“Fuck it,” Levi said, leaning back in his chair. “If no one else is asking, then I am.” He looked at me, then at Blaise. “What is going on?”

  Blaise lifted his eyes from me to meet Levi’s. “She’s mine,” was the only response he gave.

  I set the piece of bacon back down on the plate and turned my head to look up at him. What did that mean exactly? This conversation was about me. That I knew, but I was not Blaise’s. Even if we were together, she’s mine was a psycho, controlling way to describe it.

  “I’m reading that signal loud and clear,” Levi replied. “I think we all got that. But when did I miss how this happened?”

  Blaise’s eyes narrowed, and the room suddenly felt tense. I glanced around and saw that I wasn’t the only one who felt it. No one spoke.

  “When it becomes family business, then you’ll know. Right now, this is my business,” Blaise said in a low, commanding tone.

  Levi didn’t seem concerned. He shrugged, as if that was an answer. I, however, still didn’t understand what was happening.

  A small alarm bell went off, and Huck stood up quickly and walked out of the room. I took a bite of my bacon while waiting on someone to say something because the silence made it hard to eat.

  “Now, it’s family business,” Huck announced as he walked back into the room. “Trev just drove through the gate.”

  Blaise muttered a curse, then stood up and picked up my plate. “Come on.” It was an order, not a request.

  I stood up, and before I could ask what we were doing, he started walking away with my food. Either I could stand in here with these people I barely knew or follow him. He hadn’t left me much of a choice. I did as I had been told. I found I had been doing that more and more with Blaise, and it annoyed me.

  We were at the door leading down to his cave when he stopped.

  He held my plate out for me to take. “Go down there. Wait for me.”

  Was he serious? Because Trev was here? I’d told him my not coming home would worry the Houstons.

  “Trev is my friend,” I said, taking my plate from him.

  He clenched his teeth and looked away from me. He couldn’t get mad because I was stating a fact he had known.

  “Just go down to my room and eat. I’ll be there soon,” he told me.

  “Why? Can you explain that? Do you not want Trev to know I’m here? That we slept together? Because he knows I left with you last night. He was there.”

  Blaise closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, he took my chin in his hand and lowered his face until our lips were almost touching. When he was close like this, I forgot that I was mad at him. I forgot that he frustrated me.

  “Please, go downstairs. I’ll explain later.” His tone wasn’t demanding. That was the reason I did what I had been told.

  At least, I wanted to believe that was the reason, and not that his mint and leather smell had hit me, making me feel tingly. Reminding me of last night.

  Twenty-Two

  I managed to eat most of my breakfast while I sat with my legs curled up under me on his sofa, watching an episode of Friends. By the time the guys moved into the big apartment and Monica made the small apartment pretty, Blaise walked into the room. I picked up the remote and turned off the television as I watched him walk toward me.

  He sank down beside me so that my knee was touching his thigh. I waited for him to explain why I’d been sent away. I had several other questions, too, but I’d let him start with that one.

  “The Houstons know where you are. You can call Melanie if you want. Trev wasn’t here because of them. He was here because he’s a spoiled brat. I dealt with him. He’s gone.”

  Frowning, I sat there, waiting for more, but Blaise didn’t say more. Instead, he ran his finger up my thigh as he stared down at my legs. Nope. I was not doing that. I scrambled off the sofa before he could grab me and stood up.

  Once I had a safe distance between us, I put my hands on my hips and glared down at him the best I could. He was distracting. All of him.

  Damn him for being so sexy.

  “I’m going to need some more information,” I told him.

  He raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms over his chest as he stretched his legs out in front of him. There was a crooked grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

  “Okay,” he replied.

  “What am I doing here? How many girls have worn this robe? Please tell me it’s been washed since the last one wore it. When are you taking me back to Moses Mile? What was that she’s mine comment? Because that verged on creepy. And why are you suddenly being nice?” I had more questions, but we could start with those.

  “I wanted you here. That robe is new. I don’t bring girls down here. I want you with me, but if you want to go back to Moses Mile, I will take you. I told you last night, while I was licking your pussy, that you were mine. Nothing is creepy about that. You gave it to me, and I’m keeping it. And I’m done trying to make you hate me to save you. You made me weak. You made me jealous, and that’s a weakness. I can’t have weaknesses. Not in my world. So, I stopped fighting it and got a taste.” He leaned forward then and rested his elbows on his knees while he looked up at me. “I’ve tasted hundreds, but you’re a fucking drug I didn’t know existed.”

  He stood up then, and I had to tilt my head back to keep looking at him as he towered over me.

  “You can leave whenever you want, but you’ll still be mine,” he said as he pulled the belt on the robe free. “You’ll still want me to make you feel good.”

  Every nerve in my body was now humming with anticipation. He shoved the robe off my shoulders, and it slid down my arms until it was on the floor around my feet. The hungry look in his eyes made me want to forget everything.

  To stay here with him and do whatever he wanted me to do. That wasn’t healthy, and I knew it. I struggled to care enough to stop it when his hands moved under the shirt I was wearing and cupped my butt as he pulled me against him.

  “Tell me what you want, and I’ll do it,” he whispered against my neck. “So young and sweet. I tried to protect you from me. I fucking tried so hard.”

  He licked my collarbone, and I trembled.

  “You’re beautiful. I knew the boys wanted you. I told myself they could have you.” A low chuckle vibrated in his chest. “Then, I saw Saxon dancing with you. His hands on you.”

  Blaise’s hands slipped inside the back of my panties, and he slid them down my bottom until his index finger ran over the proof of my arousal. I jerked against him at the contact.

  “I wanted to rip his arms from his body.” His hoarse whisper was against my ear as he began to run the tip of his finger inside me, then back in a slow rhythm. “Your panties are already soaked. Even your pussy knows it’s mine.”

  My knees were going weak, and I grabbed his shoulders to keep from falling. He pulled his hands free and sucked the finger that he’d been using inside me. I watched him with a mix of fascination and need.

  “As much as I love the taste of your cum,” he said, “I want to feel you come on my dick. Will you let me inside you bare?”

  Bare. He meant no condom. I hadn’t ever thought about that. He’d been with hundreds of women. Hadn’t he just said that?

  “I’m clean. I swear. I made sure,” he said, then reached for the T-shirt I was wearing and pulled it up and over my head. “You’re not on birth control.” He said it like a statement, not a question, but I shook my head anyway.

  His hands covered my breasts, and I could see the torn look in his eyes. As if he was battling his decision. Right now, I knew that I’d give in to anything he wanted. My brain seemed to shut off when he started touching me.

  “Fuck,” he muttered, then picked me up and started toward the direction of the bed.

  I wrapped my legs around his waist. When we reached the bed, he set me down on it, then quickly began shedding his clothing. Unable not to look at him, I soaked in every detail.

  Was it fair for a man to be this perfect? To not only have a face that made a girl act stupid, but to also have a body that did the same?

  When he was naked in front of me, I tried not to look at his erection. I knew the reminder of how big it was would only make me nervous. He bent down, taking the sides of my panties and ripped them, then tossed them aside. I moved back on the bed, but he grabbed my legs and pulled me to the edge again.

  “I fucked you hard last night. You’re gonna be sore,” he said as he went down on his knees. “Let me kiss it first.”

  I gasped as he pressed his mouth between my open thighs. His tongue shot out and flicked my swollen flesh several times.

  “AH!” I cried out.

  He was right. It was tender where he had stretched me, but it made the sensations stronger. My fingers threaded into his hair as I began to ride his mouth, lifting my hips.

  He groaned, and the vibration went through me.

  “Oh GOD!” I screamed, never wanting this to end.

  He could control me with this power, and right now, all I knew was, I wanted more. A frenzy began to build in me, and I became frantic.

  Blaise lifted his head, and I whimpered, ready to force his magical mouth back down. The look in his eyes was as wild as I felt. He tossed me farther back on the bed, then climbed on top of me, pushing my legs open just before he slid inside of me, bringing both pleasure and pain. I grabbed his biceps and cried out.

  “Holy fuck,” he said on a groan as he started to pull out, just before slamming into me again.

  “Oh, please!” I begged, not sure if I was asking him to stop or keep going.

  The pain from his size was more intense this morning, but my body was climbing toward its peak with each rock of his hips.

  “Jesus, baby,” he panted. “Too damn good.” He shook his head. “Shouldn’t have done this. I can’t stop now.” His breathing was heavy as he growled and began pumping into me harder.

  It was there. I was there. The spiraling was coming to a head, and ecstasy rushed through me as I screamed and called out his name.

  “Mine!” he roared as he jerked once, then pulled free of me.

  I felt a warmth hit my inner thigh, then my stomach. I’d never seen a guy’s cum, except in the end of a condom. But I knew what it was.

  My high was slowly easing, and I opened my eyes to see him picking up his T-shirt. He began wiping me up, and I lay there and watched him. His eyes would linger on an area for a moment before he cleaned me. This felt different. I wasn’t worried about what would happen next. I didn’t regret this. How could I when I was already wondering when we would do it again?

  When he lifted his eyes to meet mine, we didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to think about what we would do next. I couldn’t move in with him, and I knew that. This was new, and we didn’t know how long it would last. I had security at the Houstons’. I needed that until I could get my own place.

  Before I left today though, I needed to know exactly what we were now. Would he continue to date other people? Were we exclusive? It all seemed like things I should know, but this relationship was nothing remotely close to normal. Blaise wasn’t normal. His life … wasn’t normal.

  Twenty-Three

  The talk never came that day. After we showered together, Blaise brought me my sundress and then told me he had to go to Moses Mile to see Empire with a new jockey he’d hired. After that, he had to go do some other “horse business,” and he’d leave me at Moses Mile, but he would pick me up at seven.

  When we pulled up to Moses Mile, he kissed me, then told me to bring a bag with some clothes tonight. I started to argue that I couldn’t sleep over there again, but he walked off toward the stables. I could follow him and push the talking-about-our-relationship thing, but I didn’t. Truth was, I wanted to be with him tonight. Watching him walk away from me made my chest ache a little, and that wasn’t a great sign.

  Blaise Hughes was addictive.

  I walked around to the side door that led into the kitchen. I wanted a bottle of water before I went up to my room. Also, I wanted to avoid Melanie if she was still here. She knew I had stayed with Blaise, and facing her wasn’t something I was looking forward to. It was an awkwardness I knew I’d have to deal with eventually, but I was going to put it off.

  Opening the door slowly, I listened for voices and didn’t hear anything. Relieved, I stepped inside and quietly shut the door behind me. As I headed over to the fridge to get a water, I heard Saxon’s voice. He sounded angry, but the only word I made out was my name. I tiptoed over to the hallway and heard Melanie, but she was talking softer. They sounded like they were in the library. I eased closer until I heard Melanie clearly.

  “Yes, that’s what we will do.” Her voice was calm.

  “She’s nineteen. She has no idea who he is or what this is. Can’t you protect her?” Saxon was upset. Not just angry.

  I bit my lip as I waited.

  “I don’t know what you expect us to do. It’s not like we are talking about some random guy. It’s Blaise,” Melanie said. “I had hoped Trev would be the one who won her over, but with her being as charming and beautiful as her mother was, I should have been more prepared for this.”

  “Would her mother have wanted this?” Saxon shot back at her.

  “That’s hard to say, and it truly isn’t of importance here. You’ve grown up in this world. You know how things are done and how they are handled..”

  Frowning, I tried to figure out what she had meant by that exactly. How things were handled? In the horse racing world? What did that have to do with me?

  “Dammit!” Saxon shouted. “Can you talk to Garrett? Can Dad? Someone needs to fucking do something. She has no one protecting her.”

  Was Saxon this scared of Blaise? I wasn’t being beaten and held against my will. Maybe I needed to explain things to him. Saxon had this idea of Blaise that was far scarier than reality.

  “She is more protected now than anyone in the family. There is no better protection. You’re letting your feelings for her get involved, and, son, if those feelings are deep, you had better check them now.” She sounded like she was warning him. Her voice had lowered, and she’d snapped out the last part.

  “That’s it then? We just stand back and let Blaise have her?” Saxon sounded defeated.

  “He’s the boss,” she replied.

  “Not yet!” Saxon argued.

  “He might as well be. Loyalties are already shifting. You’ve seen it too.”

  The boss? Loyalties? What in the heck were they talking about? I needed to google horse racing, apparently.

  Melanie’s heels clicked on the hardwood as she began to walk. I hurried back to the kitchen and slipped out the side door before either of them saw me.

  My gaze went to the stables as the conversation I’d just heard replayed in my head. Those other questions I had for Blaise had just tripled. Tonight, I needed some answers.

  Did he know that the Houstons were scared of him? Or that Saxon thought he was taking me against my will? He’d said he’d let Melanie know I was with him. Wouldn’t he know if they were concerned?

  I heard footsteps inside coming closer, and I took a deep breath, put a smile on my face, and opened the door, as if I were just getting here. Saxon was inches from the door when I walked in, and he was scowling when his eyes met mine. It fell away, and he seemed to instantly calm down.

  “Hey,” I said, hoping I sounded surprised to see him.

  “Uh, hey, Maddy,” he replied. “You’re back.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, I am.”

  “Oh, there you are, Madeline,” Melanie’s voice called out from the other side of the kitchen.

  The awkwardness I had worried about was gone. Instead, I was now struggling to pretend I hadn’t heard anything they said. As if I wasn’t confused and baffled. I was never a great liar.

  “Yes, I am sorry I didn’t take my phone. I forget I have it at times,” I told her. That sounded like something I would have said before.

  She shrugged and continued smiling at me. “I understand. It’s fine. Blaise let me know the moment you left with him. Are you staying for a while, or do you have plans? I can make sure Mrs. Jolene brings you lunch to the house.”

  Melanie was an excellent actress, which didn’t make me feel better.

  “Oh, yeah, I’m going to stay here for a bit, if that’s okay. I can go eat lunch out at the barn kitchen though.”

  Melanie shook her head and waved a hand, as if that was silly. “No need. She will be coming up here anyway. Saxon, honey, let Mrs. Jolene know to bring lunch up to Madeline,” she told him with a smile that was a little too tight.

  I might not have caught it before, but I was looking now. She was giving him a silent warning.

  What did she think he was going to say to me? I decided to push this a little.

  “I’ll go with Sax down to the stables. I need to do my chores too,” I told her.

  She frowned. “No, those have been handled. You are free to relax, enjoy the pool, read a book.”

  “Oh. Well, I’ll go visit the horses then. They’ll wonder where I am if I don’t show up with their treats,” I said.

  “Is Blaise here?” Saxon asked before Melanie could come up with a reason I shouldn’t do that.

  “Yes,” I replied.

  Saxon looked at his mother. “She’ll be safe then,” he said before opening the door and walking out.

  I turned my attention back to Melanie to see her expression. She shrugged and shook her head, smiling, as if to say she didn’t understand Saxon’s response. I debated on confronting her with what I had heard, but she hadn’t sounded like the one I would get my answers from. Going down to the stables, I doubted I’d get much information either. I decided to get my phone and google horse racing and the Hughes specifically.