Page 37 of Addicted
We spend the rest of the trip in silence, lost in our own thoughts. I straighten in my seat when we pass through a large, wooden archway, a sign that reads ‘Tailor Stables’ hanging above it.
“Stables?” I turn to look at the guys, my eyes wide and my pulse fast as I practically bounce in my seat. I’ve always loved animals and always wanted a pet, but obviously was never allowed one.
“That’s right, Dove,” Aeron says from the front passenger seat, turning around to face me. “These are Tailor-owned stables. One of my father’s passion projects.” His chin is high, his shoulders back as pride gleams in his eyes.
“Also helps to clean all the dirty money,” Knox adds with a chuckle from the driver’s seat, and Aeron gives him a glare.
“Just tell her all of our business, Knox.”
“Who exactly am I going to spill your dark secrets to, Devil Man?” I interject, my eyebrow arched in amused contempt,before they can start an argument. Bloody men will fight over anything, though I suspect there is something more going on as there’s a crackle of tension between Aeron and Knox that never quite goes away.
Aeron concedes my point with a sharp nod just as we pull up in front of a vast, white stable block with what looks like a fucking mansion at one end. I knew the Tailors were rich, but they must have a hell of a lot of dirty money to launder if they can afford this kind of setup.
As soon as we pull to a stop, Aeron exits the car, an older man with a mustache and a fucking cowboy hat strolling over to greet him. Knox appears at my door, opening it from the outside because the fuckers engaged the child lock so that I wouldn’t try to escape. Although, Jude got pretty excited at the idea of hunting me down if I did try anything, and even Tarl had a banked heat in his eyes at the idea.Fucking sick bastards.
Knox holds his hand out and rolling my eyes, I take it, letting him help me out of the car, my new knee-length boots molding to my feet as I stand on them. The others exit the car, and I just stand there breathing in the fresh, sweetly-scented air. My nose crinkles when the pungent smell of horseshit hits me.
“Don’t worry, Little Bird.” Knox laughs, letting go of my hand to sling an arm over my shoulder. His motor oil, cloves, and cedarwood scent completely overpowers any other smell, and like a dickhead, I lean in closer, taking a deep inhale. “You get used to the smell of shit around here.”
“I should already be used to it then, hanging around you guys for so long,” I sass back, and his whole body goes rigid before he chuckles darkly.
“Oh, Little Bird. You just poked the wrong bear.” I gulp, glancing upward to see the look of sheer, debauched pleasure on his handsome face. “Tell me, how’s your cardio?”
Before I can answer, knowing that his question relates to a future punishment that I may even enjoy, Aeron beckons us over. He quirks a brow at Knox, who just mumbles that he’ll explain later. Aeron accepts this, clearly trusting that if it was important, Knox would tell him straight away. I feel a twinge in my solar plexus, wondering what it would feel like to have someone so close like that.
“Jim, this is Dove,” Aeron says by way of an introduction, and I can’t help the eye roll at his use of my nickname.
“Lark,” I state, trying to step out of Knox’s grip, but he just tightens it.Dick. “Nice to meet you.”
“A pleasure to meet you too, ma’am,” Jim replies. His deep voice has a Southern twang to it and I find my lips pulling up at his clear charm. Aeron scowls at me.Possessive bastard.
“We’re going to show Dove around,” Aeron tells the man. “And then take her for a ride.”
“Wait, what?” I ask, my body freezing. I look down at my legs and realization hits me. They’re not leggings, they’re fucking jodhpurs.
“Come, Little Bird,” Knox coos, completely ignoring my slight freak-out about having to get on top of a fucking horse. “You can ride with me.”
“She’s riding with me,” Aeron interrupts, and once again, Knox goes still, his stare deadly and focused on the leader of this little crew. Jesus, those boys definitely have some kind of baggage together.
“I’ll ride with you, Knox baby,” Jude teases, and Knox jolts when a smack lands on his ass. I giggle, quickly covering my mouth when Knox glares down at me.
“This way, Nightingale,” Jude singsongs, grabbing my hand and pulling me from Knox and away from all that nonsense.
I laugh again, jogging to keep up with him as we head toward the first stable door, the top half open. A gray head pokesout, and I pause at the beauty of the animal before me. Jude continues to lead me to the animal, grabbing a packet of mints out of his blood-red jeans pocket and offering one up to the horse, who nickers and immediately gobbles it up.
Tentatively, I reach a hand out, having to stretch it upwards to let the animal take a sniff.You do that with dogs, so horses can’t be too different, right?Warm breath tickles my palm, then I gasp in delighted surprise when the animal presses its soft nose into my hand.
“She likes you,” Jude whispers, reaching up to stroke his own hand down her muzzle. “She’s Mom’s.”
“What’s her name?” I ask, my voice soft like his so that I don’t scare the beauty before me.
“Bluebell, but we all call her Blue.”
I take a soft inhale, dreading asking the next question. I know what happened to their mother. How, sanctioned by my sperm donor, members of the Dead Soldiers attacked and abused Heather Taylor, leaving her bleeding outside the Taylor family home. Apparently, Adam Taylor had undercut my father stealing business or something.
Why is it always the innocents that get caught in the crossfire?
“Where is your mom, Jude?” I question, watching how the skin around his eyes tightens, his hand halting in its movements.
