House Rules (20 page)

“Things were great until my sixteenth birthday, or at least I thought it was. I came home from school and found him with another woman bent over the couch, plowing into her while she begged him to fill her deep, screaming that she wanted a baby. It took him until he finished with her to realize that I was there. He forced the woman to leave and tried to make me promise not to tell my mom. But that wasn’t going to happen. Until Rex came along it had been just me and Mom, and I wasn’t about to let her stay married to a cheater. I told her what I saw, and guess what?”

He uncrossed his arms and dropped them to his sides.

“She took his side. After years of being the one person I could count on, she took his side. Said I must have not understood what I saw.” I hadn’t realized I’d started pacing until I tried to focus on the floor and saw my feet moving. “Kinda hard to make that kind of mistake. But I was only sixteen, where the hell was I going to go? I spent the next year avoiding my stepfather at all costs and only having limited conversations with my mother. She was still my legal guardian and if I needed anything the only one who could get it would be her. So I stayed and kept my mouth shut.”

I walked over and stood barely a foot in front of him.

“About four months before my eighteenth birthday, my door opened in the middle of the night. Rex came in and demanded that I strip and bend over the bed for him. According to him, my mom’s ‘pussy was too loose’ and he thought because he had taken care of me all of those years that I needed to pay him back. Forget the fact that I was a minor. When I refused, he left, promising to be back.”

A sense of déjà vu washed over me, but I ignored it. No way would Ray come back. “And he did, a few weeks later. This time he tried to ‘help’ me remove my clothes. I screamed and Mom came running into the room. Sick thing was, I felt relieved. Finally, she’d see what kind of man he was, what she was married to. But it was short lived. She blamed me. Me!” My eyes burned from holding back the tears.

“So I left. And I vowed I would never owe anyone anything. I’ve taken care of myself ever since.”

Miller walked over and wrapped me in his arms. I slumped against him and took the comfort he offered. It felt good to let the tears go. Even if I was mad at him for forcing the issue, his strong arms gave me a sense of peace I hadn’t felt since I was sixteen. I’d never told that story to anyone. Not Ray, not my classmates—no one.

“That wasn’t your fault,” he said, stroking a hand down my back.

I looked up at him. The hatred buried in the depths of his eyes gave me a brief moments pause. I knew it wasn’t directed at me, but I’d seen Miller in action before and he wasn’t pissed off then. I couldn’t begin to imagine what he could do to someone when emotions were involved.

“I know that, but can you at least understand why I refuse to let myself be vulnerable again. To take things and feel like it needs to be reciprocated.”

Deep down I knew that I was contradicting myself because by sharing this with Miller, I was making myself vulnerable. Showing any kind of weakness was never a good thing. But even as I cried against him, I couldn’t bring myself to feel weak. Miller would never use this against me. Of that I was sure.

CHAPTER 19

Miller

Find them.

The urge to murder someone or break something was overwhelming. The first moment I got, I would be sending a text to Dean. I was going to track down her parents and set them straight about how they should have treated their daughter. I’d never put my hands on a woman before, but there was a first time for everything.

“I understand, but you have to know that this is me offering it freely. You would never owe me anything.” I sighed before adding, “I’ll drop it, just promise me one thing, if you ever need or want the money, you’ll tell me.”

“I promise.”

I knew she was only saying the words to appease me but, for the moment, they did. That fucking family of hers consumed all of my thoughts so there wasn’t room for me to dwell on her dodging me, yet again.

“You head home. I’ll bring dinner by later.”

“Fine.” She straightened herself and stepped out of my arms.

It was likely that she was annoyed that I ordered instead of asked, but I needed her to leave before I said something that would push her away completely. As soon as the door closed behind her I picked up my phone to call Dean.

“Miller.”

“I need a favor.”

He laughed. “What’s new? This have anything to do with that sexy goddess you’re fucking?”

“You’re lucky you’re my friend because right now I want to reach through the phone and rip out your vocal cords.”

“What the fuck has you all fired up?”

“Tess is mine.”

“No shit, tell me something I don’t already know. You’re being a dick so something must have set you off. What is it?”

I explained everything I’d learned about Tess and her parents. Dean was as disgusted as I was and agreed to help find them. I asked him to let me know when he located them, knowing that whatever I needed to do was something that would require a certain amount of planning.

Setting the ball into motion helped me to calm down as much as I could in that circumstance. The rest of it would take time. We hung up and the next call I made was to Ashton. I had some groveling to do.

“Hello?”

“I fucked up.”

“How badly?” You could hear the mix of amusement and annoyance in his voice.

“Nothing I can’t fix. But I need help.”

“Not until you tell me what you did. Then I can decide if you deserve help.”

I slumped into the seat behind my desk and explained the whole story again, including that I already had Dean looking for her parents.

“Fair enough. Give me an hour.”

“Thank you.”

I caught up on work while I waited for Ashton to finish. It also gave Tess some time to study. Once I got there we would be far too busy for books.

Exactly an hour later, I left the bar to head over to Ashton’s to pick up dinner, then back to Tess’s apartment. If I’d have thought about it, I would have sent her back to my place. More room. Then again, with the mood she was in, she probably wouldn’t have gone there anyway.

By the time I reached La Tratoria
,
Ashton was already out front waiting for me, a box in his hand.

“Could you learn to get your head out of your ass at some point? I’m not going to help you keep digging yourself out. Remember she’s not a client.”

“I know she’s not a client, which is exactly why I want to help her.”

“Yeah, but you’re only thinking about what you want—not what she wants. Keep that in mind and you’ll be much better off than you are right now.”

“I’m working on it.” I sighed.

Ashton laughed. “You’re actually doing a better job of keeping your temper than I thought you would. You’ll figure it out. Now go, before it gets cold and good luck.”

“Thanks, I might need it.”

I pulled out of the lot and went straight to Tess’s place. When I reached the door I could hear music. I knocked once, then twice. When she didn’t answer the third time, I decided to let myself in.

She sat on the couch, barefoot, nose immersed in a book larger than some of the accounting ledgers at the dealership. I didn’t want to startle her so I called out, “Hey, gorgeous, still mad?”

She glanced up and the corners of her mouth twitched. “A little. But I think I can get over it for your brother’s cooking. That smells delicious. What is it?”

“So I’m only forgiven for bringing something Ashton made for dinner?” I teased, enjoying the return of the lighthearted banter.

“Maybe.” She shrugged but there was laughter in her eyes.

“Well, we better get you fed then.”

Tess cleared away the books while I unpacked everything Ashton had put into the box. Not only had he made dinner, but dessert as well, even throwing in a bottle of Tess’s favorite wine. Man, I owed my brother big time.

I brought the food out to the living room and set it on the table. There were things that needed to be said before we ate. She sat down next to me and reached for the plates.

“Tess?” I took her hand and brought her attention to me.

She looked up, her eyes soft and tired.

“I’m sorry about earlier. I had no idea why you were so adamant about doing it on your own, but I can respect your reasoning. What your parents did is inexcusable and to be honest, they’ll be lucky if they never meet me.” A shiver ran through her body and for one moment, I worried I went too far, but her soft smile was enough to alleviate my concerns. “Please believe me when I tell you, you deserve so much more than what you’ve been given. And if you’ll let me, I’ll give you anything you want.”

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine in a chaste kiss. “Thank you. I didn’t mean to lose my temper. I—”

I covered her lips with my finger. “You don’t need to apologize. I’m here to make it up to you.” I nodded toward the food on the table. “It’s time to feed you and find a way to help you relax.”

“I like the sound of that.”

We ate our meal talking about anything besides money and her parents. I was quite happy to avoid the conversation, for now.

Tess took the empty plates to the kitchen and came back to lie across the couch, her feet propped on my lap. She looked tired, weary. This was the Tess I was trying to help; the one who pushed herself too far. If she wasn’t careful, I’d move her shit into my house while she was a work and completely ignore Ashton’s advice.

I wrapped my hands around one of her feet, pressing deep into her arch with my thumbs.

“Yes, right there.”

She leaned her head against the back of the couch while I massaged first one foot, then the other. Tess’s eyes fluttered shut. She looked relaxed and at peace, and sexy as fuck. The woman drove me crazy at times, but after months of being with her, I couldn’t imagine going back to a different woman every night. With Tess, I’d become everything my family swore I would.

Suddenly her legs went heavy in my arms and I looked up to see the steady rise and fall of her chest. As peaceful as she looked, I couldn’t let her sleep here. She was running herself into the ground.

“Come on, babe, time to get up and shower before bed.”

She jolted awake and nodded, but still seemed half asleep. I knew I would have to climb in with her to keep her from falling over. The question was: could I keep my hands to myself? Better yet, did I want to?

I flicked the shower on and as the water warmed up, I left Tess to get undressed, watching her closely as I followed suit, climbing into the tub first and offering my hand out to help her in. The sight of her had my dick hardening at an alarming rate. It knew who she belonged to. This was going to be the longest shower of my life.

Tess might have been asleep a few minutes ago but that was no longer the case. Her eyes drifted down to my now fully erect cock.

“Is that for me?”

Her hands reached out to lightly trace the muscles on my chest, my dick twitching with the soft caress. It was asking too much of my body to maintain any kind of distance and so I covered her mouth with mine.

The minute she slipped her tongue out to run it along my lips, I lost control and slammed her up against the shower wall, hearing the deep moan leave her at the rough play. Reaching down, she ran her hand along the length of my dick. A sense of urgency sucked the oxygen from the room, which worked because there was no time to come up for air as I bent down and helped her wrap her legs around my waist.

Breathing heavy, I gazed down at her. Eyes that just a few short minutes ago had been sleepy were now bright with lust and desire, and I wasted no time thrusting up into her, my body forcing hers against the shower wall. This time was going to be hard and fast. My need for her was too great.

My cock plunged deeper and deeper with every thrust, my mouth never losing its connection with hers. It wasn't long before my balls were pulling tight to my body, a tingle racing down my spine.

“Miller, please,” she begged.

The muscles in her legs began to quiver. I slipped a hand between us and pinched her clit between my thumb and forefinger and she went up in a ball of flame, screaming out her release. I used the wall to help hold her in my arms, my body drained.

Sex had never brought me such a release. A quick fuck and a “see you later” had satisfied me for so long. All of the new emotions Tess pulled from me were scary and exciting at the same time. I knew from watching my parents that around Tess I’d always be a different person, but that didn’t mean I needed to lose who I was outside of my relationship with her.

For the first time since taking Tess home, I was starting to see the possibility of this becoming more than I’d ever had before.

CHAPTER 20

Theresa

Cloud Nine.

Those were the only words to describe my feelings. There was a spring in my step, a lightness in my chest. For the first time in my life, someone knew the truth about why I left home. The reason I left my parents behind all those years ago.

I’d learned long ago that after my mom married Rex, I was never more than a pawn. The man didn’t love me as a daughter. What I hadn’t expected was for my mother to put me on the back burner for a heartless bastard like him. Even though I’d come to terms with my mother’s deceit, there would be a small part of me that would always wonder whether everyone who was supposed to love me would eventually decide I wasn’t worth the trouble. After all, my dad left when he found out my mom was pregnant, then all the shit with my mom.

I’d given up on other people caring. It was part of the reason I never gave Ray my whole heart, and what made it so easy to walk away when the callous bastard thought nothing of using me as a bet.

Then Miller began pushing those fears aside, when it would have been easier to walk away. He fought; first with me, then for me. The way his expressive eyes hooded last night after my revelations told me all I needed to know about the sort of man he was. I knew Miller was angry, but not at me. He was angry about what had happened to me. He was on my side.