I have to give him something, or I’ll never hear the last of it. “Just worried about Lil, that’s all.”
“Why? What’s going on with her?” He flicks ash onto the concrete, standing tall.
“She’s been working a lot lately. Did she ever say anything to you about struggling for money?” Maybe he knows something I don’t.
“No. She’s doing all right, as far as I know. I don’t have much, but if she needs anything, she should come to me. Just because we’re not seeing each other doesn’t mean I stopped caring for her.”
“Nah, you know I've got her. I’ve told her I can help her out if she needs it, but she said she’s fine. She works too hard.”
He shrugs a shoulder. “She looked all right a minute ago.”
That’s what I’m worried about. She looked too fucking good. And her bouncing tits is something I can’t unsee. But worse than that, I don’t want to unsee them. If anything, I wish I’d recorded them to watch whenever I want.
I make a mental note to record her next time because I’m a twisted fuck with an addiction to her. “What about you, anyway? What’s going on with you and Violet?”
He drops the cigarette to the floor and snuffs it out with his boot. “I figured I should help her get on her feet. She’s just a lost girl who needs someone to look out for her.”
I place my hand on his shoulder. “You know she’s not your responsibility, right? If she’s dragging up too much of the past for you, I can find a place for her to stay.”
“I’m not letting her go to some women’s shelter. She’s been in foster homes her entire life. I can give her a proper home.”
He won’t admit it, but Violet’s probably what Kane needs as well. Hopefully, together they can heal each other. I think of the siren in the other room and wonder if she could be the one to heal me.
Twelve years in the army, but the one thing to break me was a woman. I gave it all up for Fern. She wanted to start a family and wanted me to be home. Trouble was, when she finally had me at home permanently, we realised neither of us were the same people we had been in high school. We tried for a baby, hoping it would bring us closer, but it was no use. The baby never came, and Fern checked out.
Truth is, I don’t think I ever checked in. My head was still in the Middle East. Everyone hailed me as a hero, but nobody knows the things I’ve done. The things I’ve seen never leave me. But this week, talking to Lilly, my mind’s been occupied with her.
The back door creaks open. An electrical surge down my back awakens every nerve. My body senses her before my mind registers the clicking of her heels against the concrete. Straightening my spine, my eyes rake over those long legs covered in faux leather. A red baggy jumper falls off one shoulder, showing me a lace bra strap. The same lace bra strap she wore last night.
Fuck.
My spine isn’t the only thing to stiffen as I take in her red glossy lips just begging for a kiss. My kiss. But kissing isn't the right word for what I want to do. I want to consume them, devour them before I make her mine.
Our eyes meet. Her mouth parts as she looks between me and Kane. “Hello, boys.”
The biker follows behind her, lighting up a cigarette as he steps through the door. I glare at him, giving him a warning.
He nods at the two of us. “Evening.” He takes a long pull on his cigarette before saying to Lilly, “I’ll catch up with you later.” Then he walks through the gap in the fence, towards his bike.
The only person who’ll be catching up with her later is me.
She waves a hand at the biker, then closes the gap between us, taking the last of the cigarette from between my lips and stubs it out on the bin at the side of her. “How many times do I have to tell you this stuff will kill you?”
Kane huffs out a laugh as if he’s had the same lecture more than once. He steps close to her, holding of her arm, he says. “Are you all right?”
Lilly nods. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?” Her brow creases, then she laughs. “If you think I’m pining for you, think again.”
Kane looks back at me. “She still has that sassy mouth, mate. I think she’s all right.” He opens the door and heads back inside, leaving me alone with her.
Lilly taps on her phone, then looks up to find me gazing at her with no doubt a dopey fucking smile on my face as I relive last night. “What?” she says, bringing me back to the present.
“What were you talking to the biker about?” I shove my hands in my pockets before I have the urge to push her up against the wall.
“None of your business.” Her lips curl at the corner. “If you must know, he was asking about his aunt. She’s on the ward with a broken hip.”
My shoulders relax. “It’s good to see you out. You look…” My eyes roam over all her curves. The word I’m looking for is mouthwateringly fuckable, but I opt for something simple. “Good.”
“Thanks. I was meant to be meeting Hazel, but her kid got sick. I was just about to go home.” She rests against the brick, biting into her glossy bottom lip.
