“Touch me,” I say.
He reaches around and finds my clit. “There, baby? That what you want?”
“God, yes.”
He works those magic circles while his dick works that internal magic spot and soon I’m thrashing, gasping, and begging. “Please, please. Yes.”
“Come for me, Tess.”
Two more strokes and I do, shattering into a million sparkling pieces that fall from the sky like fireworks trailing to the ground.
He locks his hands tight around my hip bones and hauls me back for his final thrust, then he too, explodes in orgasm.
Gypsy falls to the mattress, sweating and breathing hard. I turn into him, and he pulls me close. I feel safe cuddled against his side. I close my eyes and imagine what it would be like to have him in my bed every night, to have this blissful feeling every time I come home, and he takes me in his arms. It’s a dream I know I can’t have. Whatever this is, it’s only temporary. That’s all it can ever be, because it’s all I’ll allow it to be. The risk to my heart loving a man like him is too great. I’ve vowed I’ll never let myself fall for someone so wrong for me. Still, I’ll take what I can get and enjoy the moment while it lasts.
I rest my head on his shoulder and absently trace a finger over a tattoo as his fingertips stroke gently down my spine. I hate that he’s a DK. I hate that he might someday be where my father is. I can’t stop myself from bringing it up. “It’s so depressing in that prison. I would hate for you to end up there.”
“Don’t plan on it, honey.”
“Promise?” I lift my head to look at him. Even if I can’t have a man like him in my life, I still want him to find happiness. I’m afraid for him—afraid he’s only got tragedy ahead of him.
He dips his chin to peer at me, smiling. “Cross my heart.”
I drop my head to his shoulder, settling in and changing the subject to something safer. “Growler had another visitor today.” I feel his body tense, and he frowns.
“Yeah? Who?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. Some woman. I passed her as I was leaving.”
“How do you know she was there for Growler?”
“The guard came to our table and told him he had another visitor. There was no one else in the waiting room when I left. Had to be her. Besides, she was dressed like a biker.”
“How so?”
“Well, I mean, she wasn’t showing skin or anything, but I saw some ink on her, and she was wearing biker boots.”
“Could be a coincidence.”
“Would some woman from the club be visiting my father?” I lift my head to stare at Gypsy. His eyes are on the ceiling, but I feel his hand on my back still.
“Did she have red hair?”
“Yes, how did you know?”
“Sylvia.”
I push to a sitting position. “Sylvia? Who the fuck is Sylvia?”
CHAPTER NINE
Tess—
“Rat’s ol’ lady. Well, widow now,” Gypsy tells me.
I frown. “Your old VP?”
“Yup.”
“What’s she doing with my father?”
“Growler and Sylvia were having an affair.”
“Oh, my God.” My mother is going to be devastated. That’s the only thought that runs through my head. I suddenly wonder if my father ever intended to let my mother have any of that money. “Her showing up at the prison—what do you think it means?”
“I don’t know.” His hand moves to my hip and strokes up to cup my bare breast. His thumb brushes my nipple. “Lie back down, baby.”
I’m not ready to end the conversation. “You think he’d tell her where that key is stashed?” My eyes widen. “You think she already has it?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t think Growler’s a stupid man. He’s not gonna want her to get her hands on that money any more than he wants your mom to.”
I stare into space, thinking this all through. “He said he wrote my mom a letter. What do you think it says?”
“No clue. What do you think it says?”
I frown. “Maybe he’s going to ask for a divorce.” I stare down at Gypsy. “He’s already cut my mother off from visiting. And he’s apparently in another relationship.”
Gypsy huffs out a laugh. “Fat lot of good it’s gonna do him. He’s in prison.”
“Do you think what he said was true?”
He’s still playing with my nipples, but his eyes lift to mine. “Which part?”
“The part about getting his conviction overturned?”
“I think that would take a miracle, babe.”
I take a deep breath. “I’ve got to get my hands on that key. Today he teased me with a clue. Said it was closer than I thought. It’s got to be in the house.”
“Makes sense. It’s got to be in a location Sylvia can’t get to, and that would be your house.”
“Shit. I did something stupid today.”
“What was that?”
“He made me so mad that I lied to him and told him Mom was moving and some other people were already lined up to move in. You should have seen the look on his face.”
“Then maybe he’s going to get Sylvia to get that key for him before that happens.”
“How’s she going to do that?”
“Try to cozy up to your mom, get inside the house. You’re going to have to make sure that doesn’t happen. You run into her, don’t let on that you know anything.”
“Why?”
“Never tip your cards, babe.”
“Were they friends back in the day? Sylvia and my mom?”
“Sort of, but I think your mom suspected something was going on between her and Growler.”
“Maybe Rat did, too.”
“Maybe. Maybe that’s why he set Growler up for forty years.”
This was news to me. I pull back. “What the fuck do you mean?”
“Rat’s the one who tipped off the cops and led them to bust your father.”
My brows lift. “So Rat’s a rat?”
“Yup.”
“I thought the club was all about loyalty. What kind of shit is that?”
“The kind that gets a man hauled out to the middle of nowhere and a bullet put in his brain.”
I’m stunned speechless. The silence drags out between us, and Gypsy watches my every blink.
“Now you know what kind of a man I am.”
“I always knew what kind of a man you were.”
“Not the kind who would stab my own president in the back, though.”
“Just the kind who would sleep with his daughter.”
His jaw tightens. “You don’t want to be here, there’s the door.”
He jerks the sheet aside and moves to sit on the side of the bed. In a second, I think he’s going to reach for his jeans, head out the door, and leave me here.
I scoot across the sheets, press my chest to his back, and loop my arms around him. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to fight. A minute ago I was so happy and content.”