Page 49 of Defended By Bam
Shaking my head, I said, “No. I don’t want anyone else to have you. That may sound bad, but you’re mine. All mine.”
Her blue eyes stared up. I couldn’t tell what she was feeling.
“Tell me what you’re thinking, Linny. Am I saying all the wrong things?”
Her chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. “I haven’t seen this from you, is all. And if I’ve learned anything, it’s to question andcommunicate. My compliance and silence were what got me into trouble before.”
My thumbs brushed over her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped. But to be fair, you’re a little possessive, too.”
Her mouth fell open. “Am not!”
Smiling, I said, “Oh yeah, tell that to the poor women at the daycare center. If looks could kill, they’d all be dead. Well, except that one always up front, but she’s kinda scary.”
“That’s different. They’re all checking you out while I’m standing right there! And for all they know, you could be Sofie’s dad.” She threw her hands up.
This time, my mouth fell open.
“Shit, you know what I mean. Forget I said that,” she blurted out.
These girls were everything to me. Like she said, weeks ago, I couldn’t remember how it felt without them in my life. The reason I was so possessive was because I was scared to lose that feeling. The feeling I had since they came. This wasn’t how I thought I’d tell her. but fuck it. “I love Sofie. And I may not be her father, but I think I could be her dad. And,” I said as I lifted her face. “I love you, Linny.”
Tears filled her blue eyes and her face reddened. Her lips trembled like she was trying to speak but couldn’t. I didn’t care if she said it back, only that she knew how I felt, so I covered her mouth with mine, her warm, salty tears rolling down onto our lips.
Her tiny hands balled my shirt, pulling me closer as she kissed me back as hard as I kissed her.
I’d pinned her to the window when a bang on the door broke up our moment.
“What, goddammit?” I shouted over my shoulder.
Glenda yelled through the door, “Her food is getting cold and you don’t have much time before Sofie’s out of school. Hustle up.”
Annoyed that we were interruptedandthat she was right, I turned back and stole another deep, but short kiss. “We’ll pick this back up later.”
I started to let her go, but she grabbed my wrists, keeping my hands on her face. “Bama, I love you, too.”
Lifting her from the ground, I practically devoured her mouth as her legs tightened around me. I wanted to take her right then and there, but she giggled against my lips.
“Bama, we can’t be late picking her up.”
A playful growl rose in my throat. “You’re right. But we are definitely picking this back up later. I hope Sofie played hard today.”
Chapter 26
Brooklyn
Sofie was thriving. She loved her new school and we’d been spending a lot of time at the clubhouse. She loved being the center of attention and not being reprimanded for being a child. She knew which rooms she could go in and which not to even look at.
Glenda and I opened up what used to be the restaurant, so she had somewhere to eat since everyone else ate in the main casino room. It was nice having an actual table to sit at instead of the bar. Plus, we didn’t intrude on any business.
I started to piece together that the club wasn’t staying afloat by the bar and tattoo parlor they owned. But the funny thingwas, I’d never had more respect for any man than those at the clubhouse, and I’d never felt safer, even with Sofie.
My relationship with Bama was thriving, too. He was gone a couple nights a week, but I was used to being alone most nights. Plus, when he was home, I wanted to be with him. I didn’t ask questions about what he was doing, and I didn’t really want to know. He was a better man that Marshall could even pretend to be for thirty minutes in public with me. Even all the other guys were better than him. If they ever hurt anyone, they probably deserved it. If it made me a bad person to think so, I didn’t care.
My mom and Marshall had gaslit me into thinking he was a good guy just because he was a cop. What a joke that was. But none of that mattered anymore. Brooklyn and Sadie didn’t exist, and the life they had was nothing but a memory. My life was here with Bama and Sofie, amongst new friends, making new memories.
We were into October now, and Sofie was on her fall break. Georgia had theirs in September, but I had thought it was early for a week off when school started in August. Here, it was still warm enough to keep the pool open but the evenings were more comfortable. We planned to spend a lot of time at the clubhouse so she could soak up the last of the warmth. Even though it wouldn’t get cold, it would eventually cool off and the days would shorten.
I was watching Sofie swim with a few of the ladies when Bama and a few of the guys came strolling out. It never ceased to amaze me how they all walked. “They literally always have swagger in their step, even if they don’t mean to. It’s different than the ego/asshole combo strut.”
