We finally pulled up to our place after dropping very excited teenage boys off at their respective homes. I was surprised Betty could fit three growing boys who were all legs and muscle into her interior, but she managed. I also had to reassure one set of parents that the whole event was kosher. The other two didn’t seem bothered their sons were at a bar nearing midnight. This worried me slightly.
“Thanks, Mom,” Lexie said quietly as I turned off the car.
“For what, doll?” I asked, turning in my seat.
She met my eyes. “For letting me do that. I think about ninety-nine percent of good moms wouldn’t let their kid do something like that. Which is what you are, by the way—the best mom. Means a lot that you did. This is all I ever want to do,” she told me quietly.
I stroked her face. “Know that kid. Which is why I let you do it. Wouldn’t be much of a mom if I didn’t let you follow your dreams. Plus, I trust you. I’ve raised an awesome kid, if I do say so myself,” I joked. “Now let’s get you to bed, superstar. With your career ahead of you, you need to grab as many z’s as you can. Rock stars don’t get famous without getting eight hours every night.”
She smiled at me and got out of the car. I followed her lead. My eyes rested on the bike that was parked in the driveway across from us. The bike that had followed us to every house on the way home. And the bike that had a figure leaning against it. Lexie followed my eyes.
“Night, Zane!” she yelled across the street.
There was no answer but a hand lifted up, visible in the dim street lights.
“You go on in, honey, I’ve just got to have a word with Zane,” I told her.
She gave me a knowing look that she was too young to give and nodded. “Okay. Night, Mom, I’m going to crash,” she declared pointedly and kissed my cheek.
I watched her go into the house before crossing the street.
Zane hadn’t moved from his perch on the bike.
As I had almost made it to him, his voice cut through the darkness.
“No closer, babe,” he bit out.
I stopped, on instinct more than anything. Then I furrowed my brows. “Um, why the heck not? I’m about to give you a piece of my mind for that little performance and I would rather not wake up the neighbors by yelling. So, in order to give you a piece of my mind, I need to be in closer proximity than this,” I snapped, stepping forward.
“You come closer, I’m going to claim you mouth. Ain’t gonna be gentle and it ain’t gonna be fuckin’ G rated. Which is a problem, considering your girl is looking at us through your window,” he told me roughly.
I froze. My head turned a smidgen to see a small figure dart out of the window. Shit.
“Have you got Batman eyes or something?” I asked seriously.
Zane didn’t answer, and my mind flickered back to the time he had been in this very spot and Lexie and I had both been spying on him.
“Okay fine, I’ll say what I have to say from here.” I crossed my arms.
“You won’t say a fuckin’ word, babe. You’ll turn that sweet ass around, go into your house and come back over here in an hour,” he ordered gruffly.
I opened my mouth to protest, but for once Zane hadn’t finished talking.
“You’ll come over wearing your sweet little nightie, and my shirt. There’s gonna be words, Wildcat, fucking trust me. But those words will come after I fucked you, after I’ve tanned your ass, and after you’re filled with me,” he growled.
Whatever I had been going to say silenced on my tongue and my stomach dipped at his words.
“One hour, Wildcat,” he repeated, stubbing out his smoke and pushing off his bike.
I blinked as he stood feet from me, realizing he wasn’t going to go inside until I had made it safely across the street to my own house. As I woodenly turned around and made my way back, my eyes caught a shadow in our window skittering off in the direction of her room.
I didn’t do it. Go over to his house. It took every inch of willpower I had, which was not much considering I routinely tried to cut back on my coffee consumption and it only lasted about an hour into the first morning. But thanks to some superhuman effort, I did it. I thought about all the times Zane and I had come together. Despite it being amazing, mind blowing even, it was always on his terms. At his command. I had been desperate for him, crazy for him, so I went for it. Some part of me knew I was too broken to have a real relationship, but another part of me told me I needed to set an example for my daughter, not let a man dictate the terms of...whatever Zane and I had. I had to ovary up. So, I tossed and turned all night and told myself I was going to be the one in control for a change.
I finally nodded off in the early hours of the morning to be awoken by a loud thumping what felt like five minutes later. One that shook the house slightly. Worried, and rather zombielike, I half stumbled down the stairs. The thumping got louder as I reached the living room, as did the sounds of horrible music. I turned to see Lexie had pushed all the furniture to the side and was doing some ridiculous kickboxing move while the woman on the screen told her she was doing great. I groaned. My daughter.