Page 101 of Cash

“Time to sleep, baby girl. You’ve got the bed. I’m taking the couch.”

There were two other rooms in the house with beds. Cash was taking the couch so he’d be closest to the doors—front and back.

Protecting us.

Penny flashed into my mind. Who was protecting her? The woman wasn’t my most favorite person ever. I mostly found her annoying, but she was Cash’s sister. And the reasons I’d found her annoying stemmed from knowing she had the power to hurt Cash. Now the damage was done, I was holding onto the grudge like a security blanket. Someone to blame for taking Cash away from me.

It wasn’t fair. Especially now.

“Cash, I really think we need to talk about Penny.”

“We have talked about her,” he noted. “We also came to the decision that I’m staying here, and Zane and my team will look after her.”

No, we didn’t come to that decision, he did.

“I’m not comfortable with that decision. You know I can take care of me and Cara if something happens. Penny needs you.”

Cash was silent for a moment, which I took as him mulling over what I said.

He was, but not in the way I’d hoped.

“Today, while I was sitting on my couch reading a book to Cara and my woman was sitting at the table on her laptop, my house, our house, was riddled with bullets. Not because someone’s after you, but because they’re after Penny. I’m not going as far as blaming my sister for putting my family in danger. That shit is on the shoulders of the asshole who ordered the hit. And trust me, when we find out who that is, they’re gonna pay. In the meantime, while my team is searching, I’m staying with my family.”

“Cash—”

“There are two things that I don’t trust Zane to take care of; those are you and Cara and only because I’m standing right here to do it myself. With everything else, I trust him. Everything. If he says he’s using all of his resources to find Penny, he’s using all of his resources. Not only is she my blood, but she works for him. Which means, in his mind, Penny is his responsibility. My job right now is to be here in the morning when Cara wakes up. Proving to her I keep my promises. My other job is to prove to you, you can trust me. That’s it. I know you can protect yourself, and Cara, and me. I haven’t missed that you’re strong and capable. Trust me, Stella, there’s no way I can miss it. It’s sexy as fuck-all and a total turn on.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Oh, sweetheart.” He switched gears on a dime and drawled. “If Cara wasn’t sleeping down the hall, those jeans would be around your ankles, your ass would be a pretty pink, you’d be stuffed full of my cock, and your pretty eyes would really roll.”

My traitorous body quivered.

Cash smiled.

“You could try,” I taunted.

“I’m gonna do more than try, and while I’m doing it those pretty nipples of yours are gonna be clamped.”

I failed to prevent my double-crossing body from projecting how much I wanted Cash to clamp my nipples.

“Pretty jewelry decorating your big tits, while you’re on your knees with your tongue toying with my hardware. Yeah, that’s a plan.”

I hadn’t forgotten that Cash’s cock was pierced. I could never forget that hoop or the barbell and the delicious things they could do. But I hadn’t allowed myself to think about what it would be like to run my tongue over what he called his hardware.

But now that I was, I wanted to. Badly.

Cash being Cash—more observant and attentive than any person I’d ever known—didn’t miss me licking my lips.

Fortunately, he didn’t verbally call me out. Unfortunately, he used his mouth, lips, and tongue. Which was much more effective, especially when it was his slow, drugging kiss of ownership.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

I reached for the vibrating phone on my chest.

The time in the left corner told me it had been two hours since Zane had checked in.

My boss once again had proven he kept his word, working through the night to track Penny. My team had gone on the hunt, each of them texting me updates.