“What are you doing with my favorite cereal?” I whispered, putting a hand over my heart. He was a big man; he could easily devour the rest of the box.
“I’m going to pour myself a big bowl and eat it. And then, when you’re done baking, I’m going to eat you.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Hayes
Ilooked down at my vibrating phone, my eyes lingering on the old photo of my sister and me as her name slid across the screen.
Today was Thanksgiving.
It had been weeks since I’d spoken to her, and I had no plans on speaking to her until the new year. I loved my sister. I would die for her and my niece. But the cost of keeping in touch with her most days was my peace. She wanted the entire family to be united again, but I knew, deep down, I knew. The truth? The truth would eviscerate any illusion of family she was still clinging to.
I was knee-deep in protecting someone who didn’t make me feel like I had to earn her affection, her attention, her love.
Margo was my highest priority.
Gordon had gone underground. The FBI was hunting him, but they had yet to let us into their investigation. From what Jake could get his hands on before breaking down the army of firewalls, Gordon was linked to an international drug network that spanned over eighteen countries, ten of those primary contacts being government officials. Grayson and I agreed that Jake needed to back off. For now, at least. He was no longer a threat to Margo, not while he was on the run. She was the least of his worries. Marcus had abandoned his and Margo’s childhood home. Ash and one of Humbly’s uniforms went over there the day before yesterday to deliver the restraining order his sister took out against him. If he came within a hundred feet of her or contacted her in any way, he would be facing a one-hundred-thousand-dollar fine and five years’ jail time. We wanted the sentence to be longer, but Humbly urged us against it. The fine alone would be enough to scare that bastard.
The last forty-eight hours had been quiet. Margo was getting back into the swing of things, and she was set to graduate in the spring. Her final semester was paid for, and the relief she feltwas visible. When she wasn’t at the bar or at Rossy’s, she was here, curled up on the couch beside me, nose buried in research for the big project that would start in January. Everything was good, but there was a feeling of unease still swirling inside me. The ghosts of my past were crawling up my spine from their graves, calling out to me, begging me to pay attention to them. The only thing in this world keeping me grounded right now was Margo. For the first time in years, I was able to get a full night’s sleep without any interruptions. I wasn’t stupid enough to brush it off as some coincidence.
It was her.
She had no idea how much power she had over me.
I couldn’t lose her.
“Top Gun,” Margo called from somewhere deep in her closet.
A short sigh left my nose as I sent the call to voice mail and silenced it for the rest of the day. “Yeah?” I called back, pocketing the device and ignoring the feeling of shame pooling at the bottom of my gut.
“Have you seen my fishnets?”
I ventured into her room, mentally bracing for the massive mess of clothes and accessories she’d thrown all over her bed, dresser, nightstands, and furniture. It looked like a tornado had passed through. Shaking my head, I looked over to where she was standing at the mouth of her closet, her pale-yellow towel wrapped around her body. Putting my shoulder against the doorframe, I watched water droplets from her freshly washed hair skate over the curve of her shoulder as another trailed down the length of her spine, covering the moon cycles tattooed there. There were intricate swirls between each one, delicate and light, while the moons were heavier and dark. I hadn’t had a chance to ask about her tattoos yet. She had over twenty, including her full sleeves. On her right arm, her skin was covered by a vast array of florals and vines.
“No,” I answered, clearing my throat. “I haven’t seen them.”
She muttered a string of angry curses and shook her head, causing more drops of water to fall from her hair. It was twisted back tightly and clamped together by a massive hamburger hair clip that looked like something out of a cartoon. I watched, in awe, as she scrambled through the pile of pants at her feet, grumbling and mumbling things I couldn’t hear. Knowing her, it was a string of enough foul language to make a priest faint.
I chuckled, my lips twitching.
My newly formed smile died as she bent over, giving me a full view of her ass, her pretty pussy on display, glistening in the sunlight. My lips parted, my heart pounding as it sent all the blood in my body straight to my cock. My mouth went dry, and I slowly pushed off the wall and stepped over several piles of clothes. My eyes never left her sweet, pink cunt. When I was behind her, she froze and looked at me, eyes dilating.
“What are you doing?” she rasped.
I flicked open my belt buckle, undid my pants, and pulled out my cock. “Stay just like that,” I commanded gruffly. Gently, I pulled the clip out of her hair and tossed it on the bed. “Hands on the wall.”
“Hayes, we’re going to be late.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” I answered, lining myself up to her. “Why is my pussy wet, baby?”
I heard her gulp and watched her shaking hands grab on to the trim of her closet. “You were watching me shower,” she whispered. “All you have to do is watch me, Hayes, and I feel like I’m on fire.”
My hands fisted the towel and ripped it away from her. I didn’t respond as I slowly pushed inside her, her warmth surrounding me. She tipped her head back, letting out a feral moan that made my balls twitch.
“Superman,” she breathed.
“Yeah,” I confirmed, grabbing a fistful of her hair, holding her in that position. I wanted to see her butterfly while I fucked her. “I’m your Superman.” I pulled out and slammed back in once. Then twice.