She is not fucking one of my brothers while she’s here. Who’s with her? Is it Beast? That motherfucker always had a soft spot for her. Shit, it’s probably Shaft, that damn asshole can’t keep his polla in his damn pants! I’ll make sure he doesn’t have one to worry about after this.
I shove the door open with such force that it slams against the wall when it flings open. Beth’s sitting on the bed and some fucker is rubbing the back of her neck. The only thing that stops me from going to him and immediately snapping his neck is the fact that they’re both still fully dressed.
“Who the fuck are you and why do you have your hands on my wife?” I growl before I can stop myself.
“Skull! What on Earth?” Beth starts, but she’s drowned out by the man. He’s holding his hands up in defense.
As if that would keep me away. I’ll fucking end him.
“Hey man, nothing’s going on. I was just checking Beth out and—”
“I saw that, motherfucker. I’m asking you what the hell you’re doing in my wife’s room and why you have your fucking hands on her.”
“We’re not married!” Beth growls, standing up and stomping her foot. I ignore her.
“You got about one minute to start talking and then, trust me when I tell you, you won’t be able to talk when I’m through.”
“This must be your ex, Skull?”
That’s it. I go to him and grab him around the neck, literally pulling him over to the wall. I slam him up against the wall so hard that the pictures on it rattle.
“That’s right, el cabrón, it’s good you know the name of the man who’s going to—Ow! Beth, goddamn it, what in the hell are you doing?” I growl, keeping my hand around the neck of the man while turning to look at Beth.
She’s taken a fucking stuffed animal and continues to slap me up the side of the head with it. I look at it and then her. She’s continuing to hit me with it: a giant, stuffed pony with rainbow colored hair. Christo!
“Will you let him go? That’s the doctor that you sent here!”
“The fuck he is. I sent Doctor Patton!”
“That’s his son!”
“Well, I didn’t know that, now did I? The gilipollas should have spoken up!”
“Quit calling him a dickhead and maybe he would have spoken up if you would quit choking him! You’re killing him! He’s turning blue for Christ’s sake! Will you let him go?”
I drop my hand from the asshole’s neck, ignoring his gasping and coughing beside me.
“Tell your father he will be dealing with me later. When I ask for him to come out, I mean him. Now, get out,” I order him, but I’m looking at Beth. Her gray eyes are watching me. There’s something shining in them and the only word I can think of to describe it is excitement.
For the first time in years, ever since Beth left my life, I’m feeling the same. My blood is thrumming through my system. My heart is beating hard against my chest. My dick is jerking against my pants and I feel… alive.
“Listen, Mr… errr… Skull. Dad retired last month. When your men called my office, I just assumed—”
“That was your first mistake. One I will be bringing up with your father. Now. Get. The. Fuck. Out.”
“Maybe if you hadn’t had Dr. Torres tending to your needs so often, you would have known,” Beth snips.
I haven’t taken my eyes off of her. I couldn’t if my life depended on it. She’s enjoying challenging me. She’s baiting me. She’s breathing heavy and her breasts are heaving against the tight black turtleneck she’s wearing. Breasts that I remember vividly. Breasts that are larger now that she’s had our daughter. Breasts that I want to bury my face in and just… breathe.
The doctor finally leaves, which should make me happy. Instead, I want to growl because Beth is hugging that damned stuffed pony against her chest like some kind of fucking lifeline, blocking herself from me.
“When did you learn to speak Spanish?” I ask because she knew what I called the asshole. That’s new. What other secrets is Beth keeping?
“I thought it would be useful. I figured you would want… I mean, I wanted to teach Gabby to speak Spanish, and they say it’s best to start them young… and I, well…”
She trails off, but her slip didn’t escape me. She thought I would want Gabby to know Spanish. She started to say that before she changed her mind. Did she plan for me to become part of Gabby’s life before that damn package in the hospital? Is this just another game? Another lie in a line of many that I seem to keep falling for?
“You shouldn’t have done that,” she whispers when she gets tired of my silence. Her cheeks blush a pale pink from me continuously staring at her.
“He had his hands on you.”
“He was examining me,” she says.
“I don’t give a fuck,” I tell her, taking a step toward her and closing the distance between us.
I reach out and pull her to me, keeping each of my hands on the cheeks of her ass. Those damn gray eyes of hers go large.
“Skull? What are you doing?” she asks, bringing her hands up to my arms and holding on, maybe to push me away, but she doesn’t do it.
“It’s both of us here, Beth,” I tell her, wanting her to admit that she feels this fucking pull between us.