Bouncing Back

by L. A. Witt

  Her eyes got even bigger, but then narrowed. “Please tell me Elliott fucked that guy’s world up.”

  I dropped my gaze.

  The chair creaked. “What happened?”

  “Elliott didn’t give me details. I, um, kind of didn’t want them. But then Jesse sent me a video of the fight.”

  “Someone videoed it?”

  “Yeah. And I couldn’t really tell you who’s at fault.”

  Vanessa pulled in a sharp breath. “You think Elliott went at him? Not the other way around?”

  I cut my gaze toward the screen. Then I turned the laptop so she could see it, and I pressed play. I didn’t watch—once was enough—but Vanessa stared, brow furrowed and jaw tight.

  When it was over, she exhaled and sat back. “Whoa.”

  “Right?” I forced back fresh bile. “What do you make of that?”

  She swept her tongue across her lips, and when she spoke, she seemed to be choosing her words carefully. “I couldn’t hear what they were saying, and we both know Jesse can be a dick. Plus he had someone there to video things, like he went int here specifically to pick a fight with Elliott, but hell—you can’t deny Elliott threw the first punch.”

  I couldn’t even be sure if it was a punch, or if he’d just grabbed him—the camera had moved too quickly. Elliott had made the first move, though. That was what my mind kept circling back to over and over and what Vanessa had concluded. No matter what Jesse had said, Elliott had drawn proverbial first blood.

  “Fuck.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “And here I thought I’d actually found a guy who doesn’t think with his fists.”

  Vanessa grimaced. “I’m sorry. Elliott sounded like a really nice guy.”

  “Yeah, well. So did Jesse in the beginning.” I laughed bitterly. “Maybe I should be grateful that Elliott showed this card early on instead of waiting until I got comfortable with him.”

  She didn’t laugh. “So what are you going to do?”

  My already roiling stomach clenched hard. Do? I was supposed to do something now? Shit. Yeah. I was. I could either stay with Elliott, or I could leave. I could give him a chance to say his piece, but who was to say he couldn’t charm his way out of this like my exes had always done? Find some way to justify what he’d done and convince me he wasn’t really like that until the next time he did it? And what if the next time, Elliott was justifying laying a hand on me?

  I released a breath and shook my head. “If I’ve learned anything from my exes, it’s that I need to just walk away and not look back.” I waved a hand at the computer screen. “I’ve seen all I need to see, you know?”

  “Doesn’t mean it’ll be easy, though. Seemed like you were really into him.”

  “Yeah. I am.” I swallowed. “I was.”

  She winced. “Sorry it didn’t work out. But like you said—good thing you saw this early on instead of after you’d already gotten invested.”

  I nodded slowly but didn’t speak.

  Because early or not, I was already invested.

  And necessary or not, this split was going to hurt like hell.

  Chapter 15

  Elliott

  “How are you feeling?” Julien asked as we stood near the front door. “Your face is a lot more colorful today.”

  “Yeah, it looks worse than it is. Just a bit sore.”

  He grunted in acknowledgment, and nodded. Scanning the room, he said, “Wonder if we’ll have any more excitement tonight.”

  “God, I hope not.” I glanced at the door, where Casey was checking IDs and accepting cover charges. “My fingers are crossed for mind-numbing boredom.”

  “Says the man who won’t have to go home with a bartender who didn’t make a lot of tips.”

  I chuckled. “Man, you guys can’t win. If it’s busy enough for him to rake in tips, then you’re probably dodging punches.”

  “And if it’s boring enough for me, he’s not making money.” He shrugged. “Eh, whoever had the better night just blows the other until he forgets.”

  I snorted. “Okay, I take back any sympathy I had.”

  “Oh come on.” He elbowed me. “Isn’t like you’re lacking in the bedroom these days.” Wagging a finger, he added, “Don’t think I haven’t seen you grinning when you’re texting with your man.”

  “Fair point. Shame I don’t get to take him upstairs on my breaks, though.”

  Julien snickered. “There are advantages to working with your other half.”

  “Uh-huh.” Except Liam’s other half didn’t work here, but when he came by for dinner or a visit, they’d slip upstairs for—presumably—the same reasons Julien and Chris did. It was the only explanation for their grins and slightly rumpled clothes afterward. I’d have done the same thing with Samir when we met up for dinner, but…

  I sighed. I really wished Jesse would fuck off for a lot of reasons, including so Samir could start coming to Wilde’s again. My shifts would go a lot faster if I got to spend a little time bent over one of the tables upstairs. Well, once Jesse was out of the picture for good, Samir and I could make up for lost time.

  Movement from the corner of my eye turned my head, and when I realized someone had brushed past Casey, I was instinctively ready to pounce, but stopped.

  “Samir.” I blinked. “What are you doing here?”

  He gestured sharply at me. “We need to talk. In private. Now.”

  I blinked. Fury was radiating off him, and from the cold look in his eyes, that fury was directed at me.

  “Oh. Um. Okay.” I glanced at Julien, who gave me a subtle nod. Then I motioned for Samir to follow me, and we went upstairs to the VIP lounge. As I shut the door behind us, I said, “So what’s—”

  He spun around and glared at me. “You want to tell me what the fuck really happened last night?”

  I showed my palms. “Whoa. Hey. I told—”

  “You told me you and Jesse got into it. You didn’t tell me you put your hands on him first.”

  My jaw fell open. “What? Did he tell—”

  “There’s a video, Elliott,” he snapped, the fury wavering enough to let some pain come through. “A fucking video!”

  I froze. Someone had videoed everything? Shit, I hadn’t even noticed. “Okay.” I patted the air with both hands. “Then you saw what really happened, right?”

  “Yes, I did. I saw you come at him when all he did was shoot off his mouth.”

  “So I’m assuming the video didn’t show you what he had in his hand?”

  It was Samir’s turn to freeze. “What… What do you mean?”

  I leaned back against the door and exhaled. “Yes, I attacked him. Yes, I made the first move. But only because he had a knife.”

  His eyes widened. “What?”

  “He had a knife, Samir,” I said softly. “I didn’t go at him because he said something that pissed me off. To tell you the truth, I don’t even remember what he said. I’m not actually sure I could hear him over the music. I saw a guy with a knife, and I subdued him. End of story.”

  He stared at me, jaw working. His eyes still flashed with fury, but there was more. Something else. Emotions I couldn’t quite parse enough to—

  Abruptly, my heart stopped.

  Samir wasn’t angry.

  He was scared.

  He was scared of me.

  “Samir,” I whispered. “Do you… Did you think I just attacked him out of nowhere?”

  His Adam’s apple jumped. Then his gaze dropped. “The video.” He rubbed the back of his neck and turned away, shoulders sinking as he deflated. “It looked like…”

  “I know what it looked like.” God, I wanted to reach out and touch him, but I was terrified he’d flinch away from me. “Casey saw what happened. He’ll vouch for me.” I swallowed hard. “I swear, I didn’t just attack Jesse for no reason.”

  Samir leaned against a booth, sighing heavily as he slumped.

  Cautiously, I came closer. “That’s not me, Samir. You know it’s not.”

&n
bsp; He met my gaze, and all the fear and anger had been replaced with pain. Like it hurt to even have this conversation. “I don’t think it’s you. But I didn’t think it was Jesse or Ollie either.”

  I winced. Then I sat on the bench of the booth he was leaning against, and looked up at him. “I don’t know what else to say. It’s… It’s my job, you know? If someone’s dangerous, and they might hurt someone else…”

  “I know.” He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. “Fuck. I… The video just made you look…”

  “And it’s my word against a camera’s. I get it.” I studied him, trying to get a bead on how he felt now. “Tell me what I can do.”

  Samir lowered his hand and swept his tongue across his lips. “I don’t know. I mean, you did your job. You did exactly what you were supposed to do. If he had a knife, then…” He half-shrugged.

  “Do you want me to get Casey? So he can tell you what he saw?”

  Samir said nothing.

  After a moment, I took out my phone and called downstairs. “Hey, Chris. Could you ask Casey to come up to the VIP lounge?”

  “Everything okay?” Chris asked.

  “Yeah, yeah. Just need to borrow him for a second.”

  “On it.”

  I hung up, and Samir didn’t look at me. He shifted uncomfortably, gazing intently at the tinted windows overlooking the rest of the club.

  It was almost five minutes before the VIP lounge door opened, and Casey appeared. “What do you need?”

  I glanced at Samir. “You saw what happened last night, right? With the guy I laid out?”

  “Yeah, of course.” Casey shrugged. “Fucker came at you sideways and then pulled out a knife.”

  Samir jumped like one of us had shoved him. “He did?”

  Casey nodded, the lights glinting off his shiny bald head. “He’s lucky El got to him first. Asshole probably would’ve lost some teeth if it’d been me.”

  It was hard to tell in the dim lounge, but I thought Samir paled. I cautiously slid my hand into his, fingers slipping across his sweaty palm.

  “Thanks, Casey. I’ll be back down in a minute.”

  “Sure thing.” Casey paused, eyeing us both like he wasn’t sure if he should leave, but then he walked out of the lounge and shut the door behind him.

  I let the silence linger for a long time before I quietly said, “I know why you’re wary of me after that. With everything you’ve been through, I get it.” I brought his hand to my lips and pressed a soft kiss to his knuckles. “But I’m not a violent person. And I would never hurt you or anyone else. I’ve been to a warzone, for God’s sake—I’ve seen enough violence for one lifetime.”

  Samir exhaled slowly. Then, without a word, he tugged my hand until I stood, and when I did, he wrapped his arms around me. I closed my eyes and held him close, letting him rest his head against my shoulder, and we just stood there for a while.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I should have told you everything. I didn’t know anyone had videoed it, but still—you deserved to know.”

  He drew back and looked in my eyes. “I’m guessing you just didn’t want to freak me out.”

  Caressing his cheek, I nodded.

  He sighed, then pushed himself up and kissed me gently. It was a light kiss, but it lingered, and slowly, we sank against each other. I let him deepen it, and I ignored the throbbing in my jaw because that was a small price to pay for this tender reassurance.

  Samir broke the kiss and stroked the uninjured side of my jaw. “I’m sorry too. I should have asked instead of coming at you like that.”

  “You were scared. I don’t blame you.”

  “I’m not scared of you, though. And I feel stupid for—”

  I kissed him again, and when he relaxed, I murmured, “After what you saw, you had every right. As long as you understand what really happened, we’re good.”

  He exhaled again, then glanced at the windows. Loosening his embrace, he said, “I should let you get back to work.”

  “Are we okay, though? I don’t want to—”

  It was his turn to cut me off with a kiss, and when we broke apart, he smiled. “We’re okay.”

  Two words, and all the tension left my muscles. “Good. Just tell me if we’re not, all right?”

  Samir nodded. Then, as the smile turned into a grin, he said, “You, um, want to come over after your shift?”

  My heart fluttered. “Do you even have to ask?”

  He laughed, and that sent even more relief coursing through me. “I’ll see you in a few hours, then.”

  “See you in a few hours.”

  Chapter 16

  Samir

  Sitting on the couch between my dog and two cats, I shifted uncomfortably. Elliott would be here soon, and I was beyond restless even as fatigue seeped into my bones. This day had been a roller coaster of emotions, and I wondered more than once if I was too tired to wait up for Elliott. Which, if I was, then that meant I was way too tired for sex.

  I needed him, though, and I needed the sex. I wanted us in bed, and I wanted him touching me the way he had since the first night so I could reassure myself that that was how Elliott touched me. He’d never raise a hand to me. He’d never hurt me. He was gentle and sweet and sexy, and I needed to be intimate with him as soon as possible to soothe the stubborn anxiety that was still holding on.

  I believed him and the other bouncer about the knife. It wasn’t visible in the video, but neither was Jesse’s right hand. I believed them.

  And it didn’t seem like Elliott had been any more violent than he’d needed to be in order to neutralize Jesse. He’d probably left Jesse with a few bruises and a headache, but there hadn’t been any blood visible. He hadn’t thrown a few punches just for the hell of it. He put Jesse on the ground, and he held him there.

  But years of being with manipulative abusers had left me wary of even the most bulletproof alibi. Sure, Elliott hadn’t used excessive force this time. Sure, there’d been a witness to vouch for the conveniently invisible weapon this time. Were bouncers like cops? Always watching out for each other? Backing up each other’s stories even when they knew damn well they weren’t telling the truth?

  I was overthinking this. Just because Ollie and Jesse had been assholes didn’t mean Elliott was. And hadn’t Elliott been conspicuously careful about my space while we’d been talking? He hadn’t tried to touch me or box me in. He’d stayed back, and when he’d approached me, he’d moved like he’d thought I was a spooked animal. He’d taken a seat below me, cornering himself and giving me every advantage, including an open path to the door.

  He wasn’t like Ollie or Jesse. Not at all. I exhaled, absently twirling Nima’s tail between my fingers. Yeah, I needed to get Elliott into bed so we could go back to the beginning and be us.

  My phone chirped to life, and I jumped so hard I startled all three animals. “Sorry, guys,” I said as I picked up the phone.

  Leaving now. Be there soon.

  My heart went into overdrive. This was what I wanted, wasn’t it? Elliott here in my house—in my bed—so we could unfuck my ex’s attempt at manipulating us. Because that had to be what all that was about. Why else would he have someone videoing the confrontation?

  That thought made me angrier at Jesse but calmed some of my lingering worry about Elliott. This was just a setup to make him look bad. Nothing more.

  I closed my eyes and took some deep breaths. Elliott and I were fine. Or at least we would be after we’d spent some time together. Hell, I was lucky he hadn’t decided to cut his losses and walk away from me just so he didn’t have to deal with my deranged ex anymore.

  Fresh anger surged through me.

  Jesse, you son of a bitch.

  I had a good thing going with Elliott, and Jesse just had to try to throw a monkey wrench into it. He’d goaded Elliott into a fight, made sure someone caught it on camera, and then showed it to me because he knew me. He knew I’d push Elliott away.

  And I’d fallen fo
r it—right hook, line, and sinker.

  I squirmed some more, prompting a huff from Shouka and some tail-twitching from the cats. Suddenly I needed Elliott to be here now. Jesse had tried to ruin this, and I was bound and determined to get it back on the rails.

  Not a moment too soon, Elliott was at my door, and the second we were inside, I pushed him up against the wall and kissed him. His mouth and hands were tentative at first, but then his lips relaxed against mine, and his arms slowly snaked around me and pulled him closer.

  His touch turned me on, and I moaned into his kiss as my cock hardened against his, but my skin prickled with a mix of feelings that didn’t belong in a moment like this. The goose bumps under my shirt were partly from arousal, and partly…not. Same with the way my heart pounded and my head spun—my body was responding to Elliott’s, but it wasn’t just the need to get him naked.

  Get a grip, I ordered myself. Jesse isn’t here, and Elliott is safe. Chill.

  Elliott broke the kiss and met my gaze. He was out of breath, but his voice was still full of concern as he said, “You sure you’re all right?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Just couldn’t wait for you to get here.”

  A grin flickered across his lips, but the worry came back. “We don’t have to do anything tonight.”

  “Yeah we do.” I slid my hands under the back of his shirt. “I need you tonight.” I hesitated, eyeing the bruise on his face. “I mean, as long as—”

  He stopped me with a gentle kiss. Tried to, anyway.

  “Your face,” I murmured between kisses. “I don’t want to hurt—”

  “You aren’t. Just tell me…” Elliott brushed his lips across mine. “Anything you want.”

  I kissed him again, even harder this time, and he shivered. Arousal was finally starting to take the lead, so I tugged his belt and whispered, “Bedroom.”

  He didn’t need any convincing.

  A moment later, we were exactly where I’d needed to be all night—kissing passionately in my bed as our fully hard dicks rubbed together between our naked bodies. Hands all over skin. Breath coming in sharp, hot gasps. Fingers through hair. God, I couldn’t get enough of this man.