Chapter 24 Home
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Taking Jaden’s hand in mine, I led her into the restaurant, silently noting how unusually unsteady she was as she walked. Maybe the heels were too soon?
When we stepped up to the hostess, her eyes widened for a split second before she regained her composure.
“Mr. and Mrs. Davis, wonderful to see you. Your table is ready as requested. Please follow me.”
Jaden arched a brow as she walked beside me.
It was a quiet little place on the water, with a back patio leading out to the beach.
We were seated in the corner of the patio in a much more private setting, while a single menu was placed on the table.
Clive and Owen were already stationed throughout the restaurant, along with six other bodyguards.
“Your server will be with you shortly. Enjoy your evening, oh, and of course, happy anniversary,” the hostess said, quickly turning away to disappear back inside.
“This is really nice,” Jaden commented as she looked around, eyeing the clear glass panels bordering the patio, the sharp, clean decadence befitting a seaside five-star restaurant.
“I should hope so. It’s mine.”
Her eyes slid back to catch my gaze, her head shaking with a short laugh as she relaxed in her chair.
“Of course, it is,” she noted.
A minute later, a server appeared at our table, a nervous smile on her face.
“Good evening,” she chimed. “My name’s Amanda, and I’ll be taking care of you tonight. Can I start you off with anything to drink?”
My eyes slid over to Jaden, raising a brow in her direction. “What would you like, Mrs. Davis?”
Her eyes narrowed to irritated little slits as she leveled me with a glare, but then quickly regained her composure when she realized I was actually allowing her to choose for once. Not one to squander an opportunity, she turned back to Amanda.
“Captain and Coke with extra lime, please,” she said, but her tone made it sound like a question, like she was subtly asking for my approval.
“And for you, sir?”
“Who’s bartending tonight?” I asked.
“Jimmy is, sir.”
I nodded. “He’ll know what to make.”
“Of course. I’ll be right back with those.”
When she left, Jaden side-eyed me. “Jimmy will know, huh? You come here that often?”
I shrugged. “Not nearly as often as you’d think. But as I said, I own it, so I make sure my expectations are known.”
“Sure,” she acknowledged with a nod and then glanced down at the menu in front of her. “Oh, there’s a fried perch dinner on here.”
I leaned back in my seat, noticing the slight curl of her lips at the discovery. I wasn’t much for fried foods, but I could spoil her for our anniversary tonight.
“Get whatever you want,” I said, pulling out my phone to silence Daniel’s third incoming call.
When the server returned with our drinks, she took our orders and promptly hurried away. Jaden then took the three limes rimming her glass and squeezed all three of them into her drink, the fresh smell of lime juice bursting into the air.
I cocked an amused brow. “Got enough limes, or do you need ten more?”
She shrugged a shoulder, unperturbed by my comment. “I like it the way I like it,” she stated bluntly, then nodded at my drink. “What’s that?”
I grabbed my glass tumbler and swirled the liquid around. “Sort of a personalized Old-Fashioned,” I answered before taking a satisfying sip. “Do you want to try it?”
“Sure.”
Sliding the drink across the table, I watched Jaden take a small tentative sip and immediately scrunch up her face. “That’s disgusting,” she griped, setting the glass back down. I chuckled at her reaction, taking my glass back.
“I’m sure I’d find yours as equally disgusting.”
She shook her head with a scoff. “Doubtful since mine doesn’t taste like flavored rubbing alcohol.”
I grinned, lifting the glass to my lips, enjoying the burn of my flavored rubbing alcohol. Until my phone rang again with another call from Dan.
I sighed and answered the phone. “Fucking what,” I nearly snarled. He knew I was busy with this, so he’d better have a damn good reason for calling me this much.
“Sam Larson has been compromised. The South Docks are swarming with feds.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m aware.”
“What the fuck? How?”
“Who do you think set it up, genius?” Scott and I had been working on it all fucking week, which was why I hadn’t been able to take Jaden out until now.
“You deliberately compromised one of our own fucking docks without telling me? What the hell?”
Sighing, I stood from my chair and shot Jaden a warning glare to stay where she was before moving to a private corner where I could still watch her.
“In case you forgot, I don’t have to run my plans by you before I act on them.”
He groaned. “Well, what the fuck do you expect me to do? Now is not a good time to have the government sniffing around with all the shit we’ve got going on.”
“No shit. That’s why I got Sam to take the fall to keep the feds distracted for a while.”
He paused. “That’s a lot of labor you just cost us.”
“People are easy to restock.”
He scoffed at that. “You could at least give me a heads-up before you invite the FBI onto our doorstep.”
“You would know if you’d been around for the past week. Sorry you missed the fucking memo.”
“I’ve been busy,” he groaned.
“And right now, so am I.” Hanging up the phone, I slipped it back into my pocket and released a deep exhale. I rolled my shoulders, then my eyes tracked Jaden back to her seat, exactly where I left her.
She was quiet as she stared off at the beach, her eyes capturing the setting sun as the breeze blew through her hair. I could easily watch her just like this for hours, mesmerized by the slightest flicker of her angelic features.
It was why I made sure to fill this place with plenty of plain-clothes security, knowing I’d be too damn distracted to pay attention to anything else. This was our first public outing since she’d been shot, and I wanted to enjoy it without issue.
When our dinner arrived about ten minutes later, Jaden grimaced at her plate.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
She pursed her lips and sighed. “This isn’t real perch,” she answered, her voice slated with disdain.
I frowned in confusion. “What do you mean it’s not real perch? Of course, it is.”
She picked up one of the pieces of fried fish and took a bite. She then scrunched up her face and shook her head.
“Certainly not yellowtail perch.”
I furrowed my brow. “California has an array of perch species. What difference does it make?”
Jaden paused for a moment, then glanced back down to her plate, her eyes low with disappointment. “You’re right, it doesn’t. Never mind,” she murmured, then forked another piece into her mouth.
I wasn’t buying it.
“Why were you expecting yellow perch?” I asked, my tone demanding an answer.
Jaden sighed before casting her eyes back to the beach. “I just haven’t had perch in a long time, so my mind naturally went to yellowtail because that’s the fish I know from back hom—Michigan,” she quickly corrected. But it was too late.
My gaze locked with hers the second she said it, my chest constricting at her slip. The blood in my veins began to simmer under what I knew could only be a hardened expression, given the poorly concealed look of horror on Jaden’s face.
It was that same familiar fear shimmering in her eyes that always made my cock instantly hard and ready to burst through my pants. She had no idea of how fuckable she was when she was genuinely afraid like that. Especially when it was me she was afraid of.
Like chucking barrels of blood into the water.
“I’m sorry,” she backtracked. “I didn’t mean to say it like that.”
But the terror in her voice was already playing to my darker bases, enticing the predator with the promise of more mouthwatering amusement.
And it wouldn’t be denied.
“Come with me.”
Rising from my chair, I captured Jaden’s small hand in mine and pulled her to stand, leading her down a narrow outdoor passageway that the staff secretly used to get to the kitchen. After finding the little nook against the building, I yanked Jaden forward and slammed her back into the brick wall.
“Darren, I’m sorry,” she pleaded quickly, her voice regaining some confidence. “I didn’t mean—”
“Shut up,” I ordered, cutting her off as my mouth claimed hers.
Tentative and stiff, she whimpered against me, trembles running up her spine as her hands found purchase in my jacket, hoping for stability. The taste of lime and desire coated my tongue as it swept along hers, invading and conquering as it went.
My hands moved from her hips to pull the lining of her dress up, allowing me to slip two fingers inside her with ease, making me groan with approval. Jaden gasped, her mouth opening wide as her back arched, a hushed moan on her lips.
Conditioning her to become aroused from fear had been the greatest investment I’d ever made. Dry pussy just didn’t have the same appeal, and knowing how much I intended to terrorize her, it made the most sense in order for her to meet my needs.
“That’s my girl,” I praised, pumping my fingers in and out. “But I shouldn’t have to remind you of that.”
“You don’t,” she replied, her voice hitched and breathy. “Please. Not here.”
“Yes, here.”
“They’ll hear us.”
I chuckled, curling my fingers inside her, making her hips suddenly jolt. “You mean they’ll hear you.”
Jaden grunted as I pressed the heel of my palm against her clit, her walls clenching around my fingers as she absolutely ruined my shirt with her nails.
“Who do you belong to?” I growled, thrusting faster and harder.
She sucked in a sharp breath, her pussy writhing around my fingers. “You,” she moaned. “Fuck.”
On a sneer, I withdrew my fingers to appreciate Jaden’s decadent taste on my tongue, sucking off the heady evidence of her body’s undeniable need for me. A need I had commanded with just a single look.
“Yes, you fucking do,” I affirmed, and then lifted her ass to pin her against the wall.