“I didn’t get to thank them.”
“You said it earlier, and said it again when you got them pizza and beer.”
“Yeah, but that was before it was done.” I finish with his shirt then drop it onto a pile of his other ones that I already folded.
“They know you appreciate what they did,” he replies, getting close and touching his lips to the top of my head. “Dizzy’s been in and out a dozen times already, so he appreciates it too.”
“You have a lot of stuff in my laundry,” I blurt, and his body goes solid next to mine.
“What?”
“Um… I… You have a lot of stuff in my laundry.” I wave my hand at the bed and he looks to where I’m pointing.
“Okay.”
“Should I clean out a few drawers for you?” I ask, and his eyes come back to me, completely blank. “Ignore me. It’s too soon. That was stupid.” I shake my head then let out a loud squeak when I’m no longer on my feet but flying through the air and landing on the bed, bouncing with clothes scattering around me.
“Harlen, you just messed up the clothes I spent all day folding!”
“I don’t fucking care,” he growls, ripping my sweats and panties down my legs.
“I’m not refold— oh God!” I cry out, as his big hands spread my legs and he dips his head, licking up between my folds then pulling my clit into his mouth.
“Like I said, I don’t fucking care,” he repeats, before diving at me again, this time using his fingers and his mouth. Tossing one leg then the other over his shoulders, he devours me. “Fuck yes, ride my face,” he urges, and I do. I lift my hips, grinding myself against his mouth until I come, and do it hard, with my hands in his hair, holding him to me. Coming back to myself, my eyes flutter open and I watch him get undressed, then watch him crawl up onto the bed. My legs spread to make room for him, but he shakes his head. “You’re gonna sit on my face and suck me off.”
“What?” I whisper, holding his stare, and he moves, adjusting me until he has me where he wants me, sitting with my legs spread over his mouth and my hands to his thighs. He leans up, licking me, then leans back to order, “Suck me off, Harmony.”
Oh God. Swallowing, I look at his cock in front of me and wrap my fingers around him. Hot, hard, and silky smooth, we’ve never done this before. I’ve given him head, but never like this. “Harmony.” Hearing the warning in his tone and seeing his hips lift, I lower my head, taking him deep then sliding him out, circling my tongue around the head of his cock. “Fuck yeah.”
He pulls my hips down to his mouth and I whimper around his cock as he flicks his tongue over my clit. “Oh God,” I breathe, after I release him from my mouth with a pop as his fingers join his mouth.
“Suck me,” he growls against me. The sound sending a jolt of pleasure right between my legs and through every single inch of me. “Now.”
Sliding my hand down and up, I take him deep, all the way to the back of my throat before sliding him back out and going back for more. Every time I take him deep, he rewards me with his mouth, so I go for it over and over until my pussy starts to spasm and his cock starts to throb against my tongue.
Yes! My mind screams, as he sends me over the edge, and then he’s lifting me off his mouth and impaling me on his cock, my pussy still contracting from my orgasm. I lift and fall down on him hard, leaning forward my hands to his knees, feeling his hands on my ass spreading me open, too far gone to be embarrassed about this position. I ride him frantically until I hear him groan and know he’s coming. I’m coming too, so I pick up the pace and ride it out of him and myself, and only once I’m completely spent, do I slow down to a glide.
Falling forward, my body exhausted, I close my eyes.
“I’m moving in,” I hear him rumble behind me, and my eyes open. He sits up, pulling me off him, and then he turns me to straddle his lap. “Lease is up in two months. I’m moving in when that happens.”
“You are?” I whisper, really happy about that plan.
“You okay with that?” he asks, studying me, and my nose stings.
“Yes.”
“Good.” He runs his fingers through my hair, and I fall into him, resting my head against his chest under his chin and wrapping my arms around him under his.
“We can trade out your bedroom set for mine,” I whisper into his skin, and his arms tighten around me.
“Works for me.” I figured it would. My bed is nice, but his bed is awesome; plus, his is a California King. It will take up more room, but it will be worth it.
“So two months?”
“I gotta pay rent for two more months. Doesn’t mean we can’t start getting things sorted.”
“You’re moving in.” I repeat feeling tears sting my nose.
“Yeah, baby.”
“This makes me happy,” I whisper, seeing his eyes smile right before I lose them when he kisses me and I kiss him back. Yes I totally love him.
Chapter 10
Harlen
TAKING A PULL FROM MY BEER, I laugh at something Wes says to Everret then look down at my cell when it starts to vibrate on top of the bar.
“Hey, Angel,” I answer, standing from the chair and lifting my middle finger to the men around me when they start to talk shit.
“Hey, honey. I… oh God… don’t freak out.”
“What is it?” I bark, hearing the freaked tone of her voice, and the vibe around me shifts, going alert, the noise in the room coming to a halt.
“I went to the bathroom—not the bathroom on my floor, but the one on the first floor, because I wanted to get a coffee from the gift shop, and that bathroom is closer to the gift shop.”
“Do I need to know all this for you to get to the point?” I ask, dropping my eyes to my boots and losing patience.
“Well… I guess not,” she mutters, the line going quiet.
“Harmony?” I grit out through my teeth. Wes raises a brow and I shake my head.
“I overheard two nurses talking about Dr. Hofstadter in the restrooms. One of them was crying—not normal crying, she was sobbing. She said that he cornered her and touched her. Then he told her that if she told anyone about what he did, he’d have her fired.”
“Fuck.” I tip my head back, my fist flexing. It’s been three weeks since we had dinner with her parents and grandparents, three weeks since Evan started digging into things at the hospital, and he still hasn’t found out why those nurses lost their jobs. He did find out there are three men with the last name Hofstadter on the board at the hospital. One of them is the CEO, which is probably why Dr. Dick thinks he can do whatever the fuck he wants without any kind of blowback.
“I… I don’t know what to do.” Her worry-filled voice breaks into my thoughts, and I grab the back of my neck, fighting against the anger eating at my gut.
Pulling in a breath through my nose, I gentle my voice, and ask, “Do you know either of the nurses who were talking about him?”
“No, they were in a stall when I went in, and they were still in there when I left. I didn’t see them, and I don’t work on that floor, so I didn’t recognize their voices either.”
Fuck.
“I hate to say this, baby, but there’s nothin’ you can do.”
“Harlen,” she breathes, and that shit kills me. If she knew them, she might be able to convince them to file a complaint against him, but without that, her hands are tied. “She said he touched her.”
Fuck, I don’t know what I would do if he ever did that shit to her. Probably lose my goddamn mind and kill the motherfucker.
Fuck
“I know, baby,” I whisper.
“I hate this,” she whispers back, and my jaw tightens.
“I know you do, but there is nothing you can do. Just avoid him while you’re there.”
“Okay,” she agrees quietly.
Fuck.
“Love you.”
“Love you too,” she replies, still sounding quiet, and my jaw clenches tighter.
“
See you at home, Angel.” I listen to the phone go dead, and I pull it away from my ear and fist it in my hand so I don’t toss it across the fucking room.
“What was that?” Wes questions, and I lift my head to look at him and my boys. Men who have always had my back. Men who I know will always have my back.
“Harmony overheard two nurses talking. Hofstadter got handsy with one of them then threatened her with losing her job if she told anyone.”
“Fuck.” Wes’s jaw clenches, his eyes flashing.
“Is Harmony okay?” Everret asks, and my eyes go to him, seeing he looks just as pissed as I feel.
“She’s freaked and feeling like shit that she can’t do anything to help.”
“I bet,” Mic mutters, his jaw clenching.
Fuck it
“You guys feel like going with me to deliver a message to that motherfucker?” I ask, and they all reply with scary grins.
***
Rolling up to the house three days later, I feel my jaw clench when I see Nico’s truck parked in the driveway. Him leaning against the back of it with his arms crossed over his chest and his feet crossed at the ankles. I know he knows Harmony’s at work, so he’s not here to see her. I park, shut down the engine on my bike, kick down the stand, and get off, keeping my eyes locked on his even as I take off my helmet.
“Dr. Hofstadter had an accident a few days ago. Black eye, broken nose, and two broken ribs,” he says, pushing off the tailgate of his truck and walking toward me.
“Sucks, but accidents do happen,” I mutter, heading toward the house with him following behind me. Putting my key in the lock, I open the door and head in, with Dizzy bouncing at my feet. Scooping him up off the ground, I give his ears a scratch.
“I can’t protect you, Harlen,” Nico says quietly, as I go to the island. I drop my helmet then grab Dizzy a treat, giving it to him before putting him down. “If he presses charges, I can’t protect you, and neither can Cobi.” Cobi, his nephew who is also a cop, one I’ve only met twice, because he’s always working since he moved back to town.
“Is he pressing charges?” I ask, and his jaw clenches. I know Dr. Dick won’t press charges. I also know he cried like a bitch when I got in his face, and then he cried like an even bigger bitch when I laid hands on him. I’ve never been about using my size or fists for intimidation, but with him, I was happy to do both.
“Don’t do anything like that again,” he tells me.
“Lost my dad a long fucking time ago, Nico. Just sayin’ I’m not in the market for a new one.”
“I’m trying to help you,” he grits out, and I shake my head, running my fingers through my hair.
“Yeah, and who’s helping out the women he’s been intimidating? Who’s helping them when he’s got them so freaked out about losing their jobs that they don’t want to talk about what he’s doing to them?”
“Fuck,” he says, and I head toward the fridge, grabbing two beers and hand him one before opening mine.
“He needed to learn a lesson,” I tell him, handing him the bottle opener.
“And you taught him that lesson?”
“Not sure, but if he forgets or veers off the path I put him on, I have no problem showing him the right way again, however I gotta go about doing that.”
“He’s got money. His family has money, Harlen. You need to be careful when it comes to men like that.”
“Yeah.” I smile, shaking my head, and his eyes narrow.
“What?”
“My dad was the owner of MacCabe Lumber,” I state, and his eyes flash with realization. MacCabe Lumber is famous in California. Not so much outside of it, but if you work in the construction industry, which I know Nico did for years, then you know of it. Everyone who works in the industry does.
“The company was given to me when my parents passed. It’s still mine, even though I have no interest in working it. I got more money sitting in the bank than me, my kids, my grandkids, and their kids’ kids could ever spend in a lifetime. Money is just fucking money.”
“Does Harmony know?”
My brows jerk together, and I ask, “About what?”
“That you have that kinda money?” he prompts, looking thoughtful.
“No.”
“Fuck me,” he whispers. “You need to tell her.”
“I’ll tell her when it’s time to tell her. It won’t change anything. I don’t use that money. I work, make a living with my hands doing something I like doing. Our kids, when we have them, will live just like I did growing up, having it all but not having it all handed to them. I’m not worried about Dr. Dick, his money, or him pressing charges. What I am worried about is my woman feeling like she’s got her back to a wall, her calling me freaked the fuck out after overhearing a nurse say that fucker touched her, but she couldn’t do anything because she didn’t want to lose her job.”
“Fuck, I don’t know whether to hug you or smack you upside the head.”
“Just saying either of those things will likely piss me off,” I say, taking a pull from my beer, and he grins.
Fuck me.
“She’s in love with you. Think she should know you’re a multimillionaire.”
“She’ll know after I ask her to marry me, before I am forced to have her sign a shitload of paperwork,” I tell him.
He blinks, his eyes remaining narrowed. “A prenup?”
“Fuck no,” I deny. “Once I get my ring on her finger, that shit is not coming off, so there’s no reason for a prenup. But since she will be my wife, she will become part owner of MacCabe Lumber.”
“Christ, better watch it. You might not like to spend money, but my girl does.”
“And there is plenty to spend. Not even she could make dent in what I got.”
“Your truck is a piece of shit.”
“Yep, but it was also my dad’s, so it means something to me. Money doesn’t mean anything. I’ve had money my whole life, never went without anything until the day I had to go on living without my parents. That taught me what’s really important in life, and it’s not shit you can buy at a store,” I say, and his eyes change, respect shining so bright, it’s almost blinding.
“Couldn’t have chosen better for my girl, even if I tried.” He shakes his head, taking a pull from his beer.
Fuck. But even though I could have carried on with the rest of my life without hearing that shit from him, it still feels good, knowing I’m good enough for his girl.
“When are you asking her to marry you?”
“Tomorrow,” I answer, and his chin snaps back.
“What?”
“She’s got a few days off work and class, so I’m driving us up to the mountains and asking her when we get there.”
“You weren’t gonna ask me?”
“Do I have your blessing?”
“I don’t know,” he grits out, and I fight back a smile.
“Just sayin’ I’m asking her one way or another, but she’d probably love it if she knew I had your permission,” I say, and then set my beer down and lean into the counter between us. “I love your daughter, Nico. I’ll work my ass off to protect her, to keep her happy, and to make sure every day she’s on this earth is a good one. Part of her being happy is you and me getting along, but in order for that to happen, you need to back down when it comes to us. I get that she’s your girl, but you need to understand that now, she’s mine.”
“You have my permission.”
“Fucking finally,” I mutter, picking my beer back up and putting it to my mouth.
“Are things with you always gonna be a pain in my ass?”
“Probably.” I shrug, telling the God’s honest truth. My dad taught me that respect is earned and with Nico that goes both ways.
“Fuck me,” he mutters, taking a pull from his beer. “You got a ring?” he asks after a minute.
I grin. “Yeah.”
“Can I see it?” he asks, and I think about it for a second then head back to the bedroom. I get the box ou
t of the bag I shoved up in the top of the closet out of her reach. Pulling the ring out, I toss the box on the bed then head back to the kitchen.
“I see you didn’t fuck around with spending money on her ring,” he remarks, taking it from me. He’s not wrong. It cost a mint to have a designer in L.A. make the ring for me from scratch, but I knew what I wanted for her and knew it would be perfect when it was done, so it was worth it. “How long before I have a grandbaby to dote on?”
“I want time with her before we start having babies, and I know she has things she wants to do before that too.”
“Her goals,” he says quietly, his eyes on the ring he’s still holding.
“Yeah,” I mutter. “Her goals are important to her, which means they are important to me.”
He pulls his eyes off the ring to look at me. “You’re making it hard for me not to like you, Harlen.”
“What can I say? I’m a likeable guy,” I mutter, and he shakes his head.
Handing me the ring, he picks up his beer and finishes it off. “If anything else happens with Hofstadter, call me before you go in to deliver another message.”
“Sure.”
“I’m serious. This isn’t me being a dick; this is me looking out for my family.”
His family
Fuck me
“I’ll call.”
“Good, and Sophie will expect a call from our daughter after you ask her.”
“I’ll make sure that happens,” I agree, and he lifts his chin then turns for the door, walking right out without another word as it closes behind him.
Picking my beer back up, I slug it back then head for the bedroom to return the ring to the box and put my bag back in the top of the closet. After that’s done, I go to the kitchen to start dinner.
***
Standing on the back deck, I pick up the ball Dizzy dropped at my feet, pull my arm back, and let it fly. I watch Dizzy jump over the two steps, down into the yard, and race for the ball. Picking up my cup of coffee off the rail. I chuckle as Dizzy races back toward me, the ball in his mouth as he comes up the steps, dropping it at my feet again. I throw it once more then turn, hearing the sliding glass door swish open.