Own the Wind (Chaos #1)(57)

His brows went up. “You don’t like it when I haul your ass around?”

“At first, it freaked me.” I grinned again. “Now, I think it’s kinda hot.”

He studied me a moment before his eyes cleared and his lips twitched.

I let my smile fade and pressed my hand into his chest.

“I’m not leaving you, Shy. You’re not gonna lose me, because to do that I’d lose you, and that isn’t going to happen.”

He held my eyes two beats, I saw his turn warm and intent then he whispered, “You’re the f**kin’ shit, Tabby.”

“I know,” I told him airily on another smile. “My man tells me that all the time.”

His eyes dropped to my mouth and his lips ordered, “Kiss me, baby.”

There it was. All was good.

I leaned forward and did what he told me.

He tasted of beer with a hint of tequila.

All Shy.

All mine.

All amazing.

* * *

We stayed at the honky-tonk for more beers, dinner, and ten games of pool. I won four, Shy won six. However, the bet we’d waged this time was a lot more interesting and included me sucking him off regularly.

Since I did it regularly already and I liked it, this was not a hardship, and I wouldn’t admit it to him, but I threw that last game purposefully.

I was thinking about giving him his winnings when he let us into my apartment, my thoughts so pleasantly occupied I didn’t notice the kitchen light was on. I also didn’t notice Shy stop dead until I ran into him.

“Shy, darlin’, what on—?” I started, stepping to his side and following his gaze toward the kitchen.

What I saw made me go statue-still.

Kane Allen, my dad, was sitting on a bar stool.

I was his daughter, but Dad was hot in a way that even I knew he was serious hot. Dark hair salted with a bit of silver. A kick-ass biker goatee that was long at the chin that also had some light in it. He gave me my eyes, sapphire blue, his, I knew, could be warm or piercing. He had a big body that his good genes kept fit, since he sure as heck didn’t work out and drank and ate what he wanted. He also had lines going out from his eyes that I loved because they deepened when he laughed.

He was not laughing now.

He had his heels up to the highest rung on the bar stool, his legs splayed wide, elbows to his thighs, a bottle of beer held loosely in both hands and his eyes to us.

He knew. I knew he knew by the feel of the room and the look on his face.

He knew.

Oh God.

“Dad—” I started, taking two steps toward him.

“Pete told me,” he cut me off, and his tone made me stop dead. “My daughter didn’t tell me. Pete came by here yesterday mornin’ for a visit, saw Shy leave. Saw you two suckin’ face by Shy’s bike. Pete sat on that for a night, wonderin’ if he should tell me. Then he told me.”

I pulled in breath and opened my mouth to say something, but Dad got there before me.

“Lied to me. Lied to Tyra. Your brother. My brothers.” His eyes moved to pierce Shy. “Your brothers.”

My blood ran cold and I began, “We just—”

“Lied,” Dad clipped, putting his beer bottle next to the three that were already on the counter indicating he’d been there for a while and then he straightened from the stool, his eyes going back to Shy.

“She’s my f**kin’ daughter, man.”

“I’m aware of that, brother,” Shy said in a low rumble.

“I get that so what I don’t get is what… the… f*ck?” Dad returned, his voice lower and very scary.

This was not good.

“Dad, please, let me explain why—”

His brows shot up and his eyes sliced to me. “You lied. Told you, Tab, long time ago, you did that shit again, you would not like the consequences.” He pointed to the floor. “Now you get the consequences.” He started walking and his gaze moved to Shy. “You do too.”

He stopped close to Shy, nearly nose to nose, and kept talking.

“My daughter, my brother. Not cool. You know it. That’s why you hid it. Do not think for one second this shit washes. Brace, brother. I’m all over your ass. You f**k up, even minor, I’ll jump all over that shit to get… you… out.”

I sucked in a harsh breath that burned, Shy’s body jerked and I watched as Dad stalked by us, straight to the door.

Shy turned to him.

Then he opened his mouth and blew my mind.

“Tack, brother, I’m in love with her.”

Dad already had the door open, most of his body out of it, but he turned and leveled his eyes on Shy.

He didn’t hide his disgust.

“Brother, you do not know what love is.”

And with that, he was gone.

I stared at the door, too much happening to process it all.

Then it all slid into place, the thing that happened that was priority hit me like a bullet, and I turned woodenly to Shy who was also staring at the door, that muscle ticking in his jaw.

“You love me?” I whispered.

He turned slowly to me and the muscle in his jaw kept ticking until his eyes locked on mine.

“You lost that guy, respect, you found the strength to carry on. Know this, Tabby, I lost you, it would be sixty years of goin’ through the motions. I know that in my dick. I know it in my gut. I know it in my heart. I know it deep down in my goddamned soul.”