Page 8 of Bitter Desire
I pouted watchingthe man beside me. “You’re fussing over me.”
Law lifted a shoulder in a shrug and held up the spoon of ice cream he was feeding me. “You like it when I fuss over you.”
“True, but still…”
“But still what?” He held the spoon up again and I leaned forward, taking the bite. I was helpless when it came to my favorite ice cream. Cherry Garcia, the perfect blend of sweet, chocolate and fruity. Perfection.
“I’m okay,” I hedged quietly, because I knew Law didn’t like it when I didn’t tell him the truth. The truth was that I didn’t want to be a bother. Yes, I was scared. But I didn’t want him to feel like all my strength, my need for security had to come from him. What if he decided he didn’t want to be responsible for that anymore? What if it was too much? I would never forgive myself if I pushed our beginning out of its early days before it was ready.
It had only been a little over a month since we’d first met and even less time since we had chosen each other in the dark halls of The Cairn. Hell, I still woke up in disbelief that a man like Lawson had chosen me as his. I looked away, eyes on the room-length windows to the left of the bed, sucked in a deep breath and plastered a bright smile on my face.
“I’m fine. I promise. You don’t have to fuss over me,” I assured him.
“What if I want to fuss over you?” he asked.
I blinked in surprise. I hadn’t expected that. “What?”
He dipped the spoon into the ice cream container he was holding and brought it out. I could see hunks of chocolate and cherries sticking out of it and I licked my lips. Lawson smiled at me. He hadn’t missed the movement, and I blushed.
“What if I want to do it? I like it.”
“But isn’t it annoying?” I asked, eying the spoon he was bringing closer to my lips.
“Princess, there’s nothing annoying about taking care of you.” He leaned in close and kissed my cheek. The touch of his lips made my heart feel like it was going to burst from my chest. “You are mine, and I am yours. Taking care of you brings me joy. Besides, do you think I’m a man that does a damn thing he doesn’t want to do?”
He had me there.
I couldn’t see Lawson ever doing a thing in his life that he didn’t have a mind to do. “No,” I said quietly, and when he offered me the ice cream, I took it with a smile.
Chapter Four
LAW
“I’m going to have someone look into the texts.”
Honey’s pretty face pinched into a frown and she shook her head, dishing up the eggs she’d just made us. “No, Law. Really, I thought about it last night and I’m fine with just blocking the number. I’m sure now that I blocked it, it’ll just, you know…” Her voice trailed off and I had to bite back a growl.
“Just what?” I leaned forward on my elbows, ignoring the plate of food she had just set in front of me. Eggs and sausage and biscuits. She’d gone all out with it and I couldn’t even enjoy it. Not with her trying to head me off again. “I thought we already discussed this last night. This is my job.” I put a hand against my chest. “This is what I do.”
“But I—” she began, and I held up a finger, silencing her. She watched me with wide eyes and I knew she was going to wait for me to finish speaking. Good girl.
“I have the resources to find this fucker, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. A person like this, the one texting you, isn’t going to just give up because you blocked the number. They’ll get a new number. A new phone. And it’ll be back to square one, Honey. We have to nip this shit in the bud, and do it now, before–” I stopped myself, because I didn’t want to say what I almost had.
“Before what?” she asked.
“Before they find you. Take this into the real world.”
‘Stop ignoring me.’
‘You owe me and I’m going to take everything from you’
I could see the text messages I’d found on her phone flashing in front of me. And then there was the one she hadn’t seen, the one that had come through when I’d taken her phone from her and decided to call Charlaine.
‘I own you.’
That one was beyond the pale. This fucker would not stop, even if my girl was telling herself they would, outright lying to herself for the sake of hopefully being right. They thought she belonged to them. They were wrong. Even if she wasn’t mine, she’d never be theirs. Because at the heart of it all my girl was strong. She was,and would always be, hers.
The fact that she chose to be mine never ceased to amaze me. I did not deserve the soft and beautiful she had brought into my world–but I welcomed it anyhow. I knew life was fleeting and that a matter of hours, even minutes, could change the course of your life in a way you weren’t thinking about when you rolled out of bed that morning and pulled your pants on. Didn’t matter if you were a billionaire or a fry cook. Life had a way of taking its shit out on you, and it didn’t give a damn who you were. And since I knew all of that, I took what Honey offered with greedy hands and I would never, ever, give it back.
