By the time we leave, my sister is back from her class. I notice the ladies have grown close in the short time they’ve known each other. I hug Oly and wish Marnie would hug me, but I walk out with a burning need to feel her against me again.
Acouple hours later, I’m walking through the local grocery store, trying to figure out what I’m going to have for dinner. Harlowe is out with Loki tonight. I head down the frozen aisle toward the meat department when I see her. Oly is perched in the front of the cart as Marnie navigates the aisles, looking just as focused as I am.
Even though I only saw her a couple of hours ago, I can’t stop myself from watching her for a moment. Her black capri retro pants hug her curves perfectly, outlining hips that I’ll grip as I drive my cock into her body. Her long legs are trim and sexy in the polka-dot heels. But the black-and-white striped long-sleeved shirt hugging her breasts and revealing her trim abs makes my cock rock hard.
As if she can sense me looking her over, she turns. The blush tinting her cheeks hits my cock even harder. I walk over to them, basket in hand. She smirks at me but drops her eyes. She always seems so innocent, even though I know she’s not a virgin.
“Kodak,” Oly says when she spies me. She can’t say Kodiak. “I have a dolly.” She holds up a doll, similar to the one she was playing with earlier with Icarus. “Momma got for me.”
“I see that,beauté.Have you been a good girl for Mommy?”
“Yeah. I want quich Loren for dinner, but Momma says I need more potein.”
I want to chuckle at how she pronounces words, but she’s trying so hard.
“Quiche Lorraine is really good. Protein helps you grow up big and strong like me. I likeHachis Parmentier,Coq au Vin, andBoeuf Bourguignon.”
Marnie licks her top lip.
I lean in and whisper so only she can hear me, “Sugar, keep offering, and I’m going to take you up on that. That sweet-ass tongue will be tangled with mine before you realize it.”
She blushes again, then bites her bottom lip.
“I want to bite those lips and suck them into my mouth, along with some other lips of yours,” I say in her ear.
“Momma says it’s rude to whisper around others,” Oly says, and I throw my head back, laughing full-bodied. It’s so freeing being around these two.
“You’re right,beauté.”I chuck her chin, and she laughs.
“Thank you for everything you’ve been doing, but?—”
“Don’t finish that sentence, sugar. Give me time. I can see you’re scared. I’ll be here when you’re ready. Now go find thisbeautésome protein. I’ll see you around.”
I lean down and kiss her forehead, then do the same for Oly before turning to walk away. I need to get out of here before I throw Marnie over my shoulder, Oly over the other, and storm out of the store with them.
CHAPTER
THREE
MARNIE
Iwalk around my apartment, checking the locks and pulling the drapes tight. Something feels off. Like I’m being watched. I’ve been watched before, so I know the sensation. But I can’t figure out where it’s coming from. I’m worried we’ve been found again.
After I confirm everything is locked up tight, I walk to Oly’s room and check on her, then head to my own and grab my pajamas. I’m taking a shower tonight since tomorrow we’re going to the lake with Harley for the Fourth of July.
It’s been hard trying to keep Harley at a distance. She just keeps forcing her way in, and honestly, I love it. I’ve never had a girlfriend in my life.
Her brother, Kodiak, is another story. I try to keep him at a distance, but he won’t have it. Just today he came into the bakery, and when I called him by his road name, he cornered me and told me to call him Rylan. I told him I’ve read enough romance novels with MC themes to know that’s not going to happen. When he asked what I meant, I just walked off and lefthim standing there. I don’t know if Harley explained it to him, but I was able to avoid him for the rest of the day.
I have a full security system in the shop. He tried to install one here at my apartment too, but I told him the landlord wouldn’t allow it. I didn’t tell him that Jim is the manager of the complex.
Jim has been getting worse with me. Every time I leave, I catch the curtains in his apartment fluttering, and I know he’s watching me.
Even now, in my own apartment, it feels like someone’s watching me.
I head for the shower. As I rinse off, my mind turns to Rylan. I can’t stop my hands from drifting down to my core and getting myself off. I’m not as knowledgeable as people would think. I only had sex a few times with my husband, and he was my first and only. Now it seems the man I crave is the one I can’t have. If I give in to my urges, I’ll have to leave. I won’t risk him getting hurt, or worse, the way Jean-Louis was. I couldn’t do that to Harley.
I style my hair after the shower, then put it up in a loose bun before climbing into bed. I’m starting to drift off when I hear a noise. I flip on the light and scan my room.
