Possessive Daddy Next Door

He stares at me and by the way he just said that, I can tell this won’t be good. I look at Delia and feel that aching longing, but I know I’ll have to wait. She looks so fucking delicious in that bikini. At least I’ll get a good look at her as she gets out.

“Do you mind?” I ask her, keeping my voice low so Patricks won’t hear.

She shrugs. “I guess not. Go ahead. I’m still swimming.”

“Damn,” I whisper. “I wanted to see you climb up those steps.”

She grins. “I bet you did,” she says and swims off.

I sigh and walk to the ladder. I climb out and grab my towel, throwing it around my shoulders. “Let’s talk outside,” I say to Patricks.

I push through the side door and step out into the yard. He follows and we stand next to each other in the sunshine. I wrap the towel around me and cross my arms.

“I found a gun in your room,” Patricks says.

I stare at him. “You did what?”

“I found a gun,” he repeats. “A Glock 9mm and a Remington 700 rifle. You plan on killing some large game out here?”

I snort. “Yeah. With the Glock.”

He doesn’t smile. “You were told not to have any guns.”

“While I was on duty. But that’s my private room, Patricks.”

“And you have weapons in there.”

I face him, forcing my anger down. “You went through my fucking room. Do you do that for all the Lofthouse family members?”

He sneers at me. “No. Just their guests.”

“You went too far.”

“You brought guns into this house. Do you have any idea how angry I am?”

“I don’t give a fuck.” I get in his face, losing my temper. “You went through my things. You have no clue why I have those weapons.”

He doesn’t back down. “Then fucking enlighten me.”

I stare at him, heart hammering. I want to hit him so badly for going through my things. That’s a violation of my space and it drives me wild with rage.

But I know I can’t do it. That’s what he wants, I realize. He wants any excuse to get rid of me. One wrong move and he’ll gladly send me packing without a second thought.

He’s trying to goad me into doing something stupid.

I’m not going to let him.

I step away and take a long, deep breath. I look back at him with anger in my eyes, but I keep it contained.

“I can’t,” I say. “But believe me, those guns are safe and protected.”

He shakes his head. “You’re incredible. You know that? I don’t know what you did to trick Delia into thinking you’re a decent man. She must be fucking stupid to listen to you. I always liked her, but god, she’s gone downhill, that dumb—”

That gets me. I turn to him and slam my fist into his jaw. I see red for a moment as he stumbles back and stares at me.

“Don’t you ever talk about her like that,” I growl. “I’ll rip your fucking throat out if you do.”

He stares at me and I register surprise on his face. I didn’t expect that. Maybe he thought I wouldn’t touch him, or maybe he thought I didn’t care. But I would and I fucking do.

I take a step closer. “Wait,” he says, holding up a hand. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what? You want to go through my shit again? Fine, I’ll shrug that off. But I won’t shrug off you talking like that about Delia.”

He frowns and tilts his head. A small trickle of blood rolls down from his split lip. He wipes it off.

“You care about her, don’t you?”

“Damn right I do.”

“Huh.” He straightens up. “I didn’t realize that.”

“Why the fuck do you think I’m doing all this?”

“Honestly? I have no clue.” He stares at me for a long moment. “I thought you just wanted to use them. Most people do.”

“I don’t give a damn about their money,” I say. “I’m only here because I have to be. Because she wants me here.”

He watches me for another long moment. I ache to hit him again, if only because I got my blood up and now I don’t want to stop. But he steps back and smiles.

“Okay then,” he says. “I wish you had just said that from the start.”

“What?” I blink at him and my rage slowly dissipates.

“I thought you were just another user, but you clearly care about her. That counts for something.”

“You’re a weird man.”

He shrugs. “I’m a loyal man, and I don’t know if I can trust you. But now I believe you have her best interest at heart, despite all the strange shit that’s happening around you.”

“I do,” I say. “I really do.”

“Good. Keep it that way. And lock up your guns, you have a toddler.”

I glare a him. “Those guns were locked up, you asshole.”

He grins. “Oh, right. I forgot that closet locked. My mistake.” He turns and starts to walk away. “Have a nice day, Max.”