Smolder (Georgia Smoke #6)

• Twenty •

“I’d be able to stay away longer if you weren’t so damn addictive.”

Royal

I chewed on my thumbnail as I stared at my father’s empty bed. He wasn’t on the sofa in the living room, the car wasn’t here, no one was answering at the bar, and the police station had said they didn’t have him.

So, where was he?

I had woken up, tucked in my bed, just like Amory had promised. My thoughts had instantly gone to last night, and I lay there, smiling, thinking about all we’d done. How he’d made me feel. Then, I realized no one had called me from Miller’s last night. I had expected them to. It had been a while since I’d slept all night without interruption.

This wasn’t like Dad. Sure, he’d not come home before, but that was because he had been behind bars. Otherwise, he was here. He knew he had to stay at the house with Grams today.

Maybe he’d gone home with a woman, or he was asleep in his car at the bar. I needed to go look for him, but I didn’t want to leave Grams here alone. Putting her on the back of my Vespa wasn’t an option.

The sound of a glass shattering came from the kitchen, and I left my dad’s doorway at a run before Grams cut herself. She was standing in the middle of the room with wide eyes and pieces of broken glass scattered in front of her. I’d moved all breakable items to the cabinets under the counter and hidden them behind the pots and pans.

“Don’t move, Grams,” I warned her as I went to get the broom and dustpan.

“I found my good dishes and the drinking glasses I had misplaced,” she told me. “Silly me had stuck them in the cabinets. Don’t know what I was thinking.”

The cabinets were open, and all of the cookware was pulled out onto the floor. Why had she been digging around in there?

“Why don’t you go on back to the living room and watch the morning news?” I suggested. “I will get this cleaned up and move all those things back where they belong.” Which was a lie.

I’d move them to a better hiding place. She would forget about this one, but clearly, this spot wasn’t good enough. I had to put them higher, somewhere she’d be less likely to go snooping.

“I was gonna make a pot of gumbo,” she told me. “Just like Granny used to make. You know her people were from Louisiana. It’s why she cooked so good. Yum, the stuff she could whip up. And I can make that gumbo. You will love it.”

I nodded, agreeing with her. I’d had her gumbo before, and she was right. She’d made some of the best I’d ever tasted. But even if we had the ingredients she needed, which we did not, she wouldn’t be able to make it. She’d forget what she was doing before she got it all set out on the counter.

“You can make that later,” I told her. “I’ll need to go get the bouillon paste and shrimp from the grocery first.”

She frowned. “You don’t get the shrimp from the grocery. Lord’s sakes alive, that would be frozen, and you can’t use frozen shrimp. Granny would roll right over in her grave, she would.” Grams shook her head as if I had lost my mind.

We lived a good four and a half hours from the Atlantic Ocean. There was no fresh shrimp here.

“You’re right. I’ll go get some fresh shrimp,” I assured her.

She nodded and turned to shuffle toward the living room. I let out a sigh of relief that she was safely away from the broken glass and finished getting it cleaned up. I quickly disposed of it, then tied up the garbage bag to take it outside. I didn’t trust her not to go digging in the trash and end up slicing a finger.

I passed the living room on my way to the door and glanced in to see she was sitting in her chair, watching the television with a cup in her hands. I had yet to make coffee, and I wasn’t sure what she had poured in that. I needed to check as soon as I got the trash outside.

Closing the door firmly behind me so Grams didn’t try to follow me, I stepped around the rotten places on the wood until I made it safely off the porch. This was getting worse, and we should probably just take it all down. Get some bricks to use as steps and not have a front porch anymore. We? We who? That should be me. Dad wasn’t going to do anything that required actual work.

I was almost to the trash can beside the road when an expensive matte-black SUV slowed down, then turned into our driveway. There were only two people who knew where I lived and had money to drive something like that. The Mercedes symbol on the back meant this was one of those G-Wagons that cost more than two of my houses.

Opening the lid, I dropped the trash bag inside, then closed it while keeping my eyes on the driver’s door. I did not want that to be Merce, but I’d seen Amory in two different cars now. What were the chances he had three vehicles?

The familiar boot that emerged had me relieved and also caused my stomach to flutter. When Amory stepped out, his eyes were locked on me, and the sight of him seemed to make all my other problems fade away. He was already back. I hoped that meant I wasn’t the only one who was feeling things.

I tucked the hair blowing in my face behind my ear as I made my way in his direction. I had no idea why he was here so early, but I didn’t care. I was just glad he was.

“Good morning,” I said, smiling up at him as he started toward me.

“It is now,” he drawled as a crooked grin curled the corner of his lips.

I licked mine, thinking about how his had felt. Then, I remembered I hadn’t brushed my teeth yet, and I stopped walking. I did not want him smelling my morning breath.

His eyes slightly narrowed as he studied me, but he closed the space between us. “You were heading toward me, all smiles and bright eyes, and then you stopped.”

I put my hand in front of my mouth as I looked up at him. “I haven’t had my coffee yet, which means I haven’t brushed my teeth,” I admitted.

A low, deep chuckle, which made me feel warm all over, came from his chest. “Morning breath won’t scare me off.”

Eh. Well, we weren’t going to test that.

“I wasn’t expecting you,” I told him. “I mean, I’m glad you’re here, but I just didn’t think I’d see you again so soon.”

He took my hand and pulled it away from my face. “Stop shielding your mouth,” he told me with a gentle yet slightly demanding tone. “I want to see it.”

From now on until the end of eternity, I would brush my teeth the moment I woke up. Just in case.

“It looks the same as yesterday,” I quipped.

His eyes heated as he stared at it, and he made a pleased-sounding hum before lifting his gaze to meet mine. It wasn’t cold out, but I shivered anyway. The dark gleam in his eyes felt … possessive maybe, or was that just appreciative lust that I was reading too much into?

Things with him were moving fast. Faster than I’d ever allowed them to with a guy. But unlike the ones before him, I wanted to grab him and hold on.

My heart had never been broken, but I feared this might just be the man who would end up wielding the power to do it. I was helpless to stop it. There was no control over this thing that was happening to me.

“What are your plans today?” he asked me as he ran the back of his fingers down my arm.

I wished I didn’t have to wear sleeves to cover up my bruises. I wanted to feel his touch on my skin directly. He stopped as he reached the tender area, and his eyes dropped to look at it, as if the shirt wasn’t covering it up and he could see through the fabric. A pained expression flashed across his face, and he tenderly brushed his thumb over my bruised arm.

He had asked a question. What was it? He’d flustered me. I tried to remember what I was supposed to be saying.

When his gaze returned to my face, his dark, straight brows drew together into a scowl, and his chiseled jaw stood out more than usual. His expression caused a mixture of uneasiness and fascination to settle over me. I wasn’t scared of him, yet there was often something in his eyes that seemed to warn me of things I didn’t know. I should probably be put off by that, but it did the opposite. I found myself wanting to get closer to him instead.

“Your plans?” he asked, snapping me out of my wandering thoughts.

Right. He’d asked about my plans today. My problems came crashing back to the forefront of my mind, and I let out a weary sigh. I couldn’t spend time with him, if that was what he was asking. I had a missing father and Grams to take care of.

“Dad didn’t come home last night, and I didn’t get a call from Miller’s. I can only assume he went home with someone. Until he gets here, I can’t leave Grams, and I was supposed to go to the library and use the computer there in the back to write two essays and print them. My friend Coral is working today, and she always lets me use the computer and printer there.” I left off the for free part. No need to remind him how I had to live my life.

“I have somewhere I’d like to show you and your Grams,” he told me.

“Me and Grams?” I asked, not sure I was understanding him correctly.

“Yes,” he replied, his expression softening.

“Why?”

He slid a finger under my chin and ran his thumb over my lips. “Because I think it will benefit you both.”

I had questions—so many questions—but I nodded. “Okay. Um, I’ll need to change and get Grams dressed to go out. She doesn’t go anywhere unless it’s to a doctor’s appointment, so an outing would be good for her.”

He smiled. “Indeed. Which has to do with what I want to show you.”

I let out a small laugh at his smug expression, then turned to walk toward the house when he reached out and grabbed my waist, pulling me back against his chest. His warm breath smelled of mint as he lowered his head until his lips brushed my ear. He inhaled deeply and let out a satisfied-sounding groan.

“I needed that,” he whispered. “I missed feeling you pressed against me.”

I bit my bottom lip as I sank into him more. “It’s not even been twelve hours since you left,” I pointed out.

“Mmm,” he replied, pressing a kiss to my neck. “You shouldn’t feel so good. I’d be able to stay away longer if you weren’t so damn addictive.”

His hand slid under my shirt slowly, and I held my breath as my eyes fluttered closed. The warmth of his large palm covered my left breast, and I felt my knees go weak.

“Amory,” I gasped as the tingle began between my legs.

His hand stilled, and his body tensed, but only for a moment.

Then, he slid his hand from my shirt. “Sorry. I got carried away. Let’s go inside,” he said before squeezing my hips and nudging me to move forward.

It was a good thing he’d stopped us because I hadn’t thought once about the neighbors or who could be watching. This man was making me do things I’d never done before. Perhaps I should be worried about the pull he had on me, but right now, all I wanted was to keep him close. Enjoy the way he made me feel. Safe, wanted, protected, desired … no longer alone.