Underneath she wears a faded concert tee. I look up at her, needing her to talk.

“Did you go to this concert?” I ask as she raises her arms again for me to remove the shirt.

“Gage—” She stops suddenly and her vision clears. Her brow wrinkles. “You know Gage?”

“Yes, he’s… he was the MC’s best dealer. Or was.” I chew over the decision to add more and decide honesty is best. “I had him under surveillance until you found him that night. After that, you were my focus. I was trying to get enough on him so I could blackmail him to roll on them. So I could prove Preacher killed my sister because the cops refused to investigate. You were my next best choice when I lost him.”

She swallows. “Your sister? Reece’s mom? Preacher murdered her?” Her eyes grow unfocused and she looks away. “I’m so sorry.”

“Babydoll, you have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I’m sorry I can’t help. I don’t know anything.” Her eyes flick to mine. “I understand now though. You’d do anything for family. And that’s…” She looks down. “Brave. Admirable even. Two things I’m not.”

I take her hips in my hands, giving them a reassuring squeeze. “You’re the bravest woman I know.” She looks so sad that the rock sitting in my gut triples in size.

“Gage is my foster brother. Saved my life when we were kids. He took me to this concert. ” She smiles at the memory but then it’s gone. “We lost touch. I…” Her throat works a few seconds before she continues and I kneel, helping her remove her shoes and socks. She was there for her brother. Not because she was an addict or a dealer or prostitute. Not because she was involved with Satan’s Ransom. Why hadn’t I thought of that? What the fuck kind of investigator was I?

Feeling like a moron, I rub warmth into her legs with my hands, promising myself I’ll spend my life making all this up to her— if she lets me.

“I thought I was better than him.” She looks at me, her eyes welling, before tipping her head back to keep the tears at bay. She smiles then, but it’s a bitter one. “Because I went to college? Got a diploma and a decent job?” She shakes her head. “I’m an asshole. He had a brain injury, for fuck’s sake.” Her eyes, hard and angry, find mine. “You were right. In your note. I am a jackass.”

I just listen and soothe with my touch as she gets it all out.

“He called me a few weeks before he overdosed. He wanted my help.” A choking sound erupts from her and she shivers.

I want to hold her, hug her to me, but I don’t. Not when it might stop her from getting out what she needs to.

“How could I refuse after he almost died for me? How could I? But I didn’t go see him for three weeks. And I didn’t want to. I went out of guilt, not family loyalty or love.” She gathers a breath. “I found him on the floor. He wanted my help getting clean and I failed him.” Whimpering, she adds, “I was too late.”

“You’re so brave, baby, so damn brave. You went. No matter your reasons, you went to him.”

She blinks at me and as if not really hearing my words, continues. “I was so upset. With him. At the drugs. Once the ambulance arrived…” She shakes her head, knocking a few tears loose from her lids and they slip down her cheeks. “I dumped them all.” Her eyes flick to mine. They’re wild for a moment as if she can’t believe she did what she’s telling me. “I dumped Satan’s Ransom’s drugs down the toilet and left, walked right out the door and into Python’s clutches.” She curses. “So stupid.”

“Not stupid,” I say, rubbing the cold from her arms. “Impulsive.”

She looks at the water. “I couldn’t stay and explain what I’d done to the authorities. What if they thought I was involved, charged me with evidence tampering?” She swipes a hand over her cheeks and winces as she brushes away more stray tears. “Then Satan’s Ransom said I had to pay them back for their loss. They didn’t know I dumped them at first. Just thought they were confiscated by the cops. But they’ve got guys on the inside, so they knew eventually. And either way I was responsible in their eyes, because I called nine-one-one.”

“Babydoll, I’m so sorry.”

“They told me tonight that Gage disappeared after getting out of rehab.” Her eyes find mine again. “That’s why they decided they were going to start—” She swallows, gulps air and then swallows again. “Selling my body.” Her brow lifts. “Or renting it out until they found a buyer that wanted me.” She laughs as she lowers her gaze to her feet. It’s a damn haunting sound.

“I thought I escaped that bullshit. The way we grew up, Gage and I, no one would be shocked by his lifestyle. But I fought. I put myself through school.” She stops and her eyes rise to mine. “Do you know this? How much do you know about me?”

I press my lips, helping her out of her leggings. She doesn’t look upset by the thought of me watching her now. “I know you. I know your basic background too, but, Tallulah, I know you.” I take her hand. “You’re full of spunk and sarcasm. And you’re tough, yeah, but funny too, and there’s a sweet girl on the inside as well. I see it. In your eyes. In the way you dance to that little radio on your cart when no one’s around and the way you respond to my…” I smirk, my lips quirking up. “Grizz Daddy.”

Her brow rises and a crooked smile spreads on her face. “I do respond to that, don’t I?” Her cheeks flush and she bites her bottom lip. “I really responded to that little spanking today.” Her words are quiet, shy, and the pink on her cheeks brightens. She looks down at herself in nothing but a pair of pale pink panties.

“Only one thing left.” Her eyes find mine. There’s something in them that makes my cock tighten. “Gonna make me do it myself, Grizz?”

I swallow. “Nope.” I reach for the band and she stops my hands.

“Distract me.” Again, she nibbles that beautiful lip. “Please.”

“Tell me what you want, babydoll. Be clear, because I want you, but I won’t take advantage.”

“I need you. Make me forget what happened tonight.” A little smile, sexy as hell, plays on her pretty mouth. “Fucking dirty-Daddy the hell out of me tonight.”

My mouth curves up on one side and I shake my head. “You are one hell of a woman, Tallulah Jane Olsen.” I slide the panties down. The scent of her arousal hits me and my heart rate spikes. “Step out.”

She does and even though she’s too thin, she’s gorgeous.

“Into the tub now, babydoll. I’m going to take care of you.” I give her a playful swat on the bottom and she giggles.

Lu bloody well giggles and the sound is heavenly.

I steady her as she steps into the hot liquid, my cock becoming painfully hard as she slips down and pleasure blossoms on her face. “Close your eyes.”

Her lids slip closed while I wash her. Soaking her hair with warm water, I suds the shampoo into a foamy lather with massaging fingers before moving on to work soap against her skin.

When my hands wash her small breasts, I note her thigh squeeze and she gasps softly. The sound makes my gut tighten. I take my time, massaging, lathering with care and working her nipples into tight buds.

I help her sit forward, scrub her back, and tell her to stand. She does without hesitation, opening her thighs for me to soap between them.

As I wash her thoroughly, her head falls back, a quiet moan passing her lips.

“More?”

Her eyes stay closed while her head bobs. “Yes.”

I rinse her and she hisses as my hand slips between her slit. “Still cold?” My voice is husky, my words a little broken with the intensity of my own need.

She chokes out a little laugh. “God, no.”

I reach forward and tweak a nipple. “Then why are these so tight and your skin so pebbled with goosebumps?”

“Because…” She gasps and arcs her body as I rise and take her nipple into my mouth. I suck hard and she twists, simultaneously pulling away and pushing closer. I hum a laugh against her and flick my tongue against the hard bud.

Pulling off just enough to speak, I say, “Back in the water now, babydoll.”

I grab her ass and squeeze, helping her lower into the tub. “Water temperature okay?” I ask as my hand finds its way between her legs again.

“Mm, yeah,” she murmurs.

When she’s lowered enough for the water to cover her shoulders, I take her leg, hooking it over the edge of the clawfoot tub. She’s open to the water, and my eyes. I lean closer to her face, one hand cupping her head while the other slides between those open legs to her pussy. I kiss her, slow, deep and hot, matching the invasion of my tongue in her mouth with my fingers gently probing between her pussy lips. I massage her clit—slow and thorough. She’s eager for more and pushes herself against my fingers.

“Please. Faster,” she says on a gasp against my lips.

“Hush, baby, Daddy won’t always be so gentle.” I growl into her mouth when she squirms, rolling her hips against my hand.

She moans, giving me a sense of her urgency. But I control the speed and intensity. I’m running this show because right now that’s what she needs whether she realizes it or not. She’s been faking being in control for so long now.

I slip a finger inside her and she tilts her hips as I stroke her. Her breath hitches as the pad of my thumb circles her nub and she calls out when I add another digit and stroke her in just the right spot. I work her and she tenses, tighter and tighter, her breath heaving and catching, her thighs squeezing and opening.

“That’s it, babydoll, feel it.”

She makes a strangled noise and her breath comes out in pants. My mouth clamps down over her nipple and I nip, roll, and suck. She clutches the sides of the tub with both hands and holds her breath.

“Let me feel you come undone, Tallulah Jane.”

My words seem to knock away the last of whatever’s holding her back and she explodes around my fingers, rocking against my hand. One second, she’s shoving against my chest as I continue to play with her sensitive clit, the next she’s tugging me closer. My cock is hard, my balls heavy and begging for release, but this isn’t about me. It’s about this girl finally coming undone in my tub. It’s about the woman I’d do anything to protect.

And when she’s sated, lying limp in the now tepid water, I lift her, toss a towel over her, and carry her to the bed. I dry her off, help her into one of my t-shirts and cover her up tight before tucking myself behind her blanketed body to hold her.

“You’re mine, babydoll, all mine. And I’ll tear down anyone who tries to hurt you.”