Entering the kitchen, he found Phoebe at the sink staring out the window into the back yard. She was washing her hands and it was obvious that her mind was a million miles away. Her blonde hair hung over her shoulders and he wanted to run his hands through its length before burying his face in it and inhaling the scent of her sweetness. Over the past few weeks his craving for her had become almost irresistible. His cock was hard more than it was soft, and he’d been jacking off so much he was afraid his dick was going to fall off.
“You okay?” he asked softly, trying not to startle her.
“Oh, Peanut,” she said whirling around in surprise with her hands still wet. “Sorry, I was a little dazed there for a second. Did you need something? Viking and Phoenix said they needed to talk with you, so I let them in. I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s fine as long as you’re comfortable with it. I know Viking scared you a few weeks ago. If you don’t want to let him in when I’m not here, don’t. I want you to feel safe here,” Peanut told her, stepping into the room and walking towards her. His arms ached to wrap around her as he watched her face for any signs of fear.
“I don’t want to cause problems between you and your friends, Peanut. If I’m going to be here, then I’m going to have to get used to them dropping by sometimes.” Phoebe grabbed a plate of cookies and a jug of lemonade. Peanut reached out and stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm.
“No, Phoebe, you don’t. If someone makes you uncomfortable you tell them to fuck off until I can be here. I don’t want you worried because someone frightens you. I know what you’re already running from and I won’t have that same fear be a part of your life here,” he told her, taking the plate of cookies and the lemonade from her.
Phoebe looked up at him, her eyes softening as she smiled a little at him before surprising the hell out of him by reaching up to touch his cheek. He felt the jolt of her touch clear to his toes and his cock stiffened even further. He wasn’t sure how that was even possible. He was damned glad his hands were full or he’d likely have grabbed her and jerked her in for a long passionate kiss. He didn’t really know how well that would go over with her. Yes, she was becoming more at home here every day but that didn’t mean she wanted to stay because of him. For all he knew she thought of him as her boss and that was it.
“I do feel safe here, Peanut. These people are your family and I will not make them wait on the doorstep until you get home just because they make me a little nervous. I’m not going to run away because someone makes me jumpy,” she whispered.
“I would come after you, you know. Not in a bad way like whoever you’re running from but just to make sure you were in a safe place and protected kind of way. Jasmine and I think of you as our family too, you know,” Peanut finished lamely, realizing after he’d said the first part that she was on the run from an abusive controlling asshole and likely wouldn’t take his chasing her very well.
“I’m not going anywhere. It takes more than Viking’s scowls to get rid of me,” Phoebe teased.
Peanut watched her turn around and walk over to the counter, grabbing the cups she’d stacked together and moving to walk into the living room, expecting him to follow with the cookies and lemonade. Peanut stood there staring at her retreating ass encased in green cargo pants that only hinted at her tender curves, wondering what the hell had just happened. He trailed after her feeling a bit territorial all of the sudden. Not that it was any different than how he’d been feeling since she’d arrived, but it was getting a hell of a lot stronger.
“Peanut, set those down over here so everyone can get some,” Phoebe said as she unstacked the cups and reached for the pitcher he was carrying. Viking was watching her with a wary look on his face as she handed him a glass of fresh lemonade. He didn’t take his eyes off her as she poured some for Jasmine and Phoenix.
“Yummy. I love lemonade,” Jasmine exclaimed, grabbing three cookies off the plate.
“Hey, not so many, you will spoil your dinner,” Phoebe scolded.
Jasmine sighed and put one back without complaint, surprising Peanut and his brothers with her easy compliance. She normally tried to convince whatever adult told her not to take so many relentlessly until they let her have three cookies. Viking frowned at Phoebe. Peanut knew that he didn’t trust easily, and Phoebe was hard for him to accept, but he needed to stop scowling at her. Phoenix grabbed two of the cookies and stuffed them into his mouth.
“Wow, these are fantastic. I need to get the recipe for these for Sin. She might manage to make them. Maybe,” he snorted at his own joke.
Peanut grinned, knowing that he wouldn’t be saying that if Sin were here because she’d have punched him in the balls. Sin didn’t put up with any of Phoenix’s bullshit. She’d even left some sappy note he’d given her in the clubhouse once in revenge for something he’d done to displease her. She wasn’t one to pull punches or hold back when she was pissed off. It was good for a man as arrogant as Phoenix to have an old lady willing and able to give him his comeuppance.
“You better not let her hear you talking like that or you might get more than you bargained for,” Peanut snorted as he took the glass of lemonade that Phoebe handed to him.
“Can we take care of what we came here for or do you two want to chit-chat some more?” Viking asked. Peanut noticed that he was refilling his empty glass with an eye roll. Viking would never admit it, but the freshly squeezed juice was damned good and he knew it.
“Yeah, we might better talk about that. Sorry to eat and run. I’ll have Sin call you later for that recipe, Phoebe,” Phoenix muttered, grabbing three more cookies and stuffing them in his mouth. Thankfully, Jasmine was engrossed in the TV show she was watching or she might had demanded more cookies.
“It’s fine, I understand. You have better things to do than hang around with the nanny,” Phoebe said laughing.
Phoenix winked at her, making Peanut’s eyes narrow on the other man. He didn’t like him flirting with Phoebe. If he didn’t know that Phoenix was mad about Sin, he’d think he was trying to get into her pants. He led the men back into his room where they shut the door. He watched as Phoenix took the only chair in the room and Viking leaned against his dresser. Peanut had long ago had this room sound-proofed because of Jasmine. He didn’t want his daughter waking up in the middle of the night to hear him having sex across the hall with some random hook-up.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“A few things actually. The first is we have a lead on the people we’re trying to ferret out. It’s not solid but we think it warrants investigating. It’s a two-day trip to Greenville to check it out. Rage wants you and Viking to go. Is that going to be an issue?” Phoenix asked, looking first at Peanut before turning to Viking.
“No,” Viking responded.
Peanut wasn’t so sure, but he shrugged when Phoenix looked to him with a raised brow. Peanut didn’t think there would be an issue unless Viking started talking about Phoebe. If they avoided the subject, everything should be just dandy.
“You sure? Cause that shit out there was intense. I don’t know what the fuck is going on between you two but get that shit sorted. We don’t have time for shit to be fucked up when we’re trying to find a shady mother fucker in our backyard.” Phoenix finished that statement with a hard look. Peanut knew he was right about them not needing this shit right now. Lord knew they had enough on their plate with the club’s issues. The one with Phoebe and Viking had to take second fiddle.
“As long as he doesn’t bring up Phoebe, we should be golden,” Peanut stated, eyeing Viking.
“Yeah, whatever. It’s not like you’d listen anyway.”
“About that, I know she seems sweet and all but are you sure she isn’t a plant? We have shit going down in our house that might mean she isn’t on the up and up. I’m not saying that she’s on the take. Maybe someone’s forcing her to be here or maybe she’s just on the run from whoever left those nasty bruises from a few weeks ago, but it would be convenient tim
ing,” Phoenix said, studying him. Peanut’s hands clenched at his sides and he glared at them both.
“I had her checked out three weeks ago. I did it because I didn’t want questions like this coming up or anything being said about her. If Viking had asked me instead of running his mouth to you and the rest of the fucking club, maybe he’d already know that,” Peanut snarled, his eyes alight with his fury. He hated having to tell them he’d had her looked into but he’d had little choice. After the altercation at the mall he’d realized that with everything going down with the club he’d have to make damned sure Phoebe didn’t get caught up in suspicion by the club. He’d known she was clean, but he’d check to make damned sure everyone else did too.
“What did you find?” Viking asked.
“Until five weeks ago she was married to some slick mother fucker in Wyoming. She climbed on a bus somewhere in South Dakota and ended up here a week later. It’s legit. I have the report. She’s clean as a whistle but that fucking douche is looking for her. I had her trail covered better but he might still find her. I hope I can count on the club to handle it if I’m not here and something happens,” Peanut snapped while pacing back and forth, too keyed up to stay still. The idea of that fucking asshole coming after his Phoebe made him a little bit psycho.
“You know you can always count on the club. If she’s clean, then of course we are going to help her. We all feel the same way about abusive assholes as you do.”
“She’s still married?” Viking demanded.
“Yeah, I think that was null and void the second she ran from him, dumbass. She might be legally still married to the fucker, but she isn’t ever going back. He put her in the hospital more than once. She has a hospital record a mile long of suspicious accidents. It’s not an issue,” Peanut snapped, stopping to glare at him with clenched fists.
“I should say not. Damn, this is a hot button for me. You know what happened to Sin when she was little. You can count on me or Sin to help if she needs it. Maybe talking to Sin might help her adjust too. I don’t know but it can’t hurt,” Phoenix offered, likely trying to distract him.
Peanut glanced to him with a nod, “I’ll ask.”
“I didn’t know she had it that bad. It still doesn’t mean she isn’t using you, Peanut. She might not be coiled up in this shit we have going on but she could still be taking the easy way out here, you know,” Viking injected.
“Damn it, Viking. Let him worry about that. If she isn’t part of this new threat we’re dealing with, its none of our business what he wants to allow Phoebe to get away with,” Phoenix grunted, shoving up from the chair.
“Exactly what I said in the mall weeks ago.”
“I expect you two on the road in the next two hours. Try not to kill each other while you’re gone,” Phoenix said, apparently having had enough of their bullshit. He opened the door and headed back to the living room to say goodbye to the girls. Peanut stared at Viking, who still leaned against the dresser watching him.
“Look, just leave it alone. I know what I’m doing here,” Peanut finally sighed after they stared each other down for a good two minutes.
“If you say so, but I’m only trying to look out for you. Have you thought about how letting her live here and become integrated into your lives might affect your daughter if Phoebe is just using you as a convenient protector until her issues are cleared up?” Viking asked.
“Yes, I have. I think she will be better for it. Whether Phoebe stays or doesn’t won’t break her. She’s a strong kid. Besides I intend to make Phoebe so damned happy here that she never wants to leave any damned way, so keep your negative shit to yourself for a change and we’ll get along just dandy.” Peanut stomped from the room, done with this conversation. He shouldn’t have to defend his choices to anyone, much less his favorite brother. If Viking didn’t get on board he was going to find himself left out in the cold because he was keeping Phoebe whether Viking liked it or not.
Chapter Twelve
Phoebe grabbed another dish and placed it into the dishwasher. Peanut had left two days ago and despite wanting to know where he was going, she hadn’t asked. He’d told her that he’d be back in a few days and left with Viking about an hour after Phoenix. Last night he’d called before Jasmine had gone to bed to check in. She’d listened to them chat about Jasmine’s day for twenty minutes before he’d asked to speak to Phoebe. He’d made sure everything was going smoothly and then he’d said he had to go, that they were leaving.
She was surprised to realize that she didn’t like Peanut being gone. It was odd feeling like she missed him when she had only known him for a few weeks. She was leaning down to rearrange the silverware when she heard someone come into the room behind her. She knew it was a man because of the heavy sound of boots hitting the tile floor. Fear rushed through her and she let out a squeak of terror as she turned to face the man, expecting Johnny. She spun around so fast that she tripped a little over the open door of the dishwasher and would have fallen face first into the kitchen counter if strong arms hadn’t wrapped around her waist, catching her against a hard male body.
Phoebe found herself looking up at Peanut with her heart racing and her hands resting on his chest. She felt faint as she stared up at him. Peanut scowled, his brown eyes soft as they took her in, seeming to search her face for something.
“I’m sorry, Lovely. I didn’t mean to frighten you,” Peanut said softly, his scowl fading.
Phoebe could still feel her heart pounding in her ears but she wasn’t sure it was from fear anymore. Her hands were no longer pushing against his chest but instead clinging. Her breath came in short little pants as they stared into each other’s eyes. The world seemed to fall away, and desire stirred inside her for the first time in a long while.
Peanut’s mouth was suddenly on hers and she wasn’t sure if she’d kissed him or if he’d kissed her. His tongue thrust inside her mouth devouring her as she let out a little moan of pleasure. She was caught in some weird spell of desire and fear as his hands tightened around her waist and she found her breasts pressing against his hard chest.
Her brain shut down and she was swept away by a passion so deep she ached with it. Her hands moved up to pull his mouth down into hers and she heard Peanut groan as he pressed his hard cock against her stomach. His hands cupped her ass and tilted her towards him, his teeth nipping at her lips. She gasped as his lips left hers and began leaving little nipping kisses down her neck. He was just nudging aside her shirt when he suddenly ripped himself away from her, leaving her swaying in the middle of the kitchen in a daze. Jasmine came rushing into the room and crashed into her dad, hugging his legs tightly.
“You made it before I went to bed. I’m so glad. I missed you bunches, not that I don’t like Phoebe, it’s just that you’re my dad. Did you and Uncle Viking get the job handled?” Jasmine asked, her words coming a mile a minute.
“I missed you too, Jazzy pants,” Peanut said, lifting her up for a bigger hug.
“Daaadd, I told you I’m too old for that nickname,” Jasmine whined.
Realizing that Peanut must have heard Jasmine running down the hall, she closed her eyes and took a calming breath. Her body was still tingling with desire. Phoebe turned back to the dishwasher on shaky legs trying to change gears. Her hands trembled as she started rearranging the dishes to get the last two into the dishwasher. She finally managed to get them moved around and everything loaded into the washer. When she closed the door and set the cycle, she realized that the task was mundane enough to cure her lingering desires.
“Can you tuck me in tonight? I like when Phoebe does it but I want you to do it tonight. I missed you lots and lots,” Jasmine was saying when Peanut set her down on her feet.
“Of course I’ll tuck you in, Little Lovely. I missed you lots and lots too,” Peanut replied, allowing her to take his hand. Phoebe wiped the counter with a wet washcloth trying to keep her mind off the fact that Peanut had almost literally lit a fire in her pants only a few momen
ts ago.
She looked up to see Peanut being led out of the kitchen. Their eyes met and they shared a look as he followed Jasmine out. It was heated and held the promise that what had happened just moments ago wasn’t finished. Hurriedly finishing the clean-up, she headed to her room. She was fairly confident he wouldn’t follow her. She didn’t know if she was ready to have the conversation his eyes had promised they were going to have.
When she got to her room she stripped, climbing into the shower to get ready for bed. She tried not to think but it was a losing battle. What the heck was that down in the kitchen? Why had she allowed him to kiss her? Had she even allowed it? She was married, for cripes sake. Yes, Johnny was a useless human being who’d used her for a punching bag, but she was still married. Marriage meant something and it felt wrong that she’d allowed Peanut to kiss her. At the same time though it had felt so damned right too.
She reached up and touched her lips as she stood beneath the hot water, her eyes closing as she relived the sensation of his kiss. She let out a little moan as she stopped caressing her lips and jerked the bar of soap off the shower caddy, scrubbing it over the loofa she’d bought. She needed to stop thinking about that kiss and make damned sure it didn’t happen again. She was married and she should at least get a quickie divorce before she got herself involved with another man.
She quickly washed and climbed from the shower, wrapping a towel around herself. As she opened the door of the bathroom, a waft of steam preceded her from the small room. She put on her underwear and some shorts with one of the t-shirts Peanut had given her the first night she was there. She was standing in front of the mirror and lifted her shirt, smoothing her hands over the slight bump of her baby. She smiled softly as she viewed the proof of life that was already starting to show. She’d started researching OB/GYN’s in the area yesterday and wondered how she was going to afford to pay for all the doctor visits. She was still mulling it over when her door was pushed open.
Saved by the Devil (Devils Arms Book 3) Page 10
