Текст книги "Mechanic"
Автор книги: Alexa Riley
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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 10 страниц)
Ten
Paine
“Let me in, Law.”
“I’ve told you five times already. The answer is no. It’s three in the morning. Anything you need to say to Penelope can wait until morning.”
He’s standing in front of the house, in just jeans and a shirt. I’m sure he could get official and take me to jail, but he must sense the desperation in me enough to give me a pass.
I know it’s late and her grandmother is sick. I just need to wait until daylight and make this right, but I’m going crazy that for even a second she thinks that I’ve been with someone else. I haven’t touched a woman in years. Not so much as even had a kiss. It’s scientifically impossible for me to be having a baby with someone. I want to be able to talk to Penelope and explain this to her, but she won’t answer the damn phone.
Sighing, I turn and walk towards my car. I clench my hands into fists, frustrated beyond belief. All I can hear is her broken voice in my head. I’m shocked she would think I could ever do something like that to her, deceive her in that way. A pregnant girlfriend? She’s marrying Scott? I won’t stand for it.
I walk away from the house and get into my truck. I didn’t want to bring the motorcycle because it’s loud, and I know her grandmother isn’t doing well. I get in and drive away from the house, watching in the rearview as Law goes inside and shuts off the porch light.
I circle around the block and park along the fence at the back of the property. Silently, I jump the estate walls and creep along the trees through the woods. When I reach the back of the house, I climb up the railing along the porch. I’m able to lift myself onto the second-story balcony, and I hide in the shadows, not knowing whose room I’m outside.
It’s not too cool tonight, and lucky for me, the doors are open. I wait for a sound, and when I don’t hear one, I tiptoe inside. I don’t make it five steps before a bedside lamp clicks on. I stop mid-step, caught in the act.
“You must be the man my granddaughter is all twisted up about.”
I turn and face the bed, seeing what looks like a much-older Penelope. She and her grandmother are nearly identical, her grandmother just having a few soft lines. She’s in the bed, but wearing a robe, her long hair braided and falling down one elegant shoulder. She folds her hands across her lap, patiently waiting for me to speak.
“She told you about me?” I don’t know why these are the first words out of my mouth.
“No, but she and I share a close bond. I know when something is troubling her, and you, my dear, are trouble.”
I hold my hands up and start to plead my case, but she cocks her head to the side and smiles at me. She reaches out and pats the chair next to her bed, and I walk over, taking a seat.
“Do you love her?” My mouth falls open at her candid questions. “Listen, when you get to be my age, things become simpler. If you want to know something, you ask. So I’m asking you. What is it that’s got you sneaking in here in the middle of the night?”
I feel a half-smile dance across my face. This is my kind of lady.
“She’s something special to me, and some things got twisted up tonight. I’m here because she won’t answer the phone and let me explain myself. She’s upset, and it’s because of a lie. I’m here to tell her the truth. And if you don’t mind, I’d like to reserve the confession of my feelings so that I can give them directly to Penelope. I think it’s only fair that she hears it first.”
“Are you going to let her marry that idiot Scott?”
“No, ma’am.” My answer is fast and fierce. “She’s mine, and I swear to you that I’ll protect her and cherish her for the rest of our lives. I don’t know what happened tonight, but I will fix it, and then I’ll never let her leave my side. I may not be able to give her all this,” I wave my hand around to indicate the estate, “but I’ll treat her better than anyone ever could. There’s not a man alive who will take care of her better than I will.”
She gives me a soft smile and leans her head back against her pillow. After a second, she closes her eyes and then opens them again. She looks a little teary eyed as she reaches over to her bedside table and opens a drawer. She pulls out a small ring box and passes it to me.
“You remind me of my late husband, James. We started out with nothing but love, but damn if he didn’t love me enough that I never needed anything else.” She lets go of the box and wraps my hand around it. “She’s down the hall, fourth door on the right.”
I clutch the box and then slide it into my pocket. I know what it is, and I know what it means. As close as Penelope is to her grandmother, I’m relieved to have her blessing.
Standing up beside the bed, I look down at her, seeing how tired she looks. Leaning down, I lay a small kiss on her cheek, and her hand comes up to touch my beard. When I pull back, she’s smiling and then holds her cheek where I kissed her.
“I forgot how much I missed my James’s beard. Go get your girl.”
With that, I turn and leave the room, making my way quietly down the hall. I count off and when I get to the fourth one, I put my ear to it and listen. I hear slight snoring, and smile. That’s my Duchess.
Opening the door, I see her silhouette on the bed. I can make her out from the moonlight streaming in. I walk over to the bed, stripping down as I go. When I’m completely naked, I strip back the covers and climb in behind Penelope.
She’s wrapped up in a robe that’s wriggled its way up her hips, and I can see she’s naked underneath. I move on top of her, and she comes awake, her gray eyes growing big. I put my hand over her mouth as she starts to shout, and I hold my finger over my lips.
“Shh, Duchess. You’re going to listen to me. Don’t panic.”
She’s shouting at me from under my hand, but I lean in, kissing her neck to help calm myself. I can still feel her struggling against me and calling me a few names.
Leaning up, I look into her eyes, and I can see she’s mad as hell at me. “You can call me every name you want to, Duchess. I’m not going anywhere until you hear me out.”
She tries to move her legs and kick at me, but all it does is open them further. The action also pushes my cock against her naked core.
I hold her tightly and wait her out, kissing her neck and collarbone. “You’ve got yourself all worked up, and you haven’t even asked me if anything is true. You heard something from someone, and you assumed the worst. Why, baby? What have I done to you to make you think all my words aren’t true?”
Looking into her eyes, I can see she’s starting to hesitate, some of her anger falling away.
“Penelope, you said I had a pregnant girlfriend, which is impossible. I haven’t been with anyone but my hand in years. An embarrassing number of years, as a matter of fact. So I don’t know who told you what, but it’s all lies.”
I feel her deflate completely under me, and I slowly take my hand away. I don’t move my body off hers. Instead, I press against hers harder, letting her feel the ridge of my cock against her warm, open pussy.
“You think I’d lie to you about something like that?” She looks me in the eyes, and after a second, shakes her head. “That’s right, Duchess. I wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt you. I’ll always tell you the truth, and I would never keep something like that from you.”
I move my hips, dragging the thick vein on the underside of my cock across her sensitive clit. She moans at the movement, and I grab her wrists, holding her hands above her head. When I go to entwine my fingers with hers, I feel a ring on her finger. One that I sure as fuck didn’t put there.
Sitting up a little, I grab her hand and hold it up, seeing the diamond on her finger. “I wanna say a few choice words about this, but I’m thinking about how you jumped to conclusions with me, so I’m going to give you three seconds to explain this.”
She reaches up, taking the ring off her finger and putting it on the table beside the bed. “I was mad. And though I don’t have any intentions of marrying him, I thought it would make life easier if it appeared that way.”
I reach down between us, grabbing my cock and putting it at her entrance. I thrust hard inside her warm, willing cunt and fuck in and out of her. I grit my teeth and hold her legs open, letting her feel my need.
We lock eyes, and I reach up to grab her chin. “Nobody but me puts a ring on that finger. You got me, Duchess?”
She nods her head, and I keep thrusting hard, little moans escaping her. Her pussy is dripping wet and takes my fat cock easily. Her hips rise up a little, welcoming my dick deep.
“You feel me bare inside you, Duchess?” When she nods again, I hold her wrists down and lean in so her hard nipples rub against my chest. “I’ve never been raw with anyone until you. There’s never going to be anything between us. So don’t let people try to come between us, either. You got me? “
“I got you,” she whispers, and I take her mouth. I kiss her roughly, then break away to suck on her tit. She moans when I bite down on one, then lick it better. I can’t wait to breed her and have them dripping with milk.
Reaching down between us, I hold her hips with both hands, tilting them up a little so I can get a deep angle. I make sure I’m hitting her sweet spot when I bottom out, and I feel her pussy clench around my dick with every thrust.
When I feel her cervix kiss the tip of my cock, I hold it there and pulse in and out of her slightly. “I want you to cum like this so your body opens up to take my seed, Duchess. I’m gonna keep my dick right here, so when you cum, I can empty into you. Make sure I bred you good.”
She clenches at my words, and after just a few rocks against her, she cums. She has to pull a pillow over her face to muffle the shouts of ecstasy. Her hot cunt pulsing around my dick has me going off with her. I concentrate on shooting in her sweet spot, knowing I want my baby growing inside her.
After my balls are completely drained, and she’s come down from her peak, I roll us over so my cock is still inside her, and I hold her to me.
“I don’t want you to ever leave my side again.”
Penelope sits up and looks into my eyes, nodding her head. “Never again.”
I thrust lazily into her as she falls asleep on top of me. I rub her back with the tips of my fingers, finally calm now that we are back together.
Eleven
Penelope
Paine holds me to him, his arms wrapped tightly around me as I sob uncontrollably. I have no Idea what I would’ve done without him today. He’s been my rock through everything. Helping me move through the motions.
When I went to check on my grandma this morning, I found her unresponsive. The rest was a blur of red lights and the doctors telling me there was nothing they could do. She was gone. She had passed easily in her sleep sometime in the night.
It’s so eerie to be standing in a hospital, being told someone you love is gone. Then being told to go home. You just leave without your loved one. I don’t know why I thought this was so strange, but it hit me hard. I didn’t want to leave the hospital, it felt too soon and all too final. There was still so much more I needed to say as the nurses and doctors moved around me tending to other patients. But they were right. There was no reason to be there. But I didn’t want to go home.
“Let it all out, Duchess.” Paine strokes my hair as he slowly rocks me in his lap. We’re now back at his house, in his bed. I have no idea how long I’ve been in his lap now, but there’s nowhere else I want to be in this moment.
When the sobbing finally stops and I don’t think I can shed another tear, Paine lays me down in his bed, slipping me under the covers. “Baby, you need to eat.” The mention of food makes my stomach turn over, and I shake my head.
He drops down beside me. He gently pushes some of my hair out of my face, and I think how I could have ever believed that he’d hurt me. This man who’s been holding me together all day would never hurt a hair on my head. I want to kick myself for doubting him, which makes me cry even harder.
“The last conversation I had with her was filled with lies,” I tell him, confessing my mistakes. “I talked about that stupid wedding. I wish I’d told her about you. Should would have loved that so much. You should’ve heard the way she talked about my grandpa.”
“I did, Duchess,” he whispers as he places a red velvet box between us. I realize it looks familiar because I’d been holding it the day before. “How did you…” I reach out to grab it, but he snatches it back, giving me a sweet smirk. I didn’t know a man like Paine could have a sweet smirk, but it’s there on his face now, all soft and warm.
“She let me in last night.” He opens the box, pulling out the beautiful ring, a contrast to his rough, hard hands. “She knew she wanted you to be happy, and I told her I’d spend my life making sure you were. She knew a lot more than you think she did, and I think she saw in me what you do. Then she gave me the ring.”
I sit up, not knowing what to say. He talked to my grandma last night, and she’d given him the ring? He stays on his knees next to the bed, me looking down at him.
“I wanted to do this differently, give you flowers and say words filled with poetry. Something a woman like you deserves.”
“A woman like me?” I question, not knowing what he means.
“A duchess.”
“Your duchess,” I correct, making his eyes grow possessive.
“I may not have a castle to put you in, but I’ll build you one if that’s what you want.”
“I’d be happy being your duchess anywhere you put me, Paine. If you asked.”
“I’m trying, baby,” he teases, making me smile for the first time all day. This is what my grandma was talking about. She didn’t care about all the things my grandpa gave her. It was just being with him. I realize what she was getting at, and I don’t care about it either. The idea of going back to the giant family estate isn’t appealing. I want to stay right here in Paine’s house for the rest of my life.
Paine grabs my hand, his rough fingers running along my knuckles before he slides the ring on me. He leans up to kiss me, his mouth taking mine possessively like never before. This one is claiming, like he is trying to leave a mark on me for the world to see. Desire shoots through my body, and I try to pull him closer to me, wanting his body against mine. Just as I have this thought, he breaks the kiss and rubs his cheek against mine, both of us breathing heavily. His beard is rough against my soft skin, and I lean into it, loving the feeling.
“None of that tonight, baby. You need to sleep.”
“You said you’d give me whatever I want.” I try to pout, but he turns me over, facing away from him as he comes crawling in behind me, wrapping his arms around me. He pulls my back to his front as he spoons me, and I close my eyes at the feeling of safety. This is something we’ll get to do for the rest of our lives, and I feel another smile pull at my lips.
“Sleep,” he whispers in my ear before placing a kiss on my neck.
“You didn’t even ask me to marry you.”
“Nope,” he says, and wraps his arms around me even tighter. I have a feeling a lot of things with Paine are going to go like this. He wants something and he takes it. It should make me mad, but all I do is smile and drift off to sleep.
Twelve
Paine
Once I know she’s asleep, I slip from the bed, pressing a kiss to her bare shoulder. Fuck, I’m going to love having her in our bed every morning before I go to work. I’ll leave her warm in our bed, knowing she’ll be here when I get home. I may not be able to give her a castle like I told her, but she’ll never go without. The life we’re going to have together, I’ll do anything to have, and no one is going to fuck with my girl. These little games are so beyond over. Done. They keep trying to take her from me, and now I’m going to be the one doing the taking.
Her grandma left her to me, and I’m going to make sure she’s cared for like she should be. I know the next few days are going to be rough, and I don’t want anything making them any harder than they have to be. I’m going to make sure a few people stay out of our way. They’ve done enough damage. She’s spent the last two nights crying—last night because of some lies someone told her, and tonight because of her grandmother. The first night was all their fault, and that shit wasn’t okay.
I change my clothes and grab the keys to my bike, rolling it down the driveway so it doesn’t wake Penelope when I start it. She finally passed out, and she needs her rest to make it through all the details of the funeral. When I get far enough away, I flip my phone open, calling Butch.
“Yo,” he says over the heavy beat of dance music. He’s probably at some bar, chasing tail.
“I need you to watch my house for an hour.”
“On my way.” The line goes dead, and I know he’ll be here quick with no questions asked.
I hop on and start the engine, the chopper roaring to life. I head across town, one location in mind, knowing Butch will make sure no one bugs my girl while I’m gone.
It didn’t take much for me to figure something wasn’t right. It started at the hospital when the doctors were directing all their questions at Penelope and Law while their father stood off silently to the side. I was a little surprised he’d shown up to the hospital at all, but how would it look if the Mayor hadn’t? Everything to him was about looking good in the public eye. He was good at hiding the shit he was covered in.
I hadn’t paid much attention to the Mayor before now because I hadn’t had a reason to. As long as he stayed out of my way I didn’t give two fucks. I’d often wondered how he got elected, but the simple answer was money, and now I’m starting to question if he has any. I know he married into Penelope’s family, but I didn’t know how much control he had over it. I’m really starting to suspect it’s none.
Things like making Penelope marry Scott, his right-hand man were really starting to make sense now. I didn’t understand why he was so hell-bent on it, going so far as to threaten his own daughter if she didn’t. Yeah, I can see a guy like him not wanting her slumming it with the local mechanic, but pushing her into marrying a certain man was outdated, unless he needed to control her. Seems he’s been doing that with Penelope’s grandma to a certain extent. I had a feeling some things were going to be coming to light every soon.
When I make it to Tammy’s, I pound on the door, not giving a shit how loud I’m being. I know Scott’s inside; his car’s parked in her driveway. I also know it was Tammy who made that call to my girl last night. I don’t give a fuck if she’s a woman. I’ll bury her right along with the Mayor and Scott. I called the number back on the phone, and when she picked up, I recognized her voice. I just hung up, and another thing clicked into place. I wasn’t going to have it out with her on the phone. No, I wanted to do it in person so she and Scott could see how much I wasn’t fucking around. That I’m not playing games.
When she answers the door, her face is surprised, but it quickly turns to what I think is supposed to be seductive. She pouts her lips and lets her robe fall open, revealing she only has on underwear. I glance past her to see Scott sitting on the sofa, not even looking this way, his eyes on the TV.
Who the fuck would let their woman answer the door after midnight dressed like that? “Close your fucking robe. You’ve got nothing I want to see.”
Scott jumps off the sofa after hearing my voice. I can tell he’s about to say something, but I cut him off.
“I don’t know what you’re fucking playing at, but either of you do another thing to hurt my woman and I’ll fucking kill you. I got a lot of land, and bodies aren’t that hard to hide.”
Tammy takes a step back, wrapping her robe around her tighter after hearing my warning. Scott still stands there and isn’t getting the fucking message.
“You can’t—” I shoot him a look, taking a step into the house, and he retreats, shutting his mouth. It’s the smartest thing he’s done yet.
“My lawyer will be in contact with you tomorrow, Scott. Penelope and I want to see all the paperwork on her family’s estate and the will. I don’t trust you, and if he finds even one thing out of place, anything that indicates that you and that fuckhead Mayor were doing something you shouldn’t have been doing, then you’d better hope Law gets his hands on you before I do.”
With that, I leave. No point arguing with him. I don’t want to hear what he has to say because it doesn’t matter. All that matters is getting back to my girl, making her something to eat, and climbing back into bed with her before she wakes.
