by Stacey Lynn
My belly fluttered and I pressed my thighs together.
“Okay.” Jaden nice didn’t compute in my beer-addled brain. But who was I to turn down free help?
I swallowed slowly, trying to maintain composure and not do something asinine. Like wrap my arms around his waist and pull him to me.
“Can I get my car now?” I looked over his shoulder, unable to stare into his brown eyes. They’d probably set me on fire.
“We gonna talk about last night?”
I choked. “Last night?”
Jaden let out a quiet, rumbling laugh. It sounded foreign. And sexy.
I licked my lips.
“Last night. Me bringing you to my place. Taking care of you –”
“Thanks for holding my hair,” I cut him off. I didn’t want to know where he was going. I wanted to pretend it didn’t happen. Or pretend it had happened so I would know what his lips felt like.
But this was Jaden. He hated me. Had always hated me. He never thought I was good enough for Scratch and never wanted me around. Whatever almost happened last night would have been a huge mistake.
“That was nice of you,” I continued, not giving him a chance to talk. “And I appreciate that. And the pills. And… whatever else.” I waved a hand in the air and kept babbling. “So thanks for that and for the offer to help me move. But I don’t think that’s a good idea. It was a moment of weakness on my part… you, me, drunk… looking like Scratch… I just… I wanted him back.”
His nose twitched and he loomed in. “You wanted Scratch last night?”
I nodded. I knew I’d gone too far, said something that had slow burning waves of hot lava rolling off his shoulders and shooting daggers out of his eyes, but I couldn’t shut up. “Yeah, and I just got you confused with him. Wanted it to be him, not you. Won’t happen again.”
I blinked. And hell, I should have shut up.
Because Jaden leaned down and brushed his lips across my jaw and… oh, shit. My entire body trembled underneath him.
“You didn’t want him. You wanted me, and we both know it. You wanted the bad brother last night, Jules. Let’s not fuckin’ lie about it. And you know what else?”
I couldn’t think. Couldn’t speak. All I could do was swallow. A whimper escaped my lips as his hips pressed into me.
Oh, God. I tried glancing around the parking lot, but it was early and no one was around. No one could help me.
No one would see this.
Thank God.
“Asked you a question, Jules.”
“What else?” I croaked. Heat burned my cheeks, from lust and embarrassment. My body betrayed my senses.
“I would have given it to you last night. Anything you wanted, you turned those lying innocent eyes on me and I would have fucked you so hard you’d forget all about Scratch.”
“That’s…” I swallowed and his lips grazed the hollow of my throat. “That’s an asshole thing to say, Jaden.”
“I know.” He pulled away, our noses almost touching, our harsh breathing mingling together. “Good thing in the light of day I remember what a selfish, lying killer you are, isn’t it?”
His eyes hardened on me until all I saw was black coal for eyes and venomous rage flashing from them.
He pushed off me and began walking away. “Your fucking car is over there, unlocked.”
Tears pooled and spilled from my eyes as he disappeared. I took in his tightly clenched fists, the way he cracked his neck from side to side, and right before he walked through the clubhouse door I watched how he froze, as if he wanted to turn back around. Then his hands ran through his hair and he slammed the door open, vanishing behind.
I stayed outside, plastered against the grill of the truck, gasping for breath long after he was gone.
It took me forever to calm down. Longer to have my heart rate return to normal and for my mind to stop swirling in confusion.
I’d felt his hunger for me. Hard not to when his thick erection was pressed against my thigh.
I also still felt his hatred for me pouring off him.
I shook my head and headed toward my car on shaking feet.
Jaden was trouble. He hated me, even if his body wanted me.
Going through with any of it would lead to trouble. And I’d had enough trouble, enough violence, and enough anger in my life over the last few years to know it’d be smarter to say the hell away from anything to do with Jaden.
By the time I pulled my car into my parents’ driveway, I’d sufficiently convinced myself of all of it.
He could see Sophie, but Jaden and I? We’d never happen. It’d be the worst possible decision I could make. And I’d made plenty.
“Hey, Mom.” I brushed my lips against my mom’s cheek as she sat at the kitchen table, drinking her morning cup of coffee.
“Rough night?” she asked, not looking up from reading the morning newspaper.
Rough night. Rough morning. Rough four years. You name it, I had lived it.
I needed to shower, wash the stench of vomit and beer and Jaden off me, but there were priorities.
Namely, coffee. Helping myself to a cup, I ignored the tinge of disappointment in her question.
Sighing, my mom pushed off the kitchen table and walked toward me at the counter. My hand began shaking as I poured sugar into my mug.
“Not sure you staying out to get wasted is the best thing you can do for your daughter, honey.”
I brought the mug to my lips and took my first swallow. “Won’t happen again.” I took the disappointment and disapproval in her eyes because she was right. I never behaved like I had last night, always trying to be the best example for Sophie to follow.
But wasn’t I allowed a small amount of fun in my life?
My mom sighed again and fixed her already perfectly done hair. It matched mine except hers had a few noticeable wisps of gray at the temples. For being almost fifty, my mom still looked amazing. Taller than me, but just as thin. Her light brown eyes looked at me sadly as I stood under her gaze.
“I know you’ve had it rough, Jules. I’m just not sure being back here, around all those people, is best for you.”
My fingers gripped my mug tighter. I knew they hated my friends when I was younger. But what my parents never understood was that Liv and Faith liked me for me, not because of something I could give them or buy for them, like all the other girls in Jasper Bay. I’d never fit in with them and their desires to leave for big cities with their big city dreams.
Even unlike Liv and Faith, I’d always loved the small town feel of Jasper Bay. I enjoyed the quietness and the familiarity. I liked smiling and waving at people I passed on the streets, having known them since I was pushed around town in a stroller.
“Are you saying I should have stayed in Phoenix?” With Rob, a civil engineer who had more money than sense, and more anger and beatings than either of the latter?
My unasked question earned me a frown.
“Never.” She pulled me into a hug. I moved my coffee mug to the counter to prevent it sloshing on either of us. “I know what losing Scratch did to you, and I know how much you still miss him. Your dad and I just worry about you, that’s all.”
I let go of the mug and wrapped my arms around her waist. “Thanks, Mom.”
And I meant it. They might not have liked Scratch, but as soon as I found out I was pregnant, they’d supported me one hundred percent, sometimes flying down to Phoenix while I took my college finals just to give me more time to study.
I’d accomplished a lot at my young age. I was still figuring life out, but I also knew, regardless of bad decisions and poor planning, that my parents would always be there for me.
Her shoulders heaved a heavy breath. “And I also know it’s okay for you to be young and do things like party all night long. Being a mom doesn’t mean you have to end your life. But I’d hate to see you make the same mistakes again, finding a man who isn’t worthy of you just because you’re fighting against the memory of him.”
Jaden might hate me, but I seriously doubted he’d slap me around. Which didn’t matter anyway, seeing as how the fire that had burned through his eyes as he’d stared me at this morning pretty much sealed the deal on anything happening with us.
Not that I’d thought of those dark brown inferno eyes on my drive home.
Or anytime I blinked.
“I’ll be smart, Mom. Promise.”
She huffed into my hair. “You always are.”
Her arms dropped from my waist and I went back to my coffee, intent on moving on from the conversation, but I couldn’t.
“Mom?” I called to her as she was headed out the door. “He wants to see Sophie.”
My mom spun elegantly on her high-heeled shoes, her khaki-colored linen pants swaying with the movement. She opened her mouth and then closed it. I could practically see gears turning in her head as she debated what to say. She slowly licked her lips and nodded once. “Probably be a good idea, seeing as she’s all he could have for family.”
As she left, blowing me a kiss before she headed up the stairs to do who-knows-what, I grinned into my mug. My parents didn’t like Jaden—certainly didn’t like the Nordic Lords and anything they stood for—but to them, all of that was inconsequential when it came to family.
Same as my reaction to Jaden.
I had to figure out how to push it aside so he could meet Sophie and spend time with her.
If only that was as easily done as it was to think it.
“You got this?” one of the girls asked.
I had stopped into Bella Salon, where I would begin working next week, to pick up paperwork.
I flipped through the W-4 information and other files before I bit my bottom lip. “Yeah, um…”
“Cassie,” she filled in for me.
“Thanks.” Blush spread to my cheeks. They all looked so similar it was hard to tell them apart even though Cassie, the girl talking to me, was the big sister. “I’ll get it, I swear.”
Cassie simply smiled and fluffed her long blond hair. They were all model-tall, thin, and smiled more than anyone I knew.
“Not a problem. We’re used to it. Can I give you some help?”
I sighed, grateful. “Yes, please.”
Cassie laughed, showing a full mouth of straight white teeth. “Callie, cutting the hair right now? Always wears a ring on the middle finger of her left hand. And Cammie has a soft spot for kids, obviously.”
I turned my head and watched Cammie brushing Sophie’s blond pigtails, pretending to cut them. I didn’t know what they were saying, but both of them had been full of giggles for the last ten minutes since we’d arrived. It probably wasn’t good form to bring a kid to work, but since I was just picking up paperwork, I didn’t think it’d be an issue.
Neither did Cammie, who had swooped Sophie into her arms and set her in a beauty chair immediately. They hadn’t stopped giggling since.
“You don’t like kids?” I asked Callie once her client had gone up to the register to pay Cassie. Huh. Maybe I’d figure them out easily enough. Cassie preferred working behind the counter, that much I figured out quickly.
Callie leaned in and crinkled her lips. “They’re always sticky.”
“No kidding,” I said laughing.
“Ticky hands! Ticky hands!” Sophie clapped and repeated the words as if she thought it was hilarious.
Callie shot me a look of mock disgust as she headed toward the back. “See what I mean?”
“Ignore her. She’s kidding.” Cammie winked and picked up Sophie from the chair, setting her on her little pudgy feet.
“No worries. Thanks for letting me come in today and get that paperwork out of the way.”
Callie smiled and waved me away, handing a sucker to Sophie, who shot her a full grin.
“How about we go to the park and get some ice cream? See how sticky we can make those hands of yours?”
Sophie clapped her hands. “Ticky hands! Ticky hands!”
Callie and I both laughed and said our goodbyes, and I ushered Sophie out the door.
Working at Bella Salon would not have been my first choice. But the girls were friendly, and clearly had no problems with Sophie. My smile was wide and genuine as we walked down the street to Jasper Bay’s ice cream parlor. It was a small-town place, typical of the quaintness of Jasper Bay and the things I loved about my town, complete with thirty flavors.
Since fall would be coming soon, and the brutality of living through a northern winter was licking at our heels, Sophie and I took the time to enjoy our Mackinac Island Fudge ice cream cones sitting outside.
It dribbled down her chin and all over her fingers, but she didn’t care as she licked it away. Her napkins were never used, regardless of my gentle reminders. I figured her tongue worked just as well, so I let her be.
Occasionally, people from town stopped by and said hello. They welcomed us back as if we’d never left, and it wasn’t long before I was certain that Sophie had charmed every single visitor.
With the ice cream done, I cleaned her with a wet wipe and we hauled it to the park, taking turns skipping and chasing each other for the three blocks it took to get there.
I loved the enormous wooden park. The park had been redone in the years I’d been gone, and now a giant wooden pirate ship took the place of the rusty metal swings I’d grown up on.
Sophie seemed to enjoy it too, as she dashed in and out of all the hidey-holes, laughing with glee. I let her have her fun while I took a spot on a nearby park bench, careful to keep an eye on her.
I was resting my head back, enjoying the feel of the warm sun without the typical humidity that accompanied a Minnesota summer, when my phone buzzed in my hand.
My pulse increased as soon as I saw Rob’s name flash across the screen. My eyes darted to Sophie, ensuring she was safe—something I did on instinct in the few times I’d had contact with him after the last time I saw him.
I froze, unable to answer the phone while it vibrated in my hand, and heaved a sigh of relief when it stopped.
“Sophie!” I called and waved her over. “We need to go!”
He might have been a country away from us, but I wasn’t taking chances. Suddenly, being in the open space left me feeling vulnerable.
“No, Mama!”
I moved to run after her, to pick her up and carry her the short walk to my car if need be, when my phone began buzzing in my hand again. My fingers instantly clenched around it and I heaved a sigh. While keeping an eye on Sophie disappearing into another hiding place, I let her have her fun and answered the phone.
“What do you want, Rob?” My voice was tight with anger and fear. Why he couldn’t leave me alone and find another unsuspecting fool in the greater metropolis of Phoenix, I had no clue.
“Already told you. Want my girls back.” His smooth voice sent chills down my spine. I had been fooled by his gelled hair, his attractive smile, and his designer clothes. Looking for someone completely opposite of anything that reminded me of Scratch had led me directly into Rob’s arms when I had gone out one night with some co-workers.
He fooled me good.
But he wouldn’t again.
“We’re not your girls,” I hissed into the phone, and sank into a park bench. In the background, I heard the distinct rumbling of motorcycles and turned my head.
My eyes widened as Jaden and two other men pulled into parking lot at the park. Their engines idled but I could practically feel the vibrations of their bikes rumbling across the ground straight toward me.
“Want to tell me who the guy was who threatened me last week? He’ll be sorry he did.”
I snorted. I almost laughed. Somehow, seeing three Nordic Lords perched on their Harleys mere yards from me had me feeling safer than I had in years.
Rob couldn�
��t fuck with me here.
“Move on from us, Rob. We’re never coming back to Phoenix, and I would think you’d have found someone else to slap around by now.”
He sighed and his voice softened. I’d been fooled by that sound so many times. I could see his frown and the way he’d run his hands through his hair, begging me to forgive him. “I know, baby,” he crooned. Disgust swirled in my gut. “It was just a hard day at work, but I swear to you, come home to me and let me love you the way I always did and everything will be different.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Sophie squealed on a playground ten feet from me, sliding down a slide, and off to the side, I saw Jaden headed toward us. The men he was with had turned off their bikes, but still sat on them.
Sophie was safe. I was safe.
Rob could go to hell.
“Different than what?” I asked, gaining courage to speak things to him I wouldn’t have dared do in person. “Different than the time you left bruises on my arm? Or my cheek? What about the time you bruised my ribs?”
“Jules,” he growled. I was goading him, I knew it. “I’ll come and get you if I have to.”
But as Jaden drew closer, I couldn’t stop myself either. Straightening my shoulders, I gripped my phone tighter and stared directly into Jaden’s eyes, his jaw tightly clenched, scowl securely fixed, and his hands loosely at his sides.
Dangerous hands. Hands that I had no doubt had killed people far more dangerous than Rob.
“Go to hell, Rob. We wouldn’t go anywhere with you ever again, and if you do try to come here, you’ll be the only one regretting anything.”
I hung up and dropped the phone into my purse right as Jaden reached me.
Jules had been ignoring me. At least it felt that way. And the fact that I felt anything when it came to Jules pissed me the fuck off. So when Tripp, Jimmy, and I were flying through town on our way to the garage to get work done and I saw her sitting on the park bench, I didn’t think.
I pulled over. What had me fuming with rage was the way her face looked when her phone rang and she answered it.
The way she curled into herself as she began speaking. I couldn’t hear her, but I saw her mouth moving and I saw the way she tightened her shoulders. I was moving off my bike, telling Tripp and Jimmy to stay the fuck still, before I cared about why I was moving.
