“Can we go back to what shit you think I need to knock off?” she asked again.
I shook my head and dropped my phone on the coffee table. “The shit where you think that you need to sacrifice what you want to make other people happy.”
“I do not do that,” she insisted.
Yeah, she did. All the fucking time. If I hadn’t been there last night, I’m sure once she had gotten past the anger of her sister showing up, Lynn would have offered her the world if it would have made Steph happy.
“Ya do, and the fact that you don’t even know you’re doing it pisses me off even more because you’ve obviously been doing it your whole life. Which also means your dad and sister have been taking advantage of you forever.” And that was the fucking truth.
“No, they haven’t,” she snapped.
“How many years did you raise your sister while your dad was gone?”
“He wasn’t gone,” she replied defensively.
I leveled my gaze at her. I didn’t know the whole story, but I could fill in the blanks. Lynn’s dad was an addict for years which left Lynn to raise her sister, and now it looked like her sister was going to repeat history and make Lynn’s life hell. That shit was not going to happen as long as I was around.
“All I’m saying is you can help your family, but you also need to take care of yourself, Lynn. I’ve been around you for a couple of days, and I can already see that you spread yourself too thin. Between work, your dad, and your sister, you don’t have time for anything else. Yourself included.”
She rolled her eyes. “So you’re going to make sure I take care of myself.”
I shook my head and kicked my feet up on the coffee table. “That and I’m also going to take care of you.”
She huffed. “I don’t need to be taken care of, Zephyr. I am perfectly capable.”
“Capable of taking care of everyone else, yes. I’ve watched it.”
“It’s my job.”
“Yeah, but as soon as you step foot in this house, you’re gonna stop it.”
She grabbed the remote and turned up the volume. “I can’t stop helping my dad, Zephyr. You’re ridiculous.”
I snatched the remote from her hand and turned off the TV. “You’re right, but that doesn’t mean you have to do it yourself. I have plenty of time in the day to spend with your dad. Maybe getting him out of the house will be good for him. He can help at the clubhouse or even with the strip club.”
“My dad isn’t some spring chicken that can be building walls and riding around with you all day.”
I chuckled. “Darlin’, you’re painting your dad to be some invalid. From what I’ve seen of him, he can drive and basically take care of himself. He’s more than able to spend a few hours with me at the clubhouse.”
“Why?”
Here was the fucking why question again. I was getting tired of being asked why I wanted to do something. I grabbed her hand and hauled her into my lap. Her ass landed on my legs, and she braced a hand on my chest.
“What are you doing?” she gasped.
“Taking fucking control.”
“Why?”
That. Fucking. Word.
I grabbed her behind the neck and pressed my lips to hers. She melted into my touch and curled her fingers into my shirt. Moaning into my mouth, she pressed her chest into me.
“You asking me why I’m nice to you?” I asked against her lips.
She panted lightly and nodded.
“I’m being nice because you fucking deserve it.”
“Not because you just want in my pants again?”
I pressed another kiss to her lips. “I mean, if that happens, I’m not going to say no.”
“I sort of have a problem saying no to you, Zephyr.” She licked her lips, and her eyes connected with mine.
“I don’t see that as being a problem. You can say no to everyone else, but I hope you’ll say yes to me.”
“And just what are you asking right now?”
“My lips are on yours, and my hands are in your hair. Just what do you think I’m asking?”
Her eyes dropped to my lips. “I hope you’re asking if you can get in my pants.” Her eyes darted to mine. “Because the answer is yes.”
“Bingo, darlin’.” I shifted her body in my lap and positioned her knees on each side of my hips. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her lips to mine. My hands roamed over her back and bunched up her t-shirt. I pulled it over her head and tossed it on the floor.
“Tonight, the only thing you can think about is you and me. Tomorrow, I’ll help you figure out everything else.”
She bobbed her head and pressed a kiss to my neck. “I can handle that.”
My hands glided down her back, and I cupped her ass. “Let’s move this to the bedroom, darlin’.”
“I like when you call me that,” she whispered. She traced her fingers around my lips and smiled. “Makes me feel delicate when I’m anything but delicate.”
I pressed a kiss to her fingertip then leaned forward and stood with her wrapped around me. “You’re delicate, Lynn.”
She laughed and stared at my lips. “I don’t think that word means what you think it does.”
I stalked to the stairs. “Your room up here?”
“Yup. Let me down.”
I tightened my grip and climbed the stairs.
“Zephyr,” she protested. “You can’t carry me up the stairs. I’m too heavy.”
Lynn was far from heavy. She was fucking perfect. “Which door?” There was a short hallway with two doors on the right and one on the left.
“Uh, second door on the right.”
I stalked down the hallway and kicked open the door. She reached in and flipped on the light.
“The seventies didn’t throw up in here?” I drawled.
She slapped me on the shoulder. “I’m gonna start thinking that you don’t like my house.”
“Not really a fan of the seventies, darlin’.” Her house was nice, but it needed a bit of updating to suit my taste.
She rolled her eyes. “Well, I’m working on bringing it a bit out of the seventies and into this decade. I just don’t seem to have the time these days.”
“Well, starting tomorrow, you’re gonna have more time.” I was going to make fucking sure that Lynn had time for herself and whatever she wanted to do. People had been taking from her for far too long, and that shit was going to stop.
She leaned forward and rested her forehead against mine. “I feel like I’m going to wake up any second, and you’re gonna disappear.”
I moved to the bed and laid her down. “I’m not going anywhere, darlin’.”
She reached up and trailed her fingers down my cheek. “Good.”
I sat back and tossed my shirt over my head.
Her hands moved over my chest, and her eyes filled with lust. “You’re beautiful, Zephyr,” she whispered. “I want to touch your whole body at once.” Her fingers popped the button of my jeans, and she peeled them open. “I think I’ll start here.”
She splayed her hand on the tattoo that disappeared into my jeans and smiled.