Page 10 of Garrett's Obsession

I press my thumb to her swollen clit.

"Garrett," she sobs, her legs bowing beneath her.

I hook my arm around her waist, anchoring her to my body as I play with her. "No more dreaming, Ciara. From now on, it'll be real between us."

She cries out in bliss, shattering around my fingers. Fuck, she's responsive. I nip at her throat, drawing out every last tremor from her body before I slip my hand from between her legs and turn her in my arms.

Her gorgeous green eyes are dazed and glossy as she stares up at me. They flare with heat when I pop my fingers into my mouth, licking them clean.

"Delicious," I growl.

A pretty blush climbs up her cheeks before she faceplants into my chest. I chuckle, pressing my lips to her head.

"Let's go get you fed, Cherry. And then I'm having you for dessert."

* * *

"The bar is closing."

I glance up from my plate to see Ciara watching me intently. "Is it?"

"Carlie told me today."

"Interesting." I spear a piece of chicken and pop it into my mouth.

"It's your doing, isn't it?"

I swallow the bite and then take a sip of my beer before answering. "Possibly," I say, not lying to her. "If Leone got wind that the Labor Department was about to drop the hammer on him for wage theft, he may have decided to close up shop to avoid having them prowling through his business."

Ciara nods thoughtfully, an adorable wrinkle between her brows. "Are you sure that your brother-in-law can find work for everyone? I don't want to be the reason anyone is unemployed. Everyone there really needs those jobs."

"We'll make sure they're taken care of, Cherry," I promise, sensing how important this is to her.

She relaxes slightly, the wrinkle between her brows smoothing. "Thank you."

"You're close to them?"

"No." She shakes her head. "Well, Carlie is my best friend. I'm not really close to anyone else there, but we were all there for similar reasons."

"What reasons?"

She fidgets with her fork before setting it aside. "I won custody of Todd when I was barely twenty. CPS has been looking for a reason to take him away ever since. I'm too young, too inexperienced, too irresponsible… The list goes on. But I refuse to let my little brother end up in foster care," she whispers vehemently. "Leone was a terrible boss, but he didn't ask questions and I didn't have to worry about him reporting me if I said or did the wrong thing."

Jesus. Poor baby has been living in fear of losing her brother since the day she got custody of him. He's her only family, and the state could just decide to rip him away from her at any time. Foster care isn't any place for a kid. For every good foster family out there, there's one who isn't.

"My sisters were in the system."

Her eyes widen. "I didn't know that."

"It was a long time ago," I murmur. "They were just little. They were in and out for a while until CPS finally took custody after their biological parents left them at home and disappeared for a week. Adalynn, the oldest, was placed with my parents."

"They were separated?" Ciara's face falls.

"They were. Right up until my mom found out. She raised hell to have the girls all moved in with us. By the end of the month, we had all five of them." I smile at the memory. "Our family was complete."

"You adore them, don't you?" she asks, a soft smile on her face.

"I'd do anything for them, just like you would for Todd. You're an incredible sister, Cherry, and you're doing a fucking amazing job with him. You may feel like you're alone, but you aren't," I say quietly. "You have me. You have his teachers. You have a support system ready and willing to back you up. It takes a village to raise a kid. We're yours. CPS isn't taking him just because you make a little mistake. They won't take him ifhemakes a little mistake. We won't let that happen, sweetheart."

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