Locked (17 page)

I release Reece. “I’m Caydon.” The gentleman’s eyes penetrate me. He soaks my image up from head to toe. Then, he focuses on Reece. His eyes rake over her with desire.

Oh no, you don’t.

“What do you want?” I ask a little harsher than is necessary. I don’t like people that I don’t know looking for me.

The man snickers, “The quip tone reminds me of when I was your age.”

My client walks in from outside. “Listen, man. I’m working on someone right now. I don’t have time to shoot the shit about my tone. I’m going to ask you one more time…what do you want?”

Creeper.

Shorty interrupts, “I’ll take care of your client, Cay. Take this conversation in the back.”

The creeper stands straight with amusement on his face. “I’m sure you are going to want this to be a private conversation.”

I see concern in Reece’s eyes. It’s like she is seeing something that I can’t see. “Alright. Reece stay here.” I don’t want the creeper eye fucking her while I’m trying to figure out what he wants.

“No.” She defies me.

Motherfucker.

There’s no need to fight with her right now. I lead them both to the back room. I face the creeper. “Okay, you got me alone. Now, what the fuck do you want?”

The creep points to Reece. “Is this yours?”

Keep going, asshole. Give me a reason to rip your fucking head off.

“She’s none of your concern.”

I think he got the message. “Let’s get down to business. Your mom is an old friend of mine. I haven’t actually seen her since she was pregnant with you.”

He’s not. He can’t be.

“When you say ‘friend’, do you mean boyfriend?” I ask. I’m positive I know what this asshole is about to say to me.

He sneers, “C’mon Caydon, put two and two together. Do I really have to say it?”

He’s not my father.

All the years of resentment build inside of me. There are a million and one things I want to say to this stranger standing in front of me. Coincidently, it is the absence of an instant connection that keeps me from doing so. I’m frozen. I can only get out one word, “Don’t.”

He’s a condescending asshole. “Don’t what? Don’t say that I’m your father? Why not?”

I look him straight in the eye, “Because you’re not. I don’t have a father.”

The bastard has smug grin on his face. “Look in the mirror. You look just like me. Tell this pretty, little thing sitting here to compare us.” He looks right at Reece. I can see him exploring her body with his eyes.

Fuck, no.

“Don’t look at her. Don’t talk to her,” I warn him. “As far as I’m concerned, you are a fucking sperm donor. You’re walking DNA. That’s it. Now, get the fuck out.” I feel Reece’s hands on me, supporting me.

I need her.

I guess he expected me to be overjoyed with the news that he is my father. Clearly, I’m not.

He shakes his head. “I told Sadie this wasn’t a good idea.”

“Who the fuck is Sadie?” I spit out.

“She’s my fiancée. I have to tie up all of my loose ends before we get hitched.” His cool demeanor is insulting.

“I’m a loose end? I’m fucking twenty-one years old. I’ve never sought you out. I’ve never asked you for anything. My mom has never asked you for shit. Did she think I’d come and break up your wedding?” I don’t hold back now. “Take this message back to your future wife…I don’t give a fuck what you do. I don’t know you. I don’t want to know you. You are not my father. Go start a fucking family of your own.”

My outburst causes the man in front of me to laugh. “You sure do remind me of myself when I was your age.” Again, he watches Reece, licking his lips. “You even have my taste for pretty women.”

Reece jumps in front of me. She has that look on her face. I’ve seen that look before. She’s out for blood.

Oh shit.

Before I have the chance to stop her, she is kneeing my father in the nuts. Hard. When he hunches over, she picks his head up by pulling his hair so he can look at her. “Get a good look at me. Do you like what you see? I want you to remember every detail of my face.” Reece must be really yanking at his hair because he is wincing in pain. I can see the sweat forming on her brow from exertion. “If you ever come here again, I will gouge your eyes out. And when your wife asks me why I did it, I’m going to tell her that you eye raped me the entire time you were here.”

My hand flies over my mouth to cover my smirk. She gives his hair one more jerk and lets my father drop to the floor. “Reece, step back. I’ve got this.” I replace Reece’s hand with mine and tug at his hair. “We’re done. As you can see, there is nothing for you here. There are no loose ends. Don’t seek me out and I won’t seek you out. Understood?”

“Mission accomplished,” he mutters.

That’s what he wanted all along. He wants to make sure that I won’t come looking for him and screw with his life.
Asshole.

I help him up and push him toward the exit. “Get the fuck out of here.”

All of the questions I’ve ever had about him have been answered. He truly is a douchebag. There is no doubt in my mind that I’ve been better off without him. I may look like him but my mother played a huge role in which I am today.

Once I’m sure he is gone, I whisk Reece into my arms. “You are deadly.”

She takes her hands and places them on each side of my face. Reece pulls me toward her and kisses me. She steals all of the breath from within me. “No one fucks with the people I love.”

“Do we have time to stop by my place for a quickie?” I hope.

Reece looks at her watch. “I think we can do a pit stop.”

“I love you, baby.”

“Me too.”

* * *

We’re not in my door five minutes and I already have Reece naked and in my bed. Reece is nibbling at my lips making me want to take her quickly. The girl can make me come in two point five seconds.

“I want you,” she forces out between pants.

“You already have me.” I bury myself in her breasts. After each lick and nip of my tongue, I feel her nipples grow hard.

She does…have me. All of me. Reece has swept me into a whirlwind of emotions I’ve never had. I have leaped into a world where my love for Reece engulfs the entire negative, leaving positivity and beauty in its place.

My hands slip down to the roundness of her ass. Her hands slide down my chest, scraping lightly across my skin. I kiss her deeply and she moans in my mouth when I slip my fingers inside of her. I hover over her steadily working my fingers with everything I have in me, filling her with my love. She arches into the wall of my chest and holds on to my shoulders.

Within seconds I feel the inside of her clench against my fingers. I let her orgasm roll gently through her entire body before I shift my body over her bracing myself on my elbows. I plant my knee between her thighs to spread her open. Before I push into her, I meet her eyes. They are filled with so much. Love. Desire. Trust.

Thrust after thrust, I give all of myself to Reece. I tell her how much I love her while making promises to keep her happy.

As happy as I am now.

As I move inside of her, I realize this is so much more than a sexual act. It’s our ability to become as close as we can possibly get to each other. We are so connected and comfortable that it is almost too much to feel.

The build up from the intensity is overwhelming. I pound into her with consistent movement completely lost in the sensations. I feel Reece reach her limit and come again. Following right behind her, I release myself inside of her with a loud growl.

Resting my head on her chest, I think of all of the things I could say to her to make this moment as perfect as it feels. I search my head for the right words. My mind fails me. Searching my heart, I find exactly what I want to say to her. I lift my head and observe her in the afterglow. And my heart overflows with the words I want to say to her.

“Reece, it would be so simple to tell you that I love you. And I do love you. However, it’s so much more than that. The ‘L’ word is thrown around so easily. I’m guilty of it, myself,” I admit. At one time, I swore I loved Hannah. I see now, that it was infatuation. “So, I asked myself why I love you.”

Reece cocks her said to the side analyzing every word that comes from my mouth. “Go on.”

Here goes nothing.

“It wasn’t a hard question to answer. Here are the reasons why I love you. You make me proud. Like how you stuck up for me tonight when my father showed up. You’re kind. You took care of me when I was drunk off my ass even though I was a total dick to you. You’re forgiving. You have forgiven your dad for some of the mistakes he has made as a parent. You’re accepting. You’ve accepted my mom into your life with open arms. And you’re amazing.” I blush. Pouring my heart out is not my thing. It’s not a macho thing to do. But, with Reece, I feel like I need to bare my soul to her.

She brings my face to hers and kisses me with intense passion. Too quickly, she pulls away. “I love you, Caydon,” she whispers.

* * *

We lie in bed for a few more minutes. Eventually, we have to get up in order to make it to our parent’s engagement party. While Reece is in the bathroom, there is an urgent knock at my door.

I open the door to see Nash standing in the doorway. His eyes are wide and fearful. It looks like he’s run a marathon. There is so much sweat pouring from his forehead. “Thank God you’re here.” He’s out of breath. His voice is shaky.

I’m taken back by Nash’s appearance. He is normally cool, calm and collected. “What’s up, man? Come in.”

He enters my apartment and frantically looks around. “Where’s Reece?”

Nash is beginning to freak me out a little. “In the bathroom. What the fuck is going on?”

He puts his hands on my shoulders. “Listen to me. There was a fight at the pub about forty-five minutes ago. Reece’s dad was jumped. There were at least six or seven guys pounding on him in the parking lot. By the time anyone realized what was happening, Reece’s dad was already in bad shape.”

“What, the fuck, are you saying?” I’m in shock. Reece’s dad is the strongest man I know. He always seemed invincible.

“I’m saying that you and Reece need to get to the fucking hospital. Now!” Nash orders.

No. This isn’t happening. She doesn’t need this.

The timing is bad. Reece walks in the room as Nash orders me to get to the hospital. “Hey, Nash.” She smiles. “You don’t look good. Are you sick?”

My eyes are like a deer in headlights. Just by looking at me, she can tell something is wrong. For Reece’s sake, I have to keep myself together. “Reece, baby, something went wrong,” I stutter. “It’s your dad. He’s at the hospital.”

“What happened?” she innocently asks. “He’s okay right?”

Nash speaks because words escape me. “Reece, he was jumped. That guy he fought a few weeks ago was at the pub. He was with his friends. Your dad couldn’t take all of them on. You need to get to the hospital,” he says softly.

Reece doesn’t speak. A single tear escapes from her eye and runs down her cheek. I scoop her into my arms and whisper in her ear, “I’m here. I’m with you. Let’s go.” She nods and allows me to lead her out the door.

* * *

I’ve tried texting my mom a million times. She hasn’t answered. I can only imagine what she is feeling right now. If this were Reece, I’d be an absolute mess.

As I drive Reece to the hospital, I glance over at her. She’s so damn quiet. It’s freaking me out. It’s like she is shutting down completely. I figure this is how she handles things that frighten her. It’s a defense mechanism. For now, I let it be. What the hell am I supposed to do? I can’t force her to tell me what she is feeling.

The scene at the hospital is chaotic. The emergency room is filled with people who are hurt and sick. Reece seems at home in this atmosphere. Immediately, she goes to the front desk and asks for information. Her movements are robotic and practiced, like she has done this multiple times before.

She has, stupid, with her mom.

I follow along, holding her hand because it is only thing I can do for her right now.

We reach the end of the corridor where there is a waiting room. My mom is hunched over, in Maria’s arms. Her eyes are bloodshot. The side of her shirt is ripped. There are dirt smudges on her skin. To say she looks like hell is an understatement.

Reece lets go of my hand and sits next to my mother, wrapping her arms around her. “How is he?”

My mom touches Reece on each side of her face. “Oh, baby. I’m so sorry.” Another set of tears streams down her face. “They are working on him now. I don’t know anything.”

“What happened?” I ask.

My mom reaches for my hand. I let her take it. “Mark proposed to me where we first met, in high school.” My mom takes a sharp breath. “Since it is such a beautiful night, we decided to walk to the pub to meet all of you. Before we made to the door, Mark was yanked from my hand. When I looked back, I saw the fighter that he lost to…you know the one from the last fight. There were at least eight guys on top of him…kicking and punching. I tried to help him but they pushed me to the ground.”

I’m going to find them.

The anger displays on my face. Anyone can see the rage rising within me. Shorty moves from the wall he was planted against. Within seconds, he is by my side. “Take a walk with me, brother.”

“Not now,” I spit out.

“Yeah, now.” Shorty grabs my arm and leads me outside.

Seething with ferocity, I lash out at Shorty. “What?”

His pushes me up against the brick wall with his one arm. “You’re not going after them.”

I shake my head. “Don’t tell me what to do, man.”

“Caydon, your mom needs you. Reece needs you. Let it go. Do the right thing, man.”

I need them.

“This is some fucked up shit, Shorty. Mark gets his ass beat down. Why? For what? A fight?” I try to process the situation in my head. I just end up mind fucked. “My mom’s memory of her engagement day is ruined. And, Reece…fuck…she already lost one parent. She can’t lose Mark.”

Shorty pinches the bridge of his nose. “We know who did this. We’re going to let the cops handle it. You…are not going to do anything but be a son and a boyfriend. That’s it,” he warns me. “Caydon? Do you understand?”