“I wish he was here now so I could take a belt to him.”
Putting his face in her hair, Rowdy breathed deeply. God, he loved how she smelled, how she felt and how she could make him feel. “It wasn’t the only time, but it’s one of the few times that caught me that bad. Mom snapped at him, saying he’d have children’s services up her ass again if he didn’t stop. So he did.”
Avery put a hand to his jaw. “She didn’t defend you?”
“She could barely defend herself.”
“Was it always that way, Rowdy? Were they never good parents?”
Damn it, he didn’t want her to get so upset. “It wasn’t always that bad. I mean, they were never cut out to parent, that’s for sure. But they’d go weeks without getting slammed. Times like that, they’d mostly ignore us.” He thought back while touching Avery, coasting a hand down her spine, back up and into her hair. “I sort of remember Mom making pancakes when I was real young, before Pepper was born. She wasn’t maternal, but she was kind occasionally.”
“Your dad?”
“He had a few jobs here and there. Not enough to matter. When he was around, I mostly just stayed out of his way.”
“You’re right.” Lifting her face, Avery touched him gently, his brow, his jaw. Her small smile was the sweetest, most tender thing he’d ever seen. “That is a pretty awful story. And it amazes me all the more how you turned out to be so wonderful.”
Wonderful. That’s what she thought? “Did you listen when I told Fish and Meyer just how off the rails I am?”
“I heard you talk about doing the right thing, even when the right thing is a very hard call.”
Laughing, Rowdy scrubbed a hand over his face. “Yeah, well, I won’t argue that beating on a human trafficker is right. The lowlife scum had it coming and I enjoyed it.”
“And you got needed info,” she insisted.
Maybe because she didn’t want to acknowledge his lack of morals, the base pleasure he got in doling out justice, she needed that clarification. “I did, yeah.”
“You are the most wonderful human being I know, Rowdy. There isn’t anything you can tell me that would ever change my mind.”
What if he told her to go? What if he said that he didn’t know jack shit about playing house or...or loving one woman enough to commit to her?
Would her opinion change then?
As if she’d read his thoughts, Avery shook her head. “Thank you for trusting me, Rowdy. And for letting me stay with you for a while.” Her hand drifted down to his shoulder, then to the front of his chest. “But know this. You don’t owe me anything. You don’t have to take on my problems.” She cut him off, speaking over him when he started to protest. “I appreciate that you’re willing, and I know you’re certainly able to help. If I need you to do anything, I promise I will let you know. But please don’t pursue this. Please don’t make me feel like a burden.”
“You’re not.” To emphasize the trade-off, he cupped her ass. “Didn’t I just prove how handy it is to have you around?” He kissed the side of her neck. “You don’t even make me work hard for it anymore.”
Swatting him, Avery leaned away. “So I’m a convenience, huh?”
“The sexiest kind.”
Instead of looking insulted, she grinned. “I rather like the perks myself.”
“Tease.” Glad to move past the blackness of his youth, he started to lower her to the bed when his phone beeped with a message. Groaning, he said, “What now?” He stretched out an arm to the nightstand to snag his phone and read the message. He groaned again.
“What is it? Is anything wrong?”
“My sister will be here in about ten minutes. She wants to visit Marcus with me today.”
“Oh, okay. Well, I guess I can—”
“Go along with us.” He wanted Pepper to get to know Avery better. With any luck, his sister would like her, but he’d never before had a woman hanging around, so who knew how that’d go? Course, he’d had to get used to Logan, so it was only fair—
Whoa. Pepper had married Logan, and he was nowhere near thinking anything that crazy.
Avery leaned up and kissed him. “I should shower and get dressed before she shows up. And you need to let Alice know she has a group of visitors coming, not just you. It’s the polite thing to do.” She stroked down his chest, lightly cupped his testicles then slid away from the bed and headed for his bathroom.
Huh. Watching her go, his body still rioting with need—not all of it physical—Rowdy had to rethink things. He knew nothing about being a significant other.
But he should probably start learning. It’d have to be a hell of a lot easier than ever letting her go.
* * *
IT SURPRISED AVERY how friendly Pepper was this time. She had a dynamic, carefree personality that overtook a room as soon as she entered.
First thing upon arrival, she’d insisted on seeing Rowdy’s back. He’d given her a flash peek by lifting his shirt just enough. Far from squeamish, Pepper had approved Rowdy’s recovery, all while hugging him and luridly cursing the men he’d fought. “Next time,” Pepper had told him, “be more careful.”
Next time. Avery was still reeling over that. Pepper and Rowdy were both awesome survivors who viewed life through their own uniquely shaded rose-colored glasses. She admired them both very much.