Page 13

Chapter

Thirteen

ADON

Her voice is frail, filled with panic, which I didn’t think a force like Piper could experience. It releases something inside of me until I’m tossing my wallet into my back pocket and racing through my garage to the truck.

“I’ll be right back, guys! Aunt Maria is in charge!” My mother’s sister is visiting for Thanksgiving, which is a godsend at this moment when I need to rush out the door. Avery barely acknowledges my call-out.

“Where are you, Rosy?”

“I-I’m on Main and facing the wrong way. The brake wouldn’t work. I didn’t know what to do—” Her sentence is cut off with a soft sob.

“Stay right there. I’m coming.”

Will I get a ticket? Maybe. But I don’t give a fuck. My focus is solely on getting to Piper and making sure she’s okay. Have I been miffed that she hasn’t said shit to me for weeks? Not even thanked me for the couch? Absolutely. But none of that matters right now.

By the time I reach her, she’s wandering outside of her car on the sidewalk, arms crossed, rubbing her hands up and down her arms repeatedly. The vision of her in one piece brings me some moment of relief. I reach out, grab her shoulders, then pull her tiny body into me.

Her rosy cheeks are flaming red in the streetlight from the tears falling down her face. She grips my shirt and pushes her nose into my chest until I hold her tighter. Tiny shakes rattle her body as she cries and clings to me like I’m her savior. One of my big palms cushions her hair and strokes its silky softness slowly until her sobs turn to sniffles.

When she pulls back and looks up at me, I almost fucking die right there. She’s so beautiful and broken. I want to fix every piece of her.

“What happened?” I don’t think I’m asking about the car. Maybe it’s because when she shimmied in that silver dress the first time I saw her, I could peek behind the facade to the sadness hidden by sparkles. But I’ll give her the option to answer whatever question she wants.

Her big green eyes bounce toward her vehicle before she glances back at me. “I think something happened to the brakes. It was acting funny.”

I pull out a handkerchief from my back pocket and wipe her cheeks, then hand it to her to blow her nose. “Who carries these things?” she asks.

“My grandfather always taught me to keep one with me for women.”

Her pert lips lift at the corners, but a loud wail of her nose into the cloth is the only reply. My arm wraps around her as I lead her back to my truck. Hopping in, she looks at me as if she has no idea what to say or do.

“I’ll call the tow truck. Jim will bring your car to my shop. Sit tight.” Her pink hair falls into her face with a nod. Jim is half asleep when I call, but says he’ll be right over to bring it to Griffin Motors.

When I slip back into the cab of my truck, she’s shivering, so I blast the heat for her. I rummage around in my back seat for a sweatshirt from my gym bag and hand it to her. “Sorry. It probably stinks, but I forgot to bring a coat with me.”

She takes it and, instead of balking, holds it to her nose, sniffs it in a long inhale, and seems to relax.

“Thank you.” The navy fabric drowns her little frame, and she tucks her knees up under the front like it’s a blanket, perching on the seat like a bird.

Making sure she’s settled, I start the engine and head out onto Main Street. “Have you eaten? You need food?”

“I’m okay. I’m not very hungry. I just came from dinner…”

My jaw clenches at the thought of her being out with someone else, but I shouldn’t be concerned with that. Did he break her heart? Is there someone she loves? Before I get too caught up in the raging green monster eager to tear out my insides, her eyes dart over to me with a shy glance. “At my mom’s.”

“Ah.” I had seen her sitting with a group of people that looked like her the morning of that lady’s death. Perhaps that was her family. A sister? Mother? Father? Not sure who everyone was. Things seemed tense, though. “You don’t get along with her?”

Straightening in the seat, she flicks the vents toward her to get more heat. Her chest puffs up with air as she takes a deep inhale. “No.”

I keep checking over the other side of the cab, but she’s harder to read than Avery. “Did something happen there?”

One tear rolls down her cheek as she stares straight ahead, ignoring me. Instead of forcing things, I flip on the radio, where Miles Davis sings “Blue in Green” through his trumpet. Bill Evans tries to keep the optimism of the moment with the melodic piano, but Paul Chambers reminds us where this tune is heading with the bass.

“What is this?” Piper asks, interrupting me from my reverie.

“This is jazz. Miles Davis, more specifically. You like?”

She’s quiet for a moment, staring out into the night as soft rain drops create tiny prisms on the windshield. “It’s like he put my soul into the sound.”

My fingers grip the steering wheel tight. Fuck . No, no, no.

I think I just fell in love.

Emotion grips my throat tight, but I clear it. “Yeah. He does that.”

Despite her saying she’s not hungry, I assume she must need some type of hot meal. So I pull over to the corner diner at the end of Main and Oak, one of the places near the north end of the campus. She glances at me with a wet droplet hanging from her bottom lashes. “Just hang tight. I’ll be right back.”

Once inside, I find Mandy in her blue-and-white checked frilly uniform and tap her on the shoulder. “Oh, Adon! Hey. You want your usual?”

“No, actually. Just wanted some of the chili and crackers to go. Cheese on top.”

She tucks her pen into her gray beehive hair. “You got it. Give me one minute, darlin’.”

It doesn’t take her five minutes before she returns, and I pay at the register. By the time I get back to the car and hand the bag to Piper, she’s swaying to Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five.” “What’s this?”

“Chili and crackers. Just in case you need something.”

When I pull my hand back, she snags it with both of hers and tugs me closer. “Adon, I can’t thank you enough for coming to my rescue.”

Her eyes are big, rounded, and needy. My lips itch to feel hers and, inwardly, I groan at the struggle I’m going through. Shit. The rumbling sound escapes, and she parts her mouth as if to accept me. It’s beyond tempting how close she is, close enough for a simple taste. But I can’t do this. She’s too young, wild, carefree. And vulnerable right now.

So I pull back and steer the truck toward the shop. “You’re welcome. You can call anytime.”

“But you also sent me a new couch. You didn’t need to.”

I shrug and shake my head. “I broke it. I needed to replace it.”

As we finish our drive, she peeks at the chili, and by the time we sit down in my office at the back of the shop, she downs half of it and rubs her belly beneath my sweatshirt. “Maybe I was hungry.”

“Do you want to talk about tonight? What happened?”

Across the desk, she lifts her gaze up to my face, but her smile drops. “Something bad?—”

Her words are cut off when Jim announces his arrival, and we both jump at his voice. “Put it in bay two, Jim.”

Once in the garage, he gives me a nod and lines it up perfectly for me. I open the hood of Piper’s car after paying Jim for his services. Then he’s heading out for the night with a tug on the brim of his baseball cap.

“Sit,” I command, snapping my fingers and pointing to the chair in the corner.

“Yes, boss.”

My lips tug up into a smirk at Piper’s rebellious lip, but I’ll let her get by tonight, considering what she’s been through. Though I wish she’d tell me more. Maybe that’s a problem. This need I already feel tugging at my insides to get to know her on a deeper level. I’m way past just wanting to fuck her for fun. I shouldn’t have gone back for seconds.

She curls up in the chair and swivels back and forth, her fingers catching on the side bench to propel her. “So, how long have you had this place?”

Thinking over the recent past, it seems time has slipped by too quickly. “About five years. Avery was around seven, and Odin was just a tiny guy at three. Or four.”

Almost mumbling, she glances down at her feet. “Your daughter’s nice. I like her.”

I meet her eyes with a furrowed brow, confused about when she would have spoken to my daughter.

“She came over to the library with…your wife.”

Is there jealousy behind her tone? I straighten up and tap on the block with a wrench. “Ex-wife.”

“She’s beautiful.”

My cheeks hurt, trying to contain the smile tugging at my lips. That’s envy, most definitely. “You want to look in here with me?”

She shrugs and gets up, her flip-flops slapping against the concrete as she wanders nearby. I start pointing out stuff on the engine for her to learn and she seems surprisingly interested.

Behind us, a dark Buick crawls by the end of the drive, as if scanning the signs out front. I check the clock on the back wall. It’s nearly eleven now, so not sure why they’re pulling up this close. My neck muscles creep toward my ears, but Piper doesn’t seem to notice anything amiss.

Her little body leans over the engine as I cast another glance at the car. As soon as I see the window lower, instincts take over. I grip Piper by the waist and haul her in front of me, lying us on the ground just in time.

Shots ring over our heads, bullets striking her windshield and plinking off the garage bay. Shattered glass erupts like a torrent of snowflakes around us. Absolute wrath fills me to the brim until my face is flushed hot. With my heart thundering in my ears, I scramble off her and head toward the cabinet where my gun is, grabbing it as the car tires squeal on the pavement.

“Stay down,” I yell at her as I march down the street, aiming my sights on the back windshield. I fire off one shot, but the car is too far away for me to clip it. Piper screams and shuffles underneath the car before I hurry back and lower the bay door.

The shop isn’t in a bad area, but it’s not in a great one, either. Random drive-by? Was the bullet meant for me? And for what reason?

By the time I secure everything, I sit on the floor and pull Piper out by an ankle, then place her on my lap. She clings to me like a koala, her body shaking as she murmurs against my neck. “What the fuck?”

My hands stroke her short hair until she pulls back to gaze into my eyes.

“I don’t know.”

Her bottom lip quivers as her chest rises rapidly, and instead of being rational, my dick decides now is a fantastic time to harden. I can’t contain myself any longer.

With all my strength, I gather her up and force my mouth onto hers. Our kiss is violent and brutal, teeth getting in the way as our tongues collide and battle. She tastes like honey, warm and sticky sweet. Just as addictive as I’ve imagined. The growls erupting from my chest pummel down my waist to my groin until my dick fills with all the blood rushing from my head. My hips buck up against her as she swivels hers against me.

Nipping her bottom lip, I grip her neck and press my forehead to hers. “Take my cock out and get on it. Now.”

Her fingers hurriedly plunge between us as she undoes my jeans, then tugs my dick out of my boxers. Sliding my palms underneath her skirt, my finger hooks in her panties to push them aside. Little nails dig into my shoulders as she hovers over me, giving me the most sultry fucking look I’ve ever seen before she slowly eases down onto my length, her soaked and tiny cunt gripping the crown so tight, I lose a breath. “Shit, Rosy. You’re so damn tight.”

She bounces up on me once, then slides down again, trying to get comfortable. “No. You’re just so damn huge. God! My daddy’s cock is too big for my little pussy.”

I almost come right there. “Fuck, Piper.”

She giggles as I throb inside her comforting walls, my balls already primed to explode.

“Do I need to clean out your mouth, dirty girl?”

Her only reply is a smug smile, so I grip her hair and pull her head back while thrusting up inside her. She gasps until her lips part enough for me to gather some spit and launch it inside onto her tongue. I follow the action with another bruising kiss until we’re swapping everything between us, her moans fueling my savage movements. My hips force the air from her lungs every time she sits down on my lap, and I slap them up into her. The base of my cock is soaked with her arousal, my balls aching for relief.

To get her to come quickly before I do, I snake my palms up my sweatshirt and underneath her top, then pinch a nipple. Then the other until she squeals into my waiting mouth. Her patchouli scent coats my skin until it becomes a part of me. Until she is a part of me. There’s no backing out now. I’ve broken all my rules for her. All for this little spitfire who won’t behave.

“Adon…” she breathes heavily against my neck. My palm swats her ass hard over the generous fabric of her skirt until she changes her tone. “Daddy!”

“That’s right. Come for me, Rosy. Use me. Cream my cock and give me everything .”

This girl has driven me crazy since the moment I laid eyes on her. There’s something she hides away, and I can’t stand it. Now that my own walls have broken down, I can’t stop. I won’t be able to take it if she goes into her hole and won’t let me in again.

Spring green with a hint of rain catches my eyes until we hold each other’s gaze while she comes with a cry. I open my mouth wide and press it over hers to capture her scream, then shove myself as deep as I can and release along with her.

Squirming away and out of breath, she sits back while I’m still inside her and gives me a shocked look. “I thought you said you’d wear a condom.”

My jaw tightens as my cock leaks inside her with another pulse. “Shit.”