Текст книги "Until Jax "

Автор книги: Aurora Rose Reynolds

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Текущая страница: 7 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

“It’s not him. I just…I could use a friend right now,” she says, pulling away and wiping the tears from under her eyes.

“If you ever want to talk, I’m here,” I assure her, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

“You ladies ready to open shop?” Frankie asks, walking out of the backroom heading towards the front of the salon.

“Ready.” I smile at him as he passes by then turn to look at Kim, who has pulled out a compact from her bag. “Will you be okay?”

“One thing I know, Ellie, is I will always be okay,” she says softly, but I understand immediately what she means. Being happy isn’t something I found easily until I was blessed with raising Hope. I know how it feels to struggle everyday, never really feeling any true emotions like happiness or joy. Always just being okay.

Feeling my throat get tight, I swallow through the pain and press my lips together for a moment. “One day, you’re going to find happy, Kim,” I tell her softly when I catch her eyes in the mirror in front of us.

“One day,” she agrees, putting the compact away before heading to the front of the salon, out of sight. Pulling in a breath, I finish setting up my station then head to the front of the salon so I can take a look at the appointment book. When I walk around the corner into the waiting area, I see Mellissa talking to Frankie.

Ignoring her, I walk behind the reception desk and take out the calendar. Seeing I have a client coming in in twenty minutes who is getting a full head of highlights, I head to the back of the salon and go to the small color kitchen that is set up. I begin getting products out so that when my client comes in, the process will go by much faster. Once I have everything together, I start toward my station, but as I go to pass by Frankie, who is standing at one the shampoo bowls in the back washing Mellissa’s hair, I feel her foot hit me just above the ankle, which causes me to go tumbling forward. Dropping the items in my hands, I hit the ground hard, landing on my hands and knees.

“Ellie, are you okay?” Frankie cries, wrapping an arm around my waist and helping me stand.

“I’m fine,” I mutter, dusting my knees and hands off as I feel my cheeks grow red with embarrassment.

“Are you sure?” he asks softly, pushing my hair back over my shoulder and searching my face.

“I’m sure. I just hope my knees aren’t bruised. Jax and I have a date tonight, and I brought a dress to change into,” I tell him loud enough for Mellissa to hear. If she thinks tripping me like we’re in middle school is going to scare me into giving Jax up, she has another think coming.

“Oh,” Frankie’s eyes sparkle, “a date with Jax. Please tell me I get to do your hair.”

“Uhh…” I haven’t let anyone touch my hair since I was around twelve. I even do my own cuts when I need one.

“You’re not scared, are you?” He smiles wickedly, nudging my shoulder.

“You should really let Frankie do your hair, or a least have him cut off your split ends,” Mellissa chimes in from her position at the sink, making my teeth grit.

Looking over at her, I give her a fake smile and lie, “That’s a great idea. Thanks, Mellissa.”

“You’re welcome,” she says, rolling her eyes and leaning her head back into the bowl.

Picking up the stuff I dropped on the floor, I look from Mellissa to Frankie, seeing he has his eyes narrowed on her. When his eyes come back to me, he asks softly, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.” I nod, and he nods as well then gives my hand a squeeze.

“We’ll talk about your date later.” He winks.

“Okay,” I say, but this time I really smile and he grins back while shaking his head then moves toward Mellissa.

Going to my station, I set the items in my hands down on the counter then giggle when I hear Mellissa shriek, “Oh, my God! That’s too cold!”

“Karma is a bitch,” Kim says, smiling at me in the mirror between us.

“Yes, she is,” I agree then laugh harder when I hear Mellissa scream, “You’re getting me wet!”

*

“Mommy,” Hope yells as she runs toward me from the front of the salon.

“Hey, Angel baby.” I smile, but then frown when I see she has chocolate covering her face from her nose down to her chin.

Picking her up, I look at Jax, who doesn’t give me a chance to ask him why he gave her chocolate before he closes the distance between us and kisses me breathless. When his mouth leaves mine, he whispers, “Don’t be mad.”

“I’m not,” I tell him then smile when I hear Hope giggling. “But I thought we were having lunch.

“We are habing lunch,” Hope says, happily wiggling out of my arms and climbing into my stylist chair.

“We have to wash your face first, chocolate girl,” I tell her, grabbing my purse and pulling out a wet wipe. “Did you trick Jax into buying you chocolate again?” I ask her when I get her face cleaned.

“No, he just gabe it to me,” she says, making Jax chuckle and me shake my head.

Standing back up, I look at Jax and whisper, “Pushover.”

“I can’t say no to her.” He shrugs, not denying it, and I roll my eyes.

“Are you ready for lunch, or are you too full from eating chocolate?” I ask Hope, taking her hand and helping her off the chair.

“I’m hungry. I only had four pieces of my candy bar,” she tells me, holding up her fingers.

“Oh, you poor thing. You must be starving,” I tease, picking her up and tickling her. “Frankie, we’re going to go feed this poor, starving child. Do you want us to get you anything?” I ask my boss, who is smiling at us, while Mellissa—foils sticking out all over her head like Medusa waiting for an alien attack—is trying to kill me with her eyes.

“No, thanks. Have a good lunch,” he says, laughing.

“Thanks.” I give him a wave. “So where are we eating?” I ask Jax.

“I figured we could go to the sandwich place around the corner,” he replies, holding open the door for the salon.

“Sounds good,” I agree, moving past him through the door with Hope in my arms.

“I want Ax to carry me,” Hope says when we reach the sidewalk, causing me to feel something I didn’t expect. I never thought I would be jealous, but that’s exactly what I feel as Hope holds out her tiny arms toward Jax. Squeezing her a little tighter to me for a second, I almost feel panicked as he takes her from me.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asks, dipping his face toward mine and searching my eyes.

Swallowing hard, I look at him and Hope and know it’s completely irrational to feel like I do right now, but that doesn’t mean the feelings aren’t there as I nod, muttering, “Just hungry.”

“Let’s get you girls some food,” he says, but I can tell he doesn’t believe me. I have no idea where this feeling is coming from, but now that it’s there, I feel it gnawing at my stomach as we walk down the street, around the corner, and into the small deli at the end of the block.

Once we’re inside, we order our sandwiches then take a seat at one of the tables near the front.

“Mom and Dad said they’re happy to keep Hope for the night,” Jax announces, and Hope smiles at me, saying, “Gwamma said we’re going to be vegables and watch the snowman movie.” She smiles.

“Oh,” I mutter, biting my lip. Maybe this is all a really bad idea. Maybe I’m not ready for any of this.

“Ellie,” Jax calls, gaining my attention. “What’s going on?”

Oh, God, why do I feel like crying all of a sudden?

“Just hungry,” I repeat my earlier lie, and his eyes narrow on me from across the table, but I ignore it.

“Mommy, what’s ‘being a vegable’?” Hope asks, making me smile.

“It just means to be lazy, Angel baby,” I explain.

“Oh.” She scrunches up her face and Jax chuckles.

“Mayson, order’s up,” one of the guys calls from the front of the deli.

“I’ll be right back,” Jax says, leaving the table to go get our sandwiches. When he comes back, he sets my sandwich down in front of me and my mouth begins to water from the smell of grilled chicken, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil. Then he mumbles, “Here, sweetheart,” to Hope.

He takes her grilled cheese and cuts it into small pieces, which should be sweet, but I find myself snapping, “I’m her mom; I can do that,” while attempting to take the knife out of his hand.

“You just eat,” he says softly, but I still hear the bite in his tone as he finishes cutting it up for her. Sitting there for the rest of lunch, I can feel Jax’s stare boring into me from across the table, but I don’t look at him. I either focus on Hope, or my sandwich, which should have tasted amazing, but instead, I don’t even enjoy it.

When we get to Jax’s truck and I have Hope buckled in, I can once again feel myself fighting tears.

“Bye, Mama,” Hope sings.

Giving her a kiss and hug, I fight myself from telling her I will see in a little while, and settle with telling her, “I love you, Angel baby. Be good, okay?”

“Okay, Mama.” She grins.

Shutting the door, I squeak when Jax takes my hand, pulls me to the back of his truck, and pushes me up against the tailgate, crowding my body with his and lowering his face towards mine.

“I don’t know what the fuck is going on in your head right now, Ellie, but I’m telling you this. You are mine, and Hope is mine. I don’t give a fuck how hard you try to push me away; it’s not going to happen. We have happened, and I’m not taking a step back, so deal with whatever fucked up shit you have going on in your head and get over it. Tonight, we’re having dinner then spending time with my cousin. After that, I’m taking you home and eating your pussy until you beg me to stop, and then I’m going to keep going until you apologize for your shit today,” he snarls then his head ducks, and his mouth latches onto my neck. I feel him pull the skin there into his mouth so hard that I cry out and my legs get weak.

Wrapping my hands around his shoulders, I hold on to keep from falling, when he lifts his mouth away from my neck and kisses me softly. “See you at seven,” he says, leading me to the sidewalk. Then he places another kiss on my mouth before going to his truck and getting in behind the wheel. Opening and closing my mouth, I stand there on the sidewalk, watching as he pulls away, then turn around and go into the salon.

“You have a hickey,” Kim whispers, covering her mouth while using her free had to point at my neck. Looking in the mirror, I take a deep breath and grit my teeth. Not only do I have a hickey, but I have a huge, dark purple hickey that will likely never go away.

“So classy,” I hear Mellissa say from the chair she’s in across the salon, and without thinking, I turn and look at her, mouthing, Jealous, before pulling out my concealer from my bag and covering the damn thing up.

Chapter 7

Jax

“Hey, you,” Ashlyn greets quietly with her eyes on Hope in my arms as she opens the door to our parents’ house. “Mom and Dad are out back.”

“I’ll be out in a minute. I’m going to lay her down; she passed out in the truck on the way over here,” I tell her, and she follows me down the hall toward my old room, which mom turned into a guest room as soon as I moved out.

Settling Hope on the bed and covering her with a blanket, I press a kiss to her forehead then follow Ashlyn out of the room, asking, “What are you doing here?”

Ashlyn is a receptionist for our family dentist. She got the job a few years ago when she started going to dental school. “Got off work early and just wanted to stop by.” She shrugs, but I can tell it’s something else from the look in her eyes.

“What happened?” I repeat.

“You know you’re annoying right?” she asks, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and taking a sip.

“So I’ve been told. So what happened?” I ask, grabbing a bottle for myself.

“Gregory is selling his practice,” she says, and I’m not surprised. Every time I have to see him, I worry he’s going fill the wrong tooth, or worse. His glasses have progressively gotten thicker each year, and his hands aren’t as steady as they used to be.

“We all knew it was coming. He’s what, seventy now?”

“Seventy-two.” She nods.

“So you can come work for me. You know I need a receptionist, since things have picked up.”

Snorting, she shakes her head. “No, thanks. He sold it to a guy named Dillon. He seems like a dick, but I’d rather work for a dick than my brother until school is done,” she mutters.

“So you’ve met the guy?” I ask her, and she nods again, leaning back against the counter behind her.

“Yeah, he just moved here from New York. I guess in the dental world he’s some big shot.” She rolls her eyes.

“Did he say you could keep your job?”

“He said he would need to ‘re-interview’ me,” she says, using finger quotes. “His words were, ‘I don’t need pretty objects around to look at. I need someone who knows what they’re doing working with me.’”

Frowning at that, I wonder if I should go have a talk with Dillon myself.

“Don’t even think about it,” she says, reading my face. “He’s a dick, but if he thinks anyone can do a better job than me, I’d like to see that person. I’ve worked with Gregory for the last three years. I only have a year of night classes left before I graduate, and then I can move to another practice.”

“Well, if you want me to kick his ass, I will,” I tell her, and a smile twitches her lips.

“I can handle him,” she says after a moment of thinking about it.

“I do think it’s kinda funny there is finally a guy who isn’t susceptible to your charm,” I tell her honestly. Men normally flock to my baby sister, which is annoying, but also true.

“Well, maybe he will be susceptible to cyanide,” she mutters under her breath, which makes me even more curious about Dillon.

“You know I got your back,” I tell her, moving out the backdoor to the sunroom.

Mom had the room built onto the house a year ago, when she decided to stop teaching and stay home. Walking through the sliding door, I’m not surprised to find my parents sitting close together on one of the couches, Mom with her feet tucked under her and my dad leaning back against the couch, with his arm wrapped around her.

“Where’s my girl?” Mom asks, looking around me for Hope.

“She’s in the guestroom. She fell asleep in the truck on the way over here.”

“Are you okay?” she asks, tilting her face and studying me.

“I’m good.” I nod, sitting down across from them on one of the chairs.

“What happened?” She frowns.

“How do you know something happened?” I ask.

“You have the same look on your face that your sister had when she came in,” Mom explains.

“I didn’t have a look,” Ashlyn complains, plopping down in the chair next to me, and my mom looks at her and shakes her head.

“You did, and then you went off about Dillon the Dick for a good twenty minutes,” my dad says, grinning.

“Whatever,” she huffs, crossing her arms over her chest.

“So what happened?” Dad asks this time, looking away from Ashlyn to me.

“I took Ellie and Hope to lunch, and Ellie was acting strange. Then she said something that caught me off guard.”

“What was it?” Mom asks, pulling her feet from under her and sitting up.

“She was upset that I was cutting up Hope’s sandwich, and she said, ‘I can do it; I’m her mom,’” I say, pulling my hat off and setting it on my bent knee.

“Honey, that’s her baby. She’s not used to sharing her. She’s had a lot of changes over the last couple months. Just give her some time,” Mom explains.

“I’m going slow,” I say, slipping my hat back on my head. “I gotta head back to the office, but if Hope needs anything, just call me.”

“It will be okay, honey,” she says softly as I get up from my chair and lean over, kissing her cheek.

“I know,” I agree then mutter, “Later,” to my sister, and look at my dad as he kisses my mom’s cheek then follows me out of the house to my truck.

“I never thought that I’d ever give this advice to anyone. You know I think your uncles are idiots half the time, but your uncle, Trevor, told me something when I started seeing your mom again,” he says, and I raise a brow.

“He told me to push your mom into a corner, not to give her a chance to retreat. At the time, I thought he was nuts, but I think he was right. I know Ellie has had a hard time with everything that’s happened, but if she’s your Boom, she’s your forever. Nothing will change that.”

“Thanks, Dad,” I mutter as he pats my back.

“I love you, bud,”

“Love you too,” I tell him, opening my truck door. “Can you do me a favor and not let Hope eat too much junk food tonight? She had a candy bar already.”

“Sure.” He nods, but I know he’s lying. Shaking my head, I slam my door and lift my chin to him as he steps back so I can pull away from the house.

I’m going to follow his advice. Maybe taking it slow was the wrong move.

*

Getting out of my truck, I slam the door, head across the sidewalk, and spot Ellie through the glass of the salon door. I feel my body get tight as I take her in while she stands in the waiting area, talking to some blonde. Her hair is down in messy waves with new red chunky highlights that cascade over her breast. The navy blue dress she has on is molded tightly to every curve of her body, leaving her shoulders bare and hitting her mid-thigh. Moving my eyes down her legs, which seem to go on for miles, I swallow, seeing the cream high heels that wrap around her feet with a million straps ending up around her ankles. Seeing how high they lift her, I know they will put her ass at the perfect height for me to fuck her from behind while she’s bent over.

“How the fuck can I go slow when she looks like that?” I mutter to myself, tapping on the glass to get her attention.

When her eyes meet mine, I watch her take a deep breath before moving to the door.

“Hi,” she whispers, opening the door.

“You look beautiful.”

“I… Thanks,” she whispers shyly then looks over her shoulder at the blonde. “Jax, this is Kimberly. Kim this is Jax; I don’t know if you’ve met.”

“Nice to meet you,” I mutter, giving her a chin lift as I take Ellie’s hand in mine and tug her closer to me.

“You too,” Kim says, and I hear her laugh, but I can’t take my eyes off Ellie and how amazing she looks. Not that she doesn’t always look good, but right now, she looks good enough to eat, which is going to make it difficult to share her with anyone tonight.

“Are you going to be okay locking up by yourself?” Ellie asks Kim, picking up her bag from the couch near the door.

“Yep, go have fun and I’ll see you on Sunday.”

“See you Sunday,” Ellie replies quietly then looks up at me and bites her bottom lip, causing my chest to vibrate with a growl. Opening the door for her, I let her walk out before me, just so I can watch her ass, then take her hand again and lead her to my truck, opening the passenger side door for her.

“Thanks,” she murmurs, ducking her head again.

Spinning her around to face me, I press her against the side of my truck and dip my head to the side, covering her mouth with mine, fisting one hand into her hair, and pulling her closer to me with the other. Nipping her bottom lip, her gasp of surprise allows me to lick into her mouth, tasting her and mint.

The moment my tongue touches hers, her hands fist into my shirt and her breasts press hard against my chest. As my hat falls to the ground, she pulls my lip between hers and bites hard enough to sting. Moving my hand down over her ass, I rock her into my erection, needing her to feel what she does to me.

“Jax,” she whimpers into my mouth as her hands travel up, wrapping around the back of my neck. Tearing my mouth from hers, I rest my forehead against hers, willing myself to stop, when all I want to do is pick her up, place her on the seat of my truck, rip her dress up around her waist and swing her legs over my shoulders so I can feast.

Lifting her mouth closer to mine once more, I shake my head, giving her a squeeze when I see hurt enter her gaze.

“We’re going to dinner, and if we keep going, the only thing I’ll be eating is you.”

“Jax,” she moans my name.

“Fuck,” I grunt, picking her up, placing her on the seat, and giving her one last kiss before pulling from her grasp and shutting the door.

Picking my hat up off the ground, I shake it out and place it back on my head then take my time walking around the truck, so I can will my erection down enough that I can drive.

Opening the door, I get behind the wheel shutting the door and Ellie’s soft voice breaks through the silence, causing my chest to ache. “My brother’s name was Edward. You would have liked him,” she says with a sad smile. “He was always doing crazy stuff. He was the guy everyone wanted to be friends with, the guy all the girls wished would take a second look at them.”

She pauses, and her voice is barely above a whisper as she says, “He was my best friend.” Hating seeing her look so alone, I reach over and unhook her belt then drag her into my lap. Settling herself against me, her eyes search my face then drop to her lap before she continues, “When he met Bonnie and I saw how in love he was with her, I remember thinking everything was going to change. I was going to lose him. He was all I had for so long that I was scared and jealous. I wanted to hate her.”

Her eyes meet mine and a soft smile forms on her mouth as she whispers, “Trying to hate her was like trying to hate air. Bonnie became like a sister to me. Her dad was a drunk and her mom was dead. She needed us as badly as we needed her.

She, Edward, and I became a family of our own,” she reminisces, and I watch as tears fill her eyes. “When Bonnie found out she was pregnant, Edward was so excited he would tell absolutely anyone. All he talked about was making a better life for his girls.”

Her lips press together and her chin wobbles. “Hope was born on July twenty-forth at seven-twenty in the morning, She came into the world screaming at the top of her lungs. She’s still screaming,” she whispers the last part, leaning her body into mine. “I loved her from the first moment I held her in my arms, but she wasn’t mine,” she says then lets that hang before continuing.

“On August twenty-seventh, that changed. I was at work when I got a call from the highway patrol. They said Edward, Bonnie, and their daughter had been in an accident and I needed to get to the hospital. I don’t even remember getting in my car, or the drive to the hospital. I don’t even remember the police telling me Bonnie and Edward were dead. Everything was a blur. None of it felt real, and then they took me to the ICU.” She shakes her head. “The doctors and the police both said Hope shouldn’t have lived. They said she was lucky to be alive, but because she was so young, her body was still soft, and that saved her life.”

“Jesus,” I hiss, thinking about a life without Hope and how sad that life would be.

“She had small cuts and bruises on her face and hands, but she was okay. She was awake, and when I walked towards her, I could tell she knew exactly who I was. She knew me, and she was so small and all alone. We were both alone.”

Watching as silent tears fall from her eyes, I know how hard that must have been for her, how devastated she must have been.

“I was just nineteen. I didn’t know anything about raising a kid, but I knew I wouldn’t let Edward or Bonnie down. I knew they would want me to take care of her, to raise her, so after I rocked Hope to sleep in the ICU, I went in search of a social worker, and they told me what I needed to do in order to gain custody of her.”

“You’re so strong, baby.” I kiss the side of her head and breathe her in.

“Hope didn’t come from me, but she’s a part of me.”

“She’s your daughter,” I tell her softly, wondering how I could have thought otherwise before. My mom was right; you don’t have to give birth to a child to love it like your own.

“She knows about her dad and mom, but to her, they are nothing but pictures and stories I tell her. When she’s older, I hope I can make her understand Bonnie and Edward loved her more then they loved anything in this world, that they would have given up anything to stay here with her. But until she’s old enough to understand that, I’m all she knows.”

“I get that,” I tell her softly, pressing a kiss to her temple.

“I was jealous she wanted you today instead of me,” she says, and I hear her take a breath.

“I know,” I say gently then add, “I don’t want to take her from you, baby. I just want to be a part of your lives. I want to be one more person she knows who loves her, and I want us to have something solid, so one day we can all be a family.”

“Family,” she whispers, dropping her eyes again.

“I don’t know if you know this,” I say, running my fingers along her cheek until her eyes meet mine once again. “Lilly isn’t my mother. She didn’t give birth to me. My dad dated her when she was in college. Around the time my dad was going to ask her to move in with him, my birth mom, who my dad had a one-night stand with months before, told him she was pregnant. My dad believed he was doing the right thing, and he broke up with Lilly. He didn’t want her to be dragged through everything that was happening at the time. He and my birth mother got married, and my dad didn’t know he had also gotten Lilly pregnant. My birth mom, who is the definition of crazy, got a message from Lilly that was meant for my dad, telling him she was pregnant, and she replied back that she should have an abortion.”

“Oh, my God,” Ellie breathes.

“My birth mom and dad eventually divorced, and when I was three, my dad took me to this trampoline place, and Lilly was there with Ashlyn. He knew right away Ashlyn was his daughter, and he thought Lilly tried to keep her from him.”

“Poor Lilly,” she says in understanding, and my hand moves to wrap around the side of her neck.

“Eventually, my dad won Lilly over and they got back together, but from the moment I met her, I remember thinking I wanted a mom like her. She was the opposite of my mother. So nice, every time she talked to me, she spoke softly and made me feel important. Eventually her and my dad got married and she became my mom. I will always consider her my mom.”

“You get it,” she says softly, placing her hand against my chest over my heart.

“I get it,” I agree.

“I’m sorry about lunch. I…” She pauses, taking a breath. “I just…it’s always been just me and Hope. I’m not used to sharing her. I know it sounds selfish, but I don’t want her to stop needing me.”

“That’s not going to happen, baby, and I don’t want to take her from you,” I promise.

“I know,” she says, leaning her head against my chest.

Sitting back, I hold her tighter against me. I know we will still have shit to deal with, but knowing she came right out and told me her problem saved me a shit load of trouble and time.

“Now can I take you out?” I ask, pressing a kiss to the top of her head after a few moments.

“Jax, about us—”

“This is happening, Ellie. I won’t stop until every part of you belongs to me, from this,” I say, placing my hand over her heart, feeling it pound. Then I run my palm over her breast and down her stomach, over her thigh, and then under the edge of her dress, where I run my fingers over the thin material covering her core. “To this,” I finish.

“Jax—”

“No, baby, now slide off me so I can take you to dinner,” I interrupt.

“But—”

“Slide off,” I rumble, helping her into the passenger seat then buckling her in.

“You’re annoying,” she grumbles.

“You love it, baby. My fingers are still wet and I barely ran them over your panties.” Which is true, but then again, every time I’ve touched her, she’s been wet.

“You didn’t just say that.” She hides her face behind her hair.

Smirking, I pull her hand to my lap then run her palm over my cock. “You’re not the only one,” I tell her, hearing her sharp inhale of breath and groan when her small hand tries to wrap around me through the denim covering my erection.

Before I can say fuck it and pin her to the seat, I pull her hand to my mouth and place a kiss against her fingers settling it back against my thigh, so I can start up my truck and put it in reverse.

When we arrive at the restaurant, it’s after eight and the lot’s still full, which isn’t a surprise. Bryson’s Steakhouse is the place everyone comes to celebrate. I think I’ve spent every birthday and special occasion here since I was ten. Shutting down the truck, I hop out and head around to wait while Ellie adds some glossy shit to her lips that causes them look even fuller than they normally do. Helping her down, I wrap my arm around her waist and lead her inside.

For the first time, I realize that the rustic looking décor and lighting give the restaurant a romantic feel. I’ve never brought a woman here before; I’ve only ever come with family. Luckily, my dad is good friends with Mani Bryson and was able to get us a reservation on short notice.

“Reservation for Mayson,” I tell the maître d’, holding Ellie a little tighter when his eyes sweep over my girl and linger a little too long on her mouth then chest.

I’ve never been jealous; even in school, when I was dating Mellissa and guys would hit on her, I couldn’t have cared less. Ellie is different. I can’t stand the idea of anyone looking at her, and if someone ever has the balls to touch her, I won’t be able to control myself.

“If you’ll follow me,” he says, picking up two menus and leading us through the restaurant.

Placing my hand against Ellie’s back, we cut between tables then stop at one of the booths in the back. My teeth grit when I look to the left and see Mellissa is here with her sister, mom, and dad. Mellissa’s dad, Calder, owns one of the most profitable real-estate agencies in the county. If you drive around and see a for sale sign on a house, it’s his company’s logo normally attached to it. He’s an okay guy, but he’s a pushover and has babied the women in his life.

Mellissa’s mother’s job is to stay home and look pretty, and she has raised both her girls to do the same. They expect everything to be handed to them and whatever man they are with to act like their father, giving them whatever it is they want. And if you don’t fall to your knees and act accordingly, cue the tears and the bitchiness.

Placing Ellie so that she’s faced away from them, I take a seat then raise a brow when the maître d’ stands at the head of the table, staring at Ellie again. “You can go,” I hear myself growl, and I watch Ellie’s cheeks darken as she looks at me and narrows her eyes. Like it’s my fucking fault the kid is checking her out.