Like our bodies are attuned to each other.
Fuck, if it isn’t scary as all hell.
The elevator dings on my floor, and our hands disconnect as the three of us walk out to my room. I pull out my keycard, swiping it over the reader, and Savanah walks inside, mumbling about something to do with the weather, but my eyes lock onto Jovie’s as I hold the door open for her. She smiles at me, and it’s like I’m seeing her for the first time. Like really fucking seeing her. She’s glowing so damn beautifully, it’s like the sun is shining in all its glory down on her. This woman is magnificent. She licks her lips, the small gesture gaining my attention, my cock jerks in my pants, and I inch forward.
“What the hell are you guys doing? Are you coming in or what?” Savanah yells down from the bedroom, breaking the moment.
I smirk as a flush crosses Jovie’s face. “Glad you’re coming around,” she whispers, then enters my room, walking down to meet Savanah. I can’t help it as my eyes drop to her ass on the way.
I close the door, clenching my eyes shut, then lean my forehead on the door taking in a couple of deep breaths. “Get it together, dickhead.”
“Kevlar, where’s the remote?” Savanah yells.
I shake my head, then turn, walking down to the bedroom. As I walk in, Savanah’s on the oversized chair, legs thrown over the side and laid back like she’s making herself comfortable as she throws her head back in my direction. “So?” she asks.
I walk over to the bedside table, pick it up, then take it over to her. “Did you even look?” I tease.
“What good is a manservant if he won’t serve you?”
Jovie snorts out a laugh as she sits on the edge of the bed while I let out a grunt. “I can kick you out. This is my room, remember?”
Savanah snorts. “Pfft… if you were gonna, you would’ve.”
I move in, sitting next to Jovie as Savanah scrolls through the endless channels. I turn to face Jovie and open my mouth to speak when my burner cell rings. “Fuck… I better get that.”
Jovie’s warm expression calms my anxiety. “I’m not going anywhere. Take your call.”
I stand, pulling my cell out of my pocket.
It’s Zero.
Anxiety runs through my veins as I quickly answer the call, “Pres, tell me you know what the fuck’s going on?” I walk over to the window staring out at the murky Mississippi, where a majestic paddle steamer is floating along in the current.
“Finley is working on it. By the looks of it, the Baron is targeting you to get back at Ethan for putting him in jail. The Baron can’t get to Ethan because he’s squeaky clean, so he did the next best thing.”
I tense all over as I run my hand over my head. “Me.” That one word comes out incredulously.
Zero hums down the line in agreement. “He’s coming after you to get at Ethan.”
Clenching my eyes tight, pain sears through my very soul. Ethan and I might not see eye to eye on most things, but he’s still family. “When can I speak to Ethan, Zero? I haven’t talked to Sadie and Lucas in far too long. They’ll be wondering where I am.” I subtly peer over my shoulder at Jovie, and like I expected, she’s intently listening in. I haven’t told her about Sadie and Lucas yet. The idea of her and me is one thing, the idea of her being involved with my kids, that’s entirely another.
“I’ll get Ethan to call you. We’re working on something to bring you home, but I don’t want to say much in case the phones are tapped.”
I completely understand. With the Baron getting his hands into everything, we can’t be too fucking careful, and that includes listening devices. “I get it. And thank you, brother. Thanks for digging into this for me.”
“Of course. How is everything?”
I look over at Jovie and Savanah letting out a huff. “I’m keeping busy. I’ll fill you in when I’m able.”
“Right! I’ll call again when I know more.”
“Thanks, man.”
He ends the call, and I don’t have a second before Jovie jumps up, rushing toward me. “Who’s Sadie and Lucas? They seem important.”
I tense, holding my hands up to placate her. I glance from Savanah back to Jovie. “I should have told you in a better way than thi—”
“Just tell me,” Jovie interrupts.
I hesitate as Savanah turns to listen in. Exhaling, I stand taller. “My kids.”
Jovie’s expression falls as Savanah quickly hops up from the chair, turning off the television. “I’ll ah… just go back to our room now. I’ll be there if you need me, babe. Okay?”
Jovie nods as Savanah scurries out of the room.
Jovie exhales but appears calm. “Having kids wasn’t something you wanted to mention?”
I let out a small laugh. “Of course, I did, they mean everything to me. I wasn’t sure how you would take it. Honestly, I’ve never had to tell anyone about my kids before, so I had no clue what the protocol is.”
She relaxes, moving in front of me. “Tell me about them.”
Warmth floods through me as I think about my two beautiful little children. I reach out for Jovie’s hand, leading her over to the bed. We sit as I try to figure out where to start.
“Sadie is six, going on sixteen. How she can be my little girl one minute, then be so smart and grown up the next, I have no clue. She’s cute as hell, but I might be biased. Her little dark ringlets drive me crazy.”
Jovie smiles, her hand sliding up into my hair. “Just like her daddy.”
“Yeah. Hers are way cuter.”
“What does she like? What’s her favorite thing?”
“Tea parties… it’s the only thing she remembers of Em. She used to have tea parties with her when she was little, or littler, I should say. She also has this fucking rabbit. I swear the thing is filthy as all get-up, but she won’t go anywhere without it.”
She giggles. “It’s a security blanket. She’s had it since she was a baby?”
“Yeah. I gave it to her when she was born.”
Jovie’s fingers loop with mine. “It reminds her of you. What’s its name?”
“Moo.” I smirk.
“As in the cow, moo?”
“These are things you don’t question with kids. They wanna name a rabbit, Moo, they name a fucking rabbit, Moo.”
Jovie bursts out laughing. “I love that. She sounds like me when I was a kid. I had a pet rock named Bucket.”
“Bucket?”
She tilts her head. “My brother, River, used to say that the rock isn’t alive. Like it’s kicked the bucket. So, I said I’d show him and treat the pet like a living creature… I had Bucket for years.”
“What happened to him?”
She shrugs. “I think my father stole him one day. Maybe the day he left when he told me to grow up.”
“I’m sorry.” I frown.
She waves her hand through the air. “This isn’t about me. Tell me about Lucas?”
“He’s younger, only four, definitely his age. He has all the ladies swooning over him. My little man has a small stutter.”
“Does he join Sadie at her tea parties?”