Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Angelica was antsy. Things with her and Whip had been going extremely well.
It had been a couple weeks since Dwayne had barged into The Cellar and gotten beaten up…
again. But his words wouldn’t stop rattling around Angelica’s head.
He might be making himself scarce, but he wasn’t gone.
And he hadn’t signed the divorce papers Nissi had assured her were delivered to him.
He was planning something, but she had no idea what.
Whip didn’t seem bothered, was as calm and cool about the situation as she was worried and antsy.
But his confidence that he could handle anything her husband might be planning was comforting…
and a turn-on. Whip was bossy and overbearing, but she wanted him more than she wanted to breathe.
Except he’d made it very clear that he wouldn’t make love to her while she was still married.
Which was frustrating, but proved all over again that Whip wasn’t the man the town of Fallport assumed he was.
Sure, he was rough-hewn and kind of a jerk to a lot of people.
But when it counted, he was compassionate and considerate.
He simply did what he wanted, when he wanted, and didn’t give a shit what others thought about him.
Which in itself was kind of refreshing, especially considering she worried about what others thought of her all the time.
But she was learning to loosen up. What did it matter if people thought she was sleeping with Whip when she was still married?
What did it matter if they looked down on her for being with him?
They didn’t know her or Whip. They hadn’t walked a mile in her shoes.
They had no idea what hell she’d gone through when she’d been with Dwayne.
He might look like a good husband on the outside, but he was anything but.
The kittens they’d been fostering were growing like weeds, and Khloe had told them she’d lined up homes for all of them.
Which was good, but also sad, because Angelica loved watching them grow.
But Mittens and Kevin, not to mention Whip’s babies, seemed more than ready to have their house back.
To get back to their routine and not be pounced on every other second by an exuberant kitten who wanted to play.
The days had gone by quickly since meeting Whip, especially after she’d quit her telemarketing job and he’d hired her full time at The Cellar.
She was officially on the payroll, making a full-time salary, complete with benefits and retirement.
It was a dream come true, and surprisingly, she’d found she loved being a bartender.
The clientele at The Cellar was rough, but with Whip keeping an eye on her and the patrons, she felt completely safe.
And besides, once she’d gotten to know the regulars, they weren’t as bad as people thought they were…
or as the reputation of the pool hall would suggest. She’d also been getting more sleep, since she didn’t have to wake up to log into her telemarketing job, and spending all her time with Whip, getting to know him better, felt good. Really good.
But today was the first time in a month Angelica wouldn’t be right by Whip’s side.
Kevin had a cough that worried them both, and he needed to go to the vet.
But the only appointment they could get on short notice was at the same time the weekly delivery of alcohol was set to arrive at The Cellar.
Whip might’ve been able to have one of his employees oversee it, except he was also getting a new pool table, and Clyde, the resident moonshiner in Fallport, was also coming to the pool hall so Whip could sample some new flavors.
He hadn’t wanted her to go to the vet by herself, but Angelica decided it was time she found a backbone.
Dwayne hadn’t done or said anything to her in the weeks since she’d last seen him, and it wasn’t as if she was going to be alone for long.
She was going to go to the vet clinic, get some meds for Kevin, bring him back to the house, then go straight to The Cellar to help Whip inventory the alcohol that was delivered.
Maybe even give him her opinion on the moonshine flavors.
“If you see that asshole, don’t engage. Walk away. Drive away. And under no circumstance should you let him get near enough to touch you. Understand?”
Angelica nodded.
Whip stepped into her personal space and took her head in his hands, tilting it up so she had no choice but to meet his gaze.
“I’m not a good man.”
She frowned up at him. “Yes, you are,” she said.
“No, Angel, I’m not. But I don’t give a shit.
I’m perfectly aware you’re a grown-ass adult, but the thought of him saying anything to you that scares you makes my skin crawl.
And I’ll tell you right now…if he touches you again?
If he dares to think that he can force you to go with him or do anything you don’t want to do, I’ll kill him. ”
His words didn’t scare her. If anything, they made her feel protected. But the last thing she wanted was Whip doing anything that would take him away from her. Like to jail for the rest of his life. “Whip,” she protested.
He shook his head and his thumb caressed her cheek gently.
“I’ve never felt this way before. I don’t know how it happened, but you’re under my skin, in the best way.
I worry about you all the time. I think about you every minute of every day.
When I look at you, I can’t believe you aren’t terrified of me.
I worry that you’re going to come to your senses and run screaming from the house, wondering what the hell you were thinking.
I want to be the kind of man you deserve, but instead, I’m a bastard who wants you all to myself.
Who wants to gouge out the eyes of anyone who dares to even look at you. ”
His words were crazy, and most people would be completely alarmed by them.
But not Angelica. She’d lived with him long enough to see through the brash exterior he showed to the world.
Had seen him cuddle his cats, and worry about them when they didn’t eat enough or seemed even the smallest bit sick.
He watched out for the few women who came into The Cellar.
And he might claim he didn’t give a damn about Fallport or like any of the people who lived there…
but she’d seen a check on his office desk, made out to the Eagle Point Search and Rescue team that worked in the area.
“A month ago, I was resigned to the fact that my husband would one day go too far and kill me. I expected it. And I didn’t really care anymore.
I just wanted the pain to be over with. And then you picked me up off the floor and swept me away.
You proved that there are still decent men in the world.
If you think I care that you’re rough around the edges or that you want to kill Dwayne, you’re wrong.
What you don’t understand is that I’ll help you get rid of the body and lie my ass off to the police if I have to.
“I love you, Whip. At least…I think I do. I’m not sure I truly understand what love is, but if it’s anything like what I feel for Mittens and Kevin, and now Luna, Charlie, and Simba, as if I’d be torn into a million pieces and flung into the atmosphere, never to be put back together if anything happened to them, then that’s what I feel for you. ”
Whip’s jaw tensed, and Angelica had a feeling he wasn’t breathing anymore. Then he hauled her into his arms and the breath left her lungs when she hit his chest. His mouth landed on hers, and he kissed her with all the passion she felt in her heart.
Angelica needed him. Right here. Right now. She wanted to tear his clothes off and take his cock down her throat. Wanted to feel him inside her, pounding into her hard, making sure she’d feel him for at least a week.
But to her immense frustration, he pulled back and stared down at her with beautiful brown eyes that swirled with emotion.
“Love seems like such a tame word for what I feel for you,” he said gruffly.
“I want you,” she said boldly.
“And I want you too. But I don’t sleep with married women.”
She knew that. He’d said it plenty of times before. And she didn’t know where that left them…because Dwayne wasn’t going to sign divorce papers. He hadn’t yet, even though he’d had them for almost three weeks.
“As far as I’m concerned, the day he tried to kill my babies was the day he severed any tie we might’ve had.”
“Our time is coming, no pun intended. That asshole will sign the papers in the next few weeks, I’ll make sure of it, and you’ll be free.
When that happens, I’m going to take you to my bed and keep you there for at least two days straight.
You’re going to be so sore you won’t be able to walk.
My cock is gonna be rubbed raw from fucking you. ”
His words, and the images he put in her brain, were crude. But her panties had never been more soaked. She wanted that. Everything he said. Wanted him. “Whip,” she whispered.
“You’re mine, Angel. And I’m yours. His days of terrorizing you are over.
No one in this town will dare look sideways at you if I have my way.
You’re under my protection and everyone knows it.
Remember what I said—if you see that asshole, don’t engage.
Get away from him and come straight to The Cellar. ”
“I will.”
“Good.” Then he kissed her again. The passion was still there, as high as ever, but the desperation was knocked down a notch.
“Tonight,” he said softly, as he rested his forehead against hers, “I’m gonna give you a preview of what’s to come.
I’m gonna finger that pussy of yours until you come all over my hand.
Then I’ll do it again. And again. By the time I’m done, you’ll be a pile of mush and unable to do more than lie in my arms and sleep. ”