Spin (Boosted Hearts Book 2) (24 page)

He thrust in deep, once, twice, then she was screaming, heels digging into his ass, holding him to her.
Not going anywhere, Peaches
. Fuck that. Never happening.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her. He loved watching Darcey come. But then she reached out and yanked him down, kissing him like her life depended on it. Her hot tongue thrust wildly against his, making his head spin. The head of his cock felt like it fucking blew off when he came, groaning into her mouth, shaking so hard he had no choice but to collapse on top of her, his hips rolling, thrusting, grinding into her frantically.

She hung on the whole time.

When he finally got his breath back, he rolled to his side, taking her with him, and she lifted her bent knee across his hip, her arms wrapped lightly around his neck, hot panted breaths against his chest.

He never wanted to move from this spot.

“Holy shit,” he murmured against her hair.

“Yeah,” she whispered back.

He reached down and dragged the covers up over them, and keeping her curled in tight, held her as she drifted off.

He must have fallen asleep soon after her, because he woke to the sound of Darcey’s phone ringing.

She jolted, then shot up, using his chest to push up and away from him, and grabbed it. When she looked down at the screen, something moved over her face, something that made his spine straighten and made every muscle tighten on high alert.

She lifted it to her ear. “What do you want?”

There was a slight growl to her voice, but the anger that had slowly stolen her features vanished when whoever was on the other end answered.

She shot out of bed. “Noah? Is that you?”

Joe looked at the time.
4:24a.m
. Whatever his reason for calling, it couldn’t be good. He quickly got out as well and moved over to her.

She thrust her fingers in her hair. “What’s going on? Where’s Len?”

Joe had his hand on her shoulder, and he felt some of the tension leave her shoulders.

“Okay. That’s good,” she said, relief clear in her voice.

She started pacing the room, murmuring comforting words down the line, then she stopped by the window and stared out. It was still dark outside, but the lights from the street lit up her face.

Her cheeks were glistening and he realized she was crying.

Everything inside him seized. He sucked in a breath, his heart stuttering to a stop then banging back into action. He wanted to kill that motherfucker Len. Break his goddamn neck. This was the second time he’s seen her cry. It killed him to see her in this much pain.

She swiped her cheek with the back of her hand. “I know, bud.” She listened for a few seconds more. “I miss you, too.”

Her voice broke, and he felt his heart break for her along with it.

A watery chuckle slipped past her lips. “Yeah, Len is a stupid mofo.” She breathed deeply and he knew she was working hard to keep it together for her brother. “You just gotta hang in there a while longer. Can you do that for me? I’m working on it. I promise I am.”

He moved up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist as they said their good-byes. Shit, he could feel the way her small frame trembled, how hard she was working to be strong for Noah. He wanted to be that strength for her, badly. Wished more than anything he could take her pain, make this right and get her brother away from Len.

He couldn’t do any of those things, and it fucking killed him. He hated feeling so damn helpless.

Finally, she disconnected and tossed her phone onto the bed. She didn’t move, didn’t speak, not for the longest time. Joe didn’t push, just waited, holding her until she was ready.

“Len wasn’t home,” she finally said. “He’s away until tomorrow. Noah said Edith got drunk and passed out in her room. He snuck downstairs to call me.”

Joe rested his chin on the top of her head and pulled her in tighter. She felt cold all of a sudden, her trembles turning to shivers. He wanted to take her back to bed and wrap her up warm. “You’re so good with him, Darce.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m not. I failed him.”

“No, you didn’t. You…”

“I lied to him.” She shoved out of his arms. “I stood here and flat-out lied. I’m not doing everything I can… I’m not.”

He reached for her, but again, she pushed him away. “Darcey…”

“No. No…” She was pacing now, lost in her thoughts. “I fucked up. I was a spoiled, selfish brat that acted out when my dad died. I stole a car and got caught, and because of that black mark, I’ve had trouble finding a decent job, making enough money to get a good home. I’m not a good candidate to raise my own brother. I have no chance, no case. A lawyer would laugh me out of his office. A judge would never pick me over Len with his big house and bulging bank account.” She fisted her hair as she continued to rant. It was like she wasn’t even aware of him in the room anymore. She was in her own head now, lost in her pain. “It’s my fault he’s stuck there,
my
fault. I should have let Len do what he wanted to me. I should have just given in…”

Joe froze. “Let Len do what to you?”

She stopped suddenly, her gaze darting to him. Her lips parted then clamped shut, color rising on her cheeks.

Joe strode over to her, curling his fingers around her biceps gently. “Let Len do what, Darcey?”

“Nothing,” she said quickly. Too damn quickly.

Something ugly curled in his gut. “Darcey…”

“Look, I think you should go. I have things I need to do, and…”

“Talk to me. Please, would you just…”

“Why?” she shouted. “What’s the point? No one can help me. Not even you. No one can stop Al or Len. Assholes like that do whatever the fuck they want, get what they want, and people like you and me? We’re better off just doing what we’re told because
we can’t win
. We’ll never win.”

He cupped her precious face, tilting her head back so he could see her eyes. “We can get through this together. Please, Darce, let me in. Let me shoulder this with you.”

She didn’t answer, just pulled him down and kissed him. A kiss that held no trace of heat, just desperation and fear. So much fear. Like if she kissed him long enough, hard enough, it would all vanish—he’d make it all go away.

But he couldn’t, and they both knew it.

~ * ~

Darcey stood at Len’s front door, staring down a sour-faced Edith. The bitch looked hungover as hell. This selfish asshole had been left in charge of Noah, but instead of looking after him, she’d gotten wasted and ignored him—like she always did.

“Let me in. I won’t be long. I just want to see him.”

Her long blond hair swayed as she shook her head. “Len’s not here, and if he finds out I let you in, he’ll be furious. I’m not putting up with his temper just so you can see your brother.”

“He must have a huge dick,” Darcey muttered.

“I beg your pardon,” Edith sputtered.

Darcey got in close. “The guy isn’t anything to look at. He’s also a raging asshole and Al’s pathetic creature. Something must have made you and my mother fall at the fucker’s feet, and we both know it’s not his
personality
.”

Edith’s face screwed up. “You’re disgusting. Get the hell away from my front door before the neighbors see you. I don’t want them thinking I’d associate with trash like you.”

“You live with the worst piece of trash there is, you stupid cow.” With every word that came out of Darcey’s mouth, she knew she was digging herself deeper. But she’d tried nice, and nice wasn’t working. Nothing was working. Edith wasn’t budging.

“Darcey!” Noah’s voice echoed from behind the bitch still blocking Darcey’s way.

“Get back in your room,” Edith spat. “You know what Len said.”

“I don’t care! Let me see my damn sister,” Noah yelled back.

Noah didn’t usually curse, but he was just as upset as Darcey was—more so, because he was stuck living with these assholes.

“Don’t you speak to me like that,” Edith fired back.

Darcey stepped forward, but Edith pushed the door closed enough that Darcey could only see the other woman’s face.

“Now look what you’ve done.” Her eyes narrowed. “If you cared for him at all, you’d leave him alone—leave all of us alone.”

Then she slammed the door in Darcey’s face, the sound of her brother calling her name ringing in her ears.

~ * ~

Darcey was on her bed when Joe arrived at her place later that night.

She’d heard him knock but stayed where she was, unable to move. She’d been in the same position since she got home from trying to see Noah. She hadn’t gone to work, hadn’t answered her phone—hadn’t done anything.

God, she felt numb to the bone.

The door rattled as Joe picked the lock. He called her name as he walked in, announcing himself. But she knew it was him. Who else would it be? The room was dim, but the streetlights outside threw light in. She could see him clearly as he moved toward her. His eyes glittered in the dark.

“You didn’t answer your phone,” he murmured. “I was worried.”

She couldn’t form a response, not with the grapefruit-sized lump in the back of her throat. He’d been worried. He actually gave a shit. She realized in that moment that she was in love with Joe Colton. Real, do-anything-for-him, couldn’t-bear-to-live-without-him, love.

The sudden awareness of it hit so hard, it physically hurt.

He crouched down by the bed, those big, strong, wide shoulders filling her vision, before he ducked his head so his eyes were locked with hers.

“It’s going to be okay, baby.” He brushed her hair back from her face. “Somehow, I’m going to make this all okay.”

He sat beside her and started stripping her out of her clothes—not in a sexual way.

He was taking care of her.

Then he surprised her by pulling off his own shirt, slipping it over her head and tugging it down. His scent, his warmth, wrapped around her instantly.

He tucked the covers around her. “You hungry, thirsty?”

“No,” she whispered.

He walked to the other side of the bed. The rustle of clothes, followed by the sound of his boots hitting the floor came next. The covers came back, and he slid in behind her, and wrapping his arms around her, held her tight. Then he kissed her temple and started murmuring reassuring, tender words softly in her ear. Things that made her heart squeeze and her belly warm.

Things that made her fall for this man harder than she already had.

Chapter Eighteen

D
arcey pulled up to the large metal gates, belly in knots. The mansion beyond was massive, overdone…just plain gaudy. An I’ve-got-bigger-balls-than-you statement if ever there was one.

She pressed the button on the intercom and announced herself, then waited.

Whoever was manning the gate either enjoyed watching her sit out there and sweat, or Al was playing with her, because she was still sitting out there thirty minutes later.

Well, she’d sit there all damn day if she had to. And when she started to think he’d leave her to do just that, the gates finally shuddered to life and slid open.

Al had obviously decided to take pity on her—no, that was the wrong word—pity wasn’t an emotion the bastard was capable of. More like his curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to let her in to amuse himself.

If that’s what it took, so be it. He’d been ignoring her calls and refusing to see her in person for months. Whatever it took to have a face-to-face with the asshole was worth it. And she wasn’t leaving until he promised to pull Len into line. Her deal was with Al, not Len. Oh, she knew she didn’t have a leg to stand on, held no cards and was walking in here with nothing—throwing herself at the mercy of a man who didn’t know the meaning of the word.

But she wouldn’t give up on her brother. All she could do was hope the guy still had a heart buried somewhere deep in his chest, as shriveled and black as it was.

It was a long shot, but the only one she had.

Driving in, her nerves battered her, damn near made her dizzy.

God, the outcome of this meeting—whether or not Al agreed to back her against Len, her and Noah’s future—came down to what happened today.

She hadn’t told Joe she was coming. He’d have tried to stop her. And she needed to do this.

Joe
.

She could still feel his arms around her, the way he’d held her tight all night. The way he’d comforted her, taken care of her. She drew strength from it, from him, as she pulled up outside the house and walked to the door.

There were quite a few cars parked out front—more than usual—but she didn’t have time to think about it. The door opened, and Al’s housekeeper greeted her, a somber expression on her face.

“I’m here to see Al.”

The usually hard-faced, scary as hell woman sniffed and Darcey noticed her red-rimmed eyes. What the hell had she walked into?

“Of course.” She motioned for Darcey to come in. “Please follow me to the living room. We’ve put him in there. Easier for guests to pay their last respects.”