Her CEO Stalker and Her Second Chance Mate Chapter 48

Carter

When we passed Miranda’s place, I couldn’t help but glare through the window with a go fuck yourself and eat shit look. I heard her come out behind us and felt her seething stare on our backs, and I just knew my baby boy was glaring at her for me over Briar’s shoulder, right back at her. I shouldn’t have riled her, but right now, I was high on life so I draped my arm over Briar’s shoulder for good measure; who was none the wiser as we turned the corner. No doubt, Miranda would be spewing shit to her crew in no time. She could go right ahead. Miranda could go fuck herself. This Beta was gonna put them all in their places. I was convinced she was just bitter, nobody wanted her troublesome ass. 

When we got to the bakery, I took Tucker from Brair’s arms, and she dug into her backpack over my shoulder for her wallet. I waited for her on the street. The bakery would be quiet this time of the evening anyway. She came back with a bag full of loaves. I eyed her.

“Don’t judge me, I like good bread. My mama used to make it from scratch and I don’t think I can go back to generic over processed shit.” I snorted, and we made our way back to the truck. The animals and Briar settled into the cab. I went inside, and Sis handed me the bags. 

“I put some extras in there, lil bro,” she said with a wink. I thanked her and climbed back into the truck. I took us just out of town to a secluded overlook. On the weekends, the teenagers frequented this place, but right now, it was empty, just us looking out at the valley sprawled below. The setting sun cast its last rays through the mountains as the sky became painted in vibrant shades of pinks, purples, and ambers.

“It's beautiful,” Briar said, admiring the view after I helped her take a seat on the tailgate.

“It is,” I agreed, hopping up next to her. Tucker had curled up beside her, and Rosie was nose deep into something as she sniffed around the bushes. I passed out the food and beer, and we ate silently, enjoying the view and companionable company. Briar ate slowly, like the mere effort to chew nauseated her. I couldn’t tell her, as much as I wanted to, what was causing her problems, I just knew it was easier for her when I was around, so I shifted, resting my knee just barely against hers. A soft sigh escaped her. And she stopped pushing her food around with the plastic fork and ate more steadily.

When we were done, I peeked in the extra bag and grinned, pulling out two slices of turtle pie. Drizzled with caramel and sprinkled with nuts over the whipped cream peaks. I passed her a slice, and she set her empty container to the side. She took it and dug in, and I paused my fork to my mouth when I heard her groan of approval. The sound put my dick on attention and I shifted into a more comfortable position. I’d have to be sure I was around enough to ensure she ate properly. Four days was too long, at least, at this point in her body’s healing. Once she got to eating she had no problem putting the food away.

“This should be outlawed,” she grumbled through a mouthful of pie.

“Yeah, it’s my favorite at the diner, it’s actually our Gran’s recipe,” I let her know. She nodded approvingly. When she had polished off the pie she sat back on her elbows, stretching out. No doubt to ease the strain on her stomach. I grabbed up the empty containers, depositing them in the larger of the empty bags, and tossed it in the back of the truck to dispose of later before I joined her in watching the last rays of the sun vanish and the sky slowly darkening, the first stars of the evening winking to life.

I watched her savor the sky’s beauty, but nothing compared to hers in my eyes. It wasn’t just the vague bond between us; any man with eyes would think so. She glanced over and caught me staring.

“What?” she asked, and I glanced away to find words that could convey what I meant without scaring her off.

“I don’t know how any man could have been stupid enough to take you for granted. You didn’t deserve what he did to you.”

She shrugged. “I was naive and I tried to play in a field no stupid country girl ought to have tried to play in.”

“That’s where I think you are wrong. He underestimated you, and he’s already starting to pay the price for that. He’s only coming for you because he finally realized what he lost had more value then he could have ever dreamed; it’s why he tried to keep and dominate you. So don’t let him win.”

Her eyes shifted to the sky again considering my words. “I don’t know about all that, but I will admit I didn’t accept his attention simply out of pure intentions, I saw it as a means to reach my ultimate goal.”

“What goal was that?”

“I wanted other kids like me to have a chance. I wanted to become part of a big corporation that would do that for me. I never loved Creedon, his attention always felt out of place, but I let him blind me. I thought I had it all worked out; that he was the way to my desires. I thought I could change him, or at least be a compass that steered him in another direction. I was foolish and selfish and I paid a heavy price.”

I tipped her chin to mine, “No matter what you think, nothing you did was deserving of what he did to you.”

“I know, but I can’t help thinking my actions had something to do with it. I should have never accepted the position, knowing his interest in me. I ruined ever getting that dream by trying to cut corners. I thought I would learn to love him. I guess now the joke is on me.”

“What you went through isn’t a joke, when he knew what he had, he realized he had just lost his most powerful asset,” I insisted.

Briar snorted. “I am nothing. I was just something to toy with for a while and he got mad when I realized it sooner than he expected.”

She had no clue and as much as I wanted to tell her everything, I couldn’t yet without exposing my, or was it our, entire race, so I sighed. “I see I won’t be getting anywhere with you on this tonight, how about we get those groceries?”