Page 27 of Run the Play
“And I have the lie I told. I was too scared to come forward. All I had was me, and I had to protect myself. I checked out and never looked back.” Her voice quivers. “Why won’t he just leave me alone?” she asks as a single tear slides down her cheek.
Slowly, I raise my hand and wipe her cheek with my thumb. I have the sudden urge to taste her tears, and even in my head, that sounds creepy as fuck, and stalkerish, so I refrain. “He won’t hurt you ever again.” There’s conviction in my tone, and from the way her eyes slightly widen, I know she hears it and she understands: Not on my watch. I don’t know why I’m suddenly feeling so protective over her, but I’ll be damned if I’ll let that asshole touch her. Not a single hair on her head.
“I don’t know why, but I believe you,” she murmurs. “I don’t trust easily, and yet, here I am, letting you convince me it’s all going to be okay when I’m certain it’s going to be a complete shit show.”
“You’re a Rampage now. We’ve got you.”
I’ve got you.
“He’s a Rampage too,” she reminds me, and the sadness in her tone tears my heart to shreds.
“He might be wearing the jersey, but it’s in here”—I place my hand gently over her heart—“where being a Rampage comes from. He’s not one and never will be.”
Rowan tilts her head to the side and studies me. She’s quiet for so long that I fight the urge to squirm under her gaze.
“My heart told me to come back to Tennessee. It’s where I grew up, and the closest thing to home I’ve ever had. I don’t know why my journey led me to Nashville specifically, since this is not where I’m from, but I do know that I will forever be grateful for you and your friends and family coming into my life.”
I don’t tell her that my only family is Corie, well, and now Knox by marriage. We’ve had enough heavy for one night.
“That’s easy.” I shrug. “You belong here.” This time, it’s me who is tossing her a wink, and the smile she gifts me with hits me in the chest.
“Thank you, Landry.”
“Bring it in, Roe,” I say, leaning closer, my cock nestled between her thighs as I wrap my arms around her. She’s hesitant at first, but her body relaxes into my hold, and she hugs me back.
If it were up to me, we’d spend the rest of the night right here. There's just something about this woman that resonates with me. I’ve never felt this protective over anyone other than Corie and my mom when she was alive. Well, Sloane, too, but she’s my sister in my eyes, so that makes sense.
This… my need to ensure she understands that this is where she belongs and that there is no way I will let that tool of an ex of hers lay a hand on her, it’s as if someone else has taken over my mind and my body.
“We should get back out there,” Rowan says, pulling out of my embrace.
It pains me to do it, but I release her and step back slightly. “You good now?”
She smiles and nods. “Thank you. I needed a breather after that information dump I just gave everyone.”
“Come on. Let’s head back out.” My hands find their way to her hips, and I lift her from the island and place her back on her feet. I reach for her hand and realize what I’m doing. She’s not mine, so why in the fuck am I acting as if she is? Instead, I place my hand on the small of her back and lead her outside. As soon as the door shuts behind me, I drop my hand, not needing more nagging from the peanut gallery than I’m already going to get.
“Just in time,” Sloane says, standing from where she was sitting on Baker’s lap. “Dance party time.” She wiggles her hips, and I grin because I know what she’s doing. Sloane and Corie used to have dance parties all the time when they were sad growing up. It’s something that my mom started with them when they had a bad day or a boy broke up with them. Mom used to say that it was time to dance away the pain, or sadness, or anger, whatever they were feeling, and groove into the happy.
Corie squeals as she launches herself off Knox’s lap, and the three of them move to the other side of the patio. She shimmies as she connects her phone to the outdoor speakers, and as soon as the first notes of Pink’s “Get This Party Started,” I shake my head. My sister and Sloane used to dance to this all the time. I can remember our mom using a spoon as her microphone as the three of them would bop around the kitchen.
Sadness washes over me. I miss my mom so damn much, Dad, too, but he’s been gone much longer. It’s just not the same without them here, but I have Corie, and she gave me a brother in my best friend, and one day, they’ll have kids. And if I’m ever lucky enough to find someone to love me for who I am and not what I do to earn a paycheck, I’ll add to that list too.
I want what my sister and Knox have. What our parents had, although their time together was cut too short. Anyone who knew them, hell, you didn’t have to know them… all you had to do was be in their presence with one another, and you could feel the love radiating off them.
Corie and Knox are like that, too, and it’s nice to see my sister and my best friend so happy. One day, I hope I can feel that kind of love, but until then, I’ll work on having a couple of nieces or nephews—at least one of each—to spoil rotten.
“What was that?” Knox asks me as I take my seat.
I don’t take my eyes off the girls. “What was what?”
“Come on, Reynolds,” Foster says. “Are you into her?” He nods toward the dance party.
“She’s been through a lot. I could tell she needed a break from all eyes being on her, and I helped her with that. Nothing more. Nothing less.” Except for the fact that I wanted to be near her, and I held her for a brief moment with my cock nestled between her thighs. Oh, and let’s not forget wanting to taste her tears—whatever the fuck that was about. Other than that, it was just another day in the neighborhood.
“Well, I don’t know about you all, but there’s a dance party happening, and I’m all in.” Baker stands and drains his Gatorade. “There’s very little in life right now to dance about, but maybe Corie and Sloane are onto something.”
“Their mom started it,” Knox explains, and something in my chest eases. He knows my sister so well, and I love that she’s shared pieces of our mom and, I’m sure, our dad with him.
