by Vi Keeland
She nods her head and starts sobbing. Tyler doesn’t hesitate with pulling her face into his chest and rubbing the back of her head. He may not know her, but somehow I get the feeling, he’ll care about anything his friend cares about. Tyler too, is a protector.
Kellan breaks my concentration, causing me to pull my eyes away from Jen and Tyler. “Go and take care of your friend and we’ll take care of everything else.”
I get ready to walk away but he grabs my arm to stop me. He just stands there looking in my eyes, but doesn’t say anything. I get lost in his stare until he speaks again. “Never mind. Just take care of Jen.” He smiles and I return his smile before walking away, and grabbing for Jen’s arm.
She follows beside me, but stops to look back at Tyler as him and Kellan watch us walking away.
We really have to find a way to thank those boys later. For now, I need to take care of my family.
Chapter Fifteen
Phoenix
Shortly after changing the locks, Kellan left, saying he had a client waiting on a tattoo he promised to get done by today. I could tell he didn’t want to leave and him walking out that door almost seemed like torture to him. He stood there hesitating for way too long, staring at me with this strange look in his eyes. Tyler gave him the nod and he finally left after telling him to take care of us girls and Jax.
A huge part of me wished he would’ve turned back around and kissed me again, but I knew that first kiss was only out of worry. Anyone else would’ve done the same if they were really worried about someone they cared about getting hurt. Although I know he cares about me, it hurts that it’s not in the same way I care about him. Sometimes though, a girl just needs to be kissed senseless. The cycle with us seems like it will never change. It will always be me chasing him and him running away. Sucks for me and tears me apart.
When I saw him walk through Jen’s door, I could’ve sworn that I’d died. My heart completely stopped and my breath caught in my throat, making me feel faint. Seeing him for the first time after sharing such an intimate moment with him did nothing but work me up and play with my emotions. Even with everything going on, my want for him heated me to the core and chilled me at the same time. That moment we shared on the roof was hot and even if he didn’t feel it, it had some passionate moments. Not just sex. It almost felt like more at times. He had to have felt it too. The way he looked into my eyes as he pushed deep inside me almost made me feel like he wanted what I did. There I go again wishing for the impossible.
About an hour or so after Kellan left, I pulled Jen aside to be sure she felt comfortable being left alone with Tyler. She peeked over her shoulder at Tyler bouncing Jax on his knee and her eyes lit up. Now that I think about it, I never saw Nate do that kind of stuff with Jax and I think that alone was enough to show Jen how sweet and caring Tyler must be. She just leaned into the door frame and crossed her arms over her chest as she watched Jax laugh and play with Tyler. “Yeah,” she said. “We’ll be fine.” Seeing her happy made my heart melt. She has been dealt a shitty hand in life and never complains like most people would. She deserves a happy ending.
I was glad for Tyler’s presence because I really had no choice but to leave. Dale called me in a panic needing me to cover the closing shift. I can’t complain, it’s my job as manager to cover all uncovered shifts. On the bright side, Saline is finally gone. As much as I shouldn’t accuse without proof, if I had to guess, she was probably the reason I was finding money missing from the drawer over the last few months. I never trusted her, so to be honest, I’m glad she screwed up enough to get fired. If it weren’t for Tyler being so kind and offering to stay the night at Jen’s, I don’t know what I would have done. If Tyler is anything like Kellan, then I have no worries that he’ll keep her safe from Nate if he is stupid enough to come back tonight.
When I walk in the door of my apartment, Zoe is sitting on her knees, hunched over the coffee table. She looks really zoned in on whatever it is she’s doing. I look around but don’t see mom anywhere and to be honest, I’m kind of relieved. I walk over to stand behind Zoe. “You seem to be concentrating really hard.” I half smile, while trying to get a peek. “Are you drawing something?”
She looks up from the pad of paper and her eyes are red and puffy. She gives me a hard look, eying me up and down before turning her attention back to the paper and wiping at her face. “No, I’m not.” She tears off the top sheet of paper and wads it up in her hands before throwing it across the room at my waste basket like a basketball, missing the goal. “I’m trying to write a stupid poem and it’s making me mad. I can’t seem to do anything right. I don’t know why Kellan thinks this will help me.” She pauses to lean her head against the seat cushion, looking forlorn. “I don’t know. I mean … I guess it’s helping a little bit, but it’s still making me mad. Nothing sounds good. My life sucks. Why couldn’t I get the smart gene like you or the artistic ability like Adric? I have nothing going for me.”
I set my keys down on the table before taking a seat on the couch, leaning close to her shoulder. Zoe has always been really hard on herself and I hate her thought process. It hurts to see her this way and sometimes I just don’t know what to say. “Zoe, there is nothing wrong with your life. You’re young, pretty, smart and determined. You have a lot of things going for you. A lot more than some girls out there. Trust me, things aren’t as bad as they seem.” I think.
She laughs sarcastically as she pushes herself to her feet and grabs her notebook. “That’s a funny joke. Should I laugh now or later? You can stop trying to play the good mom, ya know. I’m old enough to handle the truth now. I am what I am and I’ve come to terms with it.” Closing the notebook, she tucks the pen behind her ear and rolls her eyes. “If I didn’t have a point, to prove something to someone, I wouldn’t even be trying to write this stupid poem. You don’t need to feed me crap I will choke on. I’m almost fifteen. I may be young, but I’m not blind. I know I’m none of those things. I’m not like you, Phoenix and I don’t expect to ever be.”
“Excuse me. What do I have to do with anything? You don’t need to be like me. Everyone is different Zoe.” Since when did this little girl get so damn dark inside? Every day she gets a little angrier at the world and it scares me. “You must be blind if you can’t see all of those good things about yourself. You better get your head out of your ass before you end up making some stupid decision like … smoking for example. You need to quit that crap, Zoe. You can be anything you want to be if you would actually give a crap and try.”
“Whatever. Just leave me alone. I don’t need some stupid lecture from you.” Taking a deep breath, she turns for the front door and stops right before walking outside. “Can I have your room tonight? Mom has it every night and I could use some privacy to concentrate. I’m sure mom will be up all night rambling and crying to herself anyways. I think she broke into grandma’s stash. She’s losing it and I’m going insane just by watching her lose it. I need my own room.”
That’s just what I need to hear. Mom drinking again is not a good idea. I still remember those nights of finding her on the floor next to the couch with puke all over her face. She thinks I was too young to remember at the time, but I wasn’t and no matter how hard she tried to convince me it was my imagination, I knew it wasn’t. I think I even remember Kellan and Adric carrying her upstairs late one night when my dad didn’t come home. It was not a pretty sight.
I huff at the thought. “Yeah, that’s fine. I have to work all night anyways so I won’t be back until after two sometime. Just let mom know when she wakes up that I’ll be gone all night and I said it was fine for you to take the room tonight.”
I watch her as she nods her head and opens the door. “Where are you going?”
“Just out with a few friends. I’ll be back in a few hours. I already told mom earlier and she was okay with it.”
“If you say so. Just stay out of trouble,” I mumble and she just rolls her eyes and walks out the door closing it behind he
r.
Leaning my head against the couch cushion, I look around the house and take in the mess. There are soda cans, candy wrappers and dishes sitting around my once spotless apartment. I hate a messy place. It drives me mad. It’s only been a few days and already this house looks like crap.
I stand up and start on the mess. Might as well before it gets too bad. Plus, it would help to keep my mind busy until I have to leave for work.
An hour later, I am out the door and headed to the bar. I’m so deep in thought, I don’t even realize until I get there, that it’s Kade’s night to work. He gives me a hard look as soon as I walk through the door and I instantly regret coming in.
Just great…this ought to be fun.
Kellan
When I got that call from Phoenix, I thought it was weird because she never calls, but when all I heard was screaming and yelling in the background I about lost my shit. I couldn’t get out of this shop fast enough. Thoughts of someone possibly hurting her made my blood boil and had my adrenaline pumping like mad. There is no doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t fuck someone’s world up for laying a hand on that woman. Just the thought alone lights a fire in my chest. I dropped that tattoo gun down without a second thought, telling Tyler I had some shit to resolve. My client wasn’t too happy, but I could have cared less at the moment. I never stop in the middle of an appointment, but with this, I had no choice.
There was only one problem. I didn’t know where she was and she clearly couldn’t talk. I only had one choice, to call in a favor to an old friend. I know this guy that is a whiz at computers and shit. It may seem stalkerish to have him track the location of her number but desperate times call for desperate measures.
When I got there and saw her down on the ground, it took everything in me not to chop that son of a bitch’s balls off and shove them down his throat. A man should never lay his hands on a woman and knowing I’ve caught this same douche in the act more than once made it worse. I hate to see the ones I care about hurt and the look on her face when I walked through that door about killed me. I wanted nothing more than to pull her in my arms and comfort her. What good would that do though? Having her close can only hurt her more. Damn! Shit! I’m in a bad position.
“That feels good,” the feisty blond moans from below me, sounding as if I’ve just hit the spot, bringing her to climax. She runs her hand up the inside of her thigh and leans her head back looking completely satisfied. “I like it hard and deep. Don’t stop.” Her voice comes out breathy as she arches her back, exposing even more of her over inflated breast. Someone’s a little desperate for my attention and unfortunately, desperate is far from sexy.
Scowling, I pull my head out of the damn clouds and focus my attention in front of me. I spread her long, slender legs wider and lean in to get a better look at the cherry blossom covering the inside of her thigh. “Be still if you don’t want a shitty tattoo permanently stained on your skin.” Even with this chick constantly moving around in her seat, I have to admit the work is still coming along beautifully. What can I say, I’m good at what I do. “We’re almost done here and then we’ll get you on your way,” I say stiffly, while holding her wandering leg still so I can focus.
Disbelief crosses her soft pale features, no doubt confused as to why I haven’t taken her right here in this chair, giving into her obvious desire to have me. Maybe she’s used to getting what her little heart desires. I can see why because her beauty is enough to stun the average male. Her eyes trail from my lips, down to the tattoo gun in my hand. “I get the feeling someone’s trying to get rid of me. Not in the mood for games today?” Her eyes lock on mine, and suddenly the blues don’t seem so bright anymore. It’s as if me not wanting her has crushed her whole ego.
Yeah, so maybe I do want to get rid of her. What she doesn’t get is, her looking at me this way is doing nothing but bringing back memories of me burying myself deep inside Phoenix on the roof last night. I swear I could close my eyes, flip this chick over and take her right here in this chair, but I would only be imaging it were Phoenix. That’s not exactly fair to anyone. Not that I usually play fair. Not anymore.
“Look. No disrespect, but I have places I’d like to be. Being here right now is keeping me from that. I appreciate your business as well as the new clientele you’ve brought me over the months, but I’m in no mood to be here and I have a lot of shit on my mind.”
I bring the needle back down to meet her thigh and she moans while trying to hide the pain. I know these games all too well. Many girls come in here and act as if getting a tattoo feels good, in an attempt to get Tyler or myself turned on. In the past, something like this might have worked. In fact, it would have worked; however, not now. Not after getting a taste of the sweet perfection that taste and smell of cupcakes. Now every time I look at a cupcake, I’ll probably get a fuckin’ boner.
“Well gorgeous, from the look on your face, I would say it has something to do with a woman,” she says while peeking up at me and gripping the chair. “If any girl is making you feel like what I think you’re feeling.” She pauses to look down at my dick and when she does, her lips curl up into a playful smirk. “Then she’s not worth your time or your pleasure.”
I set the gun down, clean the tattoo, smear a layer of ointment over it and cover it before spinning in my chair and pulling the gloves off. “Something like that. It’s complicated as shit.” I turn back around and look her in the eye, causing her to get a spark of hope. “And trust me, she is very worth it.”
I get ready to stand up, but she reaches for my shirt, fisting it, and pulls me into the chair so my hands are resting on either sides of her thighs. She bends down and brushes her lips against my ear while running her hand up the back of my shirt. “If she’s causing you pain then she’s not worth it.” She licks my ear before cupping my face and pulling it closer to hers. “I’m all yours if you want. I can do plenty of things to keep your mind off of her.” She growls the last word then brushes her bottom lip over my chin stopping right below my mouth. I can feel her warm breath on my lips and if she breathes any heavier, our lips will be touching. Hell no. I’m not having that.
I turn my face away from hers and grip her waist, pulling her up to her feet as I back away. She looks at me, waiting on my next move, but I just turn around and walk toward the display. “I’m good. Like I said, I have places to be,” I say stiffly.
Adjusting her little jean shorts to cover her panties, she shakes her head and reaches on the ground for her purse. “Alright then.” She plops her purse down onto the display and starts digging through it, while looking as if she’s just been played. “What do I still owe you?”
At this point, I could care less. I just want to get out of here before I lose my mind and break something a hell of a lot bigger than the mirror I smashed last week.
Why can’t I stop thinking about her? She’s fucking destroying me. Earlier before I left, she said she had to work tonight. I can’t help but to wonder if her and my brother share the same shift. If he knows what happened with us, I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to get into her pants just to win her back over. Just the thought of him taking her in the back and fucking her has me going crazy. Man, I’m all kinds of fucked up.
“I don’t know. Just give me thirty. We’ll get you on your way and we’ll call it even.”
She pulls the money out of her wallet and slams it down on the counter while placing a cigarette between her plump lips. Then she looks up and pulls the cigarette out with a small smile. “Well at least I get a discount out of this. Although, I would’ve liked something else better. You’ll be seeing more of me in the future. No one’s as good with their hands as you are.”
Silently, I grab the cash and shove it into the drawer before walking her over to the door. “Good to know. Did you lock your doors?”
She gives me a questionable look while digging for her keys. “Yeah, why?”
“Just being cautious.” I push the door open for her and lean against it as I w
atch her walk over to her car being sure she makes it there safely. As soon as she drives off, I quickly shut down the shop and lock the door behind me.
I have my Harley tonight and all I want to do is hurry and lock up so I can jump on, take her for a ride and feel the wind against my face.
Once outside, I ride heated and angered, the cool air giving me a bit of release. I ride for a good hour before I finally pull into my drive and park it outside of the garage. Riding did little to ease my mind. Not like it usually does.
I step into the house to find Rayne standing right inside waiting on me. I kneel down in front of her and run my hands over her head, rubbing behind her ear over the jagged scar that was left there by her previous owners. The scar runs at least a good seven inches long. It takes a lot for me to swallow my anger every time I feel it. She didn’t deserve the treatment she got. It’s all bullshit. “Is my girl hungry?” She wags her tail and places her paw on my knee. “Come on girl.”
She follows behind me to the kitchen and sits down in front of her bowl as I open a can of her favorite food and fill her dish up with fresh water. “There you go.” I pat her head and then walk over to take a seat on the nearest bar stool.