"Are you listening to me, Adriel?" My father asks angrily. I look up at him. Of course, he's shooting daggers at me.
"Yes, of course, daddy. I was just concentrating," I lie.
"What was the last thing I said?" he asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
"That harlots and blasphemers were going to bring the second coming sooner," I say without hesitation. Despite my wool-gathering, I was listening to him.
"Hmm," he says, displeased. I get the distinct impression that he wanted to yell at me. He continues, but his rant is interrupted by loud horn honking not ten minutes later. He stalks over to the big bay window that looks out onto the street. A moving van and an SUV of some kind. My sisters and I each make a little noise of… appreciation maybe. The man driving looks to be the oldest of the four men that got out of the car. A woman also got out of the passenger seat, but she appears to be their mother. The driver is tall, tanned, and hot as heck. He looks over at our house, and I swear he's looking right at me. Then he grins and waves at me. Woah. How could he see me? The thought is quickly shadowed by the look on my father's face, which can only be described as a scowl. The man driving the moving van climbs down from the truck and walks over to the woman. He takes off his sunglasses and gives her a searing kiss. Oh, God. I've never seen anything so passionate before. I'd seen kids in school kissing but never like that. It's still happening. Even my mom makes a little noise of something. I chance a glance at my sisters. Their mouths hang open, clearly never having seen anything like that.
"Great. Just great," my father says.
"What is it, John?" my mother asks, standing beside him. She reaches out and touches his arm. The most I've ever seen them touch.
"Hoodlums are taking over the neighborhood. That's just what we need here," he says bitterly.
"Excuse me, daddy," my youngest sister, Rayna, asks. She is my father's favorite. Not that he doesn't love us all, in his own way, but she's the apple of his eye.
"Yes, Rayna?" he asks, facing us again.
"How do you know their hoodlums? We don't know them."
"I just do, trust me, daughter," he says affectionately.
"That doesn't seem very Christian," I blurt out, then immediately regret it. He might love me, but he definitely doesn't like me.
"I’m going to ignore that comment, Adriel, but take heed of this. Do not talk to them, look at them, or do anything with them. They are bad boys, and you are my pure and righteous daughters. Don’t sully yourselves, girls. Those boys are beneath you.”
Why is it that all I can imagine is being underneath the hot guy who waved at me? What am I going to do about that?
CHAPTER 2
“Yo, M.J., you plan on helping or staring at that window all day?” My brother, Bash, asks, carrying two boxes of what appear to be towels. That’s just like him, though. He works smarter, not harder. I prefer to work hard and do it smartly, but to each their own.
“Shut up, dude. She’s in that house,” I tell him, punching him in the arm.
“Who is in that house?” he asks, looking over in confusion.
“My wife,” I reply without hesitation. I know it to be true at this moment and with that girl. Back in Florida, I definitely didn’t stick my dick in anything that moved like the guys in my dad’s old MC. At this point, it’s been five years since I’ve been with a woman, and that was just the obligatory prom night with my date. I can’t stop thinking about the girl, though, and it’s been hours. She’s no longer in the window, but I can’t help hoping for a glimpse of her. Just one more glimpse of her wouldn’t be enough, though. I know that.
“You got married. Ma’s gonna kick your ass,” he says, chuckling. I know he’s just fucking with me, but he isn’t wrong. Katherine Luna doesn’t play games when it comes to her boys. This time, however, I gotta do what I gotta do. As soon as I get this shit in the house, I will find the sad-looking blonde goddess from the window across the street. All it took was one look for me to crave her. I’d do anything to make her smile. We work together to get the truck unloaded and the motorcycles off of the back of the Yukon. I decided to leave my car in Florida for the time being, but I’ll fly down there in a week or two to drive it back.
“I ordered some pizzas and wings,” Mom shouts from the kitchen as Bash, and I carry the couch into the house. We set it down where she indicated she wanted it earlier.