Chapter Fifteen
Jordy
O ne of my favorite memories of Roux was when she was just a kid and we all went out for snow cones after swimming all day. Cal and Trey were being dipshits, shoving each other, and Roan was brooding over his mom. Roux was happy as a lark with her grape snow cone.
Until Cal shoved Trey into Roux and the snow cone splattered all over the sidewalk.
She’d tried so hard not to cry, though her bottom lip wobbled hard. Roan offered her his, but he’s the only one who likes the pineapple flavored one. Both Trey’s and Cal’s were nearly gone. And mine was cherry.
But that day, I handed her my snow cone and we kept on walking. She didn’t gripe about cherry, even though it wasn’t her favorite, and quietly ate it. When we made it to the bus stop, she hugged me and said cherry was her new favorite. I laughed it off, but it was the truth. From then on out, she never got grape again. Always cherry.
Seeing her sit across from me at the picnic table in front of Slim’s Shady Cones, I can’t help but notice how much she’s evolved into the woman she is today. Sure, there’s an innocence in her big amber eyes, but I don’t think that’ll go away with age. It’s just a part of her. One of the reasons I’m so drawn to protecting her—to protecting that innocence. Aside from not being eighteen yet and somewhat sheltered by her brother, Roux is very much a woman. And I’m not just talking physical appearances, though when I saw her the first time after three years at OHP, I was absolutely drawn to her womanly body.
Something about her calls to the male parts of me that crave to pull her to me and keep her there. She’s not a piece of ass to be used and tossed away. Roux owns so many bits of my heart that it may as well belong to her. What started as a bond between friends—albeit an age gap—has evolved into something deeper. Something physical. Romantic.
I feel like shit for thinking it, but Roux and I have been tumbling toward an “us” since I saw her for the first time in the flesh after my release. An instant chemistry. A connection that, threaded with our already unique bond, has become something fiery and unstoppable. I want to pin her down, strip her, and claim her as mine. It takes everything in me to hold back from doing just that.
“What?” Roux asks, one corner of her lips quirking up on one side. “Do I have something on my face?”
She absently darts her cherry-stained tongue out to lick across her bottom lip. I track the movement as curls of desire wind their way straight to my cock.
“Nope,” I grunt. “Everything looks perfect.”
Her cheeks blush and she smiles.
I’m craving to pull her over the table and into my lap when my phone rings, thwarting my nefarious agenda.
“Hello?”
“Hey, sweetie,” Samantha purrs into the phone. “What are you doing?”
I glance over at Roux and let out a sigh. “Nothing. What’s up?”
“I need to see you.”
“When?”
“Right now.” She lets out a breathy laugh.
“I can’t. I’m busy.” I zero in on the way Roux wraps her lips around the spoon. “Really busy.” Because I could watch this all damn day.
“Doing what?” Samantha huffs. “Don’t worry, I’ll meet you at your place.”
She hangs up and I pocket my phone, unease slicking over me like oil.
“Is everything okay? Who was that?” Roux asks as she finishes up her snow cone.
“My attorney, Samantha.”
“What did she want?”
“To see me.”
“About what?”
I shrug. “You ready to go?”
She frowns at my blowing her off but nods. We toss our trash and climb back into the Camaro. In ten minutes, we’re back at her apartment. I can tell she’s pissed because she bolts from the car, storming up the steps. I climb out and stalk after her. She’s barely made it inside the apartment and dumped her bag when I grab her from behind, pulling her to my chest.
“What’s wrong?” I demand, nuzzling my nose in her hair.
She shrugs, giving me a taste of my own medicine.
“Did it ever occur to you,” I murmur as I pull her hair off her shoulder and swoop it around to the other side so I can have access to her neck, “that I don’t tell you stuff because it’s better for you that way?”
“Did it ever occur to you that maybe I don’t want to be left out of the loop when it comes to you?” she bites back.
I press a kiss to her neck. My hands settle at her waist. “I just want to keep you safe.”
She swivels in my arms so that her perky tits are pressed to my chest. Her palms skim over my shoulders, up my neck, and into my hair where she threads her fingers.
“Maybe I don’t want to be safe. Maybe I just want to be with you and know all the dirty, ugly details.” She pulls my head down until we’re just inches apart. “I’m a big girl, Jordy. I can handle a helluva lot more than you think I can.”
Fuck, I want to kiss her.
So much.
My gaze skims over her wet, red lips, wondering how she would taste if I devoured her right now. Like cherries. “Roux…”
She stands on her toes, her lips brushing against mine for a ghost of a peck. I slide my fingers into her hair, angling her head to where I can finally claim her. It’s not smart. It’s really fucking stupid. But right now? I don’t care. Her lips part and I meet them with my own lips. I don’t have time to swipe my tongue across hers when someone bangs on the door.
Roux squeaks out, nearly jumping out of her skin. I let out a groan as I pull away from my girl to answer the door.
“Samantha,” I state, both annoyed and relieved she stopped what was quickly happening yet again between Roux and me.
“Jordy, honey,” she greets, flashing me a wide grin. “We need to talk.”
I run my fingers through my hair and sigh. “Sure. Come in.”
Roux comes to stand beside me, making the hairs on my arms stand on end. It’s like she’s always charged with electricity and I can’t help but get shocked by her. Absently, I place my hand on the small of her back.
“Would you like something to drink?” I ask Samantha.
Samantha’s smile falters as her eyes dart back and forth between me and Roux. “I’m okay. Thank you.” She pins me with a firm stare. “We need to speak. In private.”
I don’t want Roux to leave my side, but this is a necessary conversation with Samantha.
“Roux…” I start, my voice gruff.
“I get it,” Roux snips, shouldering past me. “For my own protection.”
Roux storms out of the house, slamming the door hard behind her. Samantha’s sculpted brows fly up and her lips thin out.
“What?” I grunt, hating her uncanny ability to tear apart what’s going on inside my mind.
“I’ll take that drink now. Make it something hard.”
I stalk into the kitchen and start flinging open cabinets looking for Roan’s liquor stash. When I come up empty, I settle for a couple of beers and pop the caps off. I exit the kitchen to find Samantha perched at the kitchen table, opening her laptop and already making herself at home.
“What’s so important it couldn’t wait?” I demand, setting a beer down and pushing it toward her. I sit opposite of her and glower her way.
“I thought it was just prison that made you grumpy. Turns out, it’s your personality.” She laughs, making her boobs, which are nearly spilling from her blouse, jiggle. “Oh, Jesus, Jordy. Take a joke already.”
“I’m not in a joking mood.” I cross my arms over my chest, my eyes drifting to the window, searching for Roux. “Is this going to take long?”
She sips her beer before setting it down and tapping her nails on the glass bottle. “Before we get to what I came here for, I want to know something.”
“You know everything there is to know about me.” I take a long pull of my beer as I give her a one-shouldered shrug.
“Are you fucking the teenager?”
I choke on my beer, sending some of it running down my chin. I slam the bottle down on the table and wipe my face off with my palm. “What the fuck, Samantha?”
Irritation flashes in her eyes. “If you are, that’s a problem. Really huge problem.”
“I’m not.” But I want to be.
“See,” she snips, “the way you say it, I don’t exactly believe it.”
“It’s none of your business.”
“It’s absolutely my business. You’re my client, Jordy.”
“I’m not fucking her,” I growl.
“If you were, you can’t ever do it again.” Her words are firm and commanding. “If you haven’t, don’t. And if you’re thinking about it, stop. You thought killing four men to defend that girl was bad? Try being an ex-convict who sleeps with an underage girl. You won’t be a hero, Jordy. You’ll be a villain. Any progress you made to get here”—she waves a hand in the air—“will be destroyed.”
“I said I’m not fucking her.” My words are filled with venom. “Don’t mention it again.”
She purses her lips and shakes her head. “One more thing and I’ll let it go.”
I narrow my eyes, my jaw clenching.
“When it does happen, and for your sake, I really hope it’s after she turns eighteen, understand that she’s young. Girls like her are wishy-washy. They want what they can’t have. Right now, that’s you. And after she moves on, because she will, I implore you to not lose your shit over it.”
“She’s my best friend’s little sister,” I say out loud, because I need to fucking hear it.
“And, unfortunately, that won’t matter.”
She’s right. It won’t.
I was so close to devouring my sweet little Roux only moments ago. It will happen. My thread of self-control is too thin.
“You don’t know me,” I utter.
“I know your type,” Samantha says with a tired sigh. “You forget I’m a criminal attorney. I’ve seen and heard it all.”
“I can’t mess up. I have to be here for them. I won’t touch Roux.”
Lies.
If Samantha hadn’t shown up, I would’ve already had Roux beneath me whimpering.
“You’re going to have to try harder at convincing both of us. I’m not the only one who doesn’t believe you.” She shakes her head, a frown of disappointment on her face. “Moving on. Let’s get to this.”