23. Anson
ANSON
Cole was a fucking dog with a bone when it came to Rosalie.
He was driving me nuts.
He’d been here two days, and all he did was hold her.
Kiss her. Whisper to her. He was even sleeping next to her in our bed.
We’d let him, opting to sleep away from them to give them time to themselves.
I at least knew they weren’t fucking. I’d seen Cole’s dick in action.
I hated to admit it, but the guy could fuck.
“He was always that way,” Evan mused. “Mostly. I think he’s gotten worse.”
“Separation anxiety,” Klaus muttered as he chopped vegetables next to me in the kitchen while we worked on dinner.
From our vantage point, we could see Cole holding her on the couch, his hand on her stomach as Ellis played at their feet.
They looked like the perfect family.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little put out by it. Evan and I had spent the last five years with her through everything. Klaus had been here for the last three years. I wanted the baby to be mine more than anything, since Cole already had Ellis.
I had no idea if he was even joining us, but judging by his clinginess, he was here to stay.
“He doesn’t let her breathe,” I continued. “It’s annoying me.”
“He leaves tomorrow,” Evan said. “Give him this time.”
I grumbled but let it go. He was right. Cole’s flight out was set for after Rosalie’s doctor’s appointment in the morning that I was taking her to.
We finished working on dinner before calling everyone in.
Cole pulled Rosalie’s chair out and settled in next to her once she was seated, then did the same for Ellis, so she was on his other side.
I stared at them from across the table, Ryder next to me and Klaus and Evan at opposite ends.
“Mm, this looks so good,” Rosalie said, reaching to put potatoes onto her plate. Cole beat her to it and doled the food out for her before doing it for Ellis.
“Relax, man,” Ryder whispered to me.
I breathed out. I’d been gripping my dinner knife a little too tightly. I wasn’t typically the jealous sort, but watching Cole slide his way in so easily was pissing me off.
And I knew I’d agreed and even wanted this for Rosalie and Ellis, but I really thought the little shit would run away from the responsibility. Evan told me I was playing a dangerous game when it came to Cole.
That was my fault for not believing Cole was so… passionate.
I’d get used to it.
That’s what Klaus said when we talked last night. He said she’s new to him again, and eventually, it would turn from this overwhelming obsession to comfort because he’d felt the same way when he got to be with Rosalie.
I was willing to wait.
Hopefully.
“Daddy, will you come to ballet with me tomorrow?” Ellis asked as she ate her dinner.
“I wish I could, Ellie-gator, but I have to go to work,” he said, sounding pained at the prospect of leaving her. She’d been begging him since he got here to go to ballet with her. Unfortunately, her next lesson wasn’t until the afternoon when he had to leave.
Her little shoulders hunched forward, and her bottom lip jutted out.
“Oh, princess, don’t be sad,” Cole said, turning to her, his voice strained. “I’ll come right back as soon as I have more time off. I promise. Or maybe you and Mommy can fly out to see me—”
“No,” I said immediately.
The table went silent.
“I beg your finest fuck?” Cole said, his voice tense. “You don’t get to tell me if I can see my daughter and my girl.”
“I was under the impression that hadn’t been decided yet,” I said.
“I’m deciding it now. I’m in,” Cole shot back.
“Ellis, honey, why don’t we go outside and wait for Trix to get back?” Klaus called out. “She should be here any minute with Cas.”
“Cas is coming?” Ellis’s eyes lit up.
“Yes. Let’s go.” Klaus stood and offered her his hand. She laughed excitedly as she took Klaus’s hand, and he helped her off her chair. She darted off, excited to see them.
“Sort this shit,” Klaus bit out. “I don’t want fighting in front of Ellis. If you don’t have it sorted by the time I get back, I’ll do it for you. Got it?”
He stormed off, leaving the rest of us at the table.
“As I was saying,” Cole continued. “Rosalie and Ellis can come stay with me.”
“As I was saying, not fucking happening,” I snapped back.
“Listen, motherfucker, you don’t get to tell me what I can do with my family—”
“They’re my family too!” I shouted back at him.
“I’ve been here longer than you have! Ellis is my daughter, too!
Rosalie is my fiancée. I damn well get a say in what happens!
You fucking drugged and kidnapped her! How do I even know we’ll get them back if they leave with you?
Huh? You’re in a life we told you that you had to fucking leave.
Are you leaving it, Cole? Are you? Because it sounds a fuck of a lot like you’re going to keep it. ”
“I… I…,” Cole stammered.
“Cole, it was a stipulation,” Evan said gently.
Ryder remained quiet as he sat at my side.
“Why the fuck is he here?” Cole demanded, pointing a finger at Ryder. “Get lost, bottom feeder.”
“Hey, fuck you, man,” Ryder said, shooting to his feet.
“No, fuck you. You’re not part of this!” Cole shouted, on his feet now, so I got to mine.
“I’m definitely part of this!” Ryder shouted back. “I’ve been here longer than your ass has!”
“Cole, please,” Rosalie called out. “All of you. Sit. Let’s discuss this.”
We glared at one another for a moment before Cole finally sat. Satisfied, I sat too, Ryder following.
I breathed out.
“It’s more than the life you’re in,” I said.
“It’s the fact that she has a stalker who tried to kill her.
Who almost killed Ryder. I’m worried, OK?
Rosalie and Ellis are everything to me. If something happened to them, I’d fucking die.
” I stared at Rosalie as I said it. “I’m trying to protect my family, LeeLee. ”
She reached across the table and held my hand. My anger dissolved. She wasn’t ignoring me for Cole. She was listening.
“Fabian broke his leg,” Evan said softly.
We all looked at him. That was definitely a change of subject.
“What?” I asked. Fabian and I were good friends. He hadn’t told me he broke his leg.
“You didn’t hear?” Evan frowned at me.
“No. What happened?”
“He was in a car accident last night. He was… fucked up. He crashed his car. It’s all over the news.”
“What the fuck?” I whispered.
“Did anyone get hurt?” Rosalie asked, her voice shaking. She and Fabian had been close. They’d made that music video and everything together.
“Aside from him? No. Not really. The car he hit was totaled, but the people inside were OK. He came out the worst,” Evan said.
“Who the fuck is Fabian?” Cole called out.
“A friend of ours,” Evan answered before clearing his throat. “He’s also the lead role in my book-to-film.”
“What does it mean for the movie?” Rosalie asked.
“It means we’re going to have to take time off from filming. The director said a few months, depending on whether Fabian ends up jailed long-term for it. He was under the influence of drugs and alcohol.”
“I’m sorry,” I murmured, reaching for Evan’s hand. I knew Fabian struggled with drugs and alcohol. He reminded me a lot of E from years ago. “It’s only a few months, brother. Everything will work out.”
“That’s my point,” Evan said, looking from Rosalie to me. “I have a few months off. I-I can go to Chicago with Rosalie and Ellis.”
I blinked at his words. “What?”
“I know you have new bands and some touring to do with them. I know Klaus is booked solid for the next few weeks with clients, meetings, and all that shit he does. I can go to Chicago with Rosalie and Ellis. I can protect them.”
“I can go too,” Ryder murmured. “I am her bodyguard, after all.”
This was my fucking nightmare. Rosalie and Evan reuniting with the horsemen. They’d end up just like they used to be.
“It won’t be that way,” Evan murmured to me. He knew exactly what I was thinking. “It’ll just be short visits for now. Nothing long-term, right, Ro?”
“Right,” she murmured.
“So… like long weekends and stuff?” I looked directly at Rosalie.
“I-I’d try to do it around Cole’s hospital schedule,” she said. “If I go.”
“If it helps, I only get a few days off here and there,” Cole grumbled.
“So not months at a time?”
“No.” Rosalie got up and came to me. “I have the tour starting again in a few weeks. Then it’s me and you just like always.”
I swallowed. She was right. She and I. Like always. Alex had only moved the dates a few weeks. This could work…
I shoved my plate away, grabbed her, and placed her on the table. I leaned in and kissed her deeply, and she immediately fell into it.
“I’m going to fuck her,” I said around her kisses. “So I suggest if you aren’t officially part of the group, you leave.”
“I’m not leaving,” Cole said, his voice low and dangerous.
“You’re not part of the group yet, Scott,” I said, pushing the straps of Rosalie’s dress down. “Ryder, you in?”
He hesitated for a moment before he got up and left, leaving me with Evan and Cole. I knew he’d let Klaus know what was happening so Ellis and Trix didn’t come in.
“Take her upstairs,” Evan said. “Cas is here. You know how he is.”
I grunted and lifted Rosalie off the table. She immediately wrapped her legs around my waist. I left the room with her and didn’t even realize Cole was tagging along until we were in her bedroom.
“Get lost, Scott,” I snapped at him.
“I am. In her pussy, dick.” He already had his pants off.
Fuck, he irritated me.
She moaned softly into my mouth as I kissed her fiercely again. I put her on the bed and stripped naked, noting Cole was faster than me and was already on the damn bed, removing Rosalie’s dress.
I grabbed her and flipped her onto her stomach, making her laugh. I grinned. I liked being a little rough with her sometimes.
If Cole gave a damn, he sure didn’t act like it as I put her on all fours and he pushed cock deep into her mouth with a soft groan.
Prick.
I went to my knees and ate her pussy, making her moan, which only made him groan more.