by Evie Nichole
*
As soon as we were in the car alone, I realized what an idiot I’d been. Of course, things were still awkward. We hadn’t mentioned anything all day about the kiss, or the fact that we’d been interrupted by his girlfriend/wife. Being alone together again wasn’t exactly a beacon of normalcy. I wanted to crawl out of my skin, it was so tense.
Jack waited until we were out of the parking lot before glancing over at me and opening his mouth. I didn’t even let him get any sound out, however, before I leaned forward and turned the radio on. I wasn’t afraid to approach the situation like a coward. I didn’t know what to say and I didn’t want to think about it.
He shot me a look and turned the radio down. “Red, I—”
I quickly turned the radio back up and made a faux excited sound. “Oh, my gosh. This is my favorite song!”
I’d never even heard it before, but if I had to pretend to sing along with a power ballad from the eighties, I’d do it. I bobbed my head to the beat and hummed under my breath.
Jack shifted in his seat and then turned the radio off. “Your humming is terrible.”
I choked on my own spit and coughed while Jack reached over and rubbed my back. The sensation of his hands on me sent me scooting farther away from him, though. I finally turned to him and gestured for him to stop touching me while I got my breath back.
“Jesus, Red. I was just patting you on the back.”
“Well, that’s not what you were doing earlier!” I paused. I hadn’t meant to start the conversation. “I mean… Never mind what I just said. I was just delirious from choking to death over here. Let’s just listen to music.”
He held his hand over the buttons when I reached for them. “No way. You started it and, now, we’re going to finish it.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and faced the front of the truck. “I don’t want to have this conversation. I would like to pretend like that never happened.”
“Well, it did.” He cleared his throat. “It can’t happen again, Red. I’m engaged to Stacy.”
Chapter 10
There were few things in life that made me show how crazy I could be. I hated the whole crazy redhead stereotype. I was normally calm and collected. Jack had managed to stumble on one of the things that made me nuts, though.
I jerked around to face him and made a sound close to a rabid hyena. “Are you trying to let me down easy, right now?!”
The truck swerved lightly as he winced. “Jesus, Red! What the hell was that sound?”
I blew out a huge breath, but I was still seeing red. “Don’t you dare come to me with this whole sheepish attitude. Like, somehow, I was the one who stuck my tongue down your throat!”
He’d grown more accustomed to the sound of me angry, so he didn’t swerve as severely that time. “I was just trying to let you know that it was a mistake, and I’m not going to let it happen again.”
“Oh, just in case I was hoping that you’d shove me against a wall and maul me again? Or, just in case, by avoiding you all day today, I was secretly playing hard to get, in hopes that you would notice and come running?”
“Okay, now you’re just being sarcastic.”
“No, no, Jack, really. Tell me more about how I shouldn’t approach you anymore.” I slapped my hand over the radio when he tried to turn it on. “Is it because I’m a stripper? You think I suck anything that walks?”
He sped up and we were nearing the house faster than ever. “You’re not a stripper.”
“I am, too!”
“I was just trying to let you know that it can’t happen again, Red, no matter what. I wasn’t trying to insult you.”
I kept my mouth sealed because the only other things I wanted to say to him were just mean. When he jerked the truck to a stop outside of the guesthouse, I jumped out and slammed his truck door shut before running up the steps to the house.
I fumbled into my bra for the key and dropped it while trying to get it into the door. I bent over to grab it and heard an intake of breath behind me. I ignored him and finally got the door unlocked and opened. I tried to push the door closed on Jack, but he pushed his way in and grabbed me.
He wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and the other arm around my waist and trapped me against his chest as his mouth lowered to mine.
I hit his chest once, maybe twice, but then I was lost. He easily picked me up and I locked my legs around his waist. I heard him kick the door closed, but past that, I was lost to what was happening around us.
Our mouths fought for dominance. He nipped my lips and I sucked his into my mouth, harder than I knew I should. He pulled my hair, tipping my head back, and raked his teeth down the column of my throat before coming back to my mouth. His tongue dueled against mine, rubbing and stroking my mouth.
It wasn’t romantic. It wasn’t sweet. It was rough lust.
My back slammed into a wall and something shattered at Jack’s feet, but still he kissed me like he was drowning and I was the last bit of his air. I raked my nails over his scalp and dug my heels into his back. Jack grunted into my mouth and then ran his hands down to my ass. He gripped it hard in his hands and thrust against my core.
I kissed across his chin and down to his neck, moaning as he rubbed against me. My teeth scratched at his stubble and I flicked my tongue against Adam’s apple.
“Don’t leave a mark.”
The one sentence was like a bucket of ice-cold water thrown over my head. I pushed against Jack and, after a second, he moved away from me. I stood still, panting and pushing my dress back into place. “Get out.”
Jack groaned and pulled his hand down his face roughly. “What a fucking wreck.”
I thrust my arm at the door. “Now, Jack! Get out.”
He hesitated and then got pissed. “I’m leaving! Don’t try to kick me out of my own place, though.”
I walked past him and yanked the door open. “I don’t have to stay here. I will gladly get a motel room and kick you out of it, too!”
He glared at me. “I’d have to want to come inside for you to be able to kick me out.”
It was a low blow and it hit me. I pointed out the door with a stiff arm. “Get out, you asshole! Go stick your tongue in your fiancée’s mouth!”
He stormed past me and turned around to yell something else at me, but I slammed the door in his face and locked it. I heard him shouting things, but it was a solid door and I didn’t hear exact words. A few seconds later, I heard his truck roar to life and speed away.
I leaned against the door and slid down it. All of my anger gone, I just let my head fall back against the door and groaned. “Good job, Raelyn.”
To be fair, that hadn’t been my intention, at all.
*
The next morning, I waited and waited for Jack to knock on the door to take me to work, but he never showed up. About an hour after I was ready, Brent showed up with a grin on his face.
“Now, what did you do to piss my little brother off so royally?” he asked when I opened the door for him.
I was so angry with Jack that I couldn’t even form words. The first time, I’d been so lost in the moment that I wasn’t one hundred percent sure that he’d kissed me first, or if we’d just come together. I knew for sure that I hadn’t started the second kiss. I’d even tried to push him away for all of a nanosecond.
It was completely his fault. He really thought I was going to let him stick it in me, and then not leave a trace of evidence that could mark his perfect little life. He wanted his cake and he wanted to eat it, too.
“Well, hell. You’re just as pissed off, aren’t you?” Brent shook his head. “You kids and your love games.”
I glared at him, but it turned into a laugh. “You’re dumb.”
He nodded. “But, I’ve got a company card that wants to treat us to breakfast before we carry our late asses into work. I’ve got to see a man about something, and it just so happens that he’s going to be at a little breakfast café in town.”
&
nbsp; “That sounds great. Let me get my jacket.”
He looked down at my outfit and grinned. “Leave it here. I’m liking being the happy brother around the office.”
I looked down at the black pencil skirt that stopped just under my knees and the cream silk camisole I’d tucked into the skirt. My black heels went on for days, but I couldn’t give up every aspect of my normal job. I felt more comfortable with an edge of sexiness. “Are you sure? This doesn’t look like I’d wear it on stage, does it?”
He looked me over again and shook his head. “I’ve never seen a stripper who looks like this.”
“Seen lots of strippers, have you?”
Brent winked. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
I grabbed my bag and headed outside. “So, who’s the man we’re meeting?”
“We’re not meeting anyone. I’m meeting a guy who might know where I can find another guy.”
I sighed. “Fine. I’m getting pancakes, though. I need sugar. I barely got any sleep last night.”
“And the plot thickens.”
“Not like that. I was just worried. This crap with Snake is stressing me out. I dreamt of him every time I fell asleep last night.” It was only partially a lie. I did dream of Snake—half the time. The other half I was having inappropriate dreams of Jack. No one told my sub-conscious to stop being a slut, apparently.
“Stop stressing it, Raelyn. We’ll handle it for you. Even though you’ve got Jack seeing red, in more ways than one, I’m pretty sure he’s already been working on your case with Snake this morning. He called the chief. So, we’ll see how that goes in a little while. There was some big mishap down in Jackson, so the chief wasn’t in his office. He’s should be calling back soon.”
My fingers shook as I climbed into Brent’s car. “Great.”
He got in on his side and then drove toward the downtown area. “It’ll be okay. You’ve got to put some trust in us.”
I remained quiet, slowly processing what he’d told me as he drove. The radio was on in the background, but even if it’d been off, the silence wouldn’t have bothered me. It was easy with Brent.
The café he took me to was a run down, near shack with a scattering of motorcycles parked in front of it. Brent got out and stretched. He stood out as much as possible, in his expensive suit, but he didn’t seem bothered by it.
I followed him up a few steps and into the place. It was just as run down on the inside as it was on the outside, but it was clean. I sat down at the front counter and smiled at the older waitress behind the counter.
Brent looked over at a corner booth and then back at me. “My guy’s here. You good over here? I’ll be back in just a second.”
I nodded. The café was nicer than most of the places I’d visited in Jackson. The leather cut on the guy in the corner made me nervous, but I was fine. “Hurry up. I wanted to talk to you about getting a laptop.”
“We’ll get you one.”
“Not for me. For you.”
“No.” He walked away from me, an eye roll his parting shot.
I looked toward the waitress again and shook my head. “Men.”
She grinned at me and took out her notepad. “What can I get ya, honey?”
I ordered a full meal and kept an eye on Brent. The biker sat with his face to the door, so Brent had his back to it. I had a strange feeling in my stomach, but I was half sure it was just because I had hang-ups when it came to bikers.
When the waitress dropped my food off, I picked at it. Something wasn’t right. No one else was in the place, despite there being multiple bikes outside. The biker sitting with Brent kept looking at me, but it wasn’t to appreciate the curve of my skirt. There was something in his eyes that I recognized from my time with Rage, and it wasn’t good.
I stood up to get Brent the hell out of there just as a huge biker came out of the kitchen. His glare was focused on Brent so he didn’t even see me. I jumped into action without thinking. I wasn’t letting Brent get hurt.
“Brent!” All three men looked over at me, but Brent quickly jumped up from the booth and prepared for the men closing it on him.
“Get the fuck out of here!”
I ignored him and grabbed the knife that came with my steak and eggs. Scooting closer, I waited until the smaller biker tried to attack Brent to plant myself in front of the big one. I handled the knife the same way I’d seen Snake hold it, to make it easier to jab into someone, he’d said.
“You must be crazy, bitch.”
I flashed a smile that was all teeth to the big guy. “Matter of fact, I am.”
He moved as if he was going to push me out of the way, and I nicked his arm with the knife to make my point. He wasn’t getting by me without a fight. I could hear Brent tussling with the other biker, and they weren’t about to attack him two on one while I was there. I was just crazy enough to think I could help save him. He just needed time and then he could take over my fight, too.
“What the fuck?!” He held his bleeding arm and glared at me. “I wasn’t going to hurt you much, but now I’m going to have fun with it.”
I swung my hand out to the left and then nailed him in the dick with my right foot while he was watching the knife. He still didn’t go down. His face just turned bright red and veins stood out like they were going to pop.
He grabbed at me but I was smaller and faster. I sidestepped him and shoved him to add to the momentum he already had. He sailed into the counter and grunted.
I spied the gun tucked into his belt and snatched it away before he could get his bearings and stand up straight. I aimed it high and fired off a round to get their attention.
The waitress started cursing like it was her job. “That’s my goddamn ceiling!”
“Well, maybe you should have thought of that before you let a couple of bikers use your kitchen to plan a sneak attack on my friend.” I aimed my gun at the smaller biker and cocked the hammer. “Get away from him. Go over there with your friend.”
Chapter 11
When both bikers were huddled together, I scooted closer to Brent and then nudged him toward the door. There was blood dripping from his eyebrow, but he looked like he was ready to go another ten rounds. He was breathing heavy, but his eyes were bright with excitement.
“Go. Now.” I pushed him harder and he finally looked down at me and shook himself.
Shock and then disbelief marked his features before he nodded at me and moved toward the door. “This isn’t over, Coyote.”
It was over. I was over it. It was over me, too, if the big guy’s glare was any answer.
“I’m going to find you, bitch.”
I swallowed. “Great.”
I pushed Brent out of the door and rushed to his car. As soon as my ass was in his leather seat, I started shaking like a leaf. Brent started the car and sped away. He didn’t say anything until we were much farther away.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Raelyn. I had no clue that was going to happen.”
I held up my hand to shut him up and then bent over and threw up on his floorboard. My stomach protested violently against the violence and let me know, under no uncertain circumstances, that it didn’t like what had just happened.
Brent handed me a bottle of water when I came up for air and winced when I glared at him. I tried to wipe my mouth but I had a bloody steak knife in one hand and a gun in the other.
“Oh, god. Oh, god. What the hell, Brent?!” I dropped the knife on the floorboard and tried to put the gun down, but my hands were shaking so badly that I accidentally fired it off into the floor of his very nice car.
I screamed as it went off and then dropped it in the vomit, with the steak knife. My ears were ringing and I was half convinced that I’d never hear again.
Brent was saying something to me, but I couldn’t make sense of it. He’d pulled over and was grabbing my arms. “Are you okay?!”
“I didn’t shoot myself if that’s what you’re asking.”
He leaned back in his seat and
then looked over at me. “How are you the same person who just pulled a gun on a biker three times your size?”
“I just did that to save your ass! I did it without thinking. But once I started thinking, I freaked! I’m still freaking! I stabbed a biker!”
He snorted and then started laughing, like a lunatic. I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for him to finish.
“I’m sorry, Raelyn. I’m not laughing at you. I’m just laughing. You just saved my ass. I almost didn’t take you there because I thought it would be too run down for you. Then you go and make me look like an idiot. You fought off not just a biker, but the bigger biker of the two!”
I tried not to laugh, but when he put it like that, I couldn’t help it. “Oh, my god. What the hell is wrong with my life?”
“Let’s get you to the office and cleaned up. I’ll have one of the other secretaries run out to get you an extra outfit and shoes. On me. You deserve it.”
I cut my eyes at him. “Your life is just worth an outfit and shoes?”
“My life? Those two fucking idiots couldn’t have killed me if they had an AK-47 and my hands were tied to the ground.” He moved the car back onto the highway with the ease of a man who hadn’t just been attacked. Matter of fact, he seemed more relaxed than ever.
“Something is seriously off with you, Brent.” I leaned back in my seat and tried to even out my breathing. “You need to find a different pastime to make yourself happy.”
“Fine. Not just the outfit and shoes, then. How about self-defense lessons?”
I let my head fall to the side and stared at him. “Self-defense lessons?”
He nodded. “Not just that, but stuff about guns and everything, too. A whole course.”
I loved self-defense courses. “Promise me you’ll up your dosage on whatever you’re supposed to be taking, and we’ll have a deal.”
He pulled the car in to Stone Security and used a side entrance to take the car into an underground garage. “No go on the meds. Imagine if I mellowed out at this point of the game? I’d have two very pissed off bikers after me and my lady friend, and no desire to crack their skulls for even thinking of hurting us.”
