Page 114 of Emergence and Ascendance

Her father had a heart attack…

I called once more and still nothing. After two more tries, I looked up at my driver who was currently en route to Whitney International so I could pull up on Scotlyn.

“Change of plans. We’re going to a different address.” I rattled off instructions. He nodded and switched lanes, making a left that redirected us. Whitney’s corporate offices were in Manhattan and Scotlyn owned a brownstone in SoHo. That was where I planned on starting my search for her, and if I didn’t find her there, I would be going to her brother and sister’s residences as well. I had already had addresses for both Valerie and Alex. I really didn’t give a fuck what me showing up looked like because Scotlyn was my priority.

The relationship she had with her father wasn’t the best, but regardless, he was still her father and only living parent. I planned on being there for whatever she needed, even if it was just to tell me I was crossing boundaries. I was, because wanting to be there for Scotlyn didn’t have a damn thing to do with our contract, no matter how many ways I tried to justify that it did.

Scotlyn was more than just a month-long commitment. I knew that the first time I laid eyes on her so there was no point in pretending. If she needed me to tell her what I wanted, the answer would be her, but in no way was that a simple explanation, because I had no gotdamn clue how this would work. I wanted Scotlyn, everything about her already belonged to me. I just had to make sure she was willing to give it freely.

I was in my head most of the drive to Scotlyn’s place. I was fully prepared to show up for a woman on a personal level who hadn’t confirmed that she wanted anything more from me thana temporary arrangement. I wasn’t sure what to do with those feelings, but at the very least, I had acknowledged they existed.

I called her once more after my driver parked in front of her brownstone. When my call went straight to voicemail again, I said fuck it and headed to the door. If she was here and wanted me to leave, I would, but I really fucking hoped she would be happy to see me. That had me in a space I wasn’t prepared for but still ready to fully embrace.

After Aja I had no intention of being open to another woman. Scotlyn totally ruined that. So when I rang the bell and my eyes landed on her face as soon as the door opened and she fell into my arms, everything in me settled.

She clung to me without saying a word and I let her. I locked my arms around her body and let her take what she needed. After a while she pulled back and tipped her chin up, eyes filled with uncertainty. I answered the questions she had.

“You needed me.”

I lowered my head and delivered a kiss which she smiled into then nodded. “I did.”

“Scot…” A male voice called her name from somewhere in the house. I lifted my eyes from her and looked toward it. Alex…

She sighed and pulled away from me. “I guess I should explain.”

I offered a nod and stepped inside when she moved out of the way to allow me space to enter. Her brother looked like he wanted to take my head off, which I think Scotlyn sensed. After she shut the door, she positioned herself in front of me, as if shielding me from him. I almost fucking laughed because I didn’t need her protection but I appreciated that she cared enough to provide it.

“Alex, this this…”

“I know who he is. What I don’t know is why the fuck he’s at your house.” The bass in his voice caused Scotlyn to tense. Shementioned they were close and I could imagine he had never used that tone with her before. A tone I understood because I had two sisters I would kill for, and based on the way he was glaring at me, that was his current mindset.

I pulled Scotlyn against my chest, dropped a kiss on her temple, then stepped around her. “Give me a minute to holla at your brother.”

“No…” Scotlyn moved quick as hell and stepped in front of me, panicked. She shook her head and put her hand on my chest. Considering the details about how we ended up here, I could imagine her mind was going crazy with the thought of me sharing those details with Alex.

“Yeah, I think that would be a good idea. We can talk in here.” I lifted my eyes to Alex who motioned to his left and walked off. I smirked at the arrogance of expecting me to follow. I would but it didn’t have shit to do with him but everything to do with the woman in front of me.

“You don’t need to talk to Alex. I’m grown and what we’re doing is none of his business.”

“I agree but he’s still your brother. You two are close and I respect him enough to have a conversation.”

“What are you going to say?” Her eyes flared.

“That whatever you need, I’m willing to provide, whether he agrees with that or not. Let me talk to your brother and get this shit out the way so I can take care of you.”

“I’m…”

I dropped my chin and she fidgeted. I gripped her jaw and lifted it, giving me access to her mouth. After a brief kiss, my eyes locked on hers. “He won’t know about the contract but he will know I’m here because you’re important to me. You okay with that?”

“I… Yes… I’m okay with that.”

I smirked. “Good, because you didn’t have a choice.” I pecked her lips once more and walked away. I found Alex standing in the kitchen with his arms locked over his chest, glaring at me the minute I joined him.

“Are you fucking my sister?”

“Yes.” He reared his head back as if he hadn’t expected me to respond honestly. I was sure he sensed the nature of our relationship from the way she had clung to me when I got here, but the clarification had to be a gut punch.

“What the fuck?”

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