AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Jude, this is my girlfriend, Catriona Grady," I say, holding his gaze.
Catriona makes a soft sound that's partly a squeak and partly a stutter. It's fucking adorable. My girl isn't shy, but she's nervous as hell. I stayed home with her yesterday. But I nearly had to pick her up and carry her out of the house this morning to get her into my truck. She was adamant about staying at home by herself today. I think she's worried her brother is going to come roaring into town looking for her. But he has no reason to look here, not yet.
"Girlfriend, huh?" Fifth asks. "Does her brother know?"
"Not yet."
Fifth rubs his jaw, giving me an assessing look. "Plan on telling him?"
"Eventually," I say.
"What? Since when?" Catriona spins to face me. "We didn't discuss this."
"Are you mine, little one?" I ask, tipping my head down to look at her.
"I… Well, I…"
"You say anything but yes, and we're going to be kicking Fifth out of here while I prove it to you," I growl, narrowing my eyes on her. I don't give a fuck if we're in my office or not. I'll have her playing with herself and screaming my name on top of my desk until she's too blissed out to argue about it. "You're mine, Catriona. I don't give a fuck who your brother is or what he has to say about it."
"You can't just say things like that," she hisses at me, flapping her hands and shooting a horrified look at Fifth. "We have company, Andreas."
"It's my office. I can kick him out if I want."
"You're an overgrown bully, Andreas Romano." She peers at Fifth, anxiety in her gaze. "I'm sorry about him. He's just being grumpy, but he's not allowed to kick you out. I won't let him." She cuts her gaze at me, daring me to gainsay her.
"It's all right, sweetheart," Fifth drawls, amusement in his voice. "We stopped trying to teach him manners a long time ago."
"Her name is Catriona. Use it," I growl, not liking thissweetheartshit. I don't want anyone calling her anything but her name except me. Maybe that makes me an asshole. I don't care. She's got me all twisted in knots and turned inside out and upside down. I knew it the day we met. Spending the last two nights with her in my bed only made it worse.
She makes me…vulnerable in a way I'm not sure I know how to explain. I've never been in love before. I've never needed anyone like this or wanted to be everything for someone as badly as I want to be everything for this beautiful little light. She touches places that no one else does, rouses every instinct I have. I'm not just possessive of her, I'm ungodly protective of her too.
She's scared and anxious and out of her depth. And she's trusting me to keep her safe. I don't know what the Vipers put her through. But I know she doesn't trust easy as a result. I know she's leery of my brothers because of them. I trust my brothers implicitly, but she doesn't. Not yet.
Until she does, she needs me to set boundaries to see to her comfort. And I need to set them too. I need her to know that she can trust me to put her first in all ways just as badly as she needs to know she can trust me. Love is new to both of us. I'm not going to fuck it up.
"Jesus Christ." Fifth laughs loudly, shaking his head. "Another one bites the dust."
I shrug instead of denying it. I didn't bite the dust though. I ate a fucking crater in the ground.
"If I'm yours, does that make you mine?" Catriona asks suddenly, curiosity sparking in her green eyes.
"Are you admitting that you're mine?" I ask, smiling at her.
"Maybe," she mumbles, blushing.
I pull her to me, brushing a kiss across her forehead. "I already told you that I'm working on forever, little one," I remind her quietly. "I follow where you lead."
She melts into me for a moment, letting me hold her.
Fifth catches my gaze over top of her head, shaking his. He's not mad though. Concerned, maybe. I get why but the thing is…I don't fucking care. She isn't her brother, and his crimes aren't hers. If anyone understands how it feels to be judged guilty by association, I do. I've been there and done that. People still walk softly, expecting me to turn out like my father. It doesn't matter what I do to right his wrongs, I still carry that stigma.
I'm not going to let Catriona carry it too. She's innocent.
"Come on," I murmur a moment later.
I lead her to the conference table set up on the far side of the office, pulling her down into a chair beside me. Fifth takes a seat on the opposite side, facing us. I slide a legal pad across the table toward him in case he wants to take notes, though I doubt he'll need it. Fifth has the memory of a fucking elephant. He forgets nothing.
"Catriona worked at her brother's pawnshop," I say, getting right to it. "Strictly janitorial."
