Rules of Desire: Protecting Erin(26)
“Not now, Erin. I need some fucking air.”
Chapter Nine
Leaning back against the countertop of the small kitchen in the lingerie store, Reese listened to Rachel and Marissa wait on customers while, over the rim of his cup, he watched his stone-faced wife pace with William.
His temper had cooled in the last hour, but Erin’s appeared to have heated significantly.
Setting his cup aside, he crossed his arms over his chest, irritated and still uneasy at the distance between them. “How long are you going to give me the silent treatment?”
Erin didn’t even glance up at him. “Until I calm down enough to talk to you. Are you sure Wes is all right?”
Relieved that she was talking to him, but pissed off at her concern for the attorney, Reese straightened and reached out to rub his sleeping son’s back, deliberately crowding her. “Cramer had his wrist set and is on a plane headed back to Dallas. Jared and Duncan went with Ace back to the police station to check on something.”
Erin nodded once and turned away from him, heading down the short hallway to the children’s playroom. “I’m going to put William down and go out front to help Marissa. I’ll get a ride home later.”
Annoyed at her attempt to get rid of him, he found the anger he’d finally managed to tamp down rising back to the surface. “No. I’ll wait.”
He followed her to the nursery and dropped onto the sofa, catching his niece when she threw herself at him. “I’ll just stay in here with the kids until you’re ready to leave.”
Anger flashed in his wife’s eyes as she straightened from settling William in the crib. “I can get a ride home later.”
“That won’t be necessary, my darling wife.”
He couldn’t resist the opportunity to remind her just what she was to him, and his present mood allowed him to get a great deal of satisfaction at the anger emanating from her.
His wife had to learn that keeping things from them, especially something as important as her safety, would never be acceptable.
* * * *
Jared pounded the steering wheel in an unusual show of temper. “Christ, I’m still mad as hell.”
Still furious that Erin had been manhandled in such a way, Duncan looked over at his brother. “At least you got to break something. How the hell was I supposed to fight with that asshole after you’d broken his wrist?”
Jared’s lips twitched as he pulled into the back parking lot of the lingerie shop. “Yeah. That felt good. Did you hear Erin? She had no clue that Cramer was interested in her.”
With a sigh, Duncan stared toward the back door, his cock twitching at the thought of the fighting and making up that would come in a few hours. “She’s a beautiful, remarkable, and sexy woman. A passionate woman. She can be sweet as pie one minute and mean as a rattler the next. Why she doesn’t understand how any man wouldn’t want her is beyond me.”
“She’s gonna be mean as a rattler tonight for sure. I swear that woman has no idea of her appeal.” Grinning, Jared threw the car in park and opened the door as he shut off the engine. “It’s gonna take some doing to appease her. Damn, I feel better already.”
Duncan opened his own door, his blood heating in anticipation. “Yeah. Reese’s text said she was so mad that she wouldn’t even talk to him. I think I’m gonna get started on curbing that temper.”
Climbing out, Jared frowned. “No. I am.”
“I don’t think so.” Duncan slammed the door behind him. “You got to break Cramer’s wrist.”
“And you got to him first and had the opportunity to get in his face.”
To Duncan’s surprise, Reese came through the back door, taking the steps in a rush and heading toward them.
“What the hell are you two arguing about?”
Duncan came to a stop with his brothers in the middle of the parking lot. “I plan to turn our wife over my knee. I’m gonna bring her to the truck and paddle her ass for keeping the fact that she might be in danger from us.”
Jared smiled. “But since he got to grab Cramer and get in his face, I think I should get that honor.”
Reese grinned. “And since I didn’t get to do either, and I’ve put up with her attitude all afternoon, the honor goes to me. Keep an eye on the baby.”
Turning to head back toward the shop, Reese smiled over his shoulder. “Besides, while William was sleeping, and I was getting the silent treatment, I went to visit Beau. Looking at all those paddles made the idea of having Erin draped over my lap more appealing by the minute.”
Beau Parrish owned the adult toy store in town, and since Beau had married Charity, they hadn’t seen much of him.