The Fight for Us (30 page)

“You forget I already know all about this crazy. Crazy times two. Three if I count your crazy in that equation.”

She rolled her eyes before returning her attention to the girls. “Harp, it’s time to go.”

Harp grumbled as she looked back at them, but she relented and followed. They said their goodbyes at the door, and Isaiah didn’t bother hiding anything when he leaned to Joss’s mouth and kissed her. It wasn’t gratuitous; he’d taken care of the gratuitous kissing when he’d had her on the couch. This was just sweet kissing. Telling her he loved her in front of the girls was just his way of telling Joss he didn’t intend to hide any part of them from their girls—aside from the part that simply wasn’t their business.

Joss glanced at both girls quickly before responding to him. “I love you too.”

And then the chatter exploded again. The girls nudged each other in the arms. “Hey! Can we plan your wedding?” Nat exclaimed.

Followed by Harper. “Yeah. We’ll get streamers—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah! And we could have a piñata—like we made in art class!”

“Totally!”

Joss leaned up to him, pecking him on his mouth one more time. “This is your fault,” she muttered as she met his eyes quickly.

He chuckled as she turned to Nat and hugged her.

“Harp, we’re going.”

And then she was gone, and his life went back to just he and Nat again. They watched T.V. for the rest of the night. It was quiet and Nat seemed bored. He was bored too. He didn’t have anything at all against his life with just Nat in it, but it suddenly seemed entirely too quiet in their world—as though there was something very important missing from it. That something had been Delia for a long time, but it wasn’t anymore. It was now a much larger hole that had room in it for two—both looked very much the same, but one was decidedly more mature than the other—usually.

He glanced at Nat, and she gave him a small smile. Then it was back to boredom, loneliness, and holes he was ready to fill in his world.

Part III: Her Fight

Chapter Twenty-Five

As Joss left the restroom at The Landing, she wasn’t expecting to come face to face with Todd. It was New Year’s Eve, and she and Isaiah had decided it was family friendly enough for the girls. They always had a live band, good food, enough drinks to keep the adults happy, and enough pizza and pop to keep the kids satisfied. Apparently, they had ex-spouses too.

“Hi, dear. Gonna dance with me tonight?”

“Fat chance.” She tried to skirt past him, but his arm came up, and he planted his palm on the wall beside her, pinning her in. “Let me go, Todd.” She sounded far bolder than she actually felt.

“You think he can protect you from me?”

“I’m not scared of you anymore.” She was terrified of him, but there was no chance in hell he was going to see it.

“You should be. Found out some things about your new boyfriend and his daughter. Quite a history lesson to be learned in Chicago. But I’m guessing you know all about that. Straight from the horse’s mouth as they say—no pun intended. Unless he’s hung like a horse.” He chuckled, but his face was sadistic.

“Is there something you actually want?”

He ignored her question and kept talking. “I had to pay for some of my information—twist some arms too, but you know me, I get what I want.” He shook his head in mock perplexity. “They try so hard to protect the identity of children in these situations. Like anyone gives a shit that his little, strike that, fat daughter tried to kill herself two months after dear mommy ate a bullet.”

Joss sucked in a shocked breath, and she was incapable of hiding it from him.

“Ah… I see you didn’t know that part. Downed a bottle of pills. Daddy found her nearly dead in the bathroom. Amazing the information that can be had for a price.”

She was panting as she stared at his chest. She was doing a shit job of maintaining her cool.

He glanced back toward the dining room where music was blaring from, but his eyes returned quickly to hers. “You really want to trade fucking me for that nightmare of a family unit?”

“Get out of my way.” She seethed, finally finding her voice again.

But Todd had other things in mind, and as he leaned toward her still boxing her in with his arms, he brought his face right up to hers. “I’m going to destroy you.” And just as quick as it had happened so long ago in a courthouse she could barely remember, his tongue darted out, flicking and trailing across her chin. And then he kissed her. He pushed his tongue into her mouth as she backed as far against the wall behind her as she could.

But unlike the courthouse long ago, this time she didn’t cower, she didn’t cave. She reached up as his mouth sucked on hers, and she smacked him as hard as she could. The sound reverberated off the walls in the tight little corridor. He pulled back quickly, and a look of rage passed his expression before he could stifle it. But he managed to pull it back quickly, and he smiled as he rubbed his cheek.

“Bitch,” he muttered as he finally turned and walked away, pushing into the men’s room door.

Joss practically sprinted back to the dining room. She found Isaiah sitting at their table with the girls, and as she scooted into the booth across from him, his eyes instantly narrowed in concern.

“Joss, what’s wrong?”

She glanced up just to see Todd exiting the corridor, and he smirked at her. Isaiah’s attention followed hers, catching the cruel and taunting look on Todd’s face. Todd winked at her and then sauntered toward the door. Isaiah was off his ass in a millisecond. Joss trailed after them and tried to call Isaiah back. The girls simply stared in shock.

“What the fuck did you do?” Isaiah grabbed Todd’s arm, spinning him in place the moment Isaiah had passed through the exit door into the cold night air.

Todd took a step back from Isaiah, holding his hands up, but he was still smirking and taunting. “Me?” He shrugged. He took another step back, putting more space between him and Isaiah. “I wouldn’t do anything.” His expression was mock sincerity, and as he spoke, he took yet another step back. “I will say this, her mouth tastes just as sweet as it always has. You haven’t tainted that flavor a bit.” He hummed, but that hum was stopped in his throat as Isaiah lunged for him.

Isaiah swung his fist and connected with Todd’s jaw soundly, which left Todd spinning toward a car that was parked in front of the restaurant.

Todd fell into the car, but he regained his ground as Joss closed in behind Isaiah. She grabbed his waist and his arm, feeling the forward motion of his body before he calmed and stilled at her touch. Isaiah’s diaphragm was rising and falling slowly as he glared at Todd, and at just that moment, both girls pushed through the door behind them. They stared in shock at Todd, who was leaning against the hood of the car, and Isaiah, whose body was rigid in restrained rage.

Todd righted himself, and true to Todd form, he smiled and chuckled. His tongue ran over the corner of his mouth that was bleeding where Isaiah had hit him. He glanced at Nat and scoffed as he took in her wide eyes and shocked expression.

“I warned you to stay away from us.” Isaiah took a step toward Todd, and Joss released her hold on him. But that step was all it took, and after one last glance to them, Todd shrugged tauntingly one more time and then walked away. Isaiah turned back to them. He watched Joss for a moment, but then his eyes moved past her to Nat and Harper. “Girls, can you go back in and get our check? We’re leaving. Joss and I will be in in a moment.”

Both girls nodded, saying nothing—a rarity for them. Isaiah was silent until the door had closed behind Nat and Harper. The moment they were alone again, he approached her, looking down at her and running his thumb over her lower lip.

“He kissed you?”

“Yeah. Stuck his
fucking
tongue in my mouth. He just threatened and…”

Isaiah pulled her into his arms, and she buried her face against his chest.

“I hate him so much.” She spoke through gritted teeth as her nails gripped into and twisted the back of his shirt. She groaned in frustration a quiet and ugly sound, and he squeezed her tighter.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Isaiah had no problem convincing Joss to spend the night that night. He was guessing she wasn’t keen on the idea of being home at the moment, and frankly, he didn’t want her there either. The girls managed to stay up until midnight, but they faded fast after that, and once they staggered sleepily back to Nat’s room, he pulled Joss back to his.

She’d been very quiet since their run-in with Todd earlier in the evening. He wasn’t sure what to make of it. Part of him thought it was simply the assaulting kiss, but part of him wasn’t entirely sure there wasn’t more to it. The way her eyes would shift away from his on occasion when he’d catch her looking at him left him very uneasy.

“Do you have a T-shirt I can borrow?”

He was guessing that meant sex was off the table, and as he nodded, he moved to his dresser and pulled one out for her. He changed into a pair of pajama pants, and she slipped into the overly large T-shirt, folding her clothes and leaving them on top of his dresser. His mood was falling, and he didn’t like it. She was in his home overnight for the first time with their girls under the same roof. It’s exactly what he wanted permanently, but it felt horribly off for some reason, and he didn’t understand it.

She curled into his arms in bed, and he reached back, turning the lamp off.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He tried.

“No. I’m fine. I’m just tired.”

He didn’t believe a word of it, but he let her lie to him, knowing there was more going on inside her head.

He listened to her breathing slow, and he tried to join her as she drifted off to sleep, but it was impossible. His fucking hand hurt like hell for one—like every knuckle had separated and then snapped back into place. He was positive nothing was broken, and he’d not even abraded his skin on the fuckers face, but the ache in his joints was pulsing as he tried to relax.

He eventually got up, walking into the four-season room. He stared out at the water that looked like one vast plain of snow at this point. After staring for many long minutes, he sank into the reading chair, propping his feet up on the ottoman. The four-season room had floor to ceiling windows on three sides, interrupted only by an exterior door that led directly to the expansive deck. The angle of the reading chair faced the bed, and he alternated his view from the moonlit snow outside to the shadowed figure in his bed, and he zoned out.

At some point—he’d completely lost track of time—she woke and walked to him. He stretched, having no idea if he’d fully fallen asleep in his chair or if his brain had simply gone away for a while. But he felt tired finally, and he felt relaxed too. She stood in front of him, swimming in his T-shirt, and she looked down. He couldn’t see her expression in the least, not even those bright eyes he loved so much. She stood still, unmoving and saying nothing, and as he pushed himself up to sit straight in his chair, he reached for the hem of the shirt.

He lifted it, finding her underwear in place, and he inched them down her hips as she finally took a deep slow breath. He listened to her breathe, and he relaxed more and more. Once he’d pushed her underwear down far enough, they fell to her ankles. He pulled her toward him, and she put her knees on either side of his hips, sinking her bottom to his thighs. When he kissed her, he instantly pushed his tongue into her mouth. He licked, delved, and touched every last ounce of slippery wet skin inside her mouth before pulling away from her.

“I hate that he put his mouth on yours.” He wasn’t even trying to disguise the irritation in his voice, and he brushed his thumb along her lower lip as he spoke to reassure her that his anger wasn’t directed at her.

“If it makes you feel any better, I couldn’t be more disgusted about it than if my mouth had been contaminated with toxic poison.”

He gripped the cheeks of her bottom, squeezing gently, and then he put his mouth on hers again and pushed his tongue deep inside. It was likely minutes before he pulled back that time, but he just couldn’t get enough. He needed to touch every last ounce of her flesh that Todd could possibly have touched and overwrite what that fucker had done.

“Damn good thing my cum is anecdotal, huh? It’ll clear that contamination of yours right up.” He murmured when he finally released her lips.

She nodded but remained quiet.

“But I’d like to taste yours first, if you don’t mind.”

She hummed, and then she snuggled into his neck. He could feel her warmth even through his flannel pants, and as it teased his arousal, he pushed the waist of his pants down, so he could feel that warmth directly on his cock. He moaned, and his hips instantly tightened, pushing himself harshly against her wet slit.

“Stand up with your feet at my hips.”

She pulled back. Even in the dark he knew she was studying him. She might not be able to see his features any more than he could see hers, but she was staring into his darkened face regardless. But she did stand, letting the outside of her feet rest against the inside of the chair arms and bracing her legs in a perfect triangle that was also just the perfect height for his mouth.

He took his time letting his hands gently stroke up her legs—first the outside and then around to the cheeks of her bottom. When he rounded her cheeks, he rotated his fingertips in to stroke down the inside of her thighs. She was clutching the chair back, which was a damn good thing given the sudden tremor in her legs.

“Spread your pussy lips.”

She didn’t hesitate. It didn’t mean she wasn’t nervous. He knew damn well she was, but her fingers spread the lips open. He licked gently at first. He wanted to see but loved that he could just explore with his mouth and not worry about getting distracted at the sight. He toyed with the hardened nub as she cried out quietly and trembled. He lapped, laved, and slurped against her skin, and she started gasping. He rested his palm on her stomach, feeling her muscles ripple and twitch every time his tongue touched, and when he used his free hand to force two fingers into her sheath, she sank slightly and her knees wobbled precariously.