Dad stares at me, the spoon stuck in his mouth and his eyebrows climbing into the stratosphere as he takes me in. Then he laughs. It comes out as a gleeful “he-he-he” wheezing sound as he shakes his head. I could try to make up an excuse, but don’t really see the point. He’d find out sooner or later, so I just shrug at him.
“About Goddamn time,” he mutters, taking his yogurt back to the guest room.
I fill up two glasses of water, grabbing my phone as I head back to Jules. She’s tucked in under the blankets where I left her, looking sleepy and content.Iput that dopey, over-sexed expression on her face and seeing her like that makes my chest constrict with possessive pride. So help me God, I’m going to put her sexy ass to bed looking like that every night for the rest of my life.
Setting one of the water glasses on the nightstand next to her, I kiss the top of her head.
“My dad knows,” I tell her as I lay down next to her. She rolls onto her side to look at me.
“What?” she asks with a laugh. “How? What did you do?” She doesn’t seem bothered by it, just curious.
I hold my hands up. “Not a damn thing. I just walked into the kitchen and he was standing there eating a yogurt. He took one look at me and started giggling like a schoolgirl.”
Julia looks me over and then rolls her eyes, chuckling as she pokes a spot at the base of my neck. “I bit you. Sorry.”
“Nah, it’s fine. I didn’t realize we were marking territory, but I’ll get you next time.”
Julia stretches out next to me. “How did I not know how dirty you are?”
“Me?” I ask innocently, pulling her body flush against mine.
“Yes, you. With the mouth and the fingers and the filthy words.”
“Ah,” I nod like it’s coming back to me. “Was it ‘Come on my cock’ that did it?”
“That certainly added to the experience,” she says coyly before adopting a deep voice, clearly pretending to be me. “I bet your pussy is real wet for me.”
“I wasn’t wrong,” I laugh, kissing her neck.
Her voice goes breathy. “No… definitely not.”
“Before you distract me again, I’ve been meaning to tell you something.”
Julia’s eyebrows scrunch up and I can tell she’s worried I’m about to drop some horrible bomb, so I speak quickly. “The guy I’m going to work for, John, he did me a favor. He had one of his guys look up Grimaldi.”
“What? Why?”
“I… asked them to.”
Julia’s expression has gone from confused to hurt, and it’s like a stab to the gut.
“Don’t be mad, I was worried about you. And I had to give John a reason for not starting the job when I said I would. I didn’t tell him anything about you or the hospital. Just that I was worried about your safety.”
“Alright, fair enough. It’s really annoying that I can’t be mad at you though,” she grumps. “What did they find?”
“Mostly just what you knew. Litigious douchebag. He had a domestic abuse complaint and a restraining order from an ex but no charges were filed. The kicker though… Dillon, the guy keeping an eye on Grimaldi, got a hold of a police report filed last night for a hit and run. Two injuries, no casualties. The license plate number the witnesses gave police came back to Grimaldi and they suspect DUI.”
“Oh shit. That’s terrible.” She winces. “And kind of awesome for me. There’s a lot less room for he said/she said if the other guy is wanted by the police.”
I nod. “I’m waiting for an update from Dillon but so far, the police haven’t picked the guy up.”
“He’s probably drunk in a gutter somewhere. God, I kind of can’t wait to tell Janelle tomorrow.” Julia reaches out, her warm hand going to my neck as she kisses me. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t really do anything,” I shrug.
“Yes, you did. I was going to have to deal with all of this alone. I like that you’re on my side even though I’m a pain in the ass.”
“Always,” I tell her, giving her hip a squeeze. She snuggles in against my chest. I stroke my fingers up and down the curve of her spine, loving the feel of her soft skin. I will always be on her side.