He ran his thumb over her lower lip. “Open.”
When she parted her mouth, he slipped his thumb inside. “Suck.”
His eyes nearly rolled back in his head as she started to suck. Yes. Shit. This might have been a bad idea.
With his other hand, he reached up and wrapped it around the back of her neck. “I want you, Betsy. Not gonna lie. Want you in my bed. Want you in my house. In my life. Permanently. But I also want you to be damn sure that’s what you want. Not that you’re with me because you think you have no other choices.”
“I don’t think that.”
“I know you don’t think that. Now. And as much as I’d find it damn near impossible to walk away from you, I’d do it. Because I won’t have you trapped. Not by anyone. Not by me.”
“I’m not trapped, Ink.”
“Just listen to me.”
“Are you saying you don’t want to be with me?” Panic filled her face.
“Jesus, baby, no.” He drew her close to his chest. “This is what I get for letting Duke in my head.”
“What do you mean?”
He sighed. “Duke pointed out how fucking vulnerable you are and how I have to be careful not to take advantage. Personally, I want to take you to my home, tie you to my bed and not let you leave until there’s a ring on your finger and no way that any other man could satisfy you. But apparently, that’s not acceptable behavior.”
He said the last part in a high voice.
“Are you trying to imitate Duke?”
“Sometimes having him as the voice of reason is fucking annoying.”
“What?”
“Duke isn’t just a friend, he’s also my brother. Not blood brothers. But after his family died in a car accident, he came to live with my family.”
“Oh no, poor Duke.”
“Yeah. He got dropped off to spend the night, said goodbye to them and then never saw them again.” He grabbed hold of her hand, tugging her over to the sofa and sitting her next to him. “He aged overnight. And he became a pain in my ass. Always on at me to do the right thing.”
“Ink!”
He grinned at her, to show her he didn’t really mean it. Sort of. “He needed a lot from my mom and dad. I was an only child, until Duke came along.”
“That must have been hard for you.”
“Harder for him.”
“Yes, but you went overnight from having both your parents’ attention to having to share.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve never been good at sharing. Could have handled it better. But I always felt like a fuck-up next to him. I was an all-around fuck-up to be honest.”
“I’m sure that wasn’t true.”
“Never had good grades. Got into lots of trouble. Most of it he pulled me out of. I had to get out of his shadow, so I joined the armed services as soon as I was out of school. What a stupid idea that was. I was never good with authority.”
She winced. “Yeah, they’re kind of big on people following orders.”
“Apparently. I was a bit of a fuck-up there too. So much so, that even when I had a bad feeling about something, no one listened to me.”
“That wasn’t your fault,” she whispered to him.
“I know that. Most of the time. Thing is, Duke’s likely right because the asshole always is. I can’t just decide to keep you. I have to let it be your decision. You have to be sure that it’s what you want. And not something I’m bulldozing you into.”
“Look at me.”
He met her gaze with his.
“I’m sure Duke is smart. And sensible. And a good brother. But he doesn’t know me. He doesn’t know how close we got over those weeks at the club. I know that you didn’t know who I was, but my feelings, my reactions, after that first night, they were real, Ink.”
He ran his finger down her cheek. “I’m glad, brown eyes. Because so are my feelings for you. But I think we should slow things down.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I don’t want…I can’t…”
“Shh. I’m not leaving you. I just meant that we should get to know each other. Betsy and Ink. Daddy and button. There’s no rush to dive into anything deeper. We’ll date and play and have some fun.”
“Fun?”
“Yeah, brown eyes. Fun. I’m gonna show you what fun feels like. And as much as I want to fuck you, and I do. Believe me, it burns me from the inside out that I haven’t, we’re gonna take our time. Got it?”
She blew out a frustrated breath. “Fine.”
He had to grin at the disgruntlement. “Now, brown eyes, no pouting.”
“Does this mean that I can’t...that there will be no…”
“Brown eyes,” he said in a stern voice.
She raised her gaze to his, surprised.
“Tell me what you need.”
“I want Little time.” She blushed as she said it.
“You can have all the Little time you need. You know I need it too, right?”
She nodded, looking relieved.
“This isn’t me rejecting you. This is me saying that we need to be Betsy and Ink without all the other bullshit. Okay?”
“Okay.”
He leaned forward and kissed her lightly. “I’m going to find your boys.”
She shook her head. “It’s not your fault they took off. They’re hellions. Seriously. I’m not sure if it was because Rex ignored them and they needed a strong male figure or what, but I’m shocked they stayed at that school as long as they did without getting kicked out or sneaking out.”
“Apparently they were close to staging a revolt,” he told her.
“Sounds about right. Please, Ink, don’t blame yourself. They’re a law unto themselves.”
She was worried about Royal and Baron, but those boys could take care of themselves.
So long as Forrest didn’t get his hands back on them.
But she had faith in Ink and she hated that he was blaming himself. She had a feeling he did that a lot.
Even though she understood that Duke was trying to look out for her, she wished he hadn’t said anything. Now that she was free from Forrest, she felt impatient. Even though the outside world was scary as hell, she felt ready to start her life. To move forward.
And she wanted to do that with Ink.
She knew her feelings for him were likely tied up with the fact that he’d rescued her, but she didn’t think that was wrong. She had been falling for him before he became her very own hero. So she knew that this wasn’t hero-worship. This wasn’t because she thought he could keep her safe or any of that bullshit. She didn’t have some savior complex for him. Yeah, she’d had a fucked up life.
But to her that just made it clearer that life was short.
And she’d wasted far too much of it being afraid. And lonely.
However, she knew she wouldn’t dissuade him from this course. And as long as he wasn’t rejecting her outright, she’d go along with it.
But she knew at the end of the day, he’d be hers.
And that she was already his.
“Did Brody find anything we could use against Forrest?”
“Yeah, brown eyes. He did. But what we found out about his father is even better.”
“His father? I only met him once.” She shuddered. “He gave me bad vibes. Although I don’t know why. He was perfectly pleasant. Said he was sorry to hear about Rex. I don’t think he and Forrest got on well, though.”
“What makes you say that?”
She thought about it. “Body language. I’m good at reading people. Plus he only came to the house once.”
“Yeah, well, seems Forrest was keeping a file on dear old Dad. Filled with incriminating evidence.”
“Like what?”
“Photos of the old man meeting with some very interesting people. Like the leader of a drug cartel. And a mob boss.”
“Oh God.”
“We should be able to use that file to threaten Forrest and get him to leave you alone.”
“There was not
hing about Baron and Rex on there?”
“No, I’m sorry. There’s some things on Forrest too. Spike is setting up a meeting. We’re going to get this settled.”
She wanted nothing more than to be free from Forrest. But it also didn’t sit right to let these guys get away with whatever they were doing.
“You think they’re running drugs?”
“Yeah. Looks like they could be dealing in drugs and guns and people.”
She rubbed her hand over her tummy. “Human trafficking?”
“Yeah, brown eyes.” He reached over, pulling her onto his lap. “Don’t worry. I’m going to take care of this.”
“You shouldn’t have to deal with all my problems. What if this meeting is a trap? What if he tries to hurt you? I don’t think you should do this.”
He tilted her chin. “I’m doing this. You’re gonna be safe. This is just a fucking hurdle we got to get over.”
“This is a bit more than a hurdle.”
“Hey, you’ve got to deal with the fact that I belong to an MC, have a whole bunch of rough, grizzly biker brothers, work long hours and that I snore.”
“You don’t snore.”
“I was on my best behavior last night.”
“You forgot the fact that you’re bossy, stubborn and you like to spank.”
“There’s only one person I like spanking.” He kissed her. Hard. Fast. Then drew away with a groan. “Damn, it’s gonna be hard to keep my hands off you.”
“So don’t.”
“Betsy,” he warned.
“Fine. But just for the record, I don’t think we should wait. I think Duke’s wrong.”
“As much as I’d enjoy you telling him that, let’s just take it slow, okay?”
She sighed. “Fine. Just don’t expect me to be happy about it.”
“Just remember, I have a remedy for Little girls who pout when they don’t get their way,” he growled.
“If I’m not getting sex, I don’t think I should get spanked.”
“Oh brown eyes, if only it worked that way.”
She grumbled as he laughed. But she couldn’t deny enjoying the sound of his amusement.
“I need to get some work done; I wish I didn’t have to leave you in here on your own.”
“It’s okay, I understand. Sunny gave me an eReader and we loaded some books on. I’m used to being on my own.”
He frowned. “I don’t ever want you to be on your own again. I can ask Sunny to come back.”
“No, she has to work. I did enjoy spending time with her, though. I’ve never really had a friend.”
“Sunny would make a good friend. She’s kind and loyal.”
“And funny. She told me about the patch she stitched onto Duke’s cut.”
Ink grinned. “Yeah, he was so pissed. It was hilarious.”
She giggled.
He gave her a stern look. “Don’t even think about it. You touch my cut without permission and your ass will feel my belt on your ass every night for a week.”
Promises. Promises.
Holy heck. Where had that thought come from? She didn’t want him to spank her. Getting punished sucked. She thought back to Sunny’s suggestion of asking to be punished. She wasn’t sure she could do that. Or at least, she wanted to think about it some more.
Now wasn’t the time anyway.
“I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He leaned in to kiss the top of her head. “Behave.”
Wasn’t like she had a choice.
21
Betsy paced back and forth across the room, chewing at her lip.
It felt like she’d been stuck in this tiny room for years rather than two days. She’d never tell Ink, but she was starting to go slightly insane.
This meeting had to work.
Please, please let Ink be okay. She rubbed her hand down her face. What if something had happened? What if Forrest had set a trap? What if he hurt Ink and the guys he’d taken with him?
Why hadn’t she insisted on going with them?
“This is insane.”
“They’ll be fine, Betsy.”
She glanced over to Duke who sat on the sofa. Sunny was perched on his lap watching her worriedly. She’d tried to convince Betsy to play with her, but she couldn’t get her mind in the right space for that.
Until Ink was back and safe, she knew she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything else.
“I shouldn’t have let him do this. It’s too dangerous.”
Duke snorted. “Doll, nobody can make Ink do anything. He’s as stubborn as he is temperamental. He’s also tough. Nothing bad is going to happen to him.”
“And soon you might be able to leave here,” Sunny told her.
And go where? They hadn’t discussed that yet. Ink had been so busy and stressed out, she hadn’t brought it up. She knew he was doing everything he could to find her boys, who had somehow disappeared, the ratbags. And he’d been setting up this meeting with Forrest in some abandoned warehouse. He’d gone off with Spike, who was a slightly terrifying, hugely built man of few words. She knew that as well as Spike there would be other guys hidden as back-up.
Please let nothing go wrong.
“Betsy, why don’t you try to eat something?” Duke coaxed.
Ink had been too busy to notice that she hadn’t eaten all day. But Duke seemed to be determined to get her to eat.
“I can’t eat when I’m stressed.” Which was basically all the time. She rubbed her tummy nervously.
“I brought some chocolate,” Sunny said.
“And where did you get that, little rebel?” Duke asked in a deep voice.
“From the shop,” Sunny replied cheekily.
“Brat.”
She was grateful to them both for waiting for her, but she wished that they wouldn’t be quite so sweet together. It was making her miss Ink even more.
“Betsy, if you sit down and have some chocolate, I’ll tell you some childhood stories about Ink.”
Okay, now that was tempting.
She stilled and turned. “Embarrassing stories?”
Duke grinned. “Oh yeah.”
Well then…
* * *
Ink didn’t bother to keep the look of disgust and hatred off his face as he stared over at Forrest Robins. This bastard had hurt his woman. Had held her prisoner. Used her.
He fucking hated him.
He’d just given him the ultimatum. Leave Betsy and her sons alone or they’d send everything they had to the FBI and to Forrest’s old man.
He’d noticed a reaction when he had mentioned showing Senior what they’d found on Forrest’s computer. Good. Let the asshole squirm.
Spike stood a few feet away on his left. Reyes was on his other side. Acting as bodyguards. Outside, Stone and Razor were all keeping watch. While Jason was hidden inside with his rifle. This old warehouse hadn’t been used in years, but it was filled with crates that Jason was using to hide himself.
Forrest had five armed guys with him. Obviously, he was feeling vulnerable. Ink wondered which one was his right-hand man, Kit. He wouldn’t mind a few minutes alone with either of them.
“And you think this is enough to make me leave Betsy alone? She betrayed me.”
“You were holding her prisoner,” Ink spat out. “You threatened her boys.”
“Ahh yes. I could release the evidence I have on Baron, couldn’t I?”
Ink crossed his arms over his chest. “Come after Betsy, release that evidence and we come after you. I have several back-ups of that information we found. Anything happens to me, Betsy or the boys and that gets sent to several reporters and cops. As well as your father. Think he’ll want that? When he tries so hard to pretend to be a respected businessman?”
Forrest smiled. It wasn’t pretty. “All this for Betsy, huh? Girl must have a gold fucking pussy.”
Ink snarled. He took a step forward, ready to wipe the smile off that smug bastard’s face.
“Ink,” Spike warned.
/>
Damn, it was hard to hold back. He gritted his teeth.
“Maybe I should have sampled her for myself, while I had the chance. Fine, you have your deal.”
Ink didn’t bother demanding he hand over the evidence he had on Baron. He knew the other man wouldn’t just have one copy. They’d have to think of another way of getting their hands on it. For now, he just needed the boys and Betsy safe.
“Good,” Ink replied. It took all of his control not to attack the smug jerk. It killed him that he had to make a deal with him. It would be so easy to kill him. But Spike had warned him against rash actions before they came to this meet. They didn’t know how the old man would react or where the evidence on Baron was.
So the prick got to live for another day.
Ink turned to Spike and Reyes once Forrest and his men had left. Movement to his right caught his attention as Jason approached. His rifle was over his back.
“Prick. I fucking hate him,” Ink seethed.
Reyes lit up a cigarette. “Never would have guessed.”
Ink turned to him, looking for a fight. “It’s not enough, having an agreement with him. It’s not enough. Not after what he did to Betsy.”
“No, it’s not,” Reyes said calmly, cooling his ire. “He’s evil. He preys on the weak. What do you want to do then?”
“I want to fucking destroy him,” Ink growled.
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
22
“That asshole. I wanted to end him. The way he looked at me. So smug. Fuck!”
Betsy slid in behind Ink where he sat on the bed, her movements hesitant as she started to massage his neck and shoulders. He had to calm down. Last thing he wanted to do was scare her with his temper.
“I know,” she whispered. “But you did the right thing. We can’t kill him. That would open a can of worms.”
She hated it as much as he did. That they couldn’t destroy Forrest and his father. That they got to walk free. But this was the best way of making sure Ink and the boys were safe from Forrest.
“Sorry, brown eyes. Didn’t mean to come here, mad and spitting shit. You know I’d never hurt you, right?”
“Ink, I know I might seem fragile. And stupid. But that doesn’t mean I think you would hurt me.”
Hero Daddy Page 22
