Page 116 of Your Last First Kiss

Well, shit. Did she just suck all my brain cells out of my body too? That’s not the way I meant to tell her, but I guess in the name of claiming and all, I’m done holding back with her.

“Dillon,” she says with a sexy sigh.

I lean down quickly to place a sweet kiss on her lips. “When you’re ready. Not until you’re ready.” My eyes search hers, but all I find is love. I don’t need her to say it before she’s ready because I can feel it in every touch, every glance, every word.

Our love transcends paradigms. It simply exists, like something tangible I can hold on to.

She pulls me to her, and this time, her kiss bleeds with equal parts affection and lust. I accept it all like a starving man.

When she’s breathless, I take her by the hand. “We should get out of here before Grady comes back.” Her eyes widen in shock, and I chuckle. “Did you forget where we were?”

“Yes,” she says quickly. “You have the ability to make me forget myself.”

“You’re welcome,” I moan into the back of her head as I open the door around her.

We make it two steps into the hallway before we’re face to face with Eddy. Miller’s nickname suits him better than I’d realized.

He stands there with a dirty shirt and pit stains visible under both arms. Even his hair appears to be sweating. Is this what alcoholism does to a person?

I left home before I saw my father get to this point. How freaking terrifying it must be for the boys.

“Such a whore,” he slurs and stumbles while reaching for Penny.

I pull her behind me and let him stumble past us in the narrow space like we’re circling each other. One hand holds Penny’s hip behind me, and the other is held out in a stop motion.

Apparently, sweaty Eddy doesn’t read universal hand signals because he moves forward until my palm is pressed to his chest.

“Simmer down,” I growl.

“What did you say to me?” he spits out.

“I said, simmer. The. Fuck. Down.”

The fingers holding Penny in place press into the inch of exposed flesh hard enough I might leave bruises. I attempt to loosen my grip, but it seems to be directly tied to the fear firing to life in my heart.

I’m not scared of Eddy. Physically, I could take him with both hands tied, but he has the ability and the carelessness to cut Penny and the kids down to their very souls.

Any kind of pain on my watch is unacceptable.

Forcing my hand to press harder, I give him a gentle nudge. “What do you want, Eddy?”

“What? You playing house with my family? Now ya think you can order me around like your own personal grunt? Not happening. You might be able to get my whore of a wife to drop to her knees, but my kids are mine.” His words mash together, but I’m fluent in asshole.

I begin to shake with a rage I haven’t felt since the last time I saw my own father.

“You hear that, you cunt? Those boys are mine. I picked up Aster today over on Douglas Street.” Penny gasps, but he steamrolls over her. “We’re comin’ for the other ones too.”

My vision has gone red, but I’m trying to control myself. Hitting Eddy again won’t solve anything, even if every bone in my body is aching to make contact.

“You won’t step foot on Penny’s property,” I growl. “If you want to see any of her children, you will go to court and ask for that right. As of now, seeing them is not an option for you.”

I turn my back on him but keep my ears peeled for any movement as I usher Penny forward. It’s not until we hit the crowded bar that I hear him.

“Well, look at that,” he bellows as the song fades. “My ex-wife isn’t so innocent after all. She drops to her knees for money and then has the nerve to brainwash my boys against me. Hey, Penny? Maybe if you’d sucked my cock once or twice instead of lying there like a dead fish, I wouldn’t have had to dip my stick somewhere else. Our family fell apart because of you. You remember that you, sl—”

Fuck the appropriate thing to do. I charge this asshole, intent on killing him, but Grady beats me to it and knocks him out cold with one mighty punch.

I stare at him in disbelief, then down at the knocked-out Eddy.