“He’s a cop, Lex,” I whispered to my empty room as I heard his footsteps disappear down the stairs. He was a cop and the tenant of our landlord.
Despite what Paisley said, I still felt I needed to work to help pay something for this place whether it be the electric bill or food for us. I would be looking for a job as soon as I got settled. Hopefully, I could find one that would work with my school schedule.
Taking a deep breath, I set the box he’d brought up the stairs for me on my bed. It was my toiletries which I’d need for a shower since I was now covered in sand from going down to the beach.
I opened the box and found my toiletries inside. A shower would help wash away the tension I was still feeling from Gabriel’s presence and the sand that was clinging to my skin. I had a feeling the sand was going to come off a lot quicker than the tension.
My stomach was still fluttering and a yearning I’d never experienced before was building deep in my core. I pressed a hand over my flat belly trying to settle the butterflies that had taken flight there, but it was no use. The man that lived not fifty feet outside my new back door was a temptation I didn’t want or expect.
“Dammit, Paisley,” I cursed my friend in the empty room. Why didn’t she ever mention Maddox to me before?
Chapter Six
I called for pizza and unloaded both the girls’ cars before Lexi came back down from upstairs. The boxes were all stacked in the front hallway ready to be taken to their rooms, but I decided to hold off on taking the boxes up when I heard running water coming from Lexi’s room.
When she reemerged from upstairs, she had on short blue jean shorts that showed off her smooth sleek legs—legs that I wanted wrapped around my head. Her shirt was a tight tank top that had ‘Bite me’ written across the breasts.
She had no fucking idea how tempting that invitation was. I’d love to bite her nipples just hard enough to make her whimper with pleasure. Nibble on her clit as I ate her wet pussy. There were so many places on her body I’d love to ‘bite’ her, and I’d make her love every damn one of them.
“Pizza’s here!” Paisley called out, opening the front door to the young delivery guy. He grinned, seeing her there. His eyes tracked down her body with unmasked interest.
I rolled my eyes and moved within the young guy’s line of sight. I’d told Paisley’s dad I’d protect the girls and keep them out of trouble. He’d taken even more money off my rent in exchange for being the girls’ safety net.
Honestly, I thought this was going to be easier. I expected Lexi to be just like Paisley, and if she was, I could’ve dealt with it without being tempted. But between her gorgeous body, her low, scratchy voice, and that spark of heat in her eyes, Lexi was undeniably sexy.
Paisley took the pizza, and the guy hung around for me to sign the receipt. “Are you related? Cause you don’t look old enough to be a dad, and you don’t look anything like them to be a sibling?”
“It doesn’t matter what we are, kid.” I shoved the receipt back at him with his tip. “What matters is that you’ll never come back to this address, got it?”
He paled, nodded, and took off like the devil was on his tail. I shut the door and went back to the kitchen, finding Paisley and Lexi sitting at the kitchen island with the pizza box open between them and an empty plate waiting for me.
Paisley had a beer out. She was about to take a sip of it, but I snatched it from her hand and poured it down the sink. “Stop pushing, Paisley.”
“But it’s so much fun.” She rolled her eyes and got up to get a coke from the fridge.
“I’m not in the mood and don’t start this arrangement off this way.”
“You need to lighten up. I wasn’t going to drink it. I don’t even like beer.”
“You are barely eighteen and shouldn’t even know what beer tastes like, Brat.”
I turned my attention from Paisley and back to her friend. “Ground rules: one, don’t fucking push me. Doing illegal shit, like drinking when you’re not old enough.” I gave a pointed look toward Paisley. “Is pushing me, so don’t do it. Two: no guys here unless I’m here. I promised your dad that I’d look out for you, and I can’t do that if I’m not here and you have a revolving door of people coming into the house.”
“I don’t know about the arrangement you have with Paisley’s father, Gabe.” She purposely used the name Paisley did to annoy me. “But you don’t have one with me. You won’t be dictating my life. I’m an adult going to college—not a damn toddler in need of a babysitter.”
Lexi stood up; her slender fingers were splayed wide on the countertop to support her as she leaned forward to make her point. When she got worked up her already seductive voice became hypnotic.
I wanted nothing more than to cuff her to my bed and show her exactly what type of arrangement I wanted with her.
Off limits, fucker. Off. Fucking. Limits.
Chapter Seven
Standing up to him had me hot, and not in the ‘it’s Georgia at the end of August hot’. Gabriel was making me feel things I’d never felt before, and I rebelled against him.
“No, you aren’t a toddler, but if you think I’m not going to look out for you because I don’t have an arrangement with your mom. You’re out of your mind.”
“I’m not saying you can’t look out for me. I’m just saying I don’t need your permission to live my life. If I want to bring one or twenty guys over here, it’s none of your business.”