New Title 6 (16 page)

 Bianca
looked at me from head-to-toe with a sneer on her face. She was beautiful; I
could understand why Talon was married to her. She had long blonde hair, light
blue eyes, and a slim body that was wrapped up in designer gear.

 I
was sure I looked a treat, too. “Sorry, if I would of known I was receiving
company, I would have spruced up a little. I’ve been cleaning all day.”

 “You
clean your own house.”

 It
wasn’t a question, it was more of a disgusted statement.

 Deanna
stepped forward from behind the door. “No, woman, fairies fly outta her ass and
they do it for her.”

 Cody
laughed, but he quickly hid it behind a cough when his mum glared at him.

 “Hey,
Cody.” I waved. He smiled. “Why don’cha come on in. Julian will take you to
meet Maya.”

 “Bye,
Mum,” he whispered as he walked past her into the house, only to stop just
inside when his mum spoke.

 “Now
hang on a second, bitch!” She turned to Talon. “I don’t want him stayin’ here
with one of your pieces of pussy.”

 “My
time with my boy, I do what I want. And if spending that time is with
my
woman, it’s fuckin’ what we’ll do.”

 With
hands on my hips, I said, “Talon, honey. Check your language in front of the
kids.”

 Talon
looked at me with a smile upon his face. “Right, kitten.”

 Bianca
gasped.

 “Come
on, little Thor. Let’s leave these cats to hiss it out,” Julian said, and with
a gentle hand on Cody’s shoulder, he ushered him forward and down the hall.

 “You
are fucking shitting me!” Bianca screeched.

 I
stepped out the door with Deanna behind me, and closed it. I’d had enough; I
turned to Bianca with a glare.

 “I
would appreciate it if you would be more civilized around my house. I do not
condone bad language when my daughter is present. Now, I am not trying to
replace you in any way when it concerns Cody. All I wanted was to meet and get
to know
my
man’s child. I’m sorry if that hurts you in some way; but if
this
is
what Talon wants, then I will stand by him.”

 She
looked from Talon to me. “You have got to be kidding me. This? That is what
you’re fucking choosing to screw? Some toffee, fat bitch?”

 “Watch
what you fuckin say, Bianca.”

 “Yeah,
right; you won’t do anything about it, ‘cause you know you’d lose Cody.”

 Holy
heck. She was really going to play that card with him?

 “Now
that’s just uncalled for,” I said.

 She
took a step toward me. “I don’t give a fuck what you have to say or think,
bitch.”

 Deanna
started bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet beside me. “Oh, come on,
come on. Let me at her. Talon? Zara? Please.”

 Bianca
looked to Deanna. “And who the fuck are you?”

 Deanna
ignored the question and looked to Talon with pleading eyes. “Please.”

 Talon
chuckled. “If it’s okay with Zara. Have at it, Hell Mouth.”

 Deanna
begged me with her eyes. I would have loved to have said my own piece, but I
didn’t want the children to overhear. I didn’t want to cause Talon any more
damage, and I thought if it didn’t come from me, then the problem wouldn’t
escalate. Also, Deanna sure did have a way with words; and when she wanted to
get a certain message across, she did, with a firework result.

 And
who was I to spoil her fun? I nodded my head at Deanna.

 She
beamed, stepped in front of me, and snarled in Bianca’s face, “Don’t you ever
fuckin’ come here giving shit to my sista and her man. I will fuckin’ take you
down, slut. I’m not a pulling hair, sissy fighta. I claw, bite, and give my
all, and there is a lot. And if you even think of holding Cody against Talon, I
will rip you and your life apart. You think you got money and you can do or say
anything? Well, shit, woman, I got so much money I could use it as toilet
paper. So, I have every chance to fuck you and your husband over. Now back the
fuck up, woman, and leave. Let them have this; if you don’t—I’ll rain down on
you faster than you can blink.”

 Bianca
did indeed blink…and then again. She opened her mouth, shut it, and then
stuttered, “B-but—” She shook her head and stood straighter. “Hang on a sec;
she just swore.”

 I
shrugged my shoulders and said, “Yeah, but she was quiet about it. The kids
wouldn’t have heard that.”

 “What-fucking-ever.”
She turned and went down the steps, then left.

 “Honey,
your ex is a…not a nice person,” I said as we stared after her.

 Deanna
sighed. “Zee, she’s a bitch.”

 “That
she is, Hell Mouth, and so much more. But I think you just scared the fuck
outta her. So, thanks,” Talon said.

 “Not
a problem, boss man. I enjoyed it.”

 Talon
took the steps two at a time and was in front of me; then I was in his arms.
“Sorry ‘bout that, kitten.”

 I
wrapped my arms around his waist and grinned up at him. “Don’t apologise for
that thing, honey. I just hope we can salvage dinner.”

 “What
did I do to ever deserve you?” Talon grinned.

 “And
me,” Deanna said.

 Talon
chuckled. “Yeah, Hell Mouth, and fuckin’ you. Let’s go eat, babe.”

Dinner
wasn’t too bad; the meat was still tender enough that we didn’t have to carve
it with a chainsaw. Maya absolutely adored Cody, and I think the feeling was
mutual. Cody didn’t say much while we ate, but he did smile, and of course
laughed at Deanna and Julian a lot. Though, who wouldn’t?

 After
checking with Cody first, we set up a bed in Maya’s room; she was over the moon
to have company. I hoped she didn’t talk his ear off. Talon’s only comment was
that I needed a bigger house. I laughed and said I liked it the way it was;
that was when he informed me that tomorrow we were staying at his house with
the kids, because at least then the walls were more soundproof and he could
have his wicked way with me. I gulped.

 It
wasn’t until Julian and Mattie had gone to bed, Deanna had left with Griz,
complaining all the way, and Talon and I were in bed and asleep—after fooling
around for a bit—that I woke in the middle of the night from having a nightmare
about
the
phone call. If Talon hadn’t been there, it would have advanced
into a full-blown panic attack.

 “Like
I said, kitten,” Talon whispered, “we’re going to my house tomorrow; not for
the other reasons, but ‘cause it’s safer. I have an alarm system and cameras.
We’ll take everyone if we have to. I’ll keep you safe, babe. Always.”

 “Okay,
honey,” I said. Because I knew that was true.

“
M
omma, Mum, Ma. Mummy, wake up.”

 I
woke up wishing my daughter had a snooze button like my alarm clock. She
didn't, of course, so I had to pry open my eyes and pay attention to her.

 “Yes,
Maya, my wonderful, pain-in-the-beehive daughter. What is so important to wake
me up on a Saturday morning?”

 “I'm
hungry.”

 Seriously?
Where was that duct tape when I needed it? I sat up slowly, looked next to me,
and found the bed empty. Well, there went my morning nookie.

 Wait.
Where in the heck did that come from?

 Why
was I thinking about nookie in the first place with my daughter present?

 That
damn Talon.

 “Maya,
was that all you needed, hun?” 'Cause last I knew, we had a house full of
people who could have helped her out; and also, from the sound of it, they were
already
awake.

 “No.
I've got swimming, remember?” She smiled.

 I
glanced at the clock and hissed, “Snap.” I threw the covers back; thankfully, I
was wearing my PJ's so I bounced off the bed and ordered, “Right, Maya get
dressed; get the bag from the laundry with a towel in it, and be ready. I'll
throw some clothes on and we’ll get going. Okay?”

 “Okay.”
She ran from the room yelling, “We're late, we're late.”

 We
weren't that late. Swimming started in ten minutes and we lived five minutes
driving distance away from the centre. Okay, so maybe we were going to be a
little late, but we had to go; my little uncoordinated angel needed as many
lessons as possible.

 I
dressed in black leggings, a tight, long-sleeve black top under a looser
fitting tee that read 'This ain't no milk store', slipped on a pair of combat
boots, and ran from my room to the kitchen where Talon and Cody already were.

 “Gotta
go, gotta go, people,” I said, as I quickly filled a travel mug of coffee. I
was about to walk out of the kitchen and yell at Maya to get her beehive out
here when Talon called,“Kitten.”

 “Yes,
honey?” I turned to face him. “Oh, sorry. Morning, Cody. I hope you've had breakfast.
Hey, do you want to come with us? I'm sure Maya would love to show you how not
to swim while trying to learn to swim.”

 Cody
beamed and looked from me to Talon, so I moved my gaze to Talon also.

 “Kitten,
get your ass over here.”

 I
sighed and rolled my eyes. “Talon, I don't have time for this; I need to go.
Maya,” I yelled.

 “Comin'!”
she yelled back.

 “Kitten.”
There was a tone of warning in his voice.

 I
sighed, “Yes, Talon?”

 “Get
your ass over here. Kiss me, and then you can go. I'll bring Cody with me in a
moment; I just gotta see to something at the compound.”

 “Oh,
okay.” I grinned, walked over to him, and gave him a quick peck on the mouth.
Talon wasn't having any of that. As I went to pull away, he brought me closer
and really kissed me, so thoroughly that my legs went wonky and my fandola sang
"
Let's Get it On
". Then I remembered we had an audience.

 I
stepped away and glared at him. “Talon,” I snapped. “None of that in front of
Cody—”

 “He
don't mind.”

 “That's
beside the point. I do not neck in front of our children.”

 His
eyes went extra soft. What had I done or said to receive that response from
him? I wasn't sure, but I knew I liked it.

 Though,
then I remembered. “And do not say the a-word again, mister,” I said, jabbing
him in the chest with my finger.

 “Babe.”
he smiled. “Let's leave the cursing lesson ‘til later, when you're not going to
be late.”

 I
gasped, looked to the clock on the microwave, and yelled, “Maya, let's move
it.” I gave Talon a quick peck, Cody a hair ruffle, and over my shoulder I
said, “See you there.”

 Maya
met me in the lounge; she said a quick goodbye and we left.