Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Spade

I take her face in my hands and turn her so she has to look at me. She's not really crying but her eyes are swimming with unshed tears. I'm usually a very reserved, laid-back man. Most of my friends would say it takes a lot to piss me off, to get my dander up, but at the moment if her mother were here, I would have to fight very hard not to give her a good swift kick in the twat. I would at least tell her exactly what I thought of her and her putting this emotional bullshit she's dumped on her daughter.

"Whatever you think that might mean, it doesn't change anything. I promise."

What kind of monster does this to their child? And her father is no better. He raised her, taught her things that she will always remember, and now he wants nothing to do with her because she's not his by blood? Now I fully understand why Roman wanted to kill them. If I had known what I do now then I would have helped him dig the holes myself and not talked him out of it.

Which leads me to the big question that lies in the room like a fucking rabid elephant. "Roman doesn't know."

She shakes her head and turns her worried eyes up to me. "You can't…you can't tell him? What will he think of me? What if he is the same as Dad and doesn't want me anywhere around him? He…he's all I have, Spade."

I run my thumbs over her cheeks. "I know, beautiful. I won't tell. It's not my secret to give away, after all. But I can't say I'll be able to be nice to your mom and dad if we ever happen to meet."

"Thank you." She leans forward and places a tiny kiss on my cheek before coming back for another one. "Thank you so much. For everything."

She holds my gaze throughout the kiss and when she does it for the third time, I can't stop myself from turning just enough to take her lips with my own, eliciting a shocked gasp from her. But no one told me Pearl was going to be like those chips no one can get their hand down into the container to get to. Once I start, I can't seem to stop.

As one kiss leads to another and another, I turn our heads so I can deepen the pressure and angle while tipping us both back, so she is stretched out on top of me. My hands go under the edge of her shirt so I can touch even that small amount of her skin.

"Open your mouth, beautiful."

I say it softly but that can't hide what it really is…a demand. I wait for her to decide if she is going to trust me with her sweet mouth not wanting to push her into making the decision. If she gives it to me freely, it will be so much sweeter.

She starts to fiddle with the material of my shirt before looking up at me, "How?"

A smile breaks out across my face. That's good enough for me. I take her mouth again and go slow so I can build her up before I gently nudge her lips apart with the tip of my tongue. I hear her make a noise that might be an ‘oh' but I don't pull away from her to be sure.

I trace the seam of her mouth and slyly make my way into her honeyed cavern. I plan to go slow, take my time, and enjoy her but as the flavor of her sweetness hits me all I can think about is how to get more of her. I grunt into her mouth and roll us, so she is no longer on top of me.

I spend the next couple of minutes teaching this sexy little thing how to kiss and I don't think I have ever spent a better evening before. When I finally pull away from her to give her some air, her lips are swollen, her cheeks are flushed, and she doesn't look like she wants to cry anymore.

"What…why did you do that?"

Shit! How am I going to explain doing something I really shouldn't be doing in the first place when all I want to do is repeat it? Best to go with the truth, "Because you needed it. And because I wanted to."

"But…we shouldn't have. Should we?"

It's her fucking eyes, they melt me, staring up at me so innocently and without guile. How could anyone be cruel or mean to this beautiful angel?

"Maybe not, but I think we both needed it." She shakes her head and lowers her eyes to where her hands have bunched up the fabric of my shirt in her fists. "Sometimes, friends need things like support…or hugs."

"And kisses?"

"Sometimes."

"With tongues?"

"Sometimes." I give her a smile. "But let me tell you, I don't think I've ever looked at Whit or Roman and thought if I just kissed them it would make everyone's day all better."

She starts giggling under me and I can't stop my hands from coming around to her sides and tickling her. She starts laughing so hard her head is thrown back and her chest is pushed forward. Her body arching off the couch like it does when I tickle her, helps me visualize what she would look like during the throes of passion. It's an image I want to see again…soon. My body doesn't realize she's pressing into me because she's trying to run away from my tickling. It just knows she is soft and she smells good. It's a real feat to not let her find out what she is doing to me and my body.

"Come on, beautiful. Let's start a movie and see where the night goes. Oh, I can make us some popcorn."

"That sounds great. But, um, can we watch something else besides a horror movie? Just for tonight?"

It's late when I finally turn the television off. I let the movie play as long as I could so I didn't run the risk of the silence waking Pearl up. She fell asleep at the beginning of the second movie and I didn't have the heart to wake her…or the resistance. She happened to fall asleep on me. Her head snuggled against me, her hand gently laying on my chest and her warmth against my side. Other than kissing her this has got to be my favorite part of the night.

Just like I was worried would happen, her eyes flutter open and she gives me a sleepy smile. "Hi."

"Hi, beautiful. You about ready to go to bed?"

"With you?"

I smile for her but inside I'm not laughing. The idea of taking her to my bedroom and curling around her while she sleeps sounds real damned good. But…, "I don't think you are ready for that just yet, beautiful. Are you sweetheart?" And maybe I'm not ready for that either.