Page 21 of Exile & Lula
“He thought Jarred was too high on his own farts.”
“Is he right?”
Lula flashed a stunning smile. “A little, I guess. But Pax could say the same thing about me. Jarred and I were both the first people in our families to go to college. The club funded our education. It’s handy to have a doctor and lawyer on call.”
“But your ex-husband lives in Little Rock now.”
“True, but he recruited local doctors to be on our payroll before he moved south.”
“Why move at all? He’s got a daughter here,” I said, sounding overly pissed off. “His club is here.”
Lula smiled at my annoyance. “Jarred fell in love with another club kid. Alani was building her life in Little Rock, and he wanted to prove he was willing to sacrifice for her.”
“Can’t imagine leaving behind a kid,” I muttered, wanting to find fault with Lula’s ex.
Lula studied me and took a swig from her beer. Her gaze flashed to the door before returning to me.
“I don’t live a solitary life. People are always in and out of my space. That’s just how it is.”
“I get that. I share a house with my sister and her girls. If I’m home, they decide I need to be sharing oxygen with them.”
Lula offered me a soft smile. Women always thought that my taking care of Nova and the girls was a sign of good character. Maybe they were right, but I also kept my sister and nieces around for selfish reasons.
Sighing, Lula set down her beer. “My father is on his way over.”
“How do you know?”
“I can hear him in the wind.” When I frowned, Lula shrugged. “His voice meant a lot to me as a kid. If I heard him home, I knew I was safe. Now, I can pick up the pitch of his voice, even when he isn’t being loud.”
I cocked my head and listened. After a second, I thought I heard Pax Reed outside.
“Don’t take his shit too personally,” Lula said, sounding concerned. “Don’t be a dick to him, either. That man owns a special place in my heart. Jarred’s inability to get along with Pax was always a sticking point.”
“Are you threatening me?” I asked, sizing her up.
“Yes. If you make my dad hate you, you’ll never get in my pants.”
Chuckling at her bluntness, I nodded. “Well, in that case, I’ll be on my best behavior.”
Lula’s hypnotic gaze studied me in an extremely addictive way. I felt her tugging away my armor and leaving me vulnerable.
“Just in case things go to shit,” she murmured before crawling across the couch to me.
Her fingers skimmed my jaw, feeling like a promise. Her lips found mine. Lula tasted like my future.
Not trusting myself to behave, I kept my hands wrapped around my beer while Lula’s lips lingered. I enjoyed a quick tease of her tongue. Once her lips were freed from mine, she settled back on the couch and smiled.
“Now, if you piss off Pax and we never see each other again, I’ll know what I’m missing.”
“Never going to happen,” I said and stood up as Pax Reed threw open the front door.
“Where’s this dirty biker at?” Pax called out.
Though I was prepared to face off with a wild man, the sight of Lula’s daughter and a tiny dog momentarily threw me off. The girl was a gorgeous thing like her mom. When her gaze met mine, she narrowed her eyes and gave me a snarly bitch scowl. I nearly laughed at how similar she looked to Lula. The Reed women owned brass balls.
“You’re the fucker from the hospital,” Pax said and strutted in an overly aggressive manner toward me. “Stalking my pretty daughter, are you, now?”
“A little bit, yeah,” I admitted and glanced down at the tiny dog sniffing my boots. “I was also worried about her.”
