Rock My Body (Black Falcon #4) (27 page)

“I’m glad you find me irresistible.” He kisses my lips. “I love you, Frannie. No matter what happens. I want you and me and this baby to be a family. I want the real deal with you.”

“I love you, too.” The tears burn as they pool in my eyes. To hear him say he wants that with me stirs something deep within me—a longing for someone else in my life to love wholeheartedly and completely. It never occurred to me, until this beautiful man walked into my life, just how much I want a family of my own. Now, I can’t see myself being without him.

He wipes the tears from my cheeks as they stream down my face. “I hope these are happy tears?”

I nod and sniff. “They are. I can’t see myself without you now. You mean more to me than you’ll ever know.”

“I think I have a pretty good idea how you feel,” he whispers before crushing his lips to mine.

He pulls away. “Come on. Dr. Shepherd sent me to get you. He wants to talk with us together.”

Tyke leads us back to the main house, hand in hand. I guess there’s no point in hiding what’s going on between us now that the secret’s out. The moment we enter the main house through the back door, we come face to face with Sue, who is busy at the island in the kitchen, preparing dinner.

“Frannie.” Sue arches an eyebrow at me.

I know she probably didn’t expect this from me after I was so adamant that this very thing would never happen, but what can I say—I’m in love. So I simply shrug as I pass her by, and she shakes her head and smiles.

We get the same reaction from the rest of the clients. They all seem to be shocked that we’re together, which at least means we hid our affair well.

Josie crosses her arms as we pass by her, her eyes examining me from head to toe while she wears a nasty scowl on her face. Obviously, she thinks the better woman has not won in this situation, but to hell with her—to hell with all of them who are judging me right now. I love this man.

When we make it to Wayne’s office, Tyke and I continue to hold hands as we take the seats facing the desk.

Wayne steeples his fingers and touches them to his lips as he takes in our show of solidarity. “So I see everything that Timothy and Tyke have filled me in on is true, Frannie?”

I sit a little straighter in my seat. “Yes. We are together.”

Wayne nods. “Clearly. And the Arnold situation . . . well, I would like you to know that he has been dealt with. Arnold was transferred to an inpatient psychiatric facility where he will be examined and held there until the physician on staff feels that he is no longer a threat to you or anyone else in society. We also confiscated his phone and deleted all 1,457 pictures and videos he had stored—most of them of you, by the way, so he should no longer be a problem.”

I relax a little in my chair, glad not to have to worry about a video of me having sex with Tyke being leaked all over the internet. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

“While I can’t promise you that he won’t be released at some point in the future, knowing to be on the lookout can at least be of some comfort. But I wouldn’t fret too much if I were you. Arnold has lost touch with reality, and I think he’ll be locked up for quite a while.”

“Again, thank you, Wayne. That makes me feel a lot safer,” I tell him.

“Good, good. Well, the next order of business is the two of you,” Wayne says. “Since Mr. Douglas was a willing participant in the affair, I see no reason to involve the authorities, or anyone else for that matter. Because this occurred here, at my facility, typically I would be forced to let you go, but since Timothy has informed me that you had actually already prepared your letter of resignation, I will accept that and consider the matter at hand closed. This is a little unorthodox, but if you need a letter of recommendation, I would be happy to do that for you.”

My eyes widen. I didn’t expect this to be so easy. “That’s very generous of you. Why would you do that for me?”

“You really did some superb work here with the clients, Frannie. You took the time to get to know each of them as individuals, and giving them journals to help them express themselves was very impressive. I believe what occurred between you and Mr. Douglas was a one-time situation, and I trust that, in the future, you will be more careful when it comes to being intimate with a client.”

I put my hand up. “I promise you, this will never happen again.”

“It better not,” Tyke chimes in, and Wayne laughs.

Wayne stands and extends his hand out to me. “I wish you the best, Frannie. Tyke,” he turns and shakes Tykes hand, “take care, and remember you can always come back if you need to.”

Tyke shakes his head while he wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me into his side. “No need, Doc. I’ve got my own personal counselor now.”

Standing on the porch with Tyke, while we wait for our ride to pick us up, drives home the fact that I’ll never see this place again. The pure beauty of this place will never leave my mind. I’ve never been in a surrounding as peaceful as this. Serenity Hills is definitely a fitting name for this facility.

The screen door slaps closed behind me and Kimmy comes bouncing out in a bright orange skirt with an off-white top. Her blond hair is pulled into a high ponytail that swings as she makes her way toward me. “I wish you didn’t have to go, Frannie. We were just starting to be good friends.”

I poke my bottom lip out. “I know. It makes me sad that I won’t see you anymore. There’s always emailing and video chatting?”

She laughs. “In this place—doubtful. You know the signal is crappy here, but emailing is a definite must. You still have my address from when I wrote it down earlier, right?”

I nod. “I do.”

The moment the purr of a motor creeping up the drive catches our attention, Kimmy embraces me in a tight hug. “Take care, Frannie.”

“You too, Kimmy. Keep at the design school thing. You’ve got a real eye for that stuff,” I tell her.

“Frannie?” Tyke’s voice causes me to turn my gaze in his direction. “I’ll wait for you by the car.”

Tyke kisses my cheek and then grabs my bag off the porch and carries it out to his brother’s car.

“Have fun with the sexy man meat.” Kimmy gives me a wink before heading back into the house, leaving me alone on the porch.

I turn and gaze up at the tall columns of the porch, taking one last look before I turn and head toward Tyke, who is waiting for me with open arms.

“Slow Ride” – Foghat

It feels fucking amazing to be back, staring out at a sold-out arena while the four of us play our hearts out for the fans is like being home again. It was a long, hard road to get back to this place, but I feel like all that we’ve been through in the past few years has made us stronger as a unit. We really are a family.

I glance over at Riff who smiles at me as he plays the rhythm of “Ball Busting Bitch” while Noel bends at the waist and belts out the chorus. My bass matches the steady beat of Trip’s crazy-ass drum playing, taking the song to another level.

Black Falcon is back, and we aren’t going anywhere any time soon.

Contentment fills every inch of me, and I glance over at Frannie who’s waiting at the side of the stage with Lanie and Holly. What almost felt like the end of one of the world’s greatest rock bands was just the beginning to one of the most infamous love stories: mine and Frannie’s.

Frannie smiles one of those breathtaking smiles at me, and I can’t help but to fall in love with her all over again. My woman has a heart of gold. Not only does she challenge herself with nonprofit work as an addiction counselor, but she also puts up with my crazy ass. She couldn’t be any more perfect for me if she tried.

We play the last few notes in unison while Noel thanks the crowd. The fans jump, push, and pull one another trying to capture one of the tiny picks I fling to them. Being a rock star is insane.

I follow the guys off stage and immediately find myself in Frannie’s waiting arms. “I missed you.”

She giggles as I press my lips to hers. “I didn’t go anywhere. I’ve been right here watching you play the entire time.”

I continue to assault her with kisses. “You were too far away. Next time, I’m just going to have to bring you out on stage with me.”

She shakes her head. “You’re ridiculous.”

As I’m about to kiss her again, a familiar voice halts me in my tracks.

“Did you find one for us to play with, Tyke? It’s been a while, but I’m game,” Gabby says as she licks her lips while checking out Frannie.

I try to push Frannie behind me, not liking the idea that Gabby would even think that my girl is some random groupie. I open my mouth to tell her to piss off, but Frannie beats me to it.

“Gabby, is it?” Frannie asks in a smooth tone.

Gabby lifts her chin. “Yeah, what of it?”

Frannie steps around me. I reach out to stop her, but her determined blue eyes cause me to freeze. She clearly wants to handle this.

Frannie extends her hand to Gabby. “I’m Frannie.”

Gabby glares at her but finally shakes Frannie’s hand. “So?”

“I just wanted you to meet the woman who owns Tyke Douglas’ heart. This is your one and only warning to stay away.”

“And if I don’t?” Gabby fires back.

A wicked grin slides over Frannie’s face as she steps into Gabby’s personal space, making her seem very intimidating in a crazy way. “I’ll make you wish you had.”

Gabby swallows hard and her eyes flick from Frannie to me before she steps back. “Fuck this. He’s not worth it.”

Frannie stands there with her glare fixated on Gabby as she hurries out of sight.

I come up behind her and pull her back into my chest. “I didn’t know you were such a badass, babe.”

She laughs. “I’ll do anything to protect you, including fighting off crazy ex’s.”

I kiss the top of her head. “The feeling’s mutual. I’d maul a bear for you.”

She turns to face me. “A bear? Really?”

I nod. “Yeah, I’d make that fucker wish he’d never been born if he messes with my babies.” I reach down and place my hand on her stomach. “I love you, Frannie.”

My fingers fly over the strings of my bass as I bust out the last few licks of the song. Things have really come together since we found our way back into the studio as a cohesive unit. The day Frannie and I left Serenity Hills, I took her back to the place I own with my brother Trip. It’s in the hills of Kentucky, not that far from Noel and Riff. Since Noel and Riff have the kids running around their respective places, we did most of our songwriting sessions at our house.