Page 14 of Lollipop

I brush past them wanting to take a cold shower just touching them.

“Ander, my man, what about the sale? Are you not buying the…?”

“After the holiday, I’ll have the contract worked up. I want the sale to go through before the end of the year and I want you out of the house and off the land by the end of January.”

Without looking at the expressions that greet my declaration I turn and walk out the door. I’m on the phone with my assistant barking orders before I even leave the driveway. By the time I drive by the empty storefront of the shop she runs with her friends, I have her apartment address.

It’s the next place I drive to. A light warms the window facing the parking lot of the unit I know belongs to her. It’s a nice, clean group of buildings that have lots of grassy areas and a little pond off to one side with plenty of places to sit. I make my way through the door and up the stairs. I don’t have the patience to wait for the elevator. Not when I am taking the stairs two at a time just so I can be with her quicker.

I pull up short once I'm at her door. Apt. 2945. I want to just kick the door open and take her back to my penthouse with me. And of course, never let her go again, but Lilly is a wildflower. She needs the sun and the wind to blossom. I take a deep breath and talk myself down from banging on the door like an angry cop at four in the morning looking for a bad guy that beats old ladies and is mean to kids.

She opens the door, and all the air leaves my body. Her face is streaked with tears and her eyes are red-rimmed. She’s been crying.

When she realizes who I am, she tries to slam the door in my face. I catch it and push my way through causing her to backup and giving me my first look at what she’s dressed in. She’s wearing a thin, silky nightdress that barely reaches her upper thighs. Then I feel anger streak through me.

“You didn’t look through the peephole, did you? You didn’t check who I was before you opened the door to me.”

“Don’t you pretend like you give a shit!” She crosses her arms over her chest and her dress rises higher. “I don’t even want you here. You just pushed yourself through my door.”

“Answer me, sweetheart. Did you open that door without knowing who was on the other side while wearing next to nothing?”

“I don’t have to answer a damned thing. And don’t call me sweetheart. Or baby or little one.”

I try to tamp down my temper and focus on why she is so mad at me and why she’s been crying. “I know I should have told you who I was, sweetheart.”

“Ya think!” Her eyes narrow after her words. “I expect this shit from my parents but clearly it seems everyone is as fucked up as they are. Or maybe they just found some asshole just like them to sell the farm to. Either way, none of that is my problem anymore. Now leave.”

“I can’t do that, Lilly, and you know it.”

“Really? The sheriff will have a different take on that. He’s always wanted a date with me. I’m sure I could have him drag you out of here and escort you to the county line.”

If she had said anything else, any damned thing else, I would have kept my hands to myself.

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate how I’m dressed too. Since it seems you have such a problem with it.”

I give her a serious look - and maybe an apologetic one - that has her taking a step back. Some of what I am thinking must be showing on my face because she takes another step back and she doesn’t look like she’s as sure of herself any longer. I narrow my eyes, and she spins on her heels and takes off for the back of the apartment.

I have her up in my arms in a matter of seconds. She doesn’t even make it to the end of the hallway. She doesn’t make it easy for me to keep my hold on her, but I’ve had some practice. I used to wrangle bulls after all.

“You ass! Put me down or I swear I’ll…,” I flip her over my shoulder before she can finish her threat and give her ass a firm smack. She lets out a little squeal and keeps trying to wiggle her way out of my hold.

I open one door and notice a bed and a table in the room. I shut the door and open the next one. The room is nice but not quite my girl's style. As soon as I see this one I'm sure, this one is her room. I know because just like at her parents’ house, the mirror has pictures on it and there are more personal things laid out everywhere like discarded clothes and a half-eaten tub of ice cream sitting on the nightstand. I step in and kick the door shut behind us.

“I assume you don’t have a roommate.”

“What the hell does that mean?” I toss her on the bed and don’t answer her question. “Ander, you ass, I’m…”

She lands with the dress up over her hips. Tiny panties tease and taunt me.

“I should have told you who I was, but I wanted to stay next to you. I don’t typically lie but for you…I’d do whatever it took to keep you.”

Her eyes stop spitting fire at me and her sexy little lips pop open.

“I used to be a professional bull rider before I invested my money. Now, I’m a businessman. So, yeah, I know how to take care of a farm, but I also have some money. It doesn’t matter. None of that mattered. When I walked into that room and saw you with your hair up and your sexy ass bouncing, I didn’t have a past anymore. All I could think about was the future and I would do whatever it took, be whoever you needed me to be, to make that future happen. As long as I got to keep you.”

Chapter Thirteen

Lolly

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