“Everyone go inside so I can talk to Samuel.” My voice is low and far more controlled than I feel.
“Lily,” Blake says in a warning tone.
“I’m not going to hurt him. Ju
st go. I’m his team lead and this is something he and I need to talk about without an audience. Take Sorina in the house.”
Blake takes measured steps toward me and lightly kisses my temple. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
I force myself to smile, tilting my head to kiss his lips. “I won’t. I promise.”
Samuel is smart enough not to move and once everyone is back inside, I sit down next to him. He stares at the ground, picking at the grass.
“Samuel, you know it’s not your relationship with Sori I have an issue with.”
“You sure about that?” His tone is cold and without emotion.
“Yes. Watch your tone with me. I don’t need that whip to beat the shit out of you.”
He sighs, wincing as he sits up straighter. “I’m sorry, Viper.”
“She’s fourteen, Tiger. I get that you two like each other and that she’ll be 15 soon. But if this becomes physical, you’ll lose your job and you’ll end up in jail. You’re a good agent. I don’t want to see you ruin your career because you were unwilling to wait.”
“It won’t happen again.”
“You’re right. From this point on, Rhett will be her official guard.”
His head snaps up, hurt flooding his eyes.
“Now, aside from the professional part of this, I’ll be damned if my daughter is going to end up pregnant at her age.”
He smirks and my first instinct is to slap him. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a condom. “I’m not an idiot.”
“You still need to wait.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I push off the ground and hold my hand out to help him up. He slides the foil packet back into his pocket and takes my hand. He winces and grunts as he stands, gasping to take a breath.
“Dr. Monroe will need to look at that. Pretty sure I broke one of your ribs.”
Walking past him toward the house, my head throbs at the onset of a migraine.
“Viper?”
I twist around, my eyebrows shooting up. “Yes?”
“I’m in love with her.”
My throat tightens, but at the same time, my heart melts. That’s a feeling I can understand. “If you love her, then you’ll wait.”
He nods and together we make our way back to the main house. Facing Sorina is going to be a pain in my ass. I’m sure she couldn’t be any more embarrassed or angry at this display of her mother’s temper.
The complications around this house just keep getting better and better.
†††
~Sorina~