“It’s not stupid. It’s an addiction.”

“That doesn’t make it ok. If I’m able to kick it for a few months, why the hell can’t I say no and move on? Slade will leave me alone for a while and then, like a puppet on a string, he takes me down off of the shelf, ready to play.” Baby squeezed her eyes shut before the tears spilled.

“I can’t watch you go through this. I want to take care of you.”

Baby’s insides trembled. Sobs welled in her throat and tears pooled in the corners of her captivating green eyes. No one had ever wanted to take care of her other than Ma’Linn. Her lip quivered. “Why would you do that?”

“To be honest, I have no idea. I hated seeing you like that tonight. It tore me up. I wanted to punch the son of a bitch in his huge troll face.”

Baby shot upright and moved to the end of the bed, out of his reach. “I don’t need your pity. I’ll get through it one way or another. I always do.”

“Hey, don’t get all defensive on me. I don’t pity you.” He dragged her back to him, enveloping her in his arms. His bare chest was warm under her cheek. “I can’t explain it. It feels right, like I’m supposed to take care of you. Like I’ve been waiting my whole life for you I don’t know exactly what it is that I feel, but it’s definitely not pity. I want to be near you, hold you, and make you smile.”

Her lips curved at the sincerity of his words. She stroked his chest, trailing her finger along the lines of his tattoos. She smelled herself on his skin, and it made her body react, the pulsing between her legs distracting her.

“Yeah, like that. I want to make you blush. Be there to keep you safe, hold you when you need to cry. I don’t know what the hell’s going on, but I haven’t felt like this since Carrie. Hell, not then either. And it was the last damn thing I expected when I came back to town.”

“I don’t know what is happening either. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt like this. I’ve never had a normal relationship.”

Lucky chuckled. “Baby, I’m far from normal.”

“Then we’re the perfect match.” She snuggled in closer.

“Yep.”

The last thing Baby Jade remembered before falling asleep was the soothing touch of Lucky’s fingertips on her back.

Chapter Fourteen

Lucky

Lucky examined Baby’s face. Her eyes were closed with no harsh lines or creasing. It was the first time that he had seen her look at peace. Baby gave a satisfied sigh and unconsciously burrowed herself into his chest. Her breath on his flesh made the blood rush through his veins. His heart beat fast as her body twitched with her skin on his.

This was insane. How could he already be developing feelings for this girl? And why did it have to be the one chick with the most fucked up problems?

The lost lamb look on Baby’s face tonight at the club made him want to throw her on the back of his bike and take off. However, he couldn’t leave, not yet. And there’s nothing saying she would want to ride off with him into the sunset after the board meeting.

His mother had been calling him for days now, but he still refused to answer the phone. He wasn’t here for a fake family reunion.

He and Baby had come from two different worlds although they grew up only a few blocks apart. His life was filled with vacations, nannies, and servants. Hers was filled with drugs, abuse, and abandonment. He resented the life he’d once had. There were people in the world suffering while his parents threw money at their problems.

In college, it became clear that Lucky wanted something different out of life. When he met Carrie, he thought he had found it. He would have gone to the moon to fight for their relationship. He didn’t give a shit if his parents had disowned him. Money didn’t mean the same thing to him as it did to his family.

As an only child, Lucky was pretty much guaranteed a spot on the Gauthier board when a seat became available. The successful company had initially been a small startup by his father, Colby, and his best friend, Art Flanagan, who committed suicide a few months back.

Lucky grew up as James Thomas Gauthier. He went to an affluent private school. He made good grades for the most part and tried to stay out of trouble, but as he got older, he started pushing the limits; doing drugs, sneaking out, and he developed a serious case of gambling addiction.

His father wouldn’t dare let him attract negative attention to the Gauthier name. In their junior year of high school, Lucky and a classmate stole a teacher’s car, and that’s when all hell broke loose. He was arrested, and his dad had to pull major strings to keep his name out of the paper, going to all lengths to keep the Gauthier name from being tarnished. His friend wasn’t as fortunate, being convicted of grand larceny. Colby Gauthier also had to drop some serious coin to keep him in school. That is where the Gauthier computer lab came from. And the Gauthier athletics fund, the Gauthier parking lot, and the Gauthier faculty workroom. The list goes on.

He spent years of testing how far his dad would go to keep him out of trouble before Lucky finally got his shit together. After a pregnancy scare and a DUI charge, the family didn’t know what to do anymore. He was sent away to spend the majority of his junior year at military school. It was like six months of boot camp, without the actual government to regulate tactics, which bordered on abuse. There was no use complaining about it. His father would say it was what he needed since he came back a changed man.

Lucky tossed all the drugs and alcohol he had stashed. He decided to rule out girls for the year, not wanting drama to get in the way of graduation. He kept his eye on the prize. That prize was getting into LSU, getting his degree, and taking over his father’s business.

There were times when Lucky literally sat and daydreamed about sitting in his father’s oversized leather chair, bellied up to his enormous mahogany desk with a scotch in one hand and an intern in the other.

He graduated high school with honors and maintained a 3.9 GPA. His father continued to run his business, as well as his personal life like a tyrant. His mother continued to work on her retail therapy and write checks to local charitable organizations.

Everything was on track. That is until Carrie Scott walked into his business law class. With long blond hair, a body to die for, and flawless fair skin, she was drop-dead gorgeous and the picture of Los Angeles socialite. LSU was her father’s alma mater. He had moved out to Hollywood after getting his big break in the film industry.

After hooking up at a frat party, he and Carrie became inseparable. They studied together, worked out together, and spent what little free time they had together. Yes, she was hot and fun, but the thing that he loved most about her was her drive. Carrie was the most motivated person he had ever met. When she wanted something, she was balls to the wall until it happened. Nothing was too big for her. Nothing was unattainable. She was infectious, pushing him harder and keeping him focused.

Once Lucky disclosed his plan about climbing the ladder at Gauthier, it was all Carrie talked about. He saw his future, and he loved it. The two of them were going to take the business world by storm.

However, not everyone approved of their relationship. His parents made that abundantly clear, but it didn’t matter. He had gone to bat for her time and time again. It was the real deal. They were the campus power couple and they were both reveling in it.

It shook him when Carrie announced she was pregnant. He was scared as hell, not of having a kid, but that he would turn out to be like his old man. After the initial shock wore off, he was elated. He quickly adjusted his plan and had no doubts they could still have all the things they wanted out of life.