I rush over to her, knowing that had to have hurt.
A ferocious energy hits my back. I twist my body, fully expecting it to be Asswipe and ready to kick his ass.
It's not. It's so much worse.
Not for me, but for him.
Things are about to get interesting.
Chapter 19
Jay, Charlie, and Ben are standing in the doorway–at this moment they should be called fury, rage, and wrath. The three of them combined are emanating something that I'm not even sure the devil would want to fuck with.
Jay's visibly trying to reign in the desire to kill, chest expanding with each enraged intake of air.
Charlie goes to make the first move, but Ben stops him by a slap to the chest.
Asswipe straightens himself, trying to appear like he isn't about to shit his pants, but his eyes aren't hiding it very well.
Ben stops right in front of Asswipe, chest to chest, and leans in to whisper something into his ear that has all the color draining from his skin.
Satisfied that he understands, Ben goes over to offer Arianna a hand up, his eyes softening with compassion. Both his hands take hold of her face and they lock eyes. The two have a conversation only they can hear. Arianna's looking at him like he's her entire world. When Ben kisses her on the forehead, she closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath. Without further acknowledgement to the rest of us, Ben takes a step back and heads in the direction of his private office.
“He's all yours,” he informs Jay and Charlie. “Just don't mutilate him so much that he can't work. I have plans for him.”
This has Jay and Charlie sharing twin expressions of eagerness.
Both step forward and match strides over to us.
“Ready to defend your pussy, Lincoln?” Asswipe taunts.
Why would you provoke a man like Jay? You'd have to be an idiot. Oh, wait...
“I'd watch myself right now and start thinking about making smart choices that don't end with your skull getting bashed in.”
I unconsciously nod my head in agreement.
Jay's eyes rest on my cheek. Something dark and sinister dilates his pupils, nostrils flaring, and he takes a gigantic step to put himself directly in front of me. I know his anger isn't directed at me, but damn if it still doesn't make my heart race.
The back of his hand lightly strokes the spot that still stings a bit.
“Did you do this?” Jay growls, deep and menacing, his eyes pinning Asswipe to the wall.
Asswipe doesn't answer, but there is no denying his fear. The hatred rolling off Jay and heading towards him is the scariest thing I've ever seen...or felt.
Before Jay begins his annihilation, he bends down to tenderly place his lips over the backhand mark.
Oh my, Jay sure knows how to turn me into mush.
“Lily, you need to get out of here. I don't want you seeing this,” Jay says over his shoulder.
I shake my head no, “Nuh-uh.”
“Lily,” he warns, grinding his jaw.
“You can't kill him, Jay.”
“I'm not planning to, but he's definitely going to wish I had.”
My stomach rolls from images of Asswipe's body after Jay's done with him. I'll spare the details, it's too disgusting.
I look to Charlie, hoping he might help him see reason, but he seems to be just as ready to destroy as Jay. His fists are squeezed so tight they are white, or maybe it's because all his blood has rushed to his head, ready to detonate at any moment.
Jay takes Asswipe by the shirt and slams him against the wall, keeping a grip on the material. Asswipe winces when his head bounces off it.
Jay raises a fist and readies it for his face, but pauses mid swing.
He lifts a chin to Asswipe's swollen, busted lip, fist still suspended in the air, “Who did that?”
“The little girl. I didn't know you like 'em so young–”
Jay's fist connects with the other side of his jaw, “Shut the fuck up.”
Jay looks at me, pointing to Asswipe's mouth, “You did this?”
I proudly nod, “Yup.”
His eyes twinkle in amusement, “And why is that?”
“I didn't like what was coming out of his mouth.”
“So you thought you'd punch him?” He asks in a shocked, almost pleased voice.
“Yes, at the time it seemed like my best option at achieving my goal.”
“Of getting him to stop talking?”
“That is correct.”
Jay smirks, “Nice choice.”
“Thank you, I thought so too.”
Jay turns his focus back on Asswipe, pulling back his arm and punching him in the gut, “That's for giving my woman a reason to hit you.”
He looks back at me again, “Your hand all right?”
I caress it, “It's tender. His jaw's like concrete.”
Jay punches him in the gut again, sending Asswipe heaving over his fist, “That's for hurting her hand.”
“She hit me.” Asswipe manages to cough out, still buckled over.
Jay takes hold of his shoulders and uses his knee this time, “You gave her a reason to. Don't ever fucking do that again. You have a problem with me, take it out on me. Not Arianna, and definitely not Lily. Got it?”
Asswipe straightens and spits out an, “I got it.”
“The only reason you're not dead right now is because she doesn't want you to be,” Jay explains.
I highly doubt Asswipe feels any sort of gratitude towards me as Jay lets him go.
Asswipe begins to walk away but Charlie steps in, “My turn.” Charlie's face is clear of any expression, which makes it just as scary because you can't tell what state he's in or the extremes he's willing to go.
Asswipe uses his shirt to remove blood from his lips, “Do your best. I dare you.”
The two start going at it like it's the MMA. Jay has to pull me behind him and back us against the wall to make sure I'm not hit, forcing me to peek my head around his massive body. He yells at Arianna to go out the main door and she quickly obeys, darting nervous glances at the two men fighting.
Oh my god, they are really going at it. Whenever Charlie gets a good swing in I have a hard time not yelling out in triumph.
I'm really surprised that's not Jay right now.
“It would be, but I wouldn't be able to control myself,” Jay answers to what I had accidentally spoken out loud.
“I'm sorry,” I feel guilty for asking him to be somebody he's not.
“Don't be. This is good practice. If I can fight off this desire right now, I'm pretty sure I could do it when I'm back home with you.”
I smile into his arm, liking his choice of words.
Ben throws open his office door, “That's enough.” It slams shut, both men instantly stopping, their body's covered in sweat and blood, chests heaving from exertion.
Charlie and Jay silently communicate before Charlie opens the door to Arianna and Hattie, who are deep in conversation, both pairs of eyes glued to the door.
Hattie gasps when she sees how bloody Charlie is.
Charlie gives Asswipe one last scowl, pointing to Arianna, “Don't ever think about touching her again. I don't care if you're Vault's family, I will kill you.” He scans Hattie, “In fact don't touch any woman that works here. Don't even look at them.”
I'm still trapped behind Jay who is watching Asswipe's every move, daring him to take a step closer to us.
As Asswipe walks away he grumbles something about Mark not coming soon enough.
I lunge for him, somehow finding the strength to push past Jay, who extends his arm out and causes my midsection to halt around it, “I appreciate the gesture, babe, but I'm rather fond of those hands and what they can do. Save it for someone who's worth it.”
Good point.
Once the door is closed, Jay turns to me and strokes my cheek again, concern etched in his brows, “You sure you're all right?”
“Does it look that bad?”
“No,
it's hardly noticeable. I'm just making sure.”
I stand up on the tips of my toes and Jay has to lean down so I can give him a peck, “I sure do love you, Jay Lincoln.”
Jay smiles along my lips, wrapping his arms around my waist to lift me up, making my feet dangle in the air, locking me in his strong arms, wanting to be able to give my mouth more attention. Our tongues thread together, getting entwined and lost in the other.
My arms circle around his neck as though their life depends on it. We increase the magnitude of the kiss to a level that consumes me to my core.
When we finally break apart, I have to rest most of my face to the side of his, overwhelmed with the level of intensity we can draw out of one another.
“Oh, Lily,” he exhales, his pulse quickening it's pace. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Ugh, you guys are sickening to watch,” Arianna playfully announces from the door.
Jay doesn't let me go as we turn our heads in her direction.
“It's kind of creeping me out to see Jay this way, however,” she points a finger at his face, “it's a good look on you.”
“What?” Jay questions.
“Smiling. You're pretty handsome when you do.”
Color flushes his cheeks.
“Omigod, is Jay Lincoln blushing?” Arianna teases, earning a scowl from him.
“Whatever,” is his only argument. “Is there a reason you're here?”
“God, Jay, nobody knows how to do asshole quite like you.” She puts her attention on me, “I'm done for the day. Do you want to come back to my place? We can hang out until Jay's done?”
“Yes!” I shout with excitement, wiggling out of his arms.
Jay looks back and forth between us, eyes wide with fright at the idea of us spending time alone together.
What's wrong with me that I love to see him squirm?
“You can't leave the building,” Jay orders, letting us both know.
“I know the rules, Jay. Chill out,” Arianna sharply responds.
Jay scrubs his scars, “I'm warning you, A. Don't fuck me over.”
“Gee, thanks,” she mutters, taking offense. She grabs my hand and yanks me out the door. “Let's hurry before your domineering boyfriend acts even more like a prick than usual.”
In the waiting area I find Charlie sitting on a leather chair with Hattie standing between his legs, disinfecting his wounds. His eyes are wandering all over her face.
“I'm taking Lily to the studio,” Arianna informs Charlie.
Charlie ignores her or maybe he didn't hear, I'm not sure which.
“Charlie,” she snaps, getting his attention. “I need you to take me home.”
Charlie stands, thanking Hattie, who blushes. The three of us travel to the gold elevator.
As we descend, Arianna explains that she can't ride to any level without a guard, seeming almost embarrassed by it.
“Thanks for sticking up for me,” Arianna quietly speaks, taking Charlie's hand in hers. “He looked a hell of a lot worse than you do.”
His lips curve to the side, confidently displaying that this is information he already knew.
We arrive on the level Jay lives. He hadn't mentioned Arianna was living here too. I was wondering how I was going to her place if we weren't allowed to leave the bank.
Charlie has to lead us all the way to the apartment door, which is closer to the elevator than Jay's. He has his hand scanned before we can. Arianna explains that she also can't enter or leave an area without a guard or she pays the consequences.
I don't ask what those are. I know it can't be anything good.
Arianna thanks Charlie once we're inside. He lifts his chin and leaves.
The studio looks identical to Jay's. It's a little freaky.
“Are you hungry? I thought I would make us lunch?” Arianna offers.
“Sure. Thanks.”
She signals to a bar stool, “Sit. I'll get it started. And don't even think about offering to help, I'm trying to learn how all this works,” she waves her arms around at the kitchen.
“You and Charlie seem close...” I pry, hopping up on a stool.
“Oh, we are. He's incredible. He looks out for me, probably the only person in my life who ever has. It's a shame he's gay.”
“What? Really?” Not that he has to fit a stereotype or anything, but this completely surprises me.
“I was shocked too. At one point I wondered if he was lying, but one day he came home early at the exact moment I had gotten out of the shower and was walking to the dresser. His eyes barely glanced at me, and not in an uncomfortable, quickly look away thing, but an actual I-could-care-less-that-a-naked-woman-is-standing-in-front-of-me way.”
My jaw drops, “You two live here, together?”
“Yes, but he sleeps on the couch.”
“Ben doesn't care?”
She laughs, “No, at this point he's unable to say no to me.”
Oh, really...
“Not like that. I'm not interested in that anymore, with him or any man. I just mean he feels so bad about what happened that I think he'd give me his villa in Italy if I asked.”
“Ooh, you should,” I joke.
“I agree.” She winks at me, “Maybe his beach house in Hawaii, too.”
“How long have you known Ben?” I try to casually ask, finding it a good time to weasel it in, desperately wanting the juicy gossip.
“My whole life.” She points to the ingredients she pulled out, “Grilled cheese okay?”
“Yup.”
She gets to work making them, “I'm sure you want to know more; I would.” The bread gets placed on the counter and she spreads butter over it, “He's fourteen years older than me, but from the moment I saw him I was hooked. Can't really blame me, he's gorgeous.” She licks her lips, stopping her cheese slicing to dreamily sigh, “My parents noticed how eager I always was to go to San Fransisco and they knew the reason why. I had thought they were being nice when they allowed me to go to this bank with them. It wasn't until I was at an age my parents thought was appropriate for me to be sexually active – fifteen I might add,” she says with disgust, “that I found out the real reason they liked to flaunt me around him. Basically, they wanted to sell my virginity.”
I unintentionally gasp, “Your freaking parents?”
“I know. It's sick, but I've only ever been a money maker to them; another way to con people.”
Jesus, that's horrible. I try to hide my revulsion, “Did Ben try to buy it?”
She looks mortified, “God no! He was pissed they even put the offer out there.”
That's a relief.
“Anyway, they made Vault promise to not ever touch me after he refused, afraid I would get attached to him and want to stay in San Fransisco. At that point I had become a valuable asset to them.”
“That's fucked up.”
“That's my parents.”
“I thought Jay was your first?” I seriously doubt Jay would pay for someone's virginity.
“He was. I had been crying...do you want to know this or is it too weird?”
“I want to know everything about Jay.”
“Okay. So, I was crying, telling Jay how my dad had just informed me about selling myself. I was terrified. I hadn't even kissed a boy yet. Then Jay told me to just pick a guy and have sex. Even though I wasn't ready, I liked the idea of it being my choice. I remember looking at Jay and thinking how I loved that he never watched me like other men did. Even being that young I had men of all ages ogling me, and it always made me uncomfortable. I liked that Jay looked at me like any other person in the room. I wanted it over and done with, and at the moment he seemed like my best option, which sadly he was. So I...” she looks down in shame, “I stripped down naked and kissed him. It was pretty hard for a boy to say no to that.”
I don't even know how to digest the way these people grew up. It makes me even more grateful for the constant affection and love my parents have given to me.
&nbs
p; “Crapnugget!” Arianna cries, flipping over the burnt sandwiches with her fingers and sticking her middle finger in her mouth. “I don't think I'll ever be able to cook something without burning it or myself.”
Her obvious disappointment makes me smile, thinking of my mom.
I come closer to rest my arms on the counter, “Why are you trying to cook?”
She looks at the pan like it's the source of all her troubles and she's ready to kick it's ass.
“I'm trying to...” she crosses her arms and her eyes squint even harder before looking at me, “I really don't know what the hell I'm trying to do. I just know I can't go back to my old life.” She shrugs, now looking vulnerable and lost, “I always thought I was an independent woman who could take care of herself, and in some ways I was, but I depended on others' success to get what I wanted. I want to depend solely on me now. Does that even make sense?”
“It sure does.”
I don't like the look that is currently crossing her face, like things are about to get personal – and not in a way that's in my favor.
“I need to confess something.”
Yup, there it is. I hate it when I'm right.
“I've never had a friend before, and I need to get this off my chest before the guilt kills me.”
I want to tell her not to; I'm not sure I like the expression she's wearing. I have a sinking suspicion that whatever is about to leave her lips will forever change me and my relationship to Jay.
“I wish I knew how to explain my frame of mind when Jay brought me home – I assume he told you about it?”
I nod.
“I figured. When I was in that dark slit underground I hated him, but at the same time I knew he would find me, I knew I would survive. When we got back to his place, I had convinced myself to believe he rescued me because he cared for me on a deeper level. I desperately needed to believe somebody out there cared about me,” she looks down at her hands, unable to look at me, “I came on to him. I'm so sorry. I'm incredibly ashamed and embarrassed about the whole thing.”
“It's okay,” I reassure her, placing my hands over hers. “Jay already told me about what happened. Neither one of us holds it against you, we understand you were working through a lot.”
Marked. Part II: Becoming Noah Baxter Page 11
