Move the Sun (Signal Bend #1)(74)
Lucinda turned on her heel and stalked away. Lilli had seen the hurt on her face, though, and she felt a stab of pity. She could understand feeling possessive of Isaac. He was something special. And he was hers.
The ferocity with which she felt that claim surprised the hell out of her.
Isaac turned back to her, his hands on her hips. He drew her tight to him. “You want to tell me what’s been going on between the two of you this weekend?”
Lilli thought about that for a moment. She considered blowing it off, but decided to just be straight with him. “Your friend Cin isn’t ready to give you up. She put me on notice that she plans to get you back. We’re probably not going to be BFFs.”
Isaac shook his head, a wry smile pulling up one side of his mouth. “I figured her eye wasn’t from a love bite.” His face clouded over then, showed an edge of anger. “I’m sorry, Sport. She never had me. You know that, right? I’ll talk to her, make sure she backs the f*ck off.”
“No, Isaac. It’s okay. I know we’re solid. I’m pissed, not threatened. I’ve got it handled.”
He didn’t look satisfied with that, so she repeated herself. “It really is okay. I mean, she gets all up on you again, and I will break several important bones in her body, but you don’t need to intervene, at least not now. I got it.”
Laughing now, he kissed her head. “Lucinda does not know the hornet’s nest she stuck her hand in, that’s true.”
Lilli nodded. “Exactly.” She remembered that he’d been off at a club meeting. “Hey—everything go okay with your thing?”
“It did. Pretty well.” She didn’t ask more, and he didn’t offer.
Isaac slid his arm around her waist. “You ready to hit the road, Sport?”
Whatever had happened between them in that moment at the lake seemed forgotten. Or, not forgotten— Lilli certainly had not—but set aside. She’d taken her pills, and she and Isaac were as they should be. “Yep.
All packed. “
With another kiss to the top of her head, he went to trailer the bike. Then they went around camp to say their goodbyes. Lilli felt wistful; she liked it here. She liked these people—with one key exception—and she’d liked the way she and Isaac were. She didn’t want to face what Signal Bend had waiting for them.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Isaac woke and didn’t feel Lilli. He lifted his head, worried, and found her sleeping on top of the covers, her head at the foot of the bed, her feet on her pillow. She was sometimes a fairly athletic sleeper, usually when she was having a bad night. This, though, was a first—and if she’d dreamt, she hadn’t woken him, which would also be a first, he thought. She looked relaxed, so he switched his own position and slid up behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pressing his face into her hair.
He was done sleeping, but he wasn’t done being close to Lilli. She didn’t even stir when he brought her close, so he relaxed and let his brain kick into gear. His meet with Becker in Tulsa had gone as well as he could have expected. Becker was unwilling to offer manpower, but they cut a decent deal on firepower, and Becker would handle the transport, freeing the Horde up from that expense of time and risk. Then Show had called him while he and Lilli were on the road home with two pieces of critical information: first, that his own meet with Dandy in Joplin had been a bust, and second, that Wyatt had called in—he and Ray were coming home.
That was yesterday. He and Lilli had gotten in late, unpacked the trailer, and gone to bed. He didn’t share with her what Show had told him; he wanted to keep hold of every possible second with her trouble with Ray set to the side. It had been late when they finally turned in, and they had both been tired, so they had simply curled up to sleep.
She sighed and snuggled deeper into his arms. Isaac’s cock, alert since he’d lain behind her, swelled full, but he simply held her more tightly, taking in the encompassing sensation of completeness he felt merely being close to her like this, knowing that he had her trust. He moved his hand to press it against her flat, firm belly, his fingers splayed wide. What their weekend away had told him unequivocally was that Lilli was his one true. He wanted a life with her. A long one. He wanted a family with her. He’d been surprised, too, at the lake, when the thought of her full of his child had made his heart expand, and he’d seen, bright and clear, the life he wanted. His woman, his child. A family, done right. Love filling his home in a way it never had in his lifetime.
They had Ray to deal with. He had Ellis, too. But he swore a vow right then, mouthing the words, that he would get them through this shit or die trying. He would keep her.
He could no longer be still, and he let his top hand roam her sleek, strong body, stroking the long planes of her legs and arm, cupping the curves of her ass, her tits. He tweaked a nipple, and she moaned and gently scissored her legs.
Nuzzling against the nape of her neck, he murmured, “There’s my girl,” and moved a little so that he could slide his bottom arm under her head. He felt her make way for him—she was awake.
“Are you faking?” he whispered.
“I never fake.” He could hear the smile in her sleep-sultry voice.
He chuckled. “That’s good to know.” He took her breast in his bottom hand and pushed his top hand between her legs. She was wet for him, and she arched her back, kicking her leg back to hook over his, leaving herself open to his touch. She reached between her legs to grip his cock, already trying to bring him into her.