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“Isn’t it always?” I reply with a grimace.
“What did he do this time?”
“I found out he owns a sex club,” I mutter, staring out the window. The car nearly comes to a complete stop as Caleb stares at me in shock.
“What the fuck?”
“I found him there. Face buried between some woman’s legs.” As I turn to look at my brother, I’m actually sort of pleased to see the horror on his face. At least someone else can feel it too.
“He’ll ruin us all,” he says. “He’s really willing to risk everything he’s built for what? Sex?”
I don’t reply. Suddenly I’m feeling sick, like I have a hangover from the events of last night. And from this whole conversation.
“Is that what this is all about?” he asks as he pulls up to Sage’s apartment.
“Sort of,” I reply because I just don’t know anymore. It started out about him. Then it became about me. And now…it’s about her. And I don’t care that my car is still parked at the club or that my broken hand is throbbing. I just want to see her.
“Jesus, Adam. This is insane. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I don’t know,” I reply, turning toward him. “Because he’s in my head, I guess. I don’t know if he’ll ever get out.”
“What about her?” he asks, and I know he’s talking about Sage. “Is that real, or is that just…”
“It’s real.” With that, I pull open the passenger door and stumble out. Every step makes my head pound. Before closing the door, I look back at Caleb, seeing the way this news is hitting him. The same way it hit me. And I almost feel bad for him. He never put as much faith in our father as I did, but it’s still hard to accept that the world doesn’t work the way you think it does.
“Thanks for picking me up,” I say with a grimace, and after he nods in return, I shut the door and cross the street toward her apartment. The entire way up the stairs, I’m silently praying she’s not mad at me. Of course if she is, I can’t blame her. I took off in the middle of the night.
I’d be no better than Brett if I kept her after what I’ve done. After the way I treated her. In fact, no man would ever truly deserve her, so what the fuck gives me the right to even try?
As soon as I rap my left hand against the door, it opens, and I’m so fucking relieved I can hardly move. She lets out an audible gasp when she sees me.
“Oh my god, Adam,” she shrieks with fear and relief. Then her arms are around my neck, my face pressed to the crook of hers, and I breathe her in like this is somehow the most pivotal moment of my life. The epicenter of my entire existence in this very moment as I come back to her a changed man. I’ve shed the lies and deceptions. It took more than the last few hours, but giving in to that darkness, feeling the cuffs around my wrists and the flash of the mug shot camera, I changed.
I fed the beast last night, and now it feels as if that beast is me.
“I was so worried about you,” she whispers into my neck. “Why did you do that?”
I pull away from her embrace and stare down at her as she pulls me into the apartment, closing the door behind us. “I have to tell you what I did,” I mumble, but she’s already shaking her head.
“I know exactly what you did, Adam. You don’t think I couldn’t figure it out? That I would just sit here and wait for you to come back?”
My brow arches in confusion as I stare down at her. “How did you…”
“Does it really matter? How about you tell mewhyyou would do that?”
Taking a step toward her, I reach for her with my good hand and she comes to me, letting me put my fingers on her arm and on her lower back. “Because…I wanted to.” It’s the only response that makes sense. Simple and to the point.
“You wanted to beat the shit out of my ex? Because he made me cry?”
“Yes,” I reply intently.
“You’re better than this, Adam. You put Brett in the hospital. He might lose the sight in his eye.”
“Good,” I say through clenched teeth. My hand leaves her skin as I take a step back. “Sage, you should know I’m notbetter than this. I’m not the good guy you thought. I’m not a gentleman or a hero. What I did last night felt fucking good, and I realize I’m no better than your ex for kicking the shit out of him, but I’d gladly beat the piss out of anyone who hurts you. I may not be good at communicating or admitting my feelings, but I’ll admit that. You’re the first thing in my life that I’m willing to protect, and I don’t care who the fuck I have to hurt to do it.”
She nearly cuts my words off as she leaps into my arms, pulling my face down to hers and latching those silky soft lips against mine. My hand screams in pain, but I don’t care as I wrap my hands around her thighs and lift her off the floor. Eagerly, she tightens them around me, and I let out a growl.
Carrying her to the wall, I grind myself against her with a long, deep moan. Pulling away from her kiss, I press my forehead to hers as I whisper, “Being between your legs is like heaven to me, Peaches.”
