“I had a tip off for a meeting going down here today. I don’t know who with, so I’m prepared for anything. Whoever it is, I’ll document it.”
“Cool. Got it.”
I consider how dangerous it is to poke the sleeping bear while I hunt for the truth, but she would only prove to me once again that I have zero chances of keeping her out of this anymore.
“When the meeting goes down, I want you to make sure you duck out of sight. You understand?”
She peers up at me. “Why?”
“You know why,” I mutter, clenching my fists. She lifts her brows questioningly and I sigh. “To keep your face hidden. That will protect you if we’re spotted. I’m less recognizable in this suit, but I’m not taking a chance that anyone will recognize you and connect your face to your parents.”
“Okay.” She stares at me and reaches over to put her hand on my leg. “We’re doing this together. You and me, the way it always should be.”
I look at her from the corner of my eye, resting my elbow against the window while tracing my lip with my thumb. “Yeah.”
A bone-deep truth settles in me. I never should’ve blamed Maisy. We were just kids back then. The breath I release feels like it yanks away the last dredges of my years-long grudge, leaving me lighter and less shrouded in so much pain.
The car goes quiet again as we settle in to wait. I pass the minutes by running through everything I’ve learned so far in my head. The accident was covered up and Richard Landry helped with his new position as police chief. Jacqueline Landry becomes CEO mere weeks later. Both of them became richer and Nexus Lab grew from a small regional lab to one of the nation’s top suppliers in the last decade.
Maisy’s breathing slows as her head droops, hitting my shoulder after a few minutes. She’s asleep. I still for a moment, then adjust my position to support her head better. She’ll complain if she gets a stiff neck from falling asleep that way. Her floral and coconut scent wraps around me the same as her hug did the other night, making my lips twitch with the urge to smile.
This time instead of being a distraction, I find myself centered like she’s a guiding light. I watch her sleep for a minute, then shift my attention to wait out the meeting.
For a while there’s no activity, then two cars pull up. I shift around carefully without dislodging Maisy from my shoulder. Surprise lances through me. The first man, I don’t recognize. He’s a big, mean looking guy with a barrel chest and buzzed hair in a cheap suit. The other is Richard Landry.
Shouldn’t he be with Maisy’s family? I check the time and guess the graduation ceremony ended.
Richard is agitated, hands jerking sharply as he talks to the man he’s meeting with. There’s a quick exchange of something when they step closer together. Money, probably. And I caught him in the act of accepting a bribe.
Using my phone, I discreetly record everything. Colt will get the footage and analyze it on his system for me. Instead of leaving as soon as the coast is clear, I wait, allowing myself to watch her again. Her lips part and I want to trace them. Unable to help myself, I caress her cheek, careful not to wake her.
“Mm, sorry,” Maisy says in a husky whisper as she stirs not long after. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
“It’s fine. I got what I needed while you were out.”
“Did you?” She sits up, taking her warmth and comfortable weight with her. I have to restrain myself from drawing her head back to my shoulder. Her expression twists into an adorable pout. “Man, I didn’t want to miss it. This totally ruins the badass cred I’m working on. I’ve got undercover work down, but choked on the stakeout.”
I snort. “Yeah, you’re definitely ready to take on corruption with those skills.”
Colton would get a kick out of her. For the first time ever, I picture what it would be like to introduce my foster brother to my daisy. It puts a smile on my face as I start the engine and pull onto the road. Maisy’s hand goes out the window again, coasting on the air as I pick up speed and race around the winding road.
More than once, my attention darts to her. She seems content with her hand in the wind and her hair. It’s times like this I see the girl who held my heart in her small hands when we were kids.
“Do you remember California? When we went on vacation?” she asks after a short stretch of peaceful quiet. I hum in response, flashing her a curious look. Her attention is on her hand, expression distant and tinged in sadness. “That was such a good trip. I still have the shells and rocks we collected. Remember when I turned the stones you picked out for me into this?” She holds up her wrist with the leather bracelet. “I miss the ocean.”
A pang hits my tattooed chest with the same ache I’ve felt. “I do, too.”
“You do?” There’s a catch in her voice that lights a fire inside me.
Licking my lips when I feel her gaze on me, I rest my hand over the top of the wheel and willingly open up to someone for the first time in years.
“When I lived in Thorne Point on the east coast, there was a cove I would go to when I couldn’t sleep. I stole my foster brother’s car to get to it, and he caught me.” I laugh at the memory of Colt squinting at me and calling me a punk-ass little twerp. “He let me borrow it anytime I wanted after he saw the haunted look in my eyes.”
“Nightmares?”
“Yeah. They come and go, usually around the anniversary, but going to that cove helped. I miss the salt air on my skin. So much so, I tattooed it there.”
Maisy leans toward me. “Exactly! I’ve been planning this road trip. I want to hit up as many national parks as I can between here and the west coast. I’m going to do sunrise yoga in each one and really connect myself to nature.”
As she explains, I’m struck by nostalgia, remembering how many hours we’d spend pouring over roadmaps and making plans for the adventures we would go on. It was me and her, ready to take on the world. All of our dreams used to intertwine until we didn’t know where hers stopped and mine began. We were so close.
I find myself smiling. “You’re finally taking it. I remember how important it was to you.”
“Yeah.” She bites her lip around a smile, hazel eyes bright. “Not yet, though. First I’m helping you, then I’m hitting the road.”
When the impulse strikes to punch the gas, I follow it, shifting gears and opening up the engine. Maisy yelps as her back hits the seat, then throws her hands up. It’s clear to see what the thrill does to her as it rolls through her whole body, as alive as she is. She smacks the roof overhead and lets out a whoop while I take a bend.
We drive like that until we hit the shorter roads that twist around the boulders dotting the hills.
“Will you give me a ride on your dad’s bike again? I loved it.”
Air catches in my throat. “You knew it was his? Not just the same model Harley, but his?”
“Yeah. I’d recognize it anywhere. You used to idolize it.” Her eager smile softens. “I’m glad you have it.”
“It was hard to track down.”
There’s a beat of quiet where we’re both in our heads.
“I’m sorry you were alone for so long. I wish you never had to leave here.” She pulls her hair out of her face and glances at her lap. “I missed you every day.”
“I wasn’t always alone,” I admit, throat constricted from the pain in her tone. “For a long time, it felt like all I had was me.” My life has gone so wrong, but not every second of it was bad. “The foster system wasn’t good to me, it was like my past followed me like a bad smell.” My grip flexes on the wheel. “Most of the families were afraid of me.”
“Why?”
“I was so angry all the time. I fought anyone I could.” I clench my teeth, then relax when she reaches out to take my hand. “It wasn’t until I was fifteen that the DuPonts took me in after I’d been bounced around so much. Then things finally started turning around.”
“They were good to you?”
“Yeah. Kind of socialite snobs, but th
ey had an older son. Eventually I found he was in my corner, and with him, there were others.”
“I’m in your corner,” Maisy says mildly, squeezing my hand.
I grip her small hand in mine. “I know that now. Colton, my foster brother, had friends. They brought me into their circle and treated me like family. Honestly, after so many years of what I went through, I was against it at first. In the system you learn fast that nothing belongs to you and no one really wants you.”
Her fingers tighten around mine. “Fox…”
My shoulder lifts in a shrug. “That’s the system. These guys, though, they cracked through my fuck you shell before I realized that they’d accepted me as one of them.”
“Are they who you were with at the holiday market last year?”
I blink. “What?”
Last year Wren, Colton, Levi, and Jude had rolled into town out of the blue around the holidays. I thought the Crows had come for me, but Wren said it was strictly business and I understood the lethal hardness to his eyes. His sister. He’d been on the crusade since she died, searching for her fucked up teacher that preyed on her not long after I started living with the DuPonts. We met up briefly at the local holiday market downtown, but I only saw them for a few minutes before they left in a rush when they finally found the bastard.
“Yeah. How did you know?”
“I was there with my friend Thea.” A complicated expression contorts her beautiful features. “That day was pretty crazy, but before that I was looking for her and saw you with those guys. It was the first time I’d seen you smile genuinely since the last time I saw you, before…”
She doesn’t have to finish, I catch her meaning. I haven’t smiled much since returning to Ridgeview. It seems I only do when it has to do with her.
Curiosity brims in her gaze as she studies me. I can sense her hunger to learn more about what my life has been like in the time we’ve been apart. When the connection between people is as deep as ours was, there’s this sense of possessiveness that’s hard to kick. I know I’ve felt it around her, too.
It’s not until we’re almost at my warehouse that I realize I wasn’t on guard with her, driving on autopilot. That more than anything else tells me I’m ready to trust her again, when I rarely let anyone in. The patched up wall around my heart finally crumbles.
“I want to show you something.”
“Okay.”
I take the turn off for my place. She’s the first person in town I’ve brought here. Once I pull in and park the Charger in the garage, she gets out.
Vulnerability burns in me as I follow her around my workspace while she takes in my abstract pieces.
“This is where you live.”
“Yes.”
She brushes her fingers over the bike and glances at me. “I’m serious about that ride.”
Some of the vulnerability bleeds away and I smirk, dragging my gaze over her body. “As long as you promise not to get the leather dirty, little daisy.”
A flush colors her cheeks and she finds the steps leading to the studio apartment. I follow her up, sinking my teeth into my lip as her ass sways.
“Love what you’ve done with the place. Big Batcave vibes,” Maisy says with a crooked grin. “Down to the workout corner.”
I chuckle, glancing around to try to see what she sees with her fresh eyes. “It serves its purpose.”
She hums and explores, examining the coffee table and skating her hand over the back of the couch. While she looks around, I take off the suit jacket and toss it on the arm of the couch and pull the tie loose. Her gaze tracks my movements, lingering on the flex of my arms. The corner of my mouth lifts and I slow down.
It’s so clear now, with her fitting right into my space as if she’s always belonged here. I never should’ve blamed her. Anger blinded me and festered in my heart until it was an unruly beast. It’s still there, but she tempers it with the way she balances me. The hope that I haven’t fucked myself over by hurting her arrows through me.
I want to make this right. I have to.
Reaching for her hand, I sit her down on the couch and park my ass on the sturdy coffee table I made with my own two hands. My knees bracket hers. “There’s something I need to say.”
The apology doesn’t come easily. I prefer actions over pretty words, but for her I try to get it out.
“I’m…sorry. For being an asshole to you, for hurting you, and all the times I tried to scare you.” Her brow creases, but she doesn’t pull away, giving me the strength to go on. “I see how wrong I was now. I never should’ve put the blame on you.” I meet her gaze and swallow at how much could be showing in my eyes, not hiding from her anymore. “If you can forgive me, I want to do better. I want to trust you. All the rage and grief and pain blinded me for so long—years. I couldn’t believe you were as good as you seemed when I came back when I formed this picture in my head, but you are. You’ve shown me time and again that you’re still as good-hearted and kind and real as when we were kids.”
“Fox,” she whispers, stroking my knuckles with her thumb. “It’s okay. It’s behind us now, right?” I nod and she smirks. “Good. Because I’ll kick your ass if you try to push me away or treat me like crap again.” She holds up her fists at the ready. “Use the momentum from my core, right?”
Lips twitching, I scrub my face. “I’m sorry I wanted to destroy you. It’s all I’ve been planning for years—you and your parents and Holden. All I could see was that my parents were dead and your family had this great life. I wanted it to hurt as badly as I did, but I…I couldn’t do it.” I clear my throat. “When it comes down to it, I can’t truly hurt you. I would rather protect you or die, because I…”
My words dry up. Good thing, too, because I was likely to let it slip that I’m still in love with her. Always have been. As much as I want to rush and take everything I want with her, I know I can’t scare her off. This is my one chance to keep her and I’m not giving it up.
When Ridgeview is in ashes, it’ll be Maisy at my side.
“We’re a mess, huh?” She gives me a soft smile. “I’d rather have you in my life than go back to living another day without you, no matter what it means to keep you.”
A rough sound escapes me because I feel the same way. My heart never stopped belonging to her.
Maisy leans forward, winding her arms around my neck as her lips find mine. She tastes sweet when my tongue pushes into her mouth. My fingers bury in her hair and I yank her forward so she has to straddle me. Fuck, how did I ever think I could live without this perfect girl?
I groan when I slide a hand up her dress to push it up so it’s out of the way and find out I was right about her naughty secret. No panties stop me as I palm her ass. She moans into the kiss, grinding down on my cock as she tugs on my hair. I haul her closer and nip at her lip, growling when she gets me back by digging her nails into the nape of my neck. My girl is wild and untamed and my dick is so fucking hard for her.
Leaning back, she licks her lips. “There’s something I want.”
“Yeah?” I trace her lips with my thumb and curse under my breath when she takes the tip into her mouth.
She nods and speaks against the pad of my thumb. “I want you to fuck my mouth. Like you promised before. I want you to take control of me.”
“Shit.” It tears out of me and my grip on her ass flexes. I didn’t promise, I threatened. “You want me to stuff your mouth with my cock, baby?”
Instead of answering, she takes my hand and swallows two of my fingers, keeping her eyes locked with mine. Heat rockets through me and in one motion I stand, bringing her with me. Glancing around the room, I spot a towel on the floor by the bench press. It’ll have to do. I want her on her knees, but I don’t want the concrete to hurt her while she takes me down her throat.
Carrying her to the corner of the room, I let go so she slides down my body in the most sinful, sensual glide. There’s a damp spot from how wet her pussy is on the front of my suit pants and I d
rop a hand to rub my erection, grinning with a feral edge. Maisy steals another kiss and grabs the towel, folding it a couple of times and dropping it on the ground. She follows, gazing up at me from the floor.
Holy. Fuck. That is a beautiful sight.
“Fuck my face, Fox.”
I hiss, pausing in unbuckling my belt to grip myself. If she’s not careful, she could send me over the edge before we get anywhere. I never let other girls in, because they weren’t her, and now that I get to touch her again it’s got me worked up as hell. She reaches up to help.
Gripping her hair, I tilt her head back as I glide my cock across her lips. She grins up at me with this wicked look that makes my hand flex in her hair. Without warning, I force my way into her mouth and she accommodates me, opening wide to take me. My head tips back, but I keep my gaze on her, testing her limits with a few shallows thrusts. It feels so goddamn good, the perfect amount of heat and suction.
She curls her tongue around me and bobs her head in time with my thrusts. I let her lead for a minute, fascinated and turned on by the sight of her perfect lips wrapped around my cock. My fantasies have nothing on the real deal.
A sharp pinch at my hip makes me blink. She lifts her brows as if to say are you going to do it?
Grinning, I tighten my hold on her hair. “Open wide, daisy.”
Warmth floods her gaze as I take my first sharp thrust. She likes this. The rough treatment, the way I take control—it gets her hot.
“Bet that pussy is fucking drenched for me, isn’t it?” She nods as best she can while I control the pace. A savage need overtakes me. “Show me, baby. Stroke that pretty pussy and show me how wet you are for me.”
Maisy’s pupils dilate and her hand flies between her legs, diving beneath her rumpled dress. Her lashes flutter at the first touch and she spends a little too long fingering herself. I yank on her hair to get her attention and punish her by going deeper, hitting the back of her throat. She chokes and sucks in a breath when she can, adjusting to the new depth.
“Show me,” I growl.
Savage Wilder: Dark New Adult High School Bully Romance (Sinners and Saints Book 4) Page 19
