Chapter 5 Cru
CRU
It had been bad enough watching Daphne and Beau together. I couldn’t go down that road with her and another man who wasn’t me, and I sure as hell wouldn’t play matchmaker.
“It’s late. Should I stay with your mum?”
“You can stay here.” I stood. “The bedroom is in the back.”
Daphne’s eyes were wide. “You do know I was joking about finding me a husband.”
“Of course I did.” I scrubbed my face. “I’m tired.” Not that it explained why I was suddenly being such an asshole.
“If it wouldn’t be horribly inconvenient, given I don’t have a car, I’d stay elsewhere—”
“Don’t do that,” I snapped. “We agreed.”
“I didn’t agree to put up with your surliness.” She folded her arms. “I’ve never known you to be so moody.”
If only I could pull her into my arms, stroke her cheek with my fingertip, apologize, and kiss her, all would be right with my world. Instead, I was being an asshole. “I’m sorry.”
“I have to admit I don’t understand. Is it something I’ve done?”
What could I say? That I was being a douche because I couldn’t stand the idea of her with another man?
Or that being near her turned me on so much I’d had to leave the room so she didn’t notice how my erection strained against my jeans?
Or that I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had sex, yet the idea of being with anyone but her not only turned me off, but made me sick to my stomach?
I couldn’t say any of those things. Worse would be if I acted on the intense desire I felt for her.
Instead of doing one of the things I knew would result in me losing her friendship, I was doing the other.
“I’m sorry,” I repeated, putting my hands in my pockets to stop myself from reaching for her.
“You haven’t answered my question.”
“I’m out of sorts, and as I said, I’m tired. While I know what you went through was horrific, as you said, I was still crazy with worry, terrified that something had happened to you. The idea that…” My voice clogged with emotion, and I couldn’t go on.
Daphne stepped closer and, when she couldn’t get me to take my hands from my pockets, wound her arms around my waist. “Why won’t you hug me?” she whispered.
I sighed and embraced her. “I was so afraid I’d lose you.”
Daphne rested her head on my chest. “Thank you for finding me. For saving me.”
“You had to know I would.”
I felt her nod. “I don’t know why I didn’t call you.”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re here, you’re safe, and that’s all I care about.”
She removed her arms from around me and took a step back. “We should get some rest.”
I led her to the bedroom and showed her where I kept extra pillows, blankets, and towels.
“I just remembered my bag is in your car.”
“I’ll go get it.”
“There’s no need if you have a spare toothbrush.”
I pointed to a couple still in their packages, along with unopened toothpaste.
“There are shirts in the drawer if you need something to sleep in.”
“I’m good. I’m more comfortable not wearing anything to bed.”
I swallowed the groan that came so close to escaping my lips. “Uh, good night, then.” I backed out of the room and was about to close the door when I heard Daphne say my name.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for everything.”
I nodded once. “You’re welcome. Anything else?”
“Should I meet you at the main house in the morning?”
“I’ll come back.”
She cocked her head but didn’t say anything, so I closed the door.
While I’d told her I’d sleep there, I had no intention of doing so. If I had my way, Daphne and I would sleep under the same roof, even if not in the same bed, for as long as she’d allow it. Frankly, I’d prefer to never let her out of my sight.
When I woke the next morning, my body ached from sleeping on the small sofa and my cock was rock-hard from dreaming about Daphne naked in my bed. And instead of where I was now, in my fantasies, I was with her.
“Cru?”
I jumped when I heard her say my name, then shifted to an upright position while also attempting to keep the lower half of my body covered by the blanket.
“Good morning,” I said, scrubbing my face with my hand.
“I thought you were staying at your mum’s.”
“Changed my mind.” I glanced over and saw her in one of my sweatshirts.
It hung down almost to her knees. Could my imagination have given me a break rather than conjuring the image of her naked beneath it?
Then, naturally, picturing her bare pussy.
Not that I knew, or would ever know, if she kept it that way.
I grabbed a pillow and put it on my lap.
“You’re a coffee drinker, right?” she asked.
“Yeah. If you give me a minute, I can make some.”
“I’ll do it. Where do you keep everything?”
“Beans are in the cabinet above.”
When she opened it and reached up to grab the bag, the sweatshirt rose with her, almost to the top of her thighs. A gentleman might have looked away. Clearly, I wasn’t one.
“This place is set up for a tall person,” she grumbled. “Can you help?”
“Uh, sure.” I really had no fucking idea what I’d do now. There was literally no way for me to hide my raging hard-on. So I stood up, and when I did, Daphne’s eyes went straight to the tent in my sweatpants. Rather than look away, she didn’t.
With the most confident swagger I could muster, I joined her in the kitchen, stood right beside her, reached up, and grabbed the coffee beans. I turned to face her, but her eyes were still riveted to just below my waist.
“If you keep staring at it, it’ll probably get bigger.”
Her eyes opened wide, and when she finally looked up at me, we both laughed.
“I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m not.” She giggled. “Quite impressive, Cru.”
“I call it morning wood.”
She giggled some more.
“Keep laughing at it, and it will go away.”
She put her hand over her mouth, not that it helped. “We wouldn’t want that, now, would we?”
“You’re hysterical. Make your coffee.”
“I can’t reach the cups.”
I raised a brow. They were almost right in front of her face. In order for me to get them, I’d have to reach across her, and when I did, my body would press against hers.
“I’m gonna take a shower. Probably a cold one. If you can’t figure out how to get a cup, I guess you’ll have to wait.”
“Hang on.”
I turned to face her. “What?”
She wiggled her finger at my midsection. “Can you leave that here?”
I chuckled, shook my head, and went in the direction of the bathroom. “I haven’t figured out how to get back at you yet, but know it’s coming,” I said behind me. Which, of course, was met with more giggles.
When I heard a knock on the door, then it opening, I wished there was a lock on it. I was hidden behind a shower curtain but still.
“Daphne? What are you up to now?”
“Coffee delivery. Would you like me to hand it to you or leave it on the counter?”
“Counter, please, and just remember, payback is a bitch.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
I could just imagine the smirk that came along with her challenge. This playfulness, her teasing, was just one of the reasons I loved her so much it hurt.
If only she weren’t yanking my chain, I would’ve returned to the kitchen, picked her up, set her naked butt on the counter, dropped my sweatpants, and fucked her senseless.
Instead, I was alone in the shower, taking care of my mad desire for her the way I always did.
“Are your parents staying at Norman?” I asked on the drive to the airport.
“I’m not certain, but it’s where they usually stay.”
There was a guesthouse on a vineyard owned by friends of Daphne’s parents—George and
Lana Norman—that I knew had two bedrooms. I just hoped she’d opt to sleep at Brix’s with me tonight instead of there with them.
It dawned on me that, as of today, it was no longer my brother’s house.
He’d quit claimed the deed to me earlier, before we left.
Maybe once I moved out of the cottage where Daphne and I had spent last night, I’d start referring to the bigger house as my place.
Although I’d much prefer it to be Daphne’s and mine.
I hadn’t offered her one of the ranch vehicles to drive yet, since none of them would’ve been suitable to pick up her parents.
The other reason I hadn’t was because I wanted to be with her if they chose not to wait to question her about what had happened in New York City.
It wouldn’t be my business to defend her, but at least I’d be there to lend my support if it was needed.
Saying goodbye to Brix and Addy was harder than I’d expected it to be. Both made me promise to visit and to bring Daphne with me. Given I’d already thought about showing her Tryst’s ranch, I said I would.
I hung back when Daph approached her parents, but she quickly led them over to me.
I’d known Noah and Beatrice Cullen all my life.
The man was still as fit as me. Only the wrinkled lines of his face gave away his age.
It was the same with Daphne’s mother. She was just as gorgeous as her daughter, with the same wide smile and warm eyes.
Daph’s dad had been a good friend of my father’s as well as a member of a secret society at the same time he was, like I was now.
The organization—known as Los Caballeros—was a brotherhood dating back several hundred years. My ancestors established the branch in the US when they came to the country in the seventeen hundreds; at the same time, they gave the name to our family’s winery.
Like me, my brothers, and my dad, Noah’s father and grandfather had been members. It was rare for someone who didn’t already have a family connection to be asked to join, but if they were, they had to meet certain criteria.
First, they had to be presented for consideration by an active member.
Next, their family had to have been in the wine industry for at least two generations.
Third, the prospective member had to be worth a billion dollars or more in their own right.
And lastly, they had to agree not to divulge the existence of Los Caballeros and the work we did to anyone outside of our tight-knit circle.
While not a mandate, having a good seat in the saddle was necessary, given the annual one-hundred-mile ride out we did in the spring—a Spanish tradition stemming back to the fourteen hundreds.
It was then that the Knights Templar defeated the Moors and took control of a town, Jerez, in southwestern Spain.
They renamed it Jerez de los Caballeros—direct translation: Jerez of the Knights.
Back then, the Templars’ ride outs were more for marauding, whereas ours were about celebrating our ancestry and our love of traversing the desert into the mountains of Paso Robles on horseback.
The caballeros served another purpose. Some called us good-guy vigilantes. Law enforcement wasn’t always thrilled with our involvement, but many had confessed—off the record—that our “interference” was appreciated.
When Addy was charged with murder a few months ago, we were the ones to prove her innocence and also to track down the real killer.
When Daphne called Beau to say she was in danger, he’d immediately rallied his fellow caballeros—through me—to find her. As had become the case in the last few years, we were aided by a private security and intelligence firm called the Invincibles, which was headed up by a man named Decker Ashford.
It wasn’t the only firm of that nature we worked with. Another, K19 Security Solutions, was founded by the eldest son of the family who owned the vineyard estate adjacent to ours.
“Cru, it’s good to see you,” said Noah, approaching and embracing me. Daphne’s mother did the same after hugging her daughter. “Daph tells me she has news about your winery.”
I raised a brow in her direction, then winked. “Yeah, what is it?”
Her eyes scrunched at me when I didn’t take the cue to tell them about her new job.
“I’m the second-label winemaker,” she said. “As of today.” Her cheeks flushed.
Noah’s head cocked.
“You just missed Brix. He and Addy plan to live in Mexico permanently, so I’ll be taking over the first label.”
I was puzzled when Beatrice glanced at her husband and he nodded.
“Shall we?” I asked, motioning in the direction of baggage claim.
“By the way, the Normans are out of town and offered the use of their vehicle so we won’t need to rent one,” Noah said when we passed the car counters.
“I’ll need to buy a car myself if I’m going to be living here permanently,” Daph murmured.
“We can help with that while we’re here if you’d like,” said Beatrice.
While the conversation was seemingly mundane, what had just occurred wasn’t. Daphne had stated she’d be remaining in the States, and by way of offering to help with a car purchase, her mother had communicated she was in support of the decision.
When Daphne and her mom walked away arm in arm, Noah hung back.
“I want you to know Bea and I enthusiastically support this new development.”
“I’m happy to hear that, sir. Daphne will be a huge asset to the Los Caballeros brand. I’m excited to see what she does with the second label.”
“Not that development, son.”
“Sorry, I’m not following.”
“You and our daughter. While we love Beau and consider him part of our family, Daph’s mother and I always thought you’d be a better match.”
“Wait.” I stopped walking and put my hand on his arm. “It isn’t like that. Daphne and I aren’t together.”
Noah’s head cocked a second time. “You’re not?”
My mind raced with anything she or I might’ve said that led them to believe we were a couple. I couldn’t come up with a single thing. “Positive. We’re friends. Nothing beyond that.”
He shook his head and chuckled. “I wasn’t born yesterday, Cru. You can’t hide how much you love her, nor can she try to cover her feelings for you.”
I’d argue the point more, but why? I’d not convince him otherwise. Besides, I did love her. The only thing he was mistaken about was his daughter’s feelings for me.