Cameron
I’m dreaming. I must be because I know I’m in my bed. I fell asleep with Eve curled to my side with her head on my chest, but the sound resonating in my ears is something I’d never expect to hear in my own damn bed.
I cringe as a foul song sung by a high-pitched voice pulls me from sleep.
Soft feminine moans come from my side seconds before I lose the heat of her body. I blink my eyes open to find Eve, ass in the air, top half of her body hanging over the side of the bed. Damn, what a view. I grin through my sleep haze and put myself into a mental choke hold for allowing her to put panties back on last night.
She reaches toward the ground and the source of the sound then sits up with her phone in her hand. The ridiculous noise stops. Her eyebrows pinch together as she studies the caller ID and then pop up when the sound begins again.
“Interesting ring tone.”
Her gaze swings to mine, an uneasy expression on her face. “It’s Timbo.” She hits a button and lies back down just as the phone starts ringing again.
“Don’t know who Timbo is, babe, but if you don’t make it stop, I’m breakin’ the fucker.”
Her chest rises on a big shaky breath. What the hell?
Before I can ask, she hits a button and presses the phone to her ear. “Please tell me you’re not dying.”
I turn my body toward her and prop my head on my hand.
“Um . . . maybe because I haven’t heard from you since Christmas?” Her eyes are fixed on the ceiling, but her mouth is held tight and her jaw hard. “It’s July, Mother.”
Ah, well this makes sense. I keep my eyes trained on her face, watching for any physical evidence that she’s hurting. If so, that phone is mine.
She closes her eyes and shakes her head. “No, I’m not giving him money anymore.”
Shit. Guess her dad’s not the only POS in the family.
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that, Mom, but he’s your ex. You married him; you deal with him.”
My fingers itch to rip the tiny cell from her hand and tell her mother exactly what I think of her choice to reproduce with Eve’s fuck-head father. Although if she hadn’t, Eve wouldn’t exist. The thought alone is depressing.
“Sounds good. Talk to you next year.” She doesn’t wait before hitting End and tossing the phone to the foot of the bed.
“Everything okay?”
She nods and rolls to fit herself along my side. I pull her in and sift my fingers through her hair.
“That was my mom.”
“Gathered that.”
“My dad called her and told her that I’d abandoned him since he didn’t get a single cent of my last paycheck.”
“Nice guy.” A growl rumbles in my chest. What the fuck is up with these people?
“Ha. Yeah, my mom doesn’t want to deal with him, so she’s trying to get me to kick him something so he’ll leave her alone.”
“You think he’ll show up at her place? Clean her out like he did you?”
She shakes her head, her fingers tracing a pattern on my abdomen. “Nah, she lives in North Carolina. If he had the money to track her down, he’d gamble it before he made it to the airport.”
“Sounds like she had the right idea getting away from him.”
“Mm.”
“Why didn’t you go with her?”
“I wasn’t invited. She left when I was a kid.”
My stomach churns, and my fist clenches into her hair. I force myself to loosen my grip. “Sorry to hear that, but sounds like you’re better off without her.”
She nods into my chest again. Abandoned by her mother, raised with a dick for a father, the only real family she had growing up was her best friend and a teacher.
No wonder she seems older than she is. She’s lived the kind of pain and abandonment that would lend to an edge in her demeanor: a street-taught maturity that only comes from pulling through the shitty dredges of life’s circumstances. Warmth spreads through my chest. She’s been delivered the hits, taken them blow for blow, and she’s still standing.
“When did your last check come in?”
“Friday. Why?”
“You think your Dad will come snoopin’ around since you didn’t pay up?”
She shrugs. “He’s called. I didn’t answer. No clue what he’ll do, but I wouldn’t put it past him to show up.”
“Right.” I smack her sweet ass and she jumps with a squeak. “Get up, babe. I’m taking you to the training center. Next time you come face to face with your pops you’ll be able to lay him to the ground if he steps foot in your place.”
She tilts her head back and rests her chin on my chest. “You’re gonna teach me how to kick some ass?” An excited smile pulls at her lips.
“I am.” I lean down and brush a soft kiss across her lips. “Need to know if he shows up you’ll be able to handle yourself until I get there.”
If he puts her in a position where she has to protect herself, I will kill him.
*
Eve