by Jodi Vaughn
“What the fuck is Granny doing here and why is she in that sidecar?” Jayden glanced at Barrett for answers.
The leader took a long-suffering breath before opening his mouth. “She wouldn’t quit bothering me about where I had sent you. Plus, I needed to get your Harley to you. I figured it would be good for Haley to have someone else’s company besides yours.”
“Wait, that’s my Harley?” He jerked his head back to the motorcycle, his gaze running over the sleek frame.
“Yes.”
“So which Guardian is riding it?”
Barrett snorted.
The rider, dressed all in black leather, killed the engine and dismounted. Jayden frowned. The full-face helmet hid the identity, but he knew right away from the slender frame of the driver, that this was no Guardian. He was too skinny.
The rider pulled off the helmet and a cascade of black hair spilled out.
“Ava?”
“You looked stunned.” Damon came up, shook his hand and turned his attention back on Ava.
“When the fuck did Ava learn to drive a motorcycle?”
“Apparently she’d been taking them out for a while now. Just not bothering to tell me.” Damon growled.
Ava walked up with a smirk and dropped the keys to his bike in Jayden’s hand. “You can thank me later.”
“For what?”
“Bringing your bike.” She nodded at what used to be his car. “Looks like you need some alternate form of transportation.”
“It’s got a fucking sidecar attached.” Jayden couldn’t wrap his head around that concept.
“How else was I going to get Granny here?” Ava crossed her arms as Damon pulled her close.
“How about she ride with Barrett in that thing?” Jayden jerked his finger over his shoulder.
“I tried telling her that.” Barrett glared. “That woman has a hard time listening to the rules.”
“Are y’all going to stand there staring or is someone going to help me get out of this contraption?” Granny yelled from the sidecar.
Ava hurried back to the bike. “Sorry, Granny.” She held out her hand and the older woman took it.
“Don’t rush me. I’m an old lady.” Granny unfolded herself from the sidecar and climbed out. She tugged her white plastic purse out and slung it over her shoulder.
Jayden was shocked to see her dressed in jeans and a leather jacket. He’d never seen his Granny wear anything other than muumuus.
“You’re not old, Granny.” Damon sighed and shook his head like he was running out of patience.
Jayden inclined his head to his fellow Guardians. “You drove all the way with Granny riding in a sidecar? How long did that take?”
“We left this afternoon. We would have gotten here earlier if we didn’t have to stop at every rest area for her to go to the bathroom. I swear she’s got a bladder the size of a peanut.”
Jayden stared at his bike and shook his head. “Dude, there’s a sidecar on my Harley.”
Damon slapped him on the back. “Don’t worry, brother. It comes off.”
Thank God for that.
“Jayden!” Granny rushed forward and pulled him into a fierce hug. She pulled back and frowned as she eyed his car.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t tell me anything. Your car has been vandalized.” Granny turned her eye on Barrett. “Is he on some kind of dangerous mission here?”
“He’s always on some kind of mission, Granny. Part of being a Guardian.” Barrett glared at Granny. But Jayden knew the old lady wasn’t scared of her new Pack Master.
“I’m going to speak to the police.” Barrett called over his shoulder and headed toward the cluster of cops eyeing their motorcycle group with suspicion.
Jayden started to say they were not going to tell him any information but to his surprise, Barrett whipped out something that looked like a badge and flashed it to the nearest cop.
The cop straightened and immediately led him over to the investigator in charge.
Jayden shook his head and made a mental note to ask what kind of badge Barrett had whipped out.
Zane, Jaxon and Lucien secured the perimeter of the parking lot. Jayden knew they were trying to pick up any lingering scent or clues the stalker might have left.
“Why haven’t you called?” Granny’s asked.
Guilt surged in his gut. Granny was his only living relative and had practically raised him. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t called. Ever since the night of the rescue he’d been pulling back from those who cared about him, needing to protect them from the hell he’d been through.
“I’m sorry, Granny. This mission had my mind focused on other things. I should have called. I’m sorry.”
Granny’s frown softened and she glanced over his shoulder. “Are you sure? Would Haley have anything to do with why you are so distracted?”
Jayden shook his head.
“Why not? I see the way she looks at you.” “She’s too young for me. She’s still in college.” Those words made his throat ache.
Granny cocked her head. “And she’s probably the most mature of all the girls I’ve seen you date.”
“What?” Jayden snapped his head up.
“You heard me. Those other older women were silly and were not good enough for you.” Granny’s gaze rested on Haley. “Now, Haley, on the other hand, seems very grounded and knows what she wants. It seems your taste in women has finally improved.”
Jayden’s mouth dropped. He expected his Granny to tell him Haley was too young for him and how she needed to live before settling down.
Granny never ceased to surprise him.
Granny patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll go say hello to her.” Her lips quirked up in the corner. “Oh, and I need to tell her I brought her order with me.”Before he could say anything, his sex toy-selling Granny ambled over to Haley and pulled her into a hug.
Braxton stood a few feet away watching over her like a mother hen while he kept his eyes on the surrounding area. Damon stood beside him talking with that stern expression on his face and those damn Oakley’s. They looked quite the pair. Braxton with his blue-tipped hair and covered in tattoos while Damon sported his sunglasses and leather jacket with his long scar running down his face.
Human’s probably thought they were part of some biker gang.
To Jayden they were his brothers and he would gladly lay down his life for any of them.
His gaze drifted to Haley. Granny had her arm around Haley’s shoulder while Ava said something. Whatever Ava said had Haley smiling a little.
Haley met his gaze. Did she have any idea what she did to him?
His feet had taken over and were walking in her direction, some unseen force pulling him to her.
“Are you ready to go home?”
She frowned and wrapped her arms around herself in a protective gesture as she glanced over at the cops. “Can we leave yet?”
“Yeah. Barrett’s here now so he’ll take care of the cops.” He took her hand and pulled her into his arms, not caring who saw, not even Barrett. There was no one in their universe at that moment, just them.
Haley nodded and then pulled back and looked back at Granny and Ava. “Where are you guys staying?”
“With you guys of course.” Granny smiled wide.
“What?” Jayden froze.
“Barrett said we could all stay at his house.” Granny hooked her purse higher on her shoulder.
“I don’t think there’s enough room,” Jayden said too quickly.
“Sure there is.” Barrett appeared out of nowhere and spoke over Jayden’s shoulder. “It’s three bedrooms. Plus room in the RV. It’s not a bad idea to have more people around to protect Haley.”
Jayden opened his mouth to say speak, but really, what could he say to that?
#
“What the fuck happened to my door?” Barrett growled as he stood in front of the bedroom missing a door.
�
�The door was stuck,” Jayden muttered and looked away.
“That’s strange. As many years as I’ve owned this house I’ve never known this door to stick.” Barrett arched his brow. He knew when his Guardians were lying.
“Must be the humidity.”
“It’s spring. There is no humidity. Even in Arkansas.”
“I’m going to find some sheets for the couch.” Haley cleared her throat as she tried not to laugh.
“Look in the hall closet.” Barrett kept his gaze on Jayden.
“I’ll go help.” Jayden quickly followed.
He didn’t like it when his Guardians got personally involved while on a mission. Shit tended to go wrong when they didn’t have their head in the game.
“You going to tell me what’s going on?” Barrett kept his gaze on Jayden.
“It’s just a door. I’ll pay for it.”
“I’m not talking about the door. I’m talking about Haley and you. And what’s going on between the two of you.” Barrett had sensed something more was going on between the two from the few phone calls he’d had with his Guardian. But he didn’t have proof and he certainly had bigger issues to worry about than if Jayden was trying to get into Haley’s panties.
“I don’t want to see Haley get hurt.” Barrett cocked his head.
Jayden’s head snapped up, fierceness in his eyes. “I would never hurt Haley.”
“I’m not talking about physically. I mean emotionally. I don’t want you to break her heart. She’s younger than you, Jayden.”
“Jesus, don’t you think I know how old she is.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I’m sure after this is over she’ll want to get on with her life at college. She’ll have her freedom and the rest of her life to look forward to.”
Barrett gave him an assessing look. Jayden was clearly in turmoil. After he’d been rescued by his Guardians from his captors who had tortured him, Jayden had changed. His easygoing attitude and carefree lifestyle wasn’t there anymore. Jayden might have been pulled out of hell that night, but he had brought his demons with him. He’d known the full extent of Jayden’s injury from that one night in Louisiana.
“Does she know?” Barrett’s kept his voice calm and quiet. Although he knew everyone kept their distance when he was having a conversation with one of his men, he didn’t want the women to overhear.
Jayden frowned. “Know what?”
“How you feel about her?”
The look on Jayden’s face couldn’t have been more priceless. He looked like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Or Haley’s cookie jar to be more precise.
He opened his mouth and what came out surprised Barrett.
“She doesn’t know I’m in love with her.” He looked away, pain etched in his eyes. But Barrett knew it was a different kind of pain from what he’d been dealing with over the last few months.
“And why not?” Barrett crossed his arms. It was times like this he hated being Pack Master of Arkansas. He could deal with the fighting and the missions and all the political shit. But when it came to matters of the heart he didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. And he sure as hell hoped he never found out. He made it his own personal mission to avoid being mated.
“I don’t know. It’s like you said, she’s young, and she hasn’t had time to sow her wild oats.” Jayden shrugged. “I don’t want to force her to commit to me when she hasn’t had her full college experience.”
Barrett arched his brow and snorted.
Jayden glared.
That got his attention.
“I don’t think she would be interested in the ‘college experience’ as you put it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Damon told me about when you went to college and how you had your college bucket list written out.” Barrett snorted.
“So?”
“Apparently you’ve forgotten what you wrote.”
“No I haven’t.”Barrett sighed and held up his hand. He pointed to each finger as he spoke. “Go to college wearing only underwear. Bang an ugly chick. Go to class drunk. Have a threesome. Take a piss on the street.” Barrett ran out of fingers and held out his other hand.
Damon stepped up next to Barrett and continued. “Get a tattoo. Have sex in every classroom. Bang a nerd. Play strip poker with a group of sorority girls. Bang a college professor.”
“Okay, okay, enough.” Jayden held up his hands.
“I really don’t think Haley’s going to be interested in banging chicks.” Damon smirked behind his Oakley’s.
“Or pissing in the streets.” Braxton stepped up and took a drink of beer he’d plundered from the refrigerator. “She might get it on her shoes and she wears really nice shoes.”
#
Jayden snatched the beer out of Braxton’s hands and scowled.
It was the only thing he could do. They were making him sound like a total dickhead.
“I guess I remembered it differently.” He grimaced and looked away, unable to meet their eyes.
“I’m surprised you remembered anything at all. You stayed drunk half the time.” Damon added his two cents.
Jayden shot him a glare. And he opened his mouth. And then quickly shut it. After all, what could he say?
“That’s not what I want for her.” Jayden gritted his teeth.
“Good, cause that’s what I don’t want for myself either.”
All the males turned. Haley stood there, her arms crossed and her foot tapping on the hallway runner and her expression dialed to completely pissed. “But thank you, Jayden, for trying to make decisions for my life.”
“Haley, I didn’t …”
She turned on her heel and marched down the hallway.
“Glad we straightened that out.” Damon slapped him on the back and walked away. The rest of the males seemed to know enough to give him some space and followed after Damon.
Jayden ran his hand down his face.
He hurried into the kitchen and ran into Ava who was eating ice cream out of the carton.
“Where’s Haley?”
“She went that way.” Ava pointed with her spoon toward the door leading to the deck.
“Wouldn’t you like a bowl?” Jayden grinned. “There are some in the cupboards.”
“Nope. I plan on eating the whole thing. No need in messing up a dish.” She winked.
Shaking his head, Jayden headed out the back door. His heart lurched when he didn’t see her immediately. He narrowed his eyes at the corner of the deck where the shrubbery trees were overgrown.
Haley sat in a chair, her knees pulled up to her chin.
“Hey.” He stuck his hands in his pocket and took a step toward her.
“Hey, yourself.” He could tell by her tone that she was angry with him.
“Can I sit?” He waited until she nodded her head before he eased into the deck chair beside her. He stood and angled the chair where he was looking at her and sat again.
“I apologize if you thought I was trying to tell you how to live your life. That was never my intention.” His gut churned.
She turned and met his gaze. Even in the darkness he could see her narrowed blue eyes leveled on him.
It made him hard.
“What was your intention then?”
“To give you the opportunity to have your freedom in college.” God, even the words made him nauseated. He visualized Haley in another guys’ arms, laughing and kissing and doing things he didn’t want to even think about.
“And that means I need to screw everything with a penis.”Jayden stood up quickly, his hands fisted at his sides. Without thinking, he snatched her up out of the chair and snarled.
“Is that what you want, Jayden?” She narrowed her gaze at him “Would it make you feel better if I fucked another guy?”
“I’ll kill the son of bitch that lays his hands on you.” He pulled her close, slamming his mouth across hers and thrusting his tongue in her mouth.
She moaned against his lips an
d he kissed her deeper.
God, he couldn’t get enough of her scent of her taste
He moved his mouth to her neck where he licked the sensitive spot. He felt her hands slide up inside his shirt, her warm palms pressing into the muscle of his abs. He loved her hands and how they felt on him, insistent, demanding, urging.
“Tell me what you want, Jayden,” she whispered against his ear, her breath scorching him and burning him to his very soul.
“You know what I want.” He didn’t want to waste his time on words.
He wanted her.
He wanted her naked. And he wanted to be inside her.
“Tell me. I need to hear it.” She bit his ear.
He growled and shoved his hand down the waistband of her skirt. She was already wet. For him.
His heartbeat sounded in his ears and he couldn’t hear anything but his own ragged breath.
“I want you.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Haley arched her pelvis into Jayden’s hand. She needed more than his fingers, she needed him, all of him.
“Jayden,” she murmured against his lips as he kissed her again. “I need you. Now.”
Jayden pulled back and stared at her in the dark, his eyes dilated with lust and greed. He looked deadly and dangerous and she loved it.
She loved him.
Her heart trembled within her chest at the revelation.
She reached her hand down and cupped him through his jeans.
“Jesus, Haley.” He gritted out between his clenched teeth.
She loved how he responded to her touch. And how her body responded to his. With him everything was so right, so perfect.
“Where am I going to sleep?” Granny’s voice screeched across the porch as the old lady opened the door and flipped the light switch on.
Haley froze.
Jayden cursed.
“Well, there you two are. I was looking everywhere.”
Haley smiled at the old lady from around Jayden’s shoulder. Thank God, Jayden had his back to his Grandmother and she couldn’t tell he was sporting a tent in his pants.
“You can sleep in the room next to the bathroom,” Jayden called out. His eyes were closed and his jaw tight. Haley figured he was trying to force his erection to go down.
