I pull at his hair then, because before everything happened, I had other concerns. “You’re late.”
He squeezes my waist. “That I am.”
“You’re never late,” I tell him like he doesn’t know.
His mouth tips up on one side. “Why, were you worried about me?”
I swallow. “Yes. I thought…”
“You thought what?”
I squeeze my limbs around him once again, crushing our bodies together. “I thought something happened to you.”
His chest moves with a breath as he takes in my features, and for the first time ever I don’t care about my flushed skin or mymillion freckles. I know he’s going to count them for me like he said he would. And if anyone can do it, it’s my toxic stepbrother.
“Nothing could’ve kept me away from you tonight,” he rasps, pushing his body into me even more, causing his belt buckle to dig into my flesh. “Nothingwillkeep me away from you tonight.”
My belly quivers at his tone.Sopossessive. Has he ever soundedthis possessive before? I don’t think so. I think more than possessive, he sounds unhinged. He sounds like his sanity is hanging by a thread. He looks like that too. His cheeks are flushed, his breaths wild. He looks like he won’t give me a choice tonight. Like I can’t say no to whatever he’s got planned. He won’t let me. And God, that makes me so wet. So,sowet that I can feel my panties sticking to my core. But it also scares me.
Because what if it’s not how he pictured it would be? And in my inexperience and haste, I choose to focus on fear. “W-we have to wait.”
He studies me a beat. Then, “Why?”
“Because I’m on my shift,” I reply, feeling a tinge of disappointment, despite my nerves, that there’s still a few more hours left before we can do what we were always going to.
He lets a moment pass before he slowly shakes his head. “No, you’re not.”
“What?”
“You don’t work here anymore.”
My heart thuds. “I don’t…”
“The reason I was late,” he explains then, his voice low and tight, “and the reason those motherfuckers could fuck with you out there was because I talked to your asshole boss. Made sure he knew you were mine.”
“You talked to G-George?”
“Told him if he puts you to work again, he’ll have me to answer to,” he finishes. “And before what happened just now, if he’d made the mistake of hiring you back, I would’ve given him achance to talk before I would’ve beaten the shit out of him. Now though”—he moves his jaw back and forth—“I’ll just break all his bones the moment he opens his mouth.”
“But—”
“Do you understand what I’m saying to you? You’re not”—he emphasizes his words by pulling my head back and digging the pads of his fingers into my bare waist—“going to set foot in this hellhole after tonight. Is that clear? I’ve had enough of men drooling over you like a piece of meat and you being absolutely clueless about it.”
I swallow, my back arched, my heart pounding in my chest.
I was going to talk to George after my shift, and if I’m being honest, I wasn’t particularly looking forward to it. While he’s been an okay boss, I know he’d be pissed if I told him I was going to quit without giving notice. He doesn’t like when his Muses quit with two weeks’ notice, let alone with none. And I still hadn’t figured out how to convince him to let me go. So Shepard handling it for me is so extremely helpful that my shoulders sag in relief.
“T-thank you.” And for some reason, I feel compelled to explain, “I mean, I wasn’t really looking forward to talking to him about quitting. I knew he wasn’t going to be happy about it. And well… I never really thanked you for all the things you’ve done, all the things youdo, big and small. Even the way you want to help me with my… debt. And it still feels,” I sigh, “strange but I’ve decided if it helps my sister then I should embrace it. I should…”
God, I have no idea why I’m telling him all this. Although it’s the truth. I’m still not okay with the money part but I’m going to use it to help Snow go to college. And I’ll think of it as him helping his half-sister. Without his knowledge, of course.
Anyway, maybe I’m saying all this because this is such a big moment for me. For my life. I’m going to have sex. For the firsttime. With the only man who’s ever made me feel safe and while I can’t tell him other truthful things, maybe I can tell him this.
“And I… I’ve never really felt safe in my life. Or cared for. Or even that I’m worth caring for. But I feel safe with you. When you’re around, I know nothing can touch me. Nothing bad. You won’t let it. So I truly am. Thankful.”
His jaw is ticking but I don’t know what it means. Maybe it’s too emotional for him, given how he wants nothing to do with emotions. But whatever. I’m glad I said my piece. Besides, money isn’t the only thing he’s giving me. He’s also promised to talk so he’s going to have to get used to this mushiness.
But my thoughts break when he promises, or more like threatens, in a low tone, “Well, tonight’s your lucky night then. Because you’ll have a chance to show how much.”
