Her head tipped on the pillow and her hands slid down to his neck, but her face changed and he didn’t like the way it did it.

He understood why when she asked softly, “You still care?”

“Nope, not for me,” he replied. “But two of my kids are her kids and if I get her, I might be able to help them do it. And Ethan isn’t hers but she freaks him out. He knows he’s missin’ somethin’, he just doesn’t know what he’s missin’. He’ll clue in eventually that he doesn’t have a mother and that he doesn’t like the mother his brother and sister have. He’s tight with them and to him, Donna is a wildcard. He might not get it in any real way but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t get that she has the power to hurt them and if she suddenly pushed gettin’ the custody she’s supposed to have, he’d lose them every other week. So in a way, I got three kids that are mired in her shit. And because of that, I care.”

“This is why he sidled close to you and me at the game,” she noted.

“That’s why.”

“I believe you and Conner are correct,” she declared. “Donna needs to get her finger out of her ass.”

At those words coming from Josie’s lips, Jake’s body started shaking with the laughter he was fighting against making vocal but he didn’t win the fight against stopping his words from vibrating with it when he agreed, “Yep. Con and me are correct.”

Her face went unfocused again, her eyes drifting over his shoulder and he had a feeling, since she was Lydie’s granddaughter and had demonstrated repeatedly she had no problems wading into a variety of shit, she was thinking about how to force Donna to pull her finger out.

So he stated, “Baby, it’s up to her to do it. It’s up to me to cover my kids as she does it or if she doesn’t.”

She focused on him and murmured a noncommittal, “Indeed.”

Jake stared at her and wondered how a Josie vs. Donna would go.

What he knew in his gut was that Josie would rather bleed herself dry than hurt Amber or Conner so he figured if she found her time to get up in Donna’s face, it would be Donna’s problem and not blow back on his kids.

Still, he said, “Let her work it out.”

“Hmm,” she replied.

His body started shaking again.

She felt it and her eyes narrowed on him. “What’s amusing?”

“You’re cute when you go momma bear.”

Her face arrested but there was a light in her eyes he liked a fuckuva lot and a tone in her voice he liked even more when she asked breathily, “Momma bear?”

“Yeah, Slick. You layin’ Noah out for Amber. Havin’ Con’s back with his situation. Keepin’ Eath close when Donna’s bein’ her usual clueless. Momma bear.”

She covered quickly but he saw her doing it.

Seeing it he knew it sucked for her in a way he felt deep in his gut, but it didn’t suck for him or his kids, what she was trying to hide.

Way back in the day, she’d wanted kids and had given up that dream. Now, at her age, it wouldn’t be impossible, but it would be difficult and possibly dangerous.

“Well,” she huffed haughtily through her cover. “Someone has to do it.”

She was way fucking right about that.

“Okay, Slick, lots of things I’d wanna lay on you talkin’ about the morning after I’ve had you for the first time…twice, but Donna isn’t one of them.”

Her face cleared and softened again, as did her voice when she asked, “What do you want to talk about?”

“Talk, not so much,” he stated. He watched her eyes flash, read that too, wished he could give it to her and went on, “Tell you I’m makin’ you breakfast, puttin’ your ass in my truck, gettin’ your car, gettin’ it home and then takin’ you to my place so we can spend the day there with my kids watchin’ football, definitely.”

She didn’t hide her disappointment when she mumbled, “Oh.”

He dipped his face closer and shared, “Had only one condom in my wallet, honey.”

“Oh,” she repeated, still not hiding her disappointment.

“We’ll have that discussion later,” he told her.

“Okay,” she whispered.

“Now, breakfast,” he stated.

“Okay,” she repeated.

“You got a spare toothbrush?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Gran might have one somewhere. I’ll look.”

“Good. You got the coffee ready to switch on?”

“I was, well…occupied with other things last night when I got home.”

He grinned at her and muttered, “Right.” He dipped his head closer again, slid his nose from the curve of her nostril to the tip and, staying close, he said, “You find a toothbrush. I’ll start coffee.”

“All right, Jake. The coffee’s in the fridge.”

“Gotcha.”

He made a move to leave her and was about to touch his mouth to her jaw before doing that when she called, “Jake?”

He lifted his head and caught her gaze. Then he tensed when he caught the look in her eyes.

Shyly, she asked, “This is real, right?”

Fuck him.

Last night, she told him she liked him.

He knew that before she said it.

Right then he knew she really fucking liked him.

“You think you’re dreamin’, baby?” he asked back.

“Yes,” she whispered.

Fuck.

Him.

“It’s real, Josie,” he promised.

She nodded before she lifted her head and slid her lips from the corner of his mouth across his stubble and pressed them to his jaw, the entire trip he felt in his gut, his dick and burning through his chest.

Not that he had to be reminded but her doing this did the trick.

And yeah.

Fuck yeah.

He really fucking liked her too.

She dropped her head back to the pillow, her hair again everywhere, and said, “Toothbrush.”

“Yeah,” he muttered, bent and kissed her jaw then moved from the bed thinking that if she wasn’t cool with taking him ungloved, he was buying a fucking case of condoms and stashing them everywhere so they’d never run out. Her house. Her Cayenne. His truck. His wallet. Her wallet. His workout bag. His office. The club. Her nightstand. His bedroom at home.

Every-fucking-where.

Dozens of those fuckers.

He yanked on his training pants and didn’t look back when he exited the room. This was because he’d managed to control his erection and if he saw her in that nightie in her bed with her long blonde hair down, that effort would be wasted.

He was winding his way down the stairs when he stopped dead.

And he stopped dead because he heard someone at the front door and they weren’t knocking or ringing the bell.

As far as he knew, Lydie had given keys to him, Conner, Amber and Ethan. The nursing company that came in and looked after her also had a key. And a couple of her younger friends who could still get around and came to visit her often had them.

None of those people, outside of maybe his kids, would open the door on a Sunday morning before ringing the bell.

And he’d locked it last night. His mind was on Josie but he’d never forget to lock the door to keep her safe and he knew he did.

Slowly, he moved around the landing and had his eyes glued to the door, his steps cautious as he watched a man entering.

That man was not one of his kids, anyone from the nursing company or any of Lydie’s friends.

He had a big black leather bag in his hand like he was staying a while and he was looking into the foyer sneakily.

Jake again stopped on the stairs, crossed his arms on his chest and demanded, “You wanna tell me who the fuck you are?”

The man’s head jerked around and up. Jake watched his face go slack in shock then his eyes moved over Jake from head to toe and his expression hardened with anger.

“Jake, I presume,” he said, his voice tight.

Jesus.

Was this guy…?

“You know me, I still don’t know you,” Jake stated.

“Henry Gagnon,” the man answered.

Yep. This guy was Josephine’s shit for brains boss.

It was not good the guy was good-looking. It was also not good he was well-dressed. It was further not good that he was clearly fit.