Blissful volume 3 (New Adult Romance) (9 page)

At least, I wouldn’t.

Amy buries her head into my chest, and I hold her tight to help her deal with this. She’s shaking, and I rub my palm across her spine to calm her down. I don’t want her to feel this way, and I have to do my best not to go after him myself, because I need to be here to console her.

When the tears stop f
lowing, she wipes her cheeks with what’s left of my dry shirt, and lets her head rest on the seat. In the mean time, I put Madeline in the car and buckle her up before getting in myself.

I have to drive hard and fast to get away from this town as fast as possible. I don’t want to stay here another minute. Not another second do I want to spend thinking about that asshole, but I do. It’s because I know she’s hurting, and it’s his fault, and I want to kick him in the balls for it.

When we get home, I put Madeline to bed and kiss her goodnight. She pulls my shirt, though, and I struggle to get loose without hurting her.

“Daddy, who was that man?”

“No one, Madeline,” I say, sighing.

“But he wanted to be with Amy,” she says.

“Nobody wants to be with someone like him.”

“But he seemed really sad, daddy. Can’t we be friends?”

Just the mere thought of being friends with someone who did that to Amy makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. “No. He is a bad man, Madeline.” I lean down and look her in the eye, and she draws back. I know I’m frightening, but I can’t help it. “He is a very,
very
, bad man.”

“Okay …” she says.

She lets go of my shirt, and I sigh loudly again. I’m basically telling a little kid that Amy’s ex is a boogeyman. I’m not really any better than him, honestly.

“Don’t worry about it, Maddy. The grown-ups will take care of it, all right?”

She nods and wriggles her way under the blanket while I pull it up. “Sweet dreams.” I kiss her on the forehead and leave the room.

Amy’
s just coming upstairs holding a tea mug in her hand. Her eyes are red, but she still looks beautiful. She stops and glances at both doors, one leading to the guestroom and one leading to my room. Then she looks at me.

“Uh …” I stammer.

I swallow and step closer a bit. She’s leaning against the banister, sipping her tea, and I put my hands next to her. I’m drawn to her like never before. I want to hold her and tell her it’s okay. Drawing closer, I smile and say, “Sleep in my bed tonight.”

She bites her lip like she always does, making me focus on it. They’re raw and rosy, and t
hey make me wanna suck on them.

Goddammit
, after today I want her even more than usual. It’s like this primitive urge to protect her as awakened inside me. I can’t stop thinking about nailing her between my arms and warding her off from all shit that comes our way.

“Okay,” she whispers, and she walks past me
as if she doesn’t even notice that I’m standing here with my arms wide open, ready to receive her.

We go into the room and she starts undressing. Peeling off her clothes one by one, she just stands there in the middle of my room. I’m flabbergasted by the sheer moment of seeing her strip in front of me. It’s so fucking bad, but I can’t think of anything else than her beautiful body and that I want to touch her. My cock stirs from the sight of her being naked.

She steps into the bed, and I take off my pants too. I make no effort to hide my erection, because I want her to know what she does to me. I want her to feel that I want her and that I’m never going to betray her like Ronnie did.

But I don’t want to force myself on her.

I crawl under the sheets and pull them up, draping my arm over her warm waist. She turns her back to me and cuddles closer. Her plump ass is pressing against my hard-on and it’s swelling even more. I can’t stop thinking about nudging her legs open and start making love to her again, but I won’t. It’s pathetic, and I won’t give in to this lust when she is so shaken by what happened today. I don’t want to break this fragile bond between us.

I sigh, letting out all the anxiety I’ve been feeling over wanting to kick Ronnie’s ass and
making love to Amy.

“
You seem tenser than usual,” Amy says.

“So do you.”

“Maybe I am,” she says.

“What are you thinking about?”

She takes in a deep breath. “I don’t know … Seeing Ronnie makes all the memories flush back into my head, and now I’m confused.”

“Oh …”

Oh? Is that all I’m going to say? Jack McCallister; struck in awe because of what a girl says. Now that’s a shocker. But I have no clue what else to say. My mind is driving me crazy right now.

What’s she saying?

Does she miss him or something?

Shit, she can’t be.

I bury my face in her hair and smell her flowery scent. It makes me feel a little better, but it’s like a drug; it wears out fast. I’m only trying to ignore the fact that questions are burning, and I don’t want to ask them. I don’t want to know the answer. I don’t want to know if she’s going to leave me.

Could she
?

Just the thought of it makes me clasp her tight.
Her smell is intoxicating and her perky flesh is so smooth and soft, it makes me realize I covet her. I don’t feel guilty anymore. I like her and that’s a fact. I don’t want to let her go. Not here. Not now. Not ever.

But do I even have a choice?

I know she’s been missing her music life so much, and it’s all she talks about lately. It’s her world and all she loves, and I shouldn’t stand in her way. I know she wants it so badly, and I want to see her happy, too.

But maybe Ronnie gets to her first, and he might take her away from me. She’s loved him before, she could do it again. Just the thought of seeing them together makes me want to puke.

Whatever. I don’t want her to leave.

Goddammit
, why does this have to be so hard?

***

Amy’s raking the ground, gathering the piles of dung while I scoop them up and dunk them into the wheelbarrow. It’s a shitty job, literally, but I’m thankful that she’s willing to help.

However, a rattling noise coming from the ranch’s edge is alerting me. A car shoots over the road and comes to a squeaking halt right in front of my fence. Someone rolls down a window. The face that comes popping out makes squeeze the shovel so tight, the wood starts to crack and snap.

Ronnie fucking Keston.

Amy looks up when the door of his car slams shut. When she sees him, her mouth drops open.
“Ronnie?”

I slam the shovel into the ground and stomp toward him. Amy’s right behind me, pulling my arm.

“Wait, Jack. Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” I bite. “This is my land, and I’ll be damned if that jerk sets any foot on it.”

I pull my arm loose, straighten my back, and barge over to him. Amy’s beside me, keeping her hawk-like eyes on me, as if she’s afraid I’m going to take a swing at him. Well, I might if he doesn’t get his ass off my land quickly.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I say as I near him.

He holds up his hands. “Wow, wow, chill.”

“As soon as you get your ass out of here, I will.”

“Hey, I’m standing outside your gate, if you didn’t notice,” Ronnie says, and he lowers his glasses as if he’s all that.

I’ll wipe that fucking smug off his face.

I snort. “This here,” I point around the area, “is all McCallister’s property. Mine. So unless you get going right now, I might not grab a pile of dung, throw it at your face, tie you to a pole, and shoot you off into space where you can enjoy the smell of shit forever.”

“Jack!” Amy says, and she pokes me in the side, making me frown.

“Jesus, what the fuck is your problem?” Ronnie says to me.

His face makes my blood boil. He makes me want to spit in his face. That’s my problem.

“You are my problem!” I say. “How dare you come here after what you did to her!” I point at Amy.

“I’m here to talk to her. That’s why. And in case you didn’t notice, she is
not
your property, and I’d like to talk to her. She can decide for herself if she wants to.”

“I don’t fucking care! You are
not
setting one foot into this ranch!”

“Jack …” Amy says, and she nudges me aside.
“Let me talk to him.”

“I don’t trust him …” I say, my nostrils flaring. Ronnie keeps his snake-like squinting eyes on us
as if he’s trying to eavesdrop on our conversation, and I don’t like it one bit.

Amy grabs my face and forces me to look at her. Her touch instantly pulls me away from him and directs me gaze into her beautiful eyes. They’re full of confusion, and it’s making me uneasy.

“But you can trust me,” she says.

She’s caressing my cheek. I put my hand on her hand and close my eyes. “I don’t want you to get hurt again.”

“I know, but I won’t let him hurt me again. I promise.”

She puts her forehead to mine and smiles.
The look in her eyes settles the heat burning in my lungs, and I feel less like a dragon breathing fire.

I sigh. “If that’s what you want.”
I’ll do anything to keep that smile she has on her face when she looks at me.

“Thank you,” she says,
and after a kiss on my cheek she walks off to join fucking Keston in a stroll around my property. Well, as long as he doesn’t set foot in here, I’m okay with them walking and talking somewhere along the road.

I watch them as they talk, hoping to catch a glimpse of what they’re saying. Of course I don’t understand a thing, I can’t read lips. But the look in Amy’s eyes tell
s me enough. Her eyes are lowered and she’s biting her lip again. She always does that when she’s over thinking things. I know what’s going on. I don’t have to be able to read minds to see that happening. He’s making her a proposition. And from the desperate look on her face, I’m not sure if she still has the strength to refuse.

Chapter 8

Amy

“What do you want, Ronnie?”

“I’m sorry, Amy. I shouldn’t have come to you at the bar last night. Not like that. But I miss you, Amy. So much.”

I sigh … “Look, Ronnie, I’m with Jack now.”

“I know.” He puts up his hands as if it’s some kind of peace treaty. “I just wanted to say that I really miss you.”

“So? Why did you come here? Do you think you can persuade me to change my mind about you?”

“No, I don’t. I know I’m a fuck up. I admit it. I am a horrible asshole, who shouldn’t even come close to you after what I did.”

“Damn right,” I say, frowning.

“It was a mistake. I should’ve never kissed Nicole. I did it because I was afraid.”

“Like all the other times …” I say, kicking a pebble in front of me.

“Yes … and I’m sorry.” He sighs. “I just wanted to see you. I’m here because I miss you around, I miss talking to you. I just want us to be friends again,” he says.

“And you think I can just forgive you like that?” I snap my fingers.

“No … I know it takes time. But please, give me a chance. I’m not asking for you to like me again. I just want to be in your life again, that’s all. You can hate me, if you want.”

“I don’t hate you …” I mumble. “But I do hate what you’ve done to me.”

“And I’m really, really, sorry for that.” Ronnie tries to grab my hand, but I pry it away again.

The hopeful smile dissipates from his face, and we walk farther down the road. Jack’s ranch is disappearing from sight.

“I got a new job,” Ronnie suddenly says.

“Oh,” I say. I don’t really know what else to say. Should I be happy for him that he finally started straightening his life? All I feel is confusion and anger.

“Got promoted to manager. It’s not big, because it’s only a very small department, but it’s at a music label.”

The word ‘music label’ pops in my head like a balloon, and my ears perk up hearing it. “What?”

“Yeah, I can’t believe it either. Truth is, I never expected to get anywhere after I lost you, but I’m glad I made an effort to improve.” He smiles, and I smile back because I feel like I have to. I can’t believe this guy got a job at a company I would die to work for. As a singer, that is.

“You know, I still had your mix
tape lying around my apartment, and I gave it to my boss,” Ronnie says. I can’t believe my ears.

“Are you serious?”

“Yep. And you know what? I got the call today. They want to meet you and Nicole in person.”

I squeal and start jumping up and down. My body instantly lurches toward the first thing I can grab a hold of, because I need something to squeeze. It’s Ronnie and I’m hugging him so hard it’s making him gasp for air.

A record label wants to talk with me. With us. We could have a deal. We could play music for a real music label. This feels like a dream. It feels so surreal.