why. She shrugged. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Rina. This is important. Your boss claims someone shook him down but he won’t say who. We didn’t do it. Do you know who did?”
She sighed, not knowing how to answer him. What should she say? My daughter’s father showed up out of nowhere and kicked my boss’s creepy ass into next week? And then suddenly, the answer came along on its own. A tall silhouette appeared, foreshadowing the arrival of a newcomer from the beach trail that started in her backyard. Axl barked, but remained at Turtle’s side with a low command from his master.
Thanks, Manali!
Rhee knew immediately that her seriously misguided landlady-parent had most certainly been the one to point Dax in her direction. That made no sense either! It was almost as if Manali was facilitating their reunion, a behavior that contradicted her former penchant for shielding Rhee from unwanted male attention. Rhee could do nothing but watch with a mixture of dread and anticipation brewing in her gut as Dax Jamison ambled onto the sand with an air of ownership that implied he was meant to be there.
Chapter Ten
Loved her?!
Wince said he loved the stowaway too. The implication of those words was like a sharp kick to the nuts. As much as he had desired Rhee, Dax never even considered that he might have loved the girl. How could I have loved her? I hardly knew her. Still, the fact remained that the depth of his betrayal and pain in the wake of the stowaways’ absence only made sense if he considered that he had feelings for the girl. Deep feelings. The thought tore him up inside. I did not—do not — love anyone.
Love was a fickle emotion. It felt good at first, but then it turned into pain. He was coiled so tight inside that Dax thought he was going to snap. All he could think about was Rhee and her deception. The scene from the night before was stuck on replay inside his mind. Rhee’s look of terror, that child— my child?!— walking from the room and calling the stowaway, “mommy…”
If that little girl was his child, his flesh and blood , he damn well wanted to hear the confirmation from Rhiannon’s own mouth. And then he wanted to hear all about why she left. Even though he thought he already knew the answer. It was obvious. Wasn’t it?
Fuck, do I even want to know?
Dax was so confused and frustrated that he had practically jumped out of the van before Wince put it in park. He just needed space to dilute the volatile feelings brewing in his heart, and he needed it now. He was leaving Wince in the lurch, but fuck, the kid had to step up at some point.
No time like the present.
Dax wandered the beach for a solid hour with no destination in mind. Before long, anger began to color over his other emotions, turning his face dark with rage. All of his violent feelings were directed at the girl who had walked out of his life so easily and had never looked back. Rhiannon abandoned him, possibly with the knowledge that she carried his firstborn child when she did it. And she hadn’t even had the decency to tell him. That defection angered him even more.
Truthfully, the thought of a having a child scared Dax on so many levels that it boggled his mind. His damaged heart focused its rage more comfortably on being abandoned. Was leaving him so simple? It sure the hell seems to be. Dax wasn’t fully cognizant of the emotional pain his anger muted. All he knew was that he was mad enough to spank someone, and that someone was Rhiannon Blake.
Dax Jamison had never been the kind of man who ran from his troubles. He faced them head on and he conquered them. But this kind of trouble was novel to him and he didn’t know quite what to do or how to process what he was thinking and feeling. He wanted to spank Rhiannon silly. He also wanted to fuck her senseless. His cock stirred in his jeans.
Yeah, I want to show her what she walked out on.
Maybe he wanted her to reject him again. On some level, Dax was
“Rina. This is important. Your boss claims someone shook him down but he won’t say who. We didn’t do it. Do you know who did?”
She sighed, not knowing how to answer him. What should she say? My daughter’s father showed up out of nowhere and kicked my boss’s creepy ass into next week? And then suddenly, the answer came along on its own. A tall silhouette appeared, foreshadowing the arrival of a newcomer from the beach trail that started in her backyard. Axl barked, but remained at Turtle’s side with a low command from his master.
Thanks, Manali!
Rhee knew immediately that her seriously misguided landlady-parent had most certainly been the one to point Dax in her direction. That made no sense either! It was almost as if Manali was facilitating their reunion, a behavior that contradicted her former penchant for shielding Rhee from unwanted male attention. Rhee could do nothing but watch with a mixture of dread and anticipation brewing in her gut as Dax Jamison ambled onto the sand with an air of ownership that implied he was meant to be there.
Chapter Ten
Loved her?!
Wince said he loved the stowaway too. The implication of those words was like a sharp kick to the nuts. As much as he had desired Rhee, Dax never even considered that he might have loved the girl. How could I have loved her? I hardly knew her. Still, the fact remained that the depth of his betrayal and pain in the wake of the stowaways’ absence only made sense if he considered that he had feelings for the girl. Deep feelings. The thought tore him up inside. I did not—do not — love anyone.
Love was a fickle emotion. It felt good at first, but then it turned into pain. He was coiled so tight inside that Dax thought he was going to snap. All he could think about was Rhee and her deception. The scene from the night before was stuck on replay inside his mind. Rhee’s look of terror, that child— my child?!— walking from the room and calling the stowaway, “mommy…”
If that little girl was his child, his flesh and blood , he damn well wanted to hear the confirmation from Rhiannon’s own mouth. And then he wanted to hear all about why she left. Even though he thought he already knew the answer. It was obvious. Wasn’t it?
Fuck, do I even want to know?
Dax was so confused and frustrated that he had practically jumped out of the van before Wince put it in park. He just needed space to dilute the volatile feelings brewing in his heart, and he needed it now. He was leaving Wince in the lurch, but fuck, the kid had to step up at some point.
No time like the present.
Dax wandered the beach for a solid hour with no destination in mind. Before long, anger began to color over his other emotions, turning his face dark with rage. All of his violent feelings were directed at the girl who had walked out of his life so easily and had never looked back. Rhiannon abandoned him, possibly with the knowledge that she carried his firstborn child when she did it. And she hadn’t even had the decency to tell him. That defection angered him even more.
Truthfully, the thought of a having a child scared Dax on so many levels that it boggled his mind. His damaged heart focused its rage more comfortably on being abandoned. Was leaving him so simple? It sure the hell seems to be. Dax wasn’t fully cognizant of the emotional pain his anger muted. All he knew was that he was mad enough to spank someone, and that someone was Rhiannon Blake.
Dax Jamison had never been the kind of man who ran from his troubles. He faced them head on and he conquered them. But this kind of trouble was novel to him and he didn’t know quite what to do or how to process what he was thinking and feeling. He wanted to spank Rhiannon silly. He also wanted to fuck her senseless. His cock stirred in his jeans.
Yeah, I want to show her what she walked out on.
Maybe he wanted her to reject him again. On some level, Dax was
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