Chapter 8

Tia lies next to me with her head on my chest as I slowly remember the reason we're here. Nobody but Ryker and Cason know we're using this house, except the cook, but my uncle swears she's good. We just need to stay here until Ryker handles the Victor situation.

Not that it's a bad place to hang out for a month. Five bedrooms, six bathrooms, and ten acres of gorgeous land to explore isn't exactly slumming it. But to be honest, I'd rather be at Tia's apartment, even though it's cramped compared to this house. We don't need a cook or all these bedrooms, but mostly, I love that place after only one time being there because where she calls home I want to call home.

For now, that's just a dream of mine I haven't even shared with her. I'd give anything to be able to settle down like Ryker, Cason, and Kane. I can't, though. Not yet.

Maybe when this Victor problem is solved that will change.

Nothing would make me happier than being able to ask Tia to marry me. But I can't do that when my job is to be an enforcer for my family. That's no life for her or a kid, and whenever I think of us together in the future, it involves kids and a house where they can play and have the kind of childhood I never had.

As I daydream about that future for us, Tia lifts her head and smiles at me. "You're really quiet. Everything okay?"

I'd love to tell her what I dream about for the two of us, but I won't. Not until I know there's a real chance I can give her the life she deserves. I won't make plans when it's far too possible I could be dead the next time I have to do a job.

Squeezing her to me, I answer her question. "Never been better, although I'm thinking it's nearly time we got that chef to wow us with something great to eat. Ryker raves about her, so I'm hoping she's as good as he says."

Tia's expression grows dark at my mention of the other person living in this house with us. "Are you sure she's not going to tell anyone I'm here? You don't even know her."

I nod, as sure about this cook woman as I am about everything else. "Ryker wouldn't send her here if she wasn't safe. Trust me. She's good."

As she returns to resting her head on my chest, Tia sighs. "Okay. I trust you, and if you trust her, then I'm okay. By the way, what is her name? We can't call her cook lady."

I smile at the thought of that. "Her name is Ivy."

For a few seconds, Tia doesn't say anything, but then she sits up and looks at me strangely. "Ivy? How old is this chef? I got the feeling she was older than someone with the name Ivy."

I have no idea what that means nor do I have a clue as to how old the cook is. I've only seen her a couple times since I brought Tia here, and I wasn't exactly paying close attention.

"Is there an age criteria for names? I didn't know."

Tia twists her face into a grimace. "You know what I mean."

"Actually, I'm not sure what you mean, but why don't you lie back down? I was enjoying how cozy we felt," I say as I pull her down toward me.

She resists, though, shaking her head. "What does this cook named Ivy look like?"

I shrug, unsure why we need to be talking about the person whose only job is to cook our meals for the next month. "Dark hair. Longish. Maybe to the middle of her back. I'm not sure. All the times I've seen her, she's been wearing it up in a ponytail."

Honestly, I don't think I've noticed anything else about her. Oh, yeah. There is that tattoo she has that's sort of cool.

"A ponytail?"

Nodding, I add, "Yeah. That's the only way I saw her spider tattoo on the side of her neck."

For some reason, Tia looks horrified. I don't think it could be the tattoo. I have dozens of them, and she's always liked them.

"A chef with a tattoo who wears a ponytail?" she asks in a tone that tells me none of that pleases her.

I shrug, still not understanding why we're bothering to talk about her. "I guess. She seems nice. You'll get to meet her when we get hungry."

To my surprise, she swings her legs off the bed and grabs her clothes to start getting dressed. "I think I'm hungry now."

"Really? I was enjoying us just lying here in bed."

As Tia tugs her black yoga pants up her legs, she says, "We can get back to that after we eat and I see this cook."

Ah, now I understand.

I slowly sit up, smiling because I get why she's so eager to meet Ivy. "You don't have any reason to be jealous, Tia. She's the cook. That's it. She makes our meals. Nothing else."

She shakes her head as she looks for her T-shirt. "I'm not jealous. I just want to meet the person we're going to be sharing this house with. I'm curious. Where does she sleep?"

As I search for my pants, I answer, "I'm not sure. This is the first day I'm here."

When she begins walking toward the door, I follow her, but before we get out to the hallway, Tia spins around and shakes her head. "You are not planning on walking around with just pants on. Where's your shirt?"

I look around and can't find it. "I don't know. I must have tossed it somewhere when I was getting undressed."

"You need to find it."

Sure I need to make her see she's worrying over nothing, I pull Tia to me and kiss her long and deep. When I pull away, I smile. "You don't have to worry, baby. I'm madly, crazy, out of my mind in love with you. I don't care about the cook my uncle hired to feed us. If you want, I'll call Ryker and tell him to get her out of here."

Oddly enough, that doesn't bring a smile to her face. Her frown actually grows deeper. "Don't be like that. Please, don't. You make me feel like I'm being stupid."

"No, you're being jealous, and I can't deny I like it. But you don't have to be."

Tia hangs her head and doesn't speak for a long time. Finally, she quietly says, "I'm sorry. I'm being stupid."

"No, not stupid at all."

When she lifts her head, I see tears in her eyes. "Why are you crying?"

"Because I'm being stupid! Is there a better reason for someone to cry?"

I'm pretty sure there's no good answer to that question, so I avoid answering by hugging her tightly to me. Against the top of her head, I say, "You're not stupid. You don't have anything to worry about, though."

Looking up at me, she says, "I guess I'm feeling insecure. You left me for a year, and then this happens, which I understand. I'm not angry about you bringing me here. Not anymore. I just find it strange that our first days together again are with some woman with tattoos named Ivy."

I brush her hair back to see her beautiful face. "I'll tell Ryker she can go back to the house then. I can cook. I know you can cook. We don't need her here."

Tia's blushes and her cheeks turn pink. "No, that doesn't sound right. Don't listen to me. I'm being stupid."

"Are you sure? I don't need her here. I have all I need right in front of me."

Standing on her tiptoes, she kisses me sweetly on the lips and finally smiles. "I'm sure. It's fine. If Ryker says she's that good, maybe we'll have some great meals."

"That's the spirit. Let's go grab a bite to eat and you can meet her and see there's nothing to worry about. I'm sure she's back from the store by now."

I take Tia's hand in mine and bring it to my lips to give her a tiny kiss on the knuckles. As we walk out of the bedroom, I nudge her arm.

"You're beautiful when you're jealous."

She glances over at me with a skeptical look in her eyes. "Only then?"

Wrapping my arms around her, I walk behind her and nuzzle the spot on her neck just below her ear. "No. All the time but when you're jealous too."

It's the sweet moments like this that I've missed the most with her. Sure, the sex is incredible, but when neither one of us is guarded and we let each other relax is when we're happiest together.

And then we turn the corner into the kitchen and I see Ivy standing at the island in nothing but a blue and white bikini that leaves nothing to the imagination. I feel Tia's entire body tense up and know this is going to be a problem.

Fuck. She has to go. I don't care how good her cooking is.

"Hey, Jaxon! What's up?" Ivy asks, and one look at Tia's expression tells me this is not going to go well.