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“I want you to be mine, Del. You and the boys. I need every other man who lives around here who even thinks about looking your way to know you’re with me. Mine. But that I’m also yours.”
“You want to…own me?” I lean away from him.
“Not that way, Del. Never that way. I want to own your pleasure, but only if you give it to me—willingly. I will never take from you. I only want to give you what you want and help you with what you need. I want to be the person you call when you need something. I want to be the person you cry to when the kids are being shits and you need someone to hold you and tell you it’ll be alright. I want to help you. To love you. But I’m willing to wait until you’re ready.”
“I…I don’t…I’m not…Marcus,” I whisper.
“You can, Del. And you are.” He slowly reaches for my hand, and I willingly give it to him. The electricity I felt at the Diner shoots up my arm again. It wasn’t a fluke. My heart beats faster, my stomach flips, my long dead vagina gives a throb of life. “I really want to kiss you,” he tells me as he lifts my hand to his lips, “but this will have to do for now.”
I’m staring at him with what I’m sure are wide, wild eyes. My heart is pounding out of my chest, and I think I might pass out.
“Can I bring the boys and dinner to you tonight?” he asks, lowering my hand from his mouth but keeping hold of it.
“I think I would like that.”
“Then I’ll see you then. Have a great rest of your day, Del.” He winks at me as he places my hand back on the desk and turns to walk away. “I’ll go slow so you get a good look.”
I bring my hands up to my face, trying to hide my embarrassment, but my fingers don’t exactly cover my eyes and I do indeed watch him walk away. Luckily, he doesn’t call me out on it even when I know he’s looking at me, looking at him.
CHAPTER SIX
MARCUS
“Bertram! Pick up the pace!” I yell from the sidelines of the field. Theo’s dragging ass today, which is unlike him.
“Yes, Coach,” he calls back without much enthusiasm.
The rest of practice goes much the same way, with one of the coaches yelling at Theo, and Theo not really giving a shit. Sebastian is acting like his normal self, so something must have happened. When practice is over, I follow the boys into the lot. They are slow walking out, with Sebastian asking Theo what’s wrong and Theo brushing him off.
“Theo, you have a minute?” I ask, pulling him away from Sebastian. “Want to tell me what’s going on with you? Are you sick? Did something happen at school? Is your mom alright?”
He eyeballs me before his shoulders slump and he mumbles, “I think my dad is going to try to do something.”
I try to hide my shock at him telling the truth, but I don’t think I’m very good at it. “What do you mean?”
“I found the letter Mom’s been trying to hide. He wants custody. He wants to hurt her by taking us away from her.”
“Yeah, that’s what his goal is. To hurt your mom.”
His head snaps up. “What? You agree?”
“Yeah, I agree. That’s always been his goal, right? To put her in her place? To control her? And when she stepped out of line, to hurt her. She’s so far out of line right now, he’s probably losing his mind.”
“Good. Asshole deserves to lose everything. I don’t want anything to do with him, Coach. And I won’t let him hurt my mom.”
I let the cursing slide. Not my place when we’re off the field to be the disciplinarian. “I won’t either,” I promise him. “He’ll never get close enough to hurt her again. And you can talk to me about anything, okay? Especially if it involves your dad. I can help. The badge says so.”
He chuckles a little and blows out a breath. “Thanks. Appreciate it. I have to protect her.”
“Then we do it together. Oh, and you guys are coming with me. I’m taking you home tonight. Going to stop and get pizza on the way,” I say louder, pulling Sebastian back into the conversation.
“Danielle’s?” Sebastian asks.
“Of course. Like there’s any other option.”
“Why?” Theo asks, narrowing his eyes. And I’m the enemy again. But I was prepared for this one.
“Because I’m here, you’re here, I’m hungry, and I thought it would be nice to do something for your mom. You alright with that?”
