Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Josie
“Are you gonna make it?” I ask Dane as I drive his Range Rover from the airport to his house.
“Yeah.” He closes out an app on his phone and looks over at me, the dark circles under his eyes more pronounced now. “I swear I’m more tired after that hour of sleep on the plane.”
“Did you remember my cinnamon roll?”
The app he had open was a food delivery one. We decided on the flight home to order a massive amount of food for breakfast and then sleep once we got home. There are lots of errands I need to run since we’ve been on the road for so long, but they can wait until this afternoon.
“I got you two. Plus extra bacon since you always steal mine.”
I scoff. “I had one piece one time.”
“Sure you did.”
“Did you remember to tell them to put your gravy on the side?”
“Yep. I’m so fucking hungry I think I’ll just drink the gravy.”
I turn into his long driveway, furrowing my brow when I see an unfamiliar car parked by the house.
“That’s not the housekeeper’s car, is it?”
He follows my gaze and groans. “Oh, fuck my life. It’s my parents.”
I turn to him, my eyes wide. “What? I assumed you hatched from an egg or something. You hardly ever mention your parents.”
He sighs heavily, his head falling back against the passenger seat. “Guess you’re about to meet Stan and Savannah.”
“Are they just dropping by? Did they text?”
He glares at me. “Trust me, Nosy, if I’d known they were here, we would have gone to a hotel. My parents have the incredibly annoying habit of just flying in from Florida, unannounced, whenever they feel like it.”
I fake cry as I park the car out front instead of pulling into the garage. “So much for our plan.”
“We’re sticking with the plan. They can entertain themselves for a while.”
He gets out of the car and walks around to the back to retrieve our bags. I run a hand over my hair, wishing I didn’t look like a college student who gives no fucks. I travel casual. My sweats, T-shirt, slides and messy bun scream I woke up just in time to make it to class .
I take the hair tie out and brush my hands through my hair, then check my teeth in my phone camera.
“You look fine. Let’s go.”
Dane’s parents either have a key or the code, because they’re already in the house, the smell of brewing coffee greeting us when we walk inside.
Dane sets our bags on the couch and we walk toward the kitchen. A beautiful woman with long dark hair walks out to greet us before we get there.
“Hello, sweetheart.” She looks at me, her eyes bright. “And who is this?”
“This is my girlfriend, Josie.”
His what ? We turn to face each other, him giving me a look of love and me giving him a look of, What the hell ?
Savannah sighs happily, her heels clicking on the floor as she rushes over to embrace me. “Josie, he’s been keeping you a secret from us! Oh Dane, she’s lovely.”
I try to smile, but I can’t make my face look anything but panicked. “I’m a mess. We just got off a long flight.”
And he just called me his girlfriend.
“You always look great, babe.” Dane winks at me.
“There he is.”
A tall, broad-shouldered man with salt-and-pepper hair walks into the room. I should have known that freakishly attractive Dane has freakishly attractive parents.
“He has a girlfriend, Stan.” Savannah is glowing with the news.
Fake news, but still.
“Hi, I’m Josie.”
Stan walks over to shake my hand, giving Dane a look of approval.
“Good for you, son.”
Dane’s parents both hug him and he asks, “So, what brings you guys to town?”
Stan answers. “I needed to meet a new client and we decided to come see a game and stay a couple of nights.”
“You couldn’t send a heads-up text or anything?”
Savannah waves a hand. “Oh, we won’t be in the way. Just do whatever else you planned to do.”
“Well, we ordered breakfast delivery and then we’re planning to get some sleep. I’ve only slept an hour since Monday night.”
Stan furrows his brow. “Why?”
Dane gestures at me. “Ask my insatiable girlfriend.”
“Oh my god.” I glare at him, my cheeks flaming.
Savannah laughs. “Oh, honey, we were young once, too. Actually, we were in Ibiza recently and Stan...” She grins, looking sheepish. “Well, let’s just say he made me feel young again.”
She meets her husband’s gaze in a look of love and Dane groans.
“Just don’t break my guest room bed again, okay?”
“That bed frame was already weak,” Stan argues. “It should have easily withstood a couple of fiftysomethings having intercourse.”
I force myself not to laugh because he’s being serious. Dane just shakes his head.
Savannah puts her arm through mine, leading me into the kitchen. “Do you drink coffee, Josie?”
“Sometimes. I like tea better.”
“I like tea, too! So tell me, how did you two meet?”
I glance back at Dane, deciding to stick with the truth. When I tell her the story about being hired to watch over him, she smiles and nods. She knows her way around Dane’s kitchen, and she brews a pot of tea as we talk.
“He’s always had a bit of a wild streak,” she says. “But he’s also fiercely loyal and he loves deeply. I’m sure you know what happened with his ex-wife.”
I nod.
She lowers her voice. “It hurt him badly. Be patient with him.”
Dane walks into the kitchen and pours a cup of coffee, leaning his back against the counter and giving me a look I can’t read from across the room.
“Hey babe, I took our bags to the bedroom and it looks like your cat scratched the shit out of my bed frame.”
Shit. None of my furniture is valuable, but Dane’s is a different story. Poor Mr. Darcy has been left alone here for long stretches while we travel, with just the housekeeper checking in on him.
I feel a little bit bad. But also not that bad because he put me in a weird spot when he told his parents I was his girlfriend. How is that going to play out over the next few days?
I smile at Savannah. “Dane absolutely loves my cat, Mr. Darcy. They snuggle constantly and rub noses. It’s so cute.”
Savanah’s jaw drops. “That’s...amazing. Dane, you’ve always hated cats.”
His gaze is locked onto mine, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Well, if my girl loves Mr. Darcy, so do I.”
Our food delivery arrives and Stan announces that he and Savannah are heading out for a few hours of shopping. As soon as they’re out the door, I give Dane my best death glare.
“Your girlfriend? Really?”
He grins. “Come on, Nosy. You liked it.”
I scoff. “I was not prepared to meet your parents like this. Look at me.”
“You look cute. And that’s how they are. They just drop in.”
I bite into a piece of bacon, feeling stabby. “I’ll pretend to be your girlfriend, but you’d better kiss my cat’s ass. I meant it about rubbing noses. Get on your phone and order some gourmet treats. Make him feel like the only cat in the world, Foster.”
“Fine.” His tone is sulky. “But I get unlimited ass grabbing.”
I laugh. “You want to grab my ass in front of your parents? Classy.”
“I didn’t say in front of them. Whenever I want. In fact, I get unlimited everything short of actual sex.”
My body heats in response to his words. I swallow hard, not just because it’s Dane and I’m undeniably attracted to him, but because it’s been a long time since any man has so much as accidentally brushed against my tit.
“Are you saying I have to give you unlimited blow jobs?”
“No...unless you want to?” He arches his brows and grins wickedly. “Everything else, though. No fucking, no blow jobs, but anything else.”
I consider. “What about anal? Fisting? Bondage?”
He scoffs. “Jesus Christ, Nosy. Am I wearing a leather mask with just a mouth hole here? No, none of that. You know what I’m talking about.”
I nod, my skin tingling at the prospect of having his hands on me. “Okay.”
“Is there something I need to know about you? Are you into that stuff?”
I laugh. “I don’t think so. I mean, absolutely not on fisting. And I don’t want to be chained to a dingy cellar wall or anything, but a man who’s...I don’t know... insistent about what he wants is pretty hot.”
The dark hunger swirling in his eyes makes my heart pound erratically. I was tired before, but now? All I can think of is his wide shoulders and his carved muscles. All the times I’ve watched him sleeping shirtless in hotel rooms and fantasized about being curled up to his powerful chest.
“Insistent might be putting it mildly with me,” he murmurs.
I take a bite of my cinnamon roll, deliberately moaning softly when the sweet flavor hits my tongue. “Mmm, so good.”
“First time I’ve ever been hard while eating biscuits and gravy. Thanks for that.”
I pick up my plate. “I’m going to clean up and take a shower.”
“Leave it. I’ll clean up.”
Our gazes lock. My pulse pounds and I know this is it. Something is about to change between us.
It’s still a bad idea because of my job. I’m still probably setting myself up for heartbreak. But it’s the way Dane makes me feel about me that makes me unable to deny our attraction any longer.
He makes me feel sexy. Smart. Clever. Worthy. We may not last forever, but I want to wrap my arms around those feelings and hold them close for as long as I can.