No more secrets, no more pretending the obstacles between them didn’t exist.
Every moment they spent tiptoeing through this minefield surrounding them, she was in danger. She wanted to stay with him and she would get what she wanted. Simple as that. The fact that her presence in his life would make it worth living came secondary. As her face transformed with sleepy awareness, he wondered if she knew. That he loved her. Would kill for her. That even though her naked breasts were making his dick hard, he simultaneously wanted to hide her under the covers and guard her.
“Too much, Sera. You make me feel too much.”
Her smile dipped at the edges. “Is that a bad thing?”
“No.” He pressed his lips to her forehead. “Not as long as you’re with me to shoulder some of it. Sometimes I get worried I’m not enough to carry it all.”
”You’re not the only one who feels too much.” Her gaze searched his. “You have to help me, too.”
A dizzying rush of love careered through him. He couldn’t see anything but her, felt nothing but her body beneath him, molding to his so perfectly . Perfect.
This is perfect. He took her wrists and pinned them above her head on the pillow. “Then let me ease you now, baby.”
A shrill series of beeps broke the spell she’d placed him under. It took Bowen a moment to place the sound, his head was so fogged with Sera. His phone. It vibrated and danced on the side table next to his bed. Lust slowly dissipated at the implications of a 6:00
a.m. phone call. No good news came this early in the morning. Sera’s soft form tensing beneath him told Bowen she’d come to the same conclusion.
Knowing he’d never be able to concentrate while lying cradled between her thighs, he reluctantly sat up and snatched up the phone. When he read the caller ID, it felt as though he’d been kicked in the ribs . Rikers Island correctional facility. “Hello?”
“Bowen Driscol?”
A man’s clipped voice. Not his father’s, as he’d been expecting. What did it mean that someone else was calling? “One and the same,” he answered slowly.
“Your father has been taken to the infirmary. We’re obligated to inform the closest family member.” The caller paused, as if letting that news sink in. It didn’t. “Details aren’t available right now, but we do know he had an altercation with another prisoner. His wounds are serious enough that you should try to make it here as soon as possible.”
“Fine.” He hung up the phone and breathed deeply through his nose, trying not to lose the contents of his stomach.
His mind whirled, trying to find detachment so he could get to his feet and move. But all he could come up with was guilt. In order to protect his sister, he’d played a part in putting his father away. A small part, but a part nonetheless. Now Lenny could die because of it. No matter that their relationship bordered on hostile. They were still blood.
Sera rubbed circles into his back, her lack of questions telling him she’d heard everything. “Bowen,” she said, softly.
“Get dressed. I’ll come with you.”
He shot to his feet, already trying to come up with an alternative. Her safety came before everything else. Yes, even Lenny. “Are you out of your mind?” In the dimness, he searched for the jeans he’d discarded the night before, tugging them on with jerky movements. “Even if the idea of you in that place didn’t make me feel sick, I can’t bring an undercover cop around my father. Not to mention every other motherfucker who’s taken a shiv this week. What if someone recognized you?”
“No one will recognize me.” She rose from the bed, her naked body still flushed from his touch. He had to pause in the act of dragging on his T-shirt to watch her approach, she was so goddamn beautiful. How could this girl be in his room? Listening to his foul words and still wanting him?
“You’re not coming with me.”
She obviously wanted to argue, wheels turning behind her expressive eyes. “You realize the only other option is to leave me alone here?”
“No, it’s not,” he bit off. “I’ll take you to Troy and Ruby.”
Fear coated her expression. Fear? His body had a physical reaction to seeing it on her face. “No, Bowen. No cops.”
“What happened last night, Ladybug?”
He had to work to keep his voice even.
“Before you came back to me?”
She looked down at the ground, obviously still not ready to talk about it.
Her unwillingness to confide in him hurt.
Badly. He watched as she changed tactics, tried to distract him. Even though he knew her game, he also knew it would work. She slipped her arms around his neck and held him tight. “No one can protect me like you. If you want me to stay in the car, I will, okay? I don’t want to be pawned off on someone else.”
Her compact curves felt too good against his, her confidence in him heady.