Page 23 of Outlaw

“Oh wow!” she squealed.

She let go of my hand to run out onto the stone patio with a fireplace, flat screen television, a swinging bed that hung from the ceiling, and a kitchen area with a grill and a well-stocked bar. I had to agree with Stevie. Wow.

“Who lives out hewah? I want to live outside too!”

I smiled, watching her. She couldn’t seem to take it all in fast enough. Rushing from one thing to the other.

“No one lives out here. This is just a place to relax,” Linc informed her.

She pointed at the television. “You can watchBlueyoutside,” she told him as if he were the luckiest human on earth.

He had no idea whoBlueywas, but he would soon enough.

He glanced at me, taking out his phone and tapping the screen. “What station would, uh, I findBluey?” He said the last word as if he wasn’t sure he had it right.

“Any chance you have Disney Plus?” I asked.

His brows drew together. “I’ve seen that on the app options, but never clicked it.”

The screen lit up as the television came on, and he began to use his phone as a remote. When he found the Disney Plus app, he clicked it.

I held out my hand to him. “I’ll log in to my account,” I told him.

He handed it to me, and I quickly logged in. WhenBluey, season two, started playing, I gave him back his phone. The opening song began, and she scrambled to the sofa and climbed up onto it with her eyes fixed on the screen. I was surprised she hadn’t gone to the swinging bed, but it was only a matter of time. Right now,Blueyhad her complete attention.

“She really likes this, huh?” he said, watching her.

“Oh, yeah,” I agreed. “She’s her favorite.”

He tore his gaze off her as if it was hard to do, then turned to me. “Let’s walk over here, where we can still see her and discuss things.”

I had a list of things to ask him since I’d had time to think and let it sink in that he was making us live here. Hopefully, he was about to give me some answers. Following him out onto the uncovered portion of the patio, I began to list my questions in order in my head. I didn’t want to forget anything.

“I will have two of my men take you back to your apartment to get your things. For now, you can keep it, and there is no need to bring everything back here. Both your bedrooms are already furnished, and you can go shopping to decorate them however you would like. If Stevie would like different furniture, then I will send in an interior decorator to work with you both to turn it into whatever makes her happy.”

I took his brief pause as my chance to speak. “I can’t pay for rent without an income,” I pointed out before he could dictate more of my life.

“I’ll cover your rent for the next year. You can decide what you intend to do when the year is over. I will still want to see Stevie regularly, so living in Nashville will be an issue. I’m sure you’ve thought of that.”

I took a deep breath, trying not to get overwhelmed with having everything taken out of my hands. “What about speaking to Hudson? I can’t tell him all this on the phone.”The bitterness in my voice was thick in every word. “Not that he will understand or forgive me, but he still deserves an explanation.”

Linc’s gaze gave me a once-over before the hint of a smirk turned his lips, but his eyes remained cold. “You don’t seem very torn up over that,” he drawled.

Was he serious? Of course I was upset. But he hadn’t given me any other choice.

“I am keeping it together for her,” I hissed at him, my eyescutting back to Stevie. “If she sees how upset I am, it will affect her.”

His expression didn’t change. “Come now, Branwen. You can’t be that heartbroken over it. The dentist looks exactly like all those other preppy losers you cast off while sitting at that bar in Vegas before I rescued you.”

I hated how he’d called himthe dentist, as if that were an insult. “Hudson is a successful dentist. He is one of the top in the city. He is kind and thoughtful. I’m lucky that he even gave me a second glance. Every female patient that comes in flirts with him. His last girlfriend was a pediatrician,” I finished, snapping my mouth shut.

He hadn’t needed to know all that. My need to defend Hudson to him was pointless. What good did it do? He could think whatever he wanted.

Linc rubbed his bearded chin and let out an unamused chuckle. “You were lucky he gave you a second glance? He’s a man. We are visual. We don’t give a fuck about a medical degree. We think with our dicks, and degrees don’t get them hard. Tits, asses, curves, legs, and plump lips with stunning eyes do. I think about fucking eighty percent of my day. When men put a ring on female it because it’s one they want to sink their cock into over and over. I made that mistake once, so I know better. But since his pasty, boring ass hasn’t married yet, he doesn’t know better, and he got a look at you and wanted to claim you. Don’t kid yourself. He probably walks around with a boner all fucking day when you’re working.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it. I wasn’t sure what to say. I thought, in a roundabout way, that was a compliment. Maybe.

“Tell me, does he take you to the bathroom and bend you over the sink during working hours or find a closet to spread your legs and eat your pussy?”

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