The Forbidden Note (Redwood Kings Book 4)

Getting ready for school with one arm is freaking torture and I give up on the second button. I hate those corny plaid uniforms anyway. Reaching for a wifebeater and my cut jeans, I shove them on and stalk downstairs.

Cadence is there, making breakfast along with Martina. She’s already wearing her school uniform, a light blue blouse with a bow around the neck and a plaid skirt.

I feel a twinge of guilt when I think about her having trouble getting pregnant. We’re all counting on them to make a baby before the will expires, so we can keep dad from putting his hands on our inheritance. Cadey is well aware of that.

The pressure to get pregnant could also be the culprit to her stress.

Vi is slurping down orange juice. Her eyes light up when she looks at me. “The bruises are going down. You don’t look like a rotten apple anymore.”

“Wow. Thanks.” I fall into a chair, drag her OJ over to me and drain the rest of it.

“Hey!”

I burp. “Thanks, kid.”

Finn emerges from the stairs, his eyes slightly swollen. I notice the puffiness and chuck my chin in his direction. “What happened to you?”

He ignores me and pours himself a bowl of cereal.

Dutch is the last to emerge. He’s in a pressed uniform and tie, looking like one of those yuppies we always made fun of. He’s been conforming more to the rules since marrying Cadey, but nothing can hide the lawlessness in his eyes or the ink all over his arms that screams ‘rule-breaker’.

They say marriage changes a man, but I don’t think Dutch is changed. He’s just controlling himself better. The monster, the animal, is still prowling around, albeit on a tighter leash.

The married couple meet on opposite ends of the counter.

“Brahms.”

“Dutch.”

They exchange a heated look filled with sexual tension, and I groan.

“Can you not eye-flirt before eight a.m? It’s nauseating.”

Dutch flips me off and then drags out the seat next to me. Cadey brings him a plate of eggs. He grabs her hand and pulls her into the seat next to him. “You should be off your feet. Let Martina handle breakfast.”

“I’m okay. I wanted to help.”

He scowls so hard, I’m sure it’ll be a permanent part of his face soon. The guy’s so protective of Cadey she can’t even take a piss without him there.

Finn sits across from me. “How did Grey’s conversation with her mom go?”

“I haven’t checked,” I say, reaching for an apple.

“You haven’t texted? Or called? Or followed her around like a puppy?” Cadey teases.

I’d flip her off too, but one look at Dutch tells me I’d just as soon lose the finger.

Finn smirks.

Dutch gives me a pointed look. “Did you two have a fight?”

“No.”

Vi snorts. “Look at his face. They totally did.”

I glare in her direction. This house was a lot more peaceful when there weren’t so many girls in it.

Martina slides a plate of eggs toward me.

I thank her with a nod, but I don’t pick up my fork. Talking about Grey takes away my appetite.

You can have me for one night, her whispered words echo.

The memory of her body brushing against mine, her sweet perfume filling my senses, her eyes glistening as she dangled that stupid carrot cuts under my ribs. I’d have crushed her against the wall and had her bawling my freaking name in seconds if she hadn’t said what she said next.

And then I never want to see you again.

Everything we’ve been through, everything I’ve ever done for her went completely over her pretty little head. She thinks I’ll be done with one screw? One torrid little affair where I rub her and touch her and sink into her tight body only to what? Never speak to her again?

Hell, I’d get drunk on her for eternity if she wasn’t so damn stubborn.

“Who’d have thought that Miss Jamieson is so good at playing hard to get?” Cadey muses, spreading jam on her toast. “It takes a special kind of girl to resist Zane for this long.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Dutch growls.

I run a hand through my hair and flash Cadey a grin that’s melted tons of panties. “You think I’m irresistible, Cadey?”

“Rub that stupid grin off your face, Zane.” Dutch grips his knife in red-knuckled fists.

Cadey laughs and rubs her husband’s chest. “I think you’re the hottest guy in this room.”

“You better,” Dutch says, finally dropping the knife.

“But,” Cadey adds, “you have to admit that Zane has a silver tongue and some kind of weird control over girls.” Her brown eyes meet mine. “Don’t you have, like, a million followers just by lifting your shirt and rolling your abs a bit?”

“Oh, yeah! I love those videos!” Vi exclaims.

I shift in my seat, uneasy with my thirteen-year-old sister-in-law seeing my content. “Someone take away the kid’s phone.”

Dutch grunts. “You need some tips?”

“From you? No.” I drop my fork and rise from the table.

“Where are you going?” Finn asks, peering at me.

“You never answer that question, so why should I?”

Cadey looks concerned. “Zane, we were just teasing you. We know things are complicated with Miss Jamieson. Even if she wanted to like you, it’s not like she can come out and say it.”

I know that.

And hell, I always thought I’d be fine living my life in the darkness.

But I’m starting to get sick and tired of mud and shadows.

Maybe, for once in my life, I want to taste what it’s like to live in the light.