If You Still Want Me (27 page)

"Good idea," Victoria smiles. "I can stay at the
Stables a few nights a week with you two until we figure it
out."

Saul fidgets. "I don't want you havin' ta'
commute all the dang time."

Now, he's just arguing to be difficult. "You
gotta commute, anyway," I poke his ribs and he squirms a bit.

"Besides," Victoria adds, "I can do most of my
work from my laptop. Brandon even said he's thinking about shutting
down the physical office - having us all just go mobile."

"Yet another thing he aint discussed with his
partners," Saul grumbles.

"Because his partners keep punching each other,"
I tease with more gentle pokes up his ribcage.

"Dangit!" He tries to dart away, but I keep a
firm grip as he fights the tickles. "Stop it, cowboy! I'm tryin'
ta' have a serious conversation!"

"No." I don't let up. "You're
trying to be a right ornery brat. And, you
know
what we do to ornery brats," I growl into his
ear. He stiffens then shivers, so I nip his earlobe. "If you
continue to misbehave, Victoria and I will have to do something
about that when we get home, and I promise you won't like
it."

His whole frame quakes in my arms. The
distraction is working, because now he's refocused his anxiety into
something besides anger. "You... you think so, amigo?"

"I know so." I trail the tip of my tongue up the
cusp of his ear with my eyes on Victoria.

Her eyes in the rear-view sparkle with that
strong, sexual dominance that makes her so beautiful. "We'll make
you watch, Saul. You won't be allowed to touch either of us, or
yourself; not for an entire night, or two depending on how badly
you continue to misbehave."

"B-but..."

"I will touch Victoria," my
voice lowers as the imagery spurs my arousal. "She will touch me,
and you will touch
nothing
. Is that
what you want?"

"N-no... No, sir."

We both shift our positions on the seat, making
it obvious our jeans are becoming a might bit uncomfortable.
Victoria lets out a sultry chuckle that says she knows why, but her
own hand betrays her as it lowers the heater setting before fanning
her neck. Saul's bottom lip disappears between his teeth then pops
out, moist and begging.

Damn, this boy doesn't play fair.

With a bratty giggle, he winks. "Think you can
hold on until tonight, cowboy?"

I take my voice down one more notch as I stare
into his eyes. "I held out for two years, Saul. A few hours won't
kill me."

"
Fuck
," he
whimpers.

"
Later
." I fill the word with
promise. "For now, I just want to hold you and try to catch up on
some sleep. Is that okay?"

"Of course," he smiles, snuggling into my
arms.

From the front seat, Victoria lets out her rare,
pretty little giggle. "You two are so cute. If I could reach my
phone, you'd be on Facebook by now."

I snort to combat a sudden wave of my own
anxiety about returning home. "Well, that's one way to let my Nana
know..."

"Yer Nana's on Facebook?" Saul asks while
wiggling against my groin.

Ai,
not helping my
patience for tonight. With an inhale to combat the tension, I dig
my phone out of my back pocket. "Yeah. So is my sister. Maybe I
should call her. Find out how things went with Cody and drop a hint
or two about us."

"Best to say that in person," Victoria says, and
I know she's right.

"Yeah," I get out through a yawn. Glancing down,
I find Saul with his eyes closed and a sweet smile on his lips.
"And probably when I'm not half asleep."

"We've got another four hours on the road. Get
some rest, both of you. "

"Yes, ma'am," Saul and I speak softly together
as I shut my eyes. With Saul in my arms and Victoria at the helm, I
fall into the peaceful sleep I missed last night.

The familiar sounds of crunching gravel beneath
tires, a car door opening and horses braying in the distance pulls
me outta the sleep I'd fallen so deeply into. Austin's masculine
scent is all around me, an' so are his warm arms. I fight the call
to wake up, and the cold temperature seeping into the back seat
through the open door, by burrowin' against Austin's body an'
holding on tight. I think I'd like ta' stay right here for a long,
long time.

"Damn, that's cute," Brandon's scratchy baritone
tugs me back awake.

"Hey, boss..." Austin yawns then stretches
against me. "Wow. We slept the whole way?"

That fake-camera noise phones make precedes
Vickie's snickering. I crack one eye open to see her pointing her
phone at me an' Austin all sprawled out on the back seat 'a her
SUV. Austin tenses a bit beneath me, so I ease up but not before
stealing a kiss.

"Aw," Brandon teases as he eyes the picture
Vickie took.

"For our eyes only, I promise," she assures
Austin, who I know aint quite figured out how ta' tell his sister
and Nana about our threesome. "Just a way for me to carry my boys
around with me wherever I go."

Austin exhales, his fingers
holding onto my arm. "I'll have a talk with Annabelle this week, I
promise. I don't want to hide it, even if my Nana will think I've
gone
loco.
"

"Don't feel bad," I slide outta the seat and
plant my sneakers on the gravel in the parking lot behind Brandon's
estate, shivering a bit as I acclimate to the cold. "I still gotta
explain things ta' Sarah. Speaking of," I direct my gaze and
unspoken question to Brandon's scarred face.

"Rob's at home," he answers, with caution heavy
in his voice. "The kids are at Annabelle's and Sarah's at work.
Kyle's been watching her. From a distance," he adds when my eyes
narrow a bit. "I've got James on alert for trouble, but he can't
spare any officers right now for what could amount to just a
domestic disturbance."

"It'll be a dang homicide if that sumbitch lays
a hand on her." The threat hisses past my lips, all my earlier
anger returning in a flash.

"Saul-" Brandon starts, and I already know where
he's goin'. Not rightly sure I wanna hear it.

"I know, I know. The man just returned from
servin' his country an' all that." My hands plant themselves on my
hips. "He can't keep hiding behind an American flag and a uniform,
Brandon. I've had enough 'a his shit screwin' up Sissy's life!"

"The man needs help," Brandon counters my
outburst with calm logic.

Dangit. I hate it when he does
that. "I aint arguin' that fact, neither.
He
should
be in a treatment
center instead'a passed out drunk on Sissy's couch."

Brandon nods in agreement. "Sarah said he has an
appointment with Veteran's Services, but they can't get him in
until March. You know how backed-up they are."

"
Dang government," I
grumble because I'm just looking for anything to gripe about. It's
keeping me from hopping into my truck, driving out to the house and
dealing with Rob. Then Kyle. Then Sissy. Hell, I'm so amped up, I
might take that drive down to San Antonio an' deal with that closet
'a ghosts while I'm on a roll.

"It's three-thirty," Austin says, looking at his
phone. "What time does Sarah get off?"

"Not sure," Brandon shrugs. "She wasn't supposed
to be working today. Oh, and you should call Annabelle sooner than
later."

"Uh-oh," Austin winces. "What happened?"

"Cody flaked out."

"Flaked out? As in, he didn't
propose?
Ai,
I told her not to get
her hopes up. That boy-"

"He broke up with her," Brandon sighs.

"What?!" Austin tears off his hat and tosses it
to the ground at his feet. "On New Year's?! I'm gonna string that
stupid shit up by his balls! Why didn't Annabelle call me?"

"She didn't want to bother
you. She showed up here right after you and Saul left." Brandon
holds up both hands as Austin's eyes widen. "I didn't tell her what
exactly you were helping Saul with, but I think she may've figured
at least part of it out. You know the girl's sharper than tacks and
tough as nails, but this shit with Cody's thrown her a bit. Heck,
she didn't even bat an eye when Bull came downstairs in his harness
with his
boy
on a
leash."

"
Yeah, about that... I
kinda told her a few months ago about what really goes on during
club nights," Austin admits with a scuff of his boot against the
gravel. "Sorry, boss. I know you like to keep it private,
but-"

"That's okay," Brandon smiles, placing a hand on
Austin's shoulder. "I'm glad she knows. Saves me from having to
make excuses to her about Friday nights and Saturday mornings."

"Is Bull's boy the detective you mentioned?"
Victoria asks as I reach down and pick up Austin's hat, dusting it
off.

Brandon nods. "Seems to know
what he's doing, coming in undercover, and-" Brandon stops as the
rest of us laugh a bit. "Yeah, that too," he joins in the chuckles.
"His name's Cole, but he's gonna make his
debut
this Friday as Bull's new boy under the nickname
West. He'll take his time, get to know the members, and hopefully
make friends with whoever's been leaking the secrets about my club
to Forester for cash."

"Hope so, boss," Austin exhales, passing a hand
through his hair. "I'd hate to see you and miss Emma being caused
anymore trouble. I promise Annabelle will keep the secret,
too."

"I trust her as I trust you," Brandon's reply
expresses the love I know that man feels for Austin; the same kinda
big-brotherly love he's got for all us wayward souls he's collected
over the years.

Handing the hat back to Austin, I share a look
with Vickie who nods as she loops one arm around Austin's elbow.
"Why don't we head to Annabelle's, sweetie?"

"Sarah has ta' stop by there to pick up the
kids," I add, slightly shocked at how calm my voice has become. I
hate seein' Austin upset, and I think me worryin' about his
happiness has helped to douse my own fire a bit.

Vickie's there, between us, keeping us all
together; her strength our saving grace. "We can talk to Anna and
get that sorted, then talk with Sarah when she shows up."

"Alright," Austin nods, kisses us both on the
cheek then steps away to dial his cellphone.

"I'll take your suitcases in," Brandon says as
he heads to the trunk. "You staying the night, Vic?"

"I am," she replies as she helps him, but she
stops me as I reach for my bag. "We'll get this. Stay out here with
Austin."

"Yes, ma'am." I step away from the trunk and
mosey over to Austin who's talking into his cellphone in Spanish. I
pick up a couple words, but he might as well be speaking Greek.
Wonder what time in the morning Dora comes on the T.V., or maybe I
can grab the episodes online.

I think me learnin' Spanish is a good idea. It's
Austin's first language, and Vickie can already speak it 'cause she
was smart and took it in school. Plus, it's kinda sexy, especially
with the way it rolls off'a Austin's tongue when his voice gets all
low and-

"
¿
Saúl?
"

Speakin' 'a sexy, Austin's
accent is still thick as he says my name like
Sa-ool
. Damn if it don't make me shiver
and hard in all the right places. My eyes dart back at the open
door to the back seat 'a the SUV, my body desperate to curl around
his again. With Victoria there with us this time.

Ya know, I'm pretty dang sure that seat folds
all the way back into a bed...

Austin steps up close, sinking
his hand into my hair. "You're drooling,
mi
amor
."

"Can't help it." Can't help my hands as they
slide 'round his waist, neither. "Yer fault, talkin' all sexy."

"What?"

"
Sa-ool
,"
I attempt, but fail with a blush.

"Oh, my accent? It's always stronger after
talking to Annabelle for some reason. You like?"

"
Love
it, amigo. Was thinkin' 'a learnin' Spanish
myself, so I can keep up with you and Vickie."

"I'd be happy to give you a
few lessons,
Saúl.
" With a tug on
my hair, he has me stoop down low enough for his lips to brush my
skin as he whispers sweet, Spanish nothings into my ear.

The cute, cocky bastard fully understands what
he's doing ta' my body an' my heart, talkin' so beautifully to me.
I hold onto his shirt to keep from fallin' as all my anxiety melts
away into a blissful daydream 'bout me an' him, naked in that
backseat, waiting for Vickie to come make the dream perfect. He
says somethin' 'bout love, and I smile.

"That. Teach me that, cowboy."

"Teach you what?"

"How to say... 'I love you
both
'
in Spanish."

His own smile matches mine, cheeks darkening
into that coy little blush 'a his that highlights the strong,
masculine features of his face. I love it when he smiles like that,
especially when it's me that done put the smile on his face. One 'a
my goals in life has become making him smile like that as often as
possible.

"It's easy," he says, lookin'
me deep in the eyes. "
Te amo
is
I love you
deeply. Te amo, Saúl,"
he whispers before kissing me. "Then, you just
add
a los dos
, which means 'both' -
so," He glances over my shoulder as the screen door creaks behind
me. "
Te amo a los dos."

"
Te amo a los
dos,
" Vickie's voice repeats as she steps up
behind me, puttin' me in the middle.