uncles would form an impenetrable wall to keep me out. And they’d be right to do it.
Being as I was already an asshole, I watched Addy’s hips sway as she walked out of the kitchen. I did this with a new appreciation from all the other times I’d watched her strut her fine ass around Triple Canopy, the gym, and family get-togethers. The woman had an exceptional ass—it was hard not to stare at it—but it felt better cupped in my hands. And it had never looked better than when she was on her hands and knees in front of me, my cock dipping in her pussy and coming out wet with her excitement.
Christ.
I wasn’t an asshole. I was a motherfucker with an erection.
And if you think Jasper’s not gonna call you out on this shit, you’re even stupider.
Jasper Walker.
Nothing could kill my hard-on faster than thinking about the man who’d cut off my dick if he found out I wanted to keep his daughter.
Yeah, that was what I needed. I needed to have the man’s name tattooed on my palm so every time I looked at it I’d remember to keep my filthy hands off Addy.
“By the way, I didn’t know Jake moved back to Georgia,” Hadley said and I froze mid-step.
“Come again?”
Three sets of startled eyes swung my way but I was focused on the pair that belonged to Addy. Hers were wide and pleading.
“Shit. Sorry,” Hadley mumbled.
“Who’s Jake?” Brady’s inquiry wasn’t so much a question as a demand to know. The guy was far from dumb and I wasn’t trying to hide my irritation as much as Addy was trying to hide her plea not to bring up what had happened.
I was of a different feeling. The more people who knew her ex was in town and had made threats, the better. Hell, I’d planned to tell the team first thing tomorrow morning.
“Jake is Adalynn’s ex-boyfriend. Who happens to be a fucking dick. I caught him shouting at Addy. I intervened. Jake didn’t feel like backing down and made threats.”
“Trey!” Addy seethed.
“Oh my God,” Hadley gasped.
“What the fuck?” Brady said over them.
“Was gonna bring it to the table tomorrow. I want eyes on this asshole while he’s in town. And if he’s moved back, I’ll be having words with him to make clear he’s never to be in Addy’s space again.”
“We’ll make clear,” Brady returned.
“You’re up for that, I won’t say no. I don’t want it clear, I want it crystal clear he gets up in Addy’s face again, he won’t take another easy breath, ever.” I glanced back at Hadley and asked, “Where’d you see him?”
Hadley fidgeted in her seat and diverted her eyes, not looking at anyone in the room but on the burger in front of her.
“Hadley?” Brady pushed.
“Out front,” she muttered.
“Out front? You mean out front of Addy’s?” I forced out.
“Trey,” Addy whispered and my insides hollowed.
Fuck.
I wanted to be the man who deserved to hear Addy breathe his name like that. I wanted to be the man who earned her fear.
But I hadn’t earned jackshit. I’d fucked up again by not following her home. And when I showed up after getting more than halfway to work, only to give in to my selfish need and turn around, I hadn’t checked the street before I banged on her front door.
“Baby, he is not gonna get in your face again,” I vowed.
“I’m not worried about me.” Addy shook her head and frowned. “He threatened you, not me.”
“You don’t need to worry about me.”
Addy took a deep breath and let it out on a long exhale before her fear-filled eyes locked with mine.
“I think you should be worried. Before he yelled at me, he was poorly explaining why he’d broken up with me.”
“Poorly explaining? What does that mean?” Brady rejoined.
Addy looked like she wanted to talk about Jake only less than she wanted her fingernails plucked out.
“Wait,” Hadley huffed. “Was he trying to get back together with you?”
I felt my muscles bunch at Hadley’s question.
Over my dead body.
“I don’t think so. He was at the VA and asked me to lunch. I tried to decline by telling him I had a class. He said he’d wait.”
“Why the hell didn’t you tell him to shove it? He broke your heart.”
“I was curious.” Addy’s gaze sliced to Hadley’s. “He said he wanted to apologize and explain.”
“Well? What did he have to say for himself?” Hadley’s snotty response made Addy cringe.