Taking Chances (11 page)

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

She let a moan escape when he clamped her nipple with
his deft fingers. His hot mouth found her neck, and she melted into him.

“Oh, Jake, how are we supposed to wait until tonight?”

Her phone rang from inside her purse.

“Looks like I’m saved by the phone.” He turned and
walked to the table. “Get that and then we’ll get to work.”

“It’s my mom. She never calls me during the day. Hey,
Mom—calm down. I can barely understand you.”

Jake turned, concern stretched across his face.

“Mom, Mom! I’m leaving work now. I’ll be there as soon
as I can. Yes, I’ll drive carefully.”

She looked up needing his comfort. Her face felt like
stone, and her toes turned cold.

“What is it?”

“My dad is dead.”

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry.”

Her gaze drifted to look out the window. She wanted the
comfort of the quiet ravine. He took hold of her hands, obviously needing to
help in some way. Nothing would help.

“Lydia?”

“What?” She looked down at their hands. “Oh, no, I’m
okay. My Dad isn’t important. He left both of us a long time ago. My Mom is just
surprised by the news.” She took a large breath, lifted her shoulders, and let
them fall to shake her from the bitterness freezing her. “I’ll go, make sure
she’s okay, and I’ll meet you at the club tonight.”

“You don’t have to go tonight—”

“Yes, I do. My dad has taken enough from me. I’m not
missing it.” She kissed his cheek. “I’ll be there.”

She squeezed his hands and left.

Eight hours later, she shuffled into her apartment like
a zombie. Her mother had cried for an hour in her arms before she was able to
explain all she knew, which wasn’t much. An FBI agent came to the house that
morning and said simply, “
Tom Burke has
died
.” Apparently Lydia’s dad left her and her mother the whole of his
estate. The estate had no money of course, but it was the reason the agent came
personally to tell them.

The agent didn’t seem to know how they knew her dad.
He even said he thought it curious Tom’s son, Sean Burke, hadn’t been mentioned
in the will. The agent was bold enough to make an attempt at interrogating her
mother, which really set her off. No one questioned Lydia’s mom. She almost felt
bad for the agent. He’d walked unknowingly into a hornet’s nest.

Lydia’s mom had turned the interrogation around and
questioned the agent until he fled back the way he’d come. Unfortunately, her
mother hadn’t learned anything from the agent. The two sat for a couple of
hours coming up with crazy stories about what Tom could have been into. Lydia was
tempted to tell a few of her dreamed up stories where her father actually loved
them and had only left to protect them.

The truth, she was sure, was far less glamorous.
Lydia was pretty certain Tom had been a crook, and her brother Sean was probably
a drug runner. Regardless, they had been out of her life for years, and she
wasn’t letting them back into her thoughts now.

Lydia would be lying if she didn’t admit to herself,
if not to anyone else, her heart was breaking all over again. Losing her father
at eight had been hard, but now it was final. Her dreams of him coming back to
her had died with him. It was absolute. Her father was never coming home.

Lydia cried like she had done when she was eight, painful
sobs storming through her system.

After destroying a box of tissues, she dumped it all
in the trash, washed her hands, and rinsed off the ugliness her worthless
father dumped once again in her lap. A hot shower and a night at the club were what
Lydia wanted. It had gotten her through the day with her mom, and nothing was
going to stop her from getting to Jake now. She had just enough time to take a
nice shower and ready herself for what would probably be her fantasy come to
life.

A knock at the door surprised her.

Maybe
it’s Jake
.
She rushed to the door.

****

Jake entered the club hoping Lydia was already
inside, waiting for him in the lobby. She hadn’t answered any of his calls all
afternoon. He worried losing her father was a bigger deal than she let on. She
obviously hadn’t had a good relationship with him, which broke his heart. She
deserved to be loved and cherished every day of her life. His protective
hackles had been on high alert all day.

Not knowing how she was doing drove him crazy. He planned
to wallop her one for keeping him in the dark. Thinking about spanking her ass
to a nice rosy glow in front of the rest of the club hardened his cock in a
second flat.

He reminded himself Lydia might not be in any shape
for the club tonight. He’d watch her carefully once he got his sights on her.
Some subs chose to scene when they were going through tough times. Letting go and
submitting cleared their head, so they let go.

But Jake couldn’t help wondering what else he didn’t
know about her, or if he’d get the chance to know the rest. They were on shaky
ground. The thought of losing her made his chest tight. He had to prove to her
she could count on him. He’d be patient. Issues with parents could be sticky
business, and clearly her dad fell into that category.

After Lydia left this morning, he’d spoken to
Charlie. She managed the trainees at the club. Telling her about Lydia helped
him to get through the day. She looked forward to meeting Lydia. He was
confident Lydia would enjoy the support from the other
submissives
.

He forced his shoulders to relax and strolled into
the lobby, anxious to see her. However, she wasn’t waiting for him. A check with
the club’s office staff revealed no messages, but she wasn’t late, not yet.

With his arms crossed tight over his chest, he
waited in the lobby examining his two choices. He could continue to wait for
her, or he could go looking for her. Heaviness fell over him each time the
front door opened and closed without her.

Now, she was officially late. He had to do
something. Waiting was no longer an option. He needed to find her and make
certain she was okay. He left word with the door staff to call him on his cell
immediately at any sign of her.

Anne found him just as he turned to leave. They made
plans for her to run home and text him Lydia’s mother’s address in case he
needed it. He and Anne were on their way out the door when Gina stopped in
front of him.

“Why are you leading Lydia on?”

“Gina, I don’t have time for your shit tonight. Get
out of my way.” He maneuvered around her and kept moving towards the door.

“I don’t know what she’s been saying to you, but
she’s not ready for the club.”

He wiped around. “You don’t know a thing about
Lydia.” He growled at her chuckle.

“Neither
do
you, Jake.”

He ignored her comment, turned back around, and
stormed out of the club.

“Jake!”

He stopped, since it was Anne, but he didn’t turn
around.

“I know you’re smart enough not to let Gina get
under your skin. You’ll find her. She wants you to find her.”

He stood frozen and watched as Anne walked off and
around the corner. She was right, but so was Gina. Once back in his car, he calmly
buckled himself in and hit the dash with as much force as he could muster.

“Fuck!”

Gina was being a bitch, but she was right. He didn’t
know Lydia. Hell, he couldn’t even locate her. He took a deep breath and sped
from the lot, determined to find her. He’d check her apartment, while he waited
to hear from Anne.

****

Lydia opened her door to find someone she never
expected to see again. “Sean, what are you doing here?”

“Since our father died, I thought we should talk.”

“Our father?
Yeah,
I don’t think so. My father died when I was eight. You and I are nothing to
each other. I don’t know why you’ve come here today, but you can go. I don’t
care to hear anything you have to say.”

She slammed the door, but it wouldn’t close. She looked
down and found his toe in the jamb.

“Lydia, please, give me five minutes. That’s all I
need, and then I will go.”

She wanted to say no, but she was curious and
completely diverted by the splash of happiness fueling her confidence. She talked
back to someone who hurt her. The tiny spark was growing strong because she
almost slammed the door in his face.

“Fine, but make it quick. I have somewhere to be.” She
stepped back and opened the door, successfully keeping her tough guy
appearance.

He sauntered in and headed for the kitchen. “Do you
have any coffee? I could use a cup of coffee.”

She wanted to refuse him. When you needed it, going without
coffee could be painful. He might be a jerk, but he was her brother. She got
out her coffee grinder.

“You grind your beans?”

“Yes, why?”

“I do, too, is
all.
Do you
add cream and sugar?”

“A little cream.”

“Do you put the cream in before the coffee?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, good.” He fingered through her stack of mail
on the counter.

“I can stand some small talk, but no more brotherly
concern for my coffee habits, and keep your mitts off my mail.”

“Yes, you’re right.” His hands went up in defeat. “I’m
sure you have a ton of questions. I’ll make this as simple as I can, now that I
can explain.”

“Why should I believe anything you have to say?”

“You have no reason to. In fact, I’d lose respect
for you if you weren’t skeptical.”

She watched him as she ground the beans, measured
out the filtered water and set everything to brew. She looked forward to a
properly prepared cup of coffee. It would be a nice treat after the horrible
day.

He didn’t look like the cold bastard she remembered
from that day all those years ago. He was taller and most certainly had more
muscles. The set of his shoulders suggested confidence, but his tight expression
was unreadable.

“Our father ran numbers for a couple thugs in our
neighborhood.”

“I figured it was something stupid.”

“He left you and your mom when they figured out he was
skimming from the top.”

She stared at him, tempted to laugh, but a cold
dampness seeped into her body. “Why didn’t you tell me all this back then?”

“To be honest, I was pissed Dad wanted to protect
you and your mom and not me and mine. That and his deal with the FBI insured
the two of you stayed out of it. He made the deal as long as they didn’t ask
questions about where he’d been during the years he was with you two.”

“But now that he’s…”

“Yeah, now that he’s dead, I thought you deserved to
know the truth.”

She sat and let her focus go. Her body didn’t want
to let go of her hate for her father or for the man standing in her kitchen. A
pain resettled in her chest. She still didn’t have a father. He hadn’t loved
her enough to stay with them. There had to have been a way they could have
stayed together. He hadn’t even tried.

“I have no expectations, Lydia, but I’d prefer we be
more than strangers. At least you should appreciate that when my dad came
crawling back to us, told me I had a sister he expected me to protect, I did.
You can’t blame me for being bitter at not being the child he wanted to shelter.”

“Yeah, well, fine. At least he didn’t steal from you
and leave you penniless.”

“Really?
Because that’s exactly what he did when he left us and went off to live with
your mom.”

“Really?”
When
he shook his head in confirmation she had to laugh. “Shit, our dad was a real
horse’s ass, wasn’t he?”

“
Yes, that
he was.”

Their shared laugh released some of the tension
floating in the room.

“Okay, wow, this is so not what I expected.”

“I know. Look, I’ll get out of your hair after the cup
of coffee. It smells fantastic by the way, and maybe we can get together next
week and talk some more. Would that be okay?”

“Yeah, that sounds nice actually.”

After an easy cup of coffee, her brother left. It
was entirely possible she now had a real brother in her life. The situation
would have her smiling if it weren’t for the ugliness that had once kept them
apart.

Her father had been mixed up in shady business. It
was probably a blessing he left them behind.

No, she wouldn’t believe he did the right thing. The
result left her feeling unwanted all her life. Her thick walls got her through
tough times, but she would have preferred to have had her father around. Plus,
there was no question he broke her mother’s heart.

Her mother.

Should she tell her mother? Yes, of course she would
tell her, but not tonight. Her mother had already processed enough today.
Tonight, Lydia would go to the club and crawl into Jake’s arms. She would shove
her dark shadow aside and embrace the life Jake offered.