The Exposé 4

by Sloane, Roxy

  DAX

  I’m lazing in bed on Sunday morning for the first time in forever. Usually, I’m up at the gym, or over at the club going through the financials; I’ve never had a reason to stick around before.

  Maybe because I’ve never had a woman like Zoe naked and willing in my bed. Usually I don’t ever let them sleep over; it’s always worked out better that way. But not with her.

  I rip back the sheets and drink in the sight of her, my cock already stirring at the view.

  “We need to get up,” she protests weakly, as I kiss my way down her body. “We’ve been in bed for like, two days.”

  “I told you, I can be very diverting when I set my mind to it.” I focus on the spot behind her knee that makes her shiver.

  “But I have stuff to do. Like find a new place to live, and send out more job applications...”

  “You have odd priorities,” I smile, licking higher up her thigh. “Now quiet down, I’m doing good work here.”

  “You always do good work.” Zoe wriggles in my arms. “Which is why if we don’t get out of bed right now, I’m going to be stuck here for another ten hours.”

  “And would that be so bad?” I lift my head, grinning at her.

  I shouldn’t be feeling so damn happy. With everything hanging over my head - the blackmail, and the fire, and God knows what else -- I should be a knot of tension right now. But Zoe is naked, and smiling at me in the way that lets me know she’s about to give in and blow my mind, and so right now, everything is fucking great in the universe.

  “Not bad...” Sure enough, she bites her lip. I slide one hand higher between her legs, finding her cunt already slick and welcoming.

  “But not good?” I curl a finger up inside her, teasing.

  She inhales in a gasp. “Getting better...”

  “How about now?” I thrust another finger into her and pump. She clenches in reply, rolling her hips to meet me.

  My cellphone rings.

  “Ignore it,” I order her, biting down on the inside of her thigh. I want to hear her scream in ecstasy, but instead, Zoe rolls away with a moan.

  “No! It could be important. The club, remember?”

  I sigh. I’ve got a raging hard-on that’s more concerned with Zoe’s delicious cunt right now, but she’s right. It could be an emergency.

  I grab my phone from the nightstand. It’s Maria. My pulse skyrockets as I punch the answer button.

  “What’s wrong?” I demand.

  She snorts. “Good morning to you, too. And nothing’s wrong, unless you count the bodyguard parked outside my house. You know he’s been there all night?” she reminds me. “I tried to make him come in, but he just sits out there. He’s scaring the neighbors.”

  Shit. Griffin. The real world comes crashing in; I guess Zoe and I can’t stay locked up in our sex bubble forever, no matter how hot it is in here.

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t call him off yet,” I apologize. “Not until I figure out this problem.”

  Maria’s voice softens. “Is everything OK?”

  “It will be.”

  I watch as Zoe slides out of bed and dances to the bathroom. “Hey,” I call to her. “Don’t even think about putting on your clothes.”

  “Who are you talking to?” Maria demands.

  “No one.”

  “Bullshit,” she laughs. “It’s that girl, isn’t it? The one I saw before.”

  “Zoe,” I admit.

  “I want to meet her, for real this time! Come over for lunch,” Maria demands.

  “Not today—”

  “I won’t take no for an answer,” she talks over me. “Put her on the phone.”

  “What?”

  “Do it,” she insists, so I reluctantly hold the phone out to Zoe. “It’s Maria,” I explain. “She wants to talk to you.”

  Zoe takes it, looking curious. She turns away, “Hi... Yes, I know, right? Is he? You’ll have to tell me all about it.... Uh huh.... OK, we’ll see you there.”

  She hangs up and tosses the phone back. “She’s so nice.” Zoe looks amused. “Lunch is at two, and I said we’d love to be there.”

  “I’m sorry, she can be stubborn sometimes.”

  “Then I know we’ll get along.” Zoe grins. “Besides, I need to officially meet the other woman who gets away with pushing you around.”

  *

  We get on the road in time to make it to Maria’s for lunch. I’ve made this drive a thousand times, but somehow, having Zoe in the passenger seat as I head home makes everything different.

  I look over at her. She’s gazing out the window, taking everything in as we drive through my old neighborhood.

  I try to picture it through her eyes: the run-down strip malls, the bars on the windows. I’ve never been ashamed of where I came from, but now I wonder, is she judging me? Does she care where I came from?

  No.

  Already, I know Zoe isn’t that kind of girl. I still don’t know much about where she grew up, but I know she’s a fighter. A hustler. Just like me. She’s been working her ass off to get ahead without any connections or favors, and while I don’t approve of the way she’s tried to do it -- investigating me and my club -- I have to admire her ambition.

  “This is where you grew up?” she asks, sounding interested.

  I nod. “We lived just down there.” I point out the street. “My mom worked late shifts at the factory, and picked up cleaning jobs on the side.”

  “She must be proud of you.” Zoe gives me a smile.

  I relax. “She is. I moved her down to Florida, to get her out of these winters. Now she’s living the high life, country club membership and all the bingo she can handle.”

  Zoe laughs. “You’re a good son.”

  I shrug. “She did what she could for me. It wasn’t her fault I got in with Nikolai and his crew, it was tough for everyone back then.”

  “And Maria?” she asks. “You guys go way back, don’t you?”

  I nod. “She’s like my kid sister. For a while, it was the three of us: her, me and Jimmy. But when he went to jail, I tried to stick around. Help out when I could. When she’d let me,” I add, thinking of Maria’s stubborn ways.

  “Look at you.”

  When I turn again, Zoe’s got a smile on her face. “What?”

  “You make out like you’re the big bad wolf, but you’re a softy, really. You take care of the people who matter to you.”

  I hold her gaze. “Always.”

  Zoe blushes and looks away.

  “Here we are.” I pull up outside Maria’s place. It’s a modern townhouse in a decent neighborhood. I wanted to move them to the city, but she stood firm: her family is nearby, and she wanted Luca to have them around. So, I found a place for them in a safe section of town with a back yard and plenty of room for the kid to run around. She swears she’ll pay me back, one day, but we both know I’ll never let her.

  We get out of the car, but Zoe hangs back. She looks nervous. “What if she doesn’t like me?” she whispers.

  “Impossible.”

  “I’m serious,” Zoe hits me. “This is like you’re taking me home to meet your family! She’s going to be comparing me to all your exes, deciding if I measure up.”

  “She’s never met my exes,” I admit. “I’ve never brought anyone out here.”

  Zoe blinks. “Oh.”

  I give her a quick kiss. “Just relax,” I tell her, leading her to the front door. “And brace yourself.”

  “For what?” she asks, but she’s drowned out by the sound of the bell -- and the thunder of small footsteps.

  “Uncle Dax!” Luca yells, pulling the door open. “You’re here! Did Mom tell you I got a B on my science project, so she got me that remote control car I wanted? It goes so fast, you have to see. Mom, can I show him? Mom?”

  Maria appears behind him. She rolls her eyes. “Maybe once you let them in off the street.” She smiles at us. “Come on in, sorry about the mess. Luca lost his backpack, so he decided to empty
every drawer and cabinet in the place.”

  I usher Zoe inside ahead of me. The house is small but welcoming as always: cluttered with toys and comfy furniture, with Luca’s artwork framed on the walls. The kind of home every kid should have growing up, but that Maria and I both went without.

  “Hi, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Zoe says, looking like she’s at a job interview. “I’m Zoe.”

  Maria smiles, and pulls her into a hug. “I know who you are. And believe me, I have questions. Like how you got this guy to agree to lunch. I usually have to pull teeth to get him not to work on the weekend.”

  Zoe looks relieved. “Well, threatening to withhold sex works pretty well.”

  Maria bursts out laughing. Zoe flushes. “Shit, did I really just say that?”

  “Yes, you did, and I can tell we’re going to be best friends.”

  She links arms with Zoe and pulls her through to the open-plan kitchen area. There’s a tug on my arm. Luca has his car controller in one hand. “Can you show me how to make it go really fast? The instructions say it can do tricks, but I can’t figure it out.”

  “Sure thing.” I heave him up over my shoulders in a fireman’s lift and stride through the kitchen to the back door. “We’ll leave the girls in the kitchen -- where they belong.”

  “Hey!” Maria and Zoe look over from where they’re sitting. “We heard that.”

  “Just for that sexist garbage, you get to do all the dishes,” Zoe adds.

  “You hear that, kid?” I carry Luca outside. “You’re on clean-up.”

  *

  After Luca and I give his new toy a good try out, we head back inside. Zoe and Maria are setting out lunch, gossiping a mile a minute.

  “...And then Tasha says he tipped her a thousand bucks.”

  “No!”

  “Yes!”

  I see Maria’s face lit up, and feel glad I introduced them. I forget sometimes how young Maria is, but she’s just a couple of years older than Zoe. It’s good for her to laugh and have some fun with friends.

  “What are you ladies gossiping about?”

  “What else?” Zoe smirks. “Men.”

  “Uh oh.” I pretend to cover Luca’s ears. “This can’t be good.”

  “You’re safe for now.” Zoe leans up and kisses me lightly. “But Maria promised to bring out the old photo albums later. I believe I heard something about a ponytail...”

  “Traitor,” I laugh at Maria.

  “I thought you looked super-fly,” she winks.

  We wash up and sit down to eat. There’s a whole spread of sandwiches and pickles and chips. “Sorry it’s not fancy,” Maria apologizes to Zoe.

  “Are you kidding?” she replies. “PB&J are my favorite. I swear, I lived on these in college.”

  I sit back and dig in, relaxed.

  “Where did you grow up?” Maria asks. “You said you studied journalism?”

  Zoe nods. “I’m from Missouri, a town just outside Kansas City. Nothing fancy,” she shrugs. “My mom is a high school teacher there, and my dad worked at a chemical plant, until he threw his back out about five years ago. For college I got a great scholarship package to Indiana State,” she continues. “Their journalism program is pretty decent, and honestly I just couldn’t swing the financing for anywhere else.”

  “Hey, you got your degree, that’s more than either of us,” Maria protests.

  Zoe looks over. “You didn’t go to college?”

  “I took some business classes at night, while I was working to open my first bar,” I explain, reaching for another sandwich. “But I didn’t see the point in spending all that money, I just wanted to get out there and start working.”

  “Building that empire.” Zoe smiles. “You’ve come a long way.”

  “So have you,” I reply.

  She gives a wry smile. “I’m unemployed, with like a literal mountain of loans. But thanks anyway.”

  I’m about to argue -- that she’s got all kinds of skills that employers should be fighting over -- when there’s a loud banging on the front door.

  “Maria? Maria, I know you’re in there!”

  I’m already out of my seat. “Who is that?” I demand, tensing. “Are you expecting anyone?”

  She shakes her head. “Nobody.”

  I glance at Luca, eating happily. “I’ll go.”

  I go to the hallway and open the door, just wide enough to see who’s outside.

  It’s Jimmy. I haven’t seen him since the night he covered a bartender’s shift at my club, and although security told me he ducked out early, Jimmy never called me afterward to apologize or explain, and wouldn’t even return my texts. He’d sworn to me he was getting his act together now that he’s out of jail, but at this moment all I see is the old Jimmy, the one who lived for trouble and never gave a shit about the consequences.

  “Maria!” He’s yelling.

  “Hey!” I snap, stepping outside. “What the hell are you doing? Keep it down!”

  Jimmy sneers. “Fuck, should have figured you’d be here... Can’t keep away from her, can you?” He turns again and bellows. “Luca? Daddy’s here!”

  The door opens behind me. Maria peers out, looking nervous. “Jimmy, I told you it’s not a good time to see him.”

  “And now I see why.” Jimmy looks furious, but he’s swaying slightly. “You’re all cozied up with him.”

  Maria sighs. “You’re drunk again, Jimmy. Go home.”

  “This is my home!” he slurs. “You’re my goddamn family, you can’t keep him from me. Luca!”

  I grip him by the collar and shove him back. “I told you to keep it down, for fuck’s sake.”

  “And I’m supposed to do what you tell me.” Jimmy’s breath stinks. “You’re not the fucking boss of me. You don’t get to replace me! I told you, this is my family. Dammit, Maria, you can’t keep my kid away from me!”

  Jesus. I turn to Maria. “Has he done this before?”

  She hesitates, and then nods. “He’s shown up a couple of times now. I’ve tried to tell him, he needs to go to court if he wants visitation, I’m happy to work something out. But not like this. Look at yourself, Jimmy,” she adds. “You’re a mess. Do you really want Luca to see you like this?”

  “A kid needs his father,” Jimmy slurs angrily. “Luca!”

  “Daddy?”

  We all turn. Luca is in the doorway, looking confused.

  Shit.

  Before anyone can move, Zoe comes out and scoops him up. “How about you come show me that new car of yours?” she says brightly. “You let Mom and Dad have a quick chat. I want to see all those tricks you were talking about.”

  I send her a grateful look as she heads inside. The door closes behind her.

  “Who the fuck’s that?” Jimmy slurs. “I want my son!”

  I feel a flash of anger. After everything he’s put this family through, he’s still acting like he’s the victim here.

  “Luca’s done just fine without you so far,” I growl, pushing Jimmy back away from the house.

  He turns on me, his pupils wide with anger. “Who the fuck are you to tell me anything?” he demands, trying to shove me away. “You don’t get to come in and take them from me.”

  “Jimmy, please!” Maria begs, but he won’t stop.

  “You think I don’t know what you’ve been doing behind my back? Taking what’s mine, you fucking thief—”

  “Don’t push me!” I growl, looking him dead in the eye. “Go home. Sober up. You want to be a father so bad? Prove it. I gave you a chance, working at the club. You said you’d changed. But that was all bullshit, wasn’t it?”

  Maria pushes me out of the way. “You’re not welcome here,” she says loudly, folding her arms. “Not until you show you can be a good father. And showing up drunk, yelling the house down, that doesn’t count.”

  Jimmy sags. “But...”

  “I mean it.” She scowls. “Go, now.”

  Jimmy shoots me a final glare, then stumbles down the fron
t path again. “You’ll be sorry,” he yells back at me. “You can’t take them from me!”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  ZOE

  “Well, that was fun.”

  We’ve been driving in silence for thirty minutes now, Dax wound tight enough to snap.

  He looks over. “Are you kidding me?”

  “Yes,” I try to smile. “And no. It was fun -- before that guy showed up. I’m sorry,” I add, feeling uncomfortable. Talk about a third wheel.

  “You’ve got nothing to be sorry about.” Dax takes my hand. “And thank you, for taking Luca out of there.”

  “Of course.” I pause. “My parents fought a lot, when I was a kid,” I add in a quiet voice. “He shouldn’t have to see that stuff.”

  “And he won’t.” Dax sounds determined. “First thing Monday morning, I’m going to get Maria in with a lawyer to file a restraining order. Until he shows he’s got his shit together, he’s not getting anywhere near them again.”

  “He looked really mad.” I remember the look on Jimmy’s face, so full of loathing. “Will they be OK?”

  “I’ve still got Griffin looking in on them. And I know Jimmy,” Dax sighs. “He likes to rant and yell, but he’s all talk. The guy could never follow through to save his life.”

  I squeeze his hand. Even with all the drama, I’m glad I got to see this part of Dax’s life today. It makes me admire him even more: that he’s achieved so much, and that he’s still looking out for Maria and Luca after everything.

  Every day, I’m realizing how strong and extraordinary he is.

  Eventually, we get into the city. We pass Dax’s street, but he keeps driving. “Where are we going?” I ask, looking around.

  Dax gives me a wicked grin. “As much as I like getting you naked, I haven’t forgotten you’re living out of a duffel bag. I’m taking you shopping.”

  “You don’t have to do that,” I protest, but he silences me with a look.

  “Don’t even think about arguing. It’s because of me that all your stuff got burned to a crisp. Let me do this, it’s the least I can do.”

  Hmm, let me think about that: a hot rich guy wants to take me shopping and replace my entire wardrobe. I’d have to be crazy to disagree.