Off-Limits, page 9
“Lyla, wait.” I paused on the threshold, waiting. “Just be careful, okay.”
I kissed him again. “I promise.” With a wave, I ran down the driveway just as Tony pulled up. “Love you.”
The drive to get Barrick felt like it took a hundred times longer than the drive back to campus. He kept scrubbing at his beard, cursing himself for not having told Mia, for even agreeing to the job in the first place. I understood completely.
If I’d known how much Mia would come to mean to me, I never would have taken the job either. Guilt that I’d been lying to her had been eating at me since that first week of school. She’d become a great friend, and all I’d done was keep secrets from her the whole time.
It wasn’t like this with every job Barrick and I worked together. Sometimes the girl we were protecting found out and didn’t give a damn about it. Other times, they never found out. But either way, we’d never been emotionally involved with any of them the way the three of us had been with Mia.
She was different from any other job we’d worked. She wasn’t spoiled, even though her family had more money than God. She didn’t constantly complain or play the poor-pitiful-me card at the drop of every hat because she’d fucked up her leg and the dance career she’d always envisioned for herself was over. She was strong and sweet with a whole lot of feisty tossed in. She loved with her full heart and made those closest to her feel like they truly mattered.
Not one of the girls in the past was anything like Mia. They whined if they so much as chipped the nail polish on their expensive manicure, blamed the world for every little problem that inconvenienced them in even the most minor of ways. And work was something they’d never even thought about a day in their lives. Kindness for them came with a steep price tag, and having a backbone in the face of their moneymakers was laughable.
I’d never lost a wink of sleep when working previous jobs, but with Mia, I’d been tormented by thoughts of how she would react should she ever find out our friendship had started out with her dad hiring Seller’s Security to keep her under constant surveillance.
As we stepped onto the floor of the dorm that I’d shared with Mia for the starting week of the term, the first thing I saw was half a dozen freshmen standing around, whispering. Right in front of our room, box upon box of my things was already littering the hall.
“Shit,” I muttered to Barrick as we moved past the gawking freshmen. “I didn’t think she would be pissed at me.”
At least not to the point that she was actually kicking me out of our dorm room. It wasn’t like we’d lived together other than that first week of the semester since she’d been staying with Barrick practically from the moment they met. But until this past week, I’d been staying in the dorm. I’d kind of liked it, except for the bitchy RA on the floor.
Mia walked out of our room, yet another box of my things in her arms. Eyes red-rimmed and swollen from crying, she spotted me and threw down the box like it had personally insulted her.
“I trusted you. I thought you were my friend,” she cried angrily.
My heart clenched at the hurt and sadness in her eyes just below her justifiable rage. “Mia,” I tried to soothe, “we are friends. Just because I was guarding you doesn’t mean we aren’t friends.”
“You lied to me,” she whispered brokenly, and her pain became my own. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and hold her. She was the little sister I’d never had and didn’t even realize I needed until she came into my life. “I don’t want you here. I figured since you didn’t want to be here to begin with, you could either move in with your brother or stay with Howler.”
“Mia—” I started to plead with her to listen, but Barrick interrupted.
“You live with me.”
“I live here.” Ice coated her voice, making me shiver at the coldness coming from her normally warm personality. “Braxton went to get my things.”
“No way. He can just take them back.” He started to grab for her, but she backed away and walked into our room.
With a groan that sounded like it was being torn from him, Barrick followed, only to have the door slammed in his face. “Mia! Open the door. We have to talk.”
“Go away, or I’m calling security,” she threatened.
“I am the fucking security! Now, open the door before I break it down.”
Angrily, she jerked the door open, her green eyes flashing fire at him as her nostrils flared. “You are not my security any longer, asshole. Take yourself and your backstabbing cousin, and get lost. I don’t want to see either one of you.”
The elevator opened down the hall, and I glanced over the freshmen’s heads to find Braxton walking our way with a huge suitcase in one hand and a box in the other.
“Take it back,” Barrick snarled, and I tensed, fearing for the safety of my younger cousin for a moment.
“Nope. Sorry, but you aren’t calling the shots anymore.”
While the two of them stood there having a stare down, I tried to get through to her. “Mia, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you like this. It started off as a job, I admit that, but after that first week, I really liked and cared about you. We are friends, I swear to you.”
“What’s going on here, people?”
Cursing under my breath, I moved into Ruby’s path. Fuck, but I hated the RA. She was on a real power trip because she thought she was the governor of our floor or some shit. No one liked her, but only Mia and I had ever called her out on her abuse of power, so she was constantly calling me a bitch. “This is a private matter, Ruby. We don’t need you putting your big nose in it.”
“This is my floor, Bennet. It’s my job to ensure all my girls are safe. And Little Miss Goody-Two-Shoes here doesn’t seem particularly safe from the looks of it.”
“Fuck off, Ruby,” Mia tossed over her shoulder as she walked back into her room. “I’m not in the mood for your bullshit today.”
“You’re never around, so I assumed you had dropped out,” Ruby goaded as she leaned back against the wall close to Braxton. I wasn’t surprised when she started eye-fucking Braxton, any more than I was that he point-blank ignored her.
“You mean you stopped sucking cock long enough to notice I wasn’t around?” Mia gasped in mock shock and stuck her head out the door, eyeing Ruby dispassionately. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing, because I knew it wouldn’t win me any points with my friend if I did. “Bitch, please. I have enough on my plate right now. I don’t need your bullshit on top of it. Get lost.”
“If you’re sticking around, make sure you follow all the floor and dorm rules,” Ruby muttered, knowing she wasn’t going to win this round. “That means no overnight guests of the opposite sex.”
“Not a problem, trust me,” Mia said with a dry laugh as she started to close the door in Barrick’s face yet again.
My older cousin stopped it and pushed his way inside before closing and locking the door behind them.
Releasing a heavy sigh, I leaned back against the wall, unsure what to do now. First, I needed to get my things moved, though, I guessed.
“Don’t suppose you’ll help me get this shit downstairs?” I asked Braxton, who was just standing there in the middle of the hall, looking about as unsure of what to do as I felt.
“Let me make sure Mia is okay, and I’ll help you,” he promised after a moment. “She’s taking this worse than I feared, Lyla.”
The defeat in his voice made my heart constrict, and I hugged him. “I know. But she’ll come around. She’s mad right now, and yeah, hurt because we kept this from her, but she won’t stay mad forever.”
I hoped.
Chapter 14
Howler
It was late and I was in bed when Lyla got home. I hadn’t even tried to sleep, knowing I wouldn’t get any rest as long as she wasn’t in bed with me. Less than a week with her sleeping in my arms and I was already addicted to it.
I knew something was wrong as soon as she walked into our bedroom. Dejectedly, she started pulling off her clothes, and without so much as looking my way, she went into the bathroom.
Hearing the shower start, I tossed back the blanket and climbed out of bed. She was just standing beside the shower, her hand in the water to test the temperature, her shoulders drooped as if she had the weight of the world pressing down on them.
“Things didn’t go well?”
“She kicked me out of our room. Braxton helped me store all my things at Judge’s. That’s why I’m covered in sweat.” Turning to face me, I saw the tears glazing her eyes that she refused to let fall.
Lyla wasn’t a crier, so I knew this was hurting her.
“She broke up with Barrick, and she doesn’t want to see me. She said…” Sucking in a deep breath, she lowered her head. “She said I was a backstabbing liar.”
“Ah, babe.” Crossing to her, I pulled her into my arms. She hugged me back as tight as she could, as if she were afraid I’d let her go, and buried her face in my bare chest.
“She’s right. I did lie to her.” Her voice was barely a whisper and so full of sadness, it broke my heart.
Grasping her chin between my thumb and forefinger, I tilted her head up so she had to meet my eyes. “You were doing your job, Lyla. If you could have told her, you would have. I know she means a lot to you, and I’m so sorry you’re hurting right now, baby. But she will come around. Just give her a little time.”
Her teeth sank into her bottom lip, and she gave a small nod. Brushing a kiss over her lips, I reluctantly released her. “Shower, and I’ll make you a snack.”
Downstairs, I made her a sandwich, but I didn’t know just how hungry she was, so I grabbed a slice of the cookie cake as well as a glass of milk. Putting them on a tray, I carried them back upstairs. As I walked into the bedroom, I heard the shower turn off, and I put everything at the end of the bed.
When she walked out, wrapped in a towel and making my mouth water as my own hunger began to gnaw low in my gut, she looked like she was feeling a little better.
Giving me a sad smile, she walked over to the closet where her luggage was and bent to pull out a pair of panties.
I clenched my jaw as I watched her. Fuck, but she was so damn beautiful. Rubbing my hand over my mouth, I shifted restlessly. “How about tomorrow I make room for you to hang your clothes up in the closet? There’s space for another dresser too. I could build you one if you tell me how big you want it.”
She grabbed a shirt out of my closet, one of my old T-shirts, and pulled it over her head before letting the towel drop to the floor. Turning to face me, she pinched her brow together. “Are you sure about that? I’m okay living out of the case.”
“I want your stuff touching my stuff,” I told her. Maybe it sounded lame, but I didn’t care. It was the truth. “I want you to move in permanently, Lyla.”
Her pretty eyes widened. “Really?” I nodded, holding my breath as I waited for her to answer. “Judge won’t like me living with you full time, Howler.”
“Fuck Judge,” I growled. “He has nothing to do with you and me, baby. It’s our choice. Your choice. Please, move in with me.”
Sighing, she walked over to the bed where I was still standing and wrapped her arms around my waist. “Can I think about it?”
It wasn’t the “yes” I was hoping for, but it wasn’t the “no” I’d been dreading either. “Take all the time you need, babe.” Kissing the tip of her nose, I turned her around to show her the small feast I’d made for her. “Get comfortable. You can eat in bed while we watch some TV and cuddle.”
That earned me a true smile, and she hopped up onto our bed. I placed the tray on her lap then crawled in beside her with the remote in hand. She curled up against me, offering me a bite of her sandwich. I shook my head, wanting her to eat every bite I’d made just for her.
“I’ll get my late-night snack when you’re done,” I promised with a wink that had her eyes dilating with need.
“I could get used to this,” she muttered. Pink filled her cheeks, and I wondered if maybe she hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
Grinning, I didn’t call her out on it and tell her to just move in if she liked it so much. Instead, I found us something to watch and soaked up the feeling of the world—my world—finally being right.
--
Having spent more time making love to Lyla than sleeping the past several nights had made me miss out on rest. After she’d fallen on top of me the night before, we’d both passed out.
Only to have Josie wake us up by jumping on the bed the next morning. I barely lifted my head, making sure we were both covered with blankets before I let my head drop heavily back onto my pillow.
“I want pancakes,” Josie chanted as she bounced between us. “I want pancakes.”
Laughing, Lyla caught her around the waist and pulled her down between us, kissing every part of her little face. “Pancakes, huh?”
Giggling, Josie nodded her little blond head. “Can I help you make them? Please, Lyla? I’m a good helper.”
“I don’t know. What do you think, Daddy?”
What I thought was I fucking loved it when she called me “Daddy.” And not just because she could make it sound dirty as hell at times. When she called me “Daddy,” I got this image in my head of Lyla pregnant with our baby, while Josie and a few other kids ran around her feet. All of them calling her “Mommy.”
“I like bananas and chocolate chips in my pancakes,” I grumbled sleepily instead. “Think you can handle that, Jo?”
“Yes!”
Lyla sighed dramatically. “Okay, okay. Jo-Jo, you go down and make sure we have enough bananas. Do not, I repeat, do not touch the stove.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Josie hopped down, and her little feet took off running before they even hit the floor.
After giving me a quick kiss, Lyla jumped up, grabbing clothes as she rushed after my kid. Lifting my head, I grinned at the sight of her sexy ass disappearing out the door seconds before it closed behind her.
Groaning, I sat up and tossed my legs over the side of the bed. I could have slept another four hours at least, but there was no way I was going to miss out on the fun of watching my girls making pancakes together.
Rushing through a shower, I walked downstairs still pulling a fresh shirt on over my head. The smell of bacon was already filling the air, and I heard Lyla telling Josie to get ready to catch the first batch of pancakes when I walked into the kitchen.
“Daddy,” Josie called out, holding a plate with two pancakes already on it. “We’re making your favorite.”
Walking up behind Lyla, I kissed her shoulder. “Smells good, ladies. What can I do to help?”
“Juice?” Lyla suggested distractedly. “And set the table.”
After kissing her again, I got to work. With all the amazing food Lyla had been filling my stomach with the past few days, I was going to have to hit the gym harder than ever. But I wasn’t going to complain about it. I would happily kill myself doing cardio if it meant more moments like this with her.
As I set the table, I watched the two girls together. Lyla was patiently showing Josie how to flip a pancake. Josie’s tongue stuck out in concentration as she used both hands on the spatula to flip the small pancake. It landed almost perfectly, and Lyla beamed her pride in my little girl.
“Great job, Jo!” she cheered. “Now, how about adding more chocolate chips to this one and those sliced bananas?”
“Okay,” she agreed enthusiastically as she climbed back into her chair at the island and did as instructed.
“Howler, could you get the bacon before it burns?” Lyla called out as she poured more batter into the pan.
“On it, babe.” Grabbing a pair of tongs, I took the bacon out of the skillet and put it on the paper towel-lined plate already waiting. After stuffing a piece into my mouth, I carried the plate to the table and started pouring us each a glass of orange juice.
Once all the pancakes were done, Lyla and Josie joined me at the table.
Taking a hungry bite of one covered in chocolate chips and fresh bananas, I groaned my pleasure as the taste exploded on my tongue. “Girls, you have made Daddy very happy this morning.”
Josie giggled, and Lyla grinned as she gave me a wink. For the next ten minutes, no one talked much as we enjoyed our breakfast.
But as I was shoving my last bite of bacon into my mouth, licking syrup off my thumb as I did, my phone went off. Glancing down at the screen, I saw it was Judge and bit back a curse.
For a second, I considered just letting it go to voice mail, but I knew if my best friend was calling this early on a Sunday morning, something was up. Wiping my mouth, I stood. “I have to take this. But don’t touch the dishes, babe. I’ll take care of it as soon as I’m done with this call.”
“It’s not a problem,” she started to protest, but I kissed her to shut her up.
“I’ll clean up. You and Josie go relax when you’re done eating.” Hitting connect, I lifted the phone to my ear. “What’s up, man?”
“You sound too awake and chipper for nine o’clock on a Sunday morning,” Judge groused.
“Just had breakfast with my two favorite girls,” I told him as I entered my office at the back of the house and shut the door. “Why are you up this early?”
“Man, I haven’t even been to bed yet. I haven’t slept in days…I think. Fuck, I don’t even know at this point.” Blowing out a harsh exhale, he got to the point of his call. “Just wanted to warn you two of my people will be camped in your driveway from here on out. On a whim, I had someone pay a visit to Gwen’s apartment yesterday. She wasn’t home, but what they found there was enough to make me uneasy. Honestly, I thought she was just blowing smoke when she bought the gun and started making threats against Lyla. But… Hell, I’ll send you the full report I got. Just don’t let my sister out of your sight, and if you do happen to have to, make sure my people are with her.”
