Chapter 12
Twelve
Tinsley
My body is vibrating with so much need that a slight breeze might possibly send me over the edge. Andre continues his ministrations for another minute or two before I snap. I sit straight up, shocking him enough for him to lean back in his chair, and that's when I slide off the desk onto his lap.
“At this very second you have about three minutes to say what you need to say,” I snap quietly into his ear.
“The only thing I have to say is you are mine, and this baby is mine. There is no one and will never be anyone for me ever again,” he states simply.
“Andre, don’t say things you don’t mean in the heat of the moment,” I murmur low, fighting to keep the wall around my heart in place.
“I do not ever say things I don’t mean. You are mine, and I will not let you go,” he growls before slamming his mouth down on mine.
Just as the kiss gets carried away, a knock on the door brings it to a halt. Andre drops his forehead to my chest, grumbling about assholes who don’t know how to leave him the fuck alone.
“Andre, this can’t fucking wait,” Vito calls from the other side.
I move to get up, but Andre holds me in place. “Stay here. Whatever he has to say can’t take too long.”
I nod, standing only to sit on his leg facing the door. Andre calls for Vito to enter. He comes into the room, smirking at where I’m currently sitting.
“Fucking took you long enough,” he says. “Welcome to the family officially, Tinsley.”
“Thank you, Vito.” I smile at him, blushing under his scrutiny.
“What you got for me, Vito?” Andre questions as he starts running his hand up and down the inside of my thigh, getting closer and closer to my pussy.
“I wanted to let you know that the security system picked up movement in the secret passages around your room when Tinsley was asleep up there,” Vito says, turning an iPad around for him to see a video.
I gasp because this means I did actually see someone watching me while I was sleeping.
Before I know it, my stomach turns, and the need to vomit burns up my throat.
I stand bolting for the trashcan on the side of Andre’s desk.
Whatever was left in my stomach from today is now being rejected.
Andre comes over, pulling my hair back, so I don’t get vomit in it.
Once finished, I sit back on my ass, leaning into Andre as I try to catch my breath. Vito brings me a glass of cool water.
“Thank you,” I state before sipping it slowly.
“Tesoro, are you okay? Do we need to get Nurse Tina?” Andre's voice is full of concern.
“I think I’m okay.” I lay my head back on his shoulder, closing my eyes. “Earlier when I woke up before coming to find you, I swore there was someone standing over me watching me as I slept. They didn’t say anything and took off when I spoke, so I thought I was imagining it.”
“Search every inch of this place. I want the house on lockdown,” Andre commands Vito while holding me close.
“Do you think locking the house down with everyone in is the smart thing to do?” Vito questions Andre.
Andre goes stiff behind me. “There is nowhere safer than the house.” His tone is confident and unforgiving.
“If that were true, how did someone get inside and into the private hallways without us knowing it until they made a mistake by not making sure the secret door didn’t close all the way when they ran?” I ask, not trying to question Andre but just trying to reassure myself that we’re safe.
“Fuck,” Andre hisses, shaking and then mumbling to himself. “This is the safest place to be. Nothing bad can happen if everyone is here.”
I look to Vito for help. He just stands there watching as Andre spirals. Tired of waiting, I do the thing I’m good at.
“Vito, before we put the house on lockdown, do a top-to-bottom search and be sure there is no one here who shouldn’t be. Then place it on lockdown,” I instruct the man.
Vito gives me a grim smile. “Looks like cousin truly did choose well.”
After he drops the bomb, he turns and walks out of the room to do exactly what I told him to do. Turning back to Andre, I cup his cheeks and speak slowly and reassuringly to him.
“Where is the panic room?” I ask him.
That question seems to be what he needed to snap back from the lost place he’d gone into. He stands, taking my hand and dragging me to a panel in the wall that pops open, and we step into the room, Andre closing it firmly behind us. Once the door is locked, he lets out a long breath, and relaxes.
“I’m sorry, Tinsley,” he whispers, slamming his hand on the door he is leaning on.
“What happened back there, Andre?” I rub a hand up his back.
“My mother and father died coming home from a New Year’s Eve party in Atlanta.
No one knew what happened, only that they left to come home and then they were dead.
I was barely twenty and truly not ready to take over.
That’s when Grandpa came to stay here from Atlanta.
On his way, he was nearly killed as well.
That was when my slight agoraphobia started.
Thankfully, most family heads are more than happy not to have a face-to-face these days.
Making it easy to keep people from knowing. ” Andre turns to me, pulling me tight.
“The great thing you’ve got going for you is that when shit hits the fan, you’re able to leave. So, over time we’ll work on getting you off the property little by little,” I reassure him.
“Maybe one day,” Andre half-ass agrees.
We spend the next three hours talking about all the things that we want for our future and our future babies until Vito comes to the door and enters the code that unlocks the panic room door, giving us the all clear.
Andre takes my hand, leading me out of his office to the kitchen where we scrounge up something for dinner.
It’s not long before Vito, Loretta, Bryce, and Miss Tina join us.
We sit around the small kitchen table laughing over stories of our childhoods.
I sit back, looking at everyone’s faces smiling because, for the first time in I don’t even know how long, I feel like I have a genuine family.
Loretta leans over towards me. “I know that look. It’s the look of someone who has found their home.”
I glance at her out of the corner of my eye. “And you know that because you see the same looking back at you in the mirror?”
Loretta looks over at Vito, whose eyes are already on her. When they make eye contact, the man winks at her, shocking the ever-living shit out of me. A blush starts at the top of her head, making its way down her face and into the collar of her shirt.
“I do in fact see the same look in the mirror smiling back at me,” she says quietly before standing and making her way over to him, sliding into his lap.
The man doesn’t even stop his conversation with Bryce, but he shifts so she is comfortable, wraps his arms around her to make sure she is settled and happy.
Glancing over at Andre, I find him listening intently to Vito and Bryce, but it’s as if he can feel my eyes on him because his gaze snaps to mine.
I don’t say anything, just continue watching him.
He cocks an eyebrow in question.
I give a small one-shoulder shrug.
Andre’s smile is breath-taking then he shifts his legs apart, holding his hand out to me.
Not giving myself the chance to chicken out, I reach over and take his hand as I stand, moving to sit in his lap.
When I’m comfortable, I lay my head on his shoulder, exhaustion swamping me. Andre looks down at me with concern written on his face.
“Are you sure you’re okay? It’s only been two days since your fall, and you’ve been sleeping a ton. Do we need to have you checked for a concussion?” Andre’s concern knocks away more of the wall around my heart.
“In the first trimester, it is common for the mother to be completely exhausted. Add to the fact that she’s supposed to be on bed rest, and sleeping is exactly what she needs to be doing,” Miss Tina answers for me.
The table goes silent around us. Vito and Loretta are staring at us like we’re zoo animals, and Bryce is grinning like the cat that got the cannery.
“Are you pregnant?” Loretta gasps.
I nod.
“Holy shit. That’s freaking awesome! I’m going to be an auntie!” Loretta screeches, bouncing in Vito’s lap.
Vito leans into her. “Does this mean you're done being mad at me and are going to marry me?”
Loretta goes statue still before bolting out of his lap, out of the kitchen, and down the hall laughing as she goes. Vito sits there, not going after her.
“Are you going to go after her?” Tina asks him.
A sly grin curves on the right side of his face. “I like to give her a ten-second head start. That way she feels like she has a chance.”
He slowly stands, making his way across the room to go after her. Bryce looks between us and the door that Vito just left through, eyes wide.
“I swear you all are the weirdest and kinkiest assholes I’ve ever met,” Bryce grumbles, standing from the table. “I’m going to do a lap and check on the men. I’ll see y’all tomorrow.”
“Night,” we all call.
Looking up at Andre, I kiss him on his jaw. “I’m going to head to bed too. I’m so damn tired.”
“Let’s go, Tesoro,” Andre agrees, helping to my feet as he gets to his.
I lean over, hugging nurse Tina hard before I go.
Andre and I walk up the stairs to his room in silence, both too tired to fill the silence.
As soon as we make our way into his room, I go directly to his closet, strip out of my clothes and pull on one of his T-shirts, and Andre goes into the restroom.
Once I’ve changed, I crawl into bed, thinking I’m going to wait for Andre to get out and then do what I need to do.
I mean, that was the plan. Instead, I passed out while sitting at the end of the bed.