Lord Have Mercy (Southern Gentleman 2)

I guess, in a way, I’d been expecting it.

I blew out a shaky breath and looked down into the soulful brown eyes of Dooley.

He looked sorry to have caused me pain—if a dog could look sorry.

For some reason, I really felt like he was.

“You’re not okay,” Flint disagreed. “You’re shaking so hard that I’m sure if I let you go, you’d fall to the ground.”

I took advantage of the situation—I was a shameless hussy and would take what I could get—and buried my face into Flint’s throat.

He smelled good—like the shower gel that I’d used in his shower earlier—and for some odd reason being in his arms was a whole lot more comforting than it probably should have been.

I mean, with as much as we fought, it shouldn’t be this perfect.

Except, it was.

And his dog leaning on my leg was perfect, too.

It was like they were protecting me and all I had to do was let them.

“She okay?” Raleigh’s soft voice came from behind me.

I shivered.

“She’s fine. Just getting her bearings,” Flint rumbled.

I felt the vibration of his words along my whole upper half.

“Okay,” Raleigh said. “I’m going to go to our seats. Bring her there when you’re ready.”

With that, I heard her walk away, and then blew out a breath of relief at knowing we were alone.

“Did I scream?” I asked worriedly.

“No,” he said. “You moaned. Panicked and tried to hide, but other than that, had you not been shaking and in my arms, I might not have known anything was wrong with you. You would’ve just disappeared into these shadows and nobody would have thought to look.”

I inhaled deeply, and blew that breath out, too.

“It was the dark,” I admitted. “I freak out when I don’t anticipate the touch. Your dog probably thinks I’m crazy.”

He snorted. “He’s not the only one.”

I reached up and pinched him on the arm, but still didn’t move from my position.

“I was talking about Raleigh,” he lied.

I snorted and straightened my spine, my face coming out of his neck at the same time.

“Okay.” I breathed one last time. “It’s time for you to get to work.”

I could practically feel his reluctance at letting me go, but eventually, he did, and I felt freezing cold the instant he was no longer touching me.

“I guess I really should probably get to work,” he admitted. “Gotta be seen.”

I smiled, but it came out rather shaky, which he somehow saw in the gloomy darkness surrounding us.

“I’ll find you after the game is over and we’ll go out for ice cream,” he said.

I shook my head. “No. I’m on a diet. One you put me on…remember?”

He snorted. “Rules are made to be broken, honey.”

With that, he patted me on the ass and walked away before I could so much as squeak out an indignant, “Hey!”

I found Raleigh about five minutes later, sitting at the fifty-yard line right in the middle of the large crowd.

My belly instantly revolted.

I most certainly did not want to climb up in the middle of that mess and act like everything was all right. I was still a bit raw on the inside, and I was still feeling the effects of Flint’s arms around me.

That was why when Raleigh saw me and looked at me questioningly, I held my phone up to her.

After tapping out a quick text telling her I was going home, she frowned but nodded at me in understanding.

I escaped then and tried not to wonder whether Flint had noticed my retreat.Chapter 7Don’t mess with my kids. I don’t want to have to go all street on your ass.

-Flint to a drug dealer

Flint

“She what?” I asked Raleigh.

“She left about five minutes after I left the bathroom and her. She’s probably at home,” she answered.

I sighed.

“Okay,” I said, pausing. “What’s her address?”

“What makes you think I should give it to you?” she questioned. “I saw y’all fighting.”

That was true.

Ezra snorted. “Foreplay, honey. Foreplay.”

Raleigh turned her glare on her husband. “Don’t even get me started on you. I’ve had to smell my child all night and let me tell you something, it was gross. A dirty sock? Really?”

Ezra grinned, then turned to me. “She lives on the corner of Madison and Rowe, in that little blue house that sits on the corner lot. She has a really steep driveway, you know the one?”

I nodded. I did, indeed, know the one he was talking about.

The driveway was stupid, and when the builder had built it, I hadn’t thought anybody would ever move in there.

But, apparently, I was wrong.

Camryn was obviously one of those people that didn’t give a shit if something was functional or not.

“Thanks,” I muttered, giving him my hand.

He shook it and released it.

“Take care of her,” Raleigh ordered.

“Yes, ma’am,” I told her. “Good game tonight, Coach.”

Ezra grinned. “Was fuckin’ excellent, wasn’t it?”