Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
KING
M y plan might have worked, but this next part is going to be hell. I’m not sure what is to come with dealing with her family, but I can tell that Willa is getting anxious the closer we get to Lighthouse Landing. I knew I’d have to take her back today. I wasn’t prepared for how much it was going to piss me off.
I should be on cloud nine. I spent the day between my girl's thighs, loving her in a way I never have and never will love another. She is it for me. I can still smell her on me, taste her.
We’re on the ferry. I wanted to have a vehicle with me, and this was the easiest and quickest way to make it happen. Willa takes another sip of the hot chocolate I got her when we’d gotten on.
She’s quiet now, and I know it’s because she’s worried what will happen next. I’ve tried to ease those worries for her. I wish I could whisk her away, but I know that’s not reality. She needs to finish school. I don’t want her to have any regrets or grow to resent me over time for missing out on anything.
“How is this going to go?” Willa asks, peeking over at me.
“How do you want it to go?”
“Maybe tonight I will go home and test the waters.” Willa licks her bottom lip. “Alone.” I can tell saying that one word pains her. I take some reassurance in the fact that she doesn’t want us to part for the night. She also hasn’t taken off her ring.
“Test the waters?” What the fuck does that mean? I’m sure to keep the heat out of my tone. I don’t need her being upset and headed back to her family's estate. I refuse to call it her home.
“With my brother at least. I know Teddy will get it. She might grill me, but in the end, she’ll go with whatever makes me happy. That’s how she is.” Teddy might be more of an ally than I realized.
“Your brother will have a problem with it.” In that, I have no doubt. I would if I had a sister. Willa is still in fucking high school, and I went and tricked her into marrying me along with taking her virginity, where I made sure I marked her in the most barbaric of ways. Since the second I laid eyes on her, I had this indescribable need to tie her to me.
"I know, but it's just not that. You know my father just died, and now my brother is doing this fighting stuff. I'm worried about him. So much is changing." Her eyes start to fill with tears.
"I can yank him from the fights, Princess, but there are more out there." Rich has it in him to go pro if he wants. He’s not just some brute that likes to use his fists. He possesses skills that could lead to him having a career in it if he chooses.
"No, I don't want that." She shakes her head. "I like that it's close to you. It feels safer, and you're right. Rich would find another way. He's good at getting what he wants."
This is true, but Rich was fighting long before their father's death. In fact, Daddy bet against his own son a few times. That’s a discussion for another time.
I take the drink from her hand before plucking Willa from her seat into my lap. She lets out a small laugh. “You make me feel tiny.”
“You are tiny.”
“Compared to you, everyone is tiny.” She rests her hands on my shoulders.
“I want to make this easy for you, Willamina.” I don’t tell her how hard it’s going to be for me.
She doesn’t need that shit, and I’m not going to put it on her. I want to protect her. I also have no fucking clue what Rich is going to do. Secrets always have a way of finding the light, and Willa is all bright light in my dark world.
“I hate the idea of sleeping without you. What are you going to do for the night? Will you head back to the city?” Her brows furrow together; she’s not a fan of that idea either.
“I won’t be that far from you.”
“Really, don’t you have work and stuff?”
“I have things handled. Don’t worry over that.”
Willa lays her head on my shoulder. “You’re so good to me.” I run my hands up and down her back, keeping her tucked close to me until I have no choice but to put her back into her seat.
We're quiet as I pull off the ferry and make my way up to her family's estate. The sun is almost fully down now. When I put my car into park, Willa is flinging herself back across the seat and kissing me.
I match her desperation, not stopping until she’s breathless. “I know this might be fast, but I think I love you. I want you to know that so you don’t question me going back tonight.”
“I love you too, Princess.” I press my mouth to hers again. I’m not sure I know what love really is, but I do know that whatever we have is different from everything else I have ever felt in my life.
Willa rains kisses all over my face, making me chuckle. “You’re making it harder, Princess.”
“Really?” She smirks, her hand rubbing my cock over my jeans.
“Willa,” I growl. I don’t know how I can be hard again. I came inside her three times today.
“I love you.” She kisses me again before she’s hopping from the car. It takes everything in me to not grab her back. I watch until she enters the house before I pull down the drive, knowing I’m not really going anywhere.
As I thought, it doesn’t take long before I see West walking down the long driveway. I dug into him and know he has his hands in a lot of security tech. I’m sure this place is now decked out in it. Knowing she’s safe is one of the only consolations I have when it comes to leaving her here.
“Derrick’s whole family packed up and left the island,” West says, coming to lean up against the car next to me.
“Told you I’d take care of it.” He nods. “I’m not staying away,” I say, wanting to put it out there so he knows my intentions when it comes to Willa.
“Wasn’t going to ask you to. Willa hasn’t been in my life long. I was unaware of her existence until recently. I don’t have a right to tell her what she should or shouldn't be doing. She’s also a grown-up so she’s free to make her own decisions.”
“You stayed away from that piece of shit too?” I ask, thinking I already know the answer when it comes to his brother. West merely nods.
“She’s a sweet girl.”
“She is,” I agree.
“Looks just like my mom.” That has me glancing toward him. “She was sweet too. Until my father sucked every last drop of it from her.”
“I’ll never hurt her. It would kill me if she lost that sweetness.”
“Good.” West holds his hand out, and I take it.
“I’m likely going to trigger the alarm tonight.”
“I had a feeling.” He smirks, shaking his head before he starts back up the driveway. “Not me you need to worry about,” West calls back, telling me what I already know.
Rich is going to be a thorn in my side, but it’s Willamina I truly have to worry about.