Croc's Return (5 page)

“I thought I should talk to you because I figure we’d bump into each other again at some point, and I didn’t want it to be awkward.”

“Oh, because this isn’t awkward at all.” Renny rolled her eyes. “You’ve said hello. I know you’re back. I also don’t care, so if you don’t mind, there’s the door. Use it.” She turned her back to him.

Oddly enough, though, he didn’t want to leave. As a matter of fact, all he really wanted to do was snare her in his arms and squeeze her tight. Tell her how much he’d missed her and wished things could have been different. He wanted to peel that tiny shirt from her and cover her body in his. Surround her in his scent. Claim her and make her off-limits to others.

The time apart hadn’t cooled the attraction on his part at all, but he wouldn’t act on it.

Mustn’t mark her and claim her and keep. She deserves better.

Thing was, he needed to make sure she hated him because, if she softened at all, like she did now with her body trembling slightly, he might not be able to resist. “So do you strip for money on top of waitressing? Or do you just strut your shit for every dick with a few dollars?”

She whirled on him. “Are you seriously insulting me here?”

“Just questioning your choice in careers.” Because he knew she was capable of being more than a waitress in a strip club. “Couldn’t you find something a little more—”

“More what? Morally sound? More clothed? Perhaps you’d like me to walk two feet behind men and curtsy when they speak to me?”

“Now you’re exaggerating. I’m just saying a nice girl like you should have higher aspirations than working in a titty bar.”

“There is nothing wrong with working here. And that’s a priceless thing to say, given you came here in the first place. If this place is so disgusting, then what are you doing here?”

Getting a beer? But he didn’t have time to voice his reason. Renny was still talking, her voice reaching an incredulous pitch.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve, Caleb Bourdeaux, coming back into town after everything that’s happened and acting as if I owe you anything or give a fiddle what you think.”

Once again, he just couldn’t seem to keep his mouth shut. “Maybe you should give a damn what I think since no one else seems to be. You deserve a job that doesn’t require you dressing like this. For fuck’s sake, Renny, your shirt is so tight I can see your damned bra.”

“Are my bralines bothering you? Let me fix that.”

He could only gape in shock as her hands slid under the fabric of her top, and in moments, she’d managed to unsnap her bra and slide her arms through the straps. She tossed the scrap of fabric at him.

It hit him in the chest, but he clasped it before it could fall. The cottony material still held the warmth of her body. Was it him or the beast that lifted it for a sniff?

Vanilla. Delicious. And tempting, just like the buds of her nipples clinging to the material of her shirt that drew his gaze.

I am in so much trouble.

A trouble he couldn’t seem to stop from snowballing.

“What are you doing with my bra?” she asked as he stuffed it in his pocket.

“Keeping it.”

“For what?”

Nothing could have stopped his slow, lazy smile. “Inspiration.”

It took her only a moment to grasp his meaning, and then she blushed. “Give it back right now. I will not have you—um. You know.” Renny stumbled instead of saying the words.

“You gave it to me. It’s rude to ask for a present back,” Caleb chided.

But Renny didn’t seem to care about bad manners. “I hate you.” She stomped past him, the skin of her arm lightly brushing him, enough for an electric sizzle. Perhaps she felt it, too, because she stopped and whirled. Her brown eyes sparked. Her lips parted. “Actually, you know what, I do owe you something.”

She leaned toward him, and he found himself angling toward her, too, already forgetting his promise to stay away. To—

“Ooomph!” Breath burst from him as she slugged him in the gut.

“That was for being an asshat and leaving.” She kicked him in the shin. “That’s for ignoring me after. And this is because I hate you!” She kneed him in the groin.

It did not feel good at all, but that wasn’t the reason he was breathless and in pain. His agony came not from her blows, but because she’d unleashed the full fury of her devastation.

A wave of emotions assailed him, crushing him with their rawness.

He dropped to his knees, burdened by the weight.

Is this how she truly feels?

So betrayed. Forgotten. Unloved. So lonely…

Still breathless, he couldn’t say a word, only reach out to her, but she stepped back from his hand.

“Stay away from me, Caleb. Please.” Keeping her gaze away from his, but unable to hide the tears glistening in her eyes or mask the roughness of her voice, she whirled once again and stomped away. She slammed through the swinging door.

And the world lost all hint of life and color.

For a moment, Caleb kneeled, staring at the door that had swung shut. Talk about blown away, and stunned, not just by her revelation of her feelings but her actions.

She hit me.

Sweet, gentle Renny had hit him. She’d even raised her voice and used the A word.
She called me an asshat.
Renny never cussed. He should know. Once upon a time he’d made her speak aloud the dirtiest words. How he loved the way she blushed and stammered saying just the word “damn.”

But she wasn’t just using stronger language, she hadn’t been afraid to get physical and confrontational.

A forceful Renny. He didn’t know what to think of it. She’d changed an awful lot. Because of him? Or was it because of this baby she had, the one she was raising on her own?

For some reason, knowing she had no one to help bothered him, and it wasn’t just because he’d grown up without a dad.

Something of his trouble must have shown as he slid back into his seat across from Daryl.

“Nice mug. By the look of you, I take it things didn’t go well.”

“No. They didn’t.” And, yes, he might have said it rather sulkily. Despite all his protestations that he should stay away from Renny and she was better off without him, apparently a tiny part of him, that had remained hidden until this very moment, had hoped for a different outcome. Optimism fantasized she would fling herself into his arms and sob how much she’d missed him and still loved him.

I hoped that she loved me still.

However, it wasn’t just their showdown in the bathroom that shattered that dream, but the fact that she’d birthed a child. A child she created with another man.

It bothered him. Someone else had touched her. Yet what had he expected?

I expected her to wait for me.

Yet, while he might have harbored that foolish fantasy, he’d certainly not abstained from the opposite sex.
I might have sated some needs, but I never loved them.

Not like he’d love a certain golden-haired girl.

A girl who’d grown into a woman.

A woman determined to ignore him.

If only he could do the same, but he wasn’t having the same kind of luck. In his defense, he wasn’t the only one checking out the hot chick serving drinks in short shorts, getting her ass slapped and taking it with a smile while he seethed.

“Dude, that is a serious brood you’ve got going,” Daryl said, waving his hand before Caleb’s face and breaking his stare.

“I don’t brood.”

“Fine, glower. Scowl. Whatever. You need to stop. Renny’s not interested, dude, so give it a rest.”

But Caleb didn’t want to give it a rest, which was why, when Daryl insisted on driving him home, he got out a few miles from home and claimed he needed to walk the rest of the way to clear his head.

Caleb wasn’t lying completely. He did walk. Just not home.

Still shaken after her encounter with Caleb, after the club closed just after one, Renata took her time wiping down the tables and gathering her things.

Being warned Caleb was in town and seeing him in the flesh were two totally different things. For one, she’d not expected the sharp pang of longing when she saw him again.

How can I still want him?

He’d changed so much. Definitely not the same carefree guy she’d known years ago. Yet, for all the cynical hardness in his features, the sneer on his lips, all those signs he bore that showed he’d faced danger and hardships, drew her even more.

It didn’t hurt that he had a rocking body.

A fit guy when they dated, he’d passed in shape into superbly toned. His snug T-shirt had hugged his upper body, revealing broad shoulders, a defined set of pecs, a flat stomach, and arms that could squeeze the life from her.

She almost wished he’d try. How long had it been since she’d enjoyed a hug from a male other than her son?

But Caleb was the wrong person to be craving a hug from.

I hate him, remember?

Right. Hated.

Yet craved.

Abhorred.

Yet her senses tingled.

Wanted to kill.

Yet he made her feel alive.

Even now, with him gone for hours, awareness tickled all of her nerves, a hyper-sensitivity that initially let her know where he was at all times when he was in the club. She might not have an inner beast like most folks in town, but that never stopped her from knowing when Caleb was nearby. Melanie used to call it fate.

Now Renny had to wonder if it was a warning?

Whatever the cause, it made it so hard to ignore him. It didn’t help that he kept watch on her while she worked. If she happened to turn and peek, there he was, staring at her, hunger lighting his gaze, stark longing drawing lines in his face.

It might have made a weaker woman melt. Not her. He wasn’t going to win her back with either his looks or his attention.

Too bad. So sad. This ship has sailed. You had me once and look at what happened.

Caleb had dumped her ass and gone to war. So what if he returned? So what if he’d obviously suffered judging by the scars he bore? Being only human, she wondered what happened to his face. The scar with its distinctive flat shine spoke of a terrible burn, one that went down his cheek, spotted his neck, and disappeared into the collar of his shirt. How far did it extend?

I wonder if he’d let me find out.

For curiosity’s sake, of course, not sensual.

Did it still hurt? She had to wonder if it was why he acted so jaded. So prickly.

Is he trying to keep people away from him?

That wasn’t the Caleb she knew, who thrived on hugs and snuggles.

Given the direction of her thoughts, she wasn’t too surprised when she exited the building to see Caleb leaning against her car.

She halted in the doorway, torn with indecision.
Am I ready to deal with him?
Would she ever be? Caleb was right in one respect. In a town this size, they couldn’t avoid each other forever.

Bruno grumbled from his spot by the door, the red tip of his cigarette glowing bright. “Bloody stalkers. Stay put here for a second, Renny, would you? It will only take me a second to chase that bottom feeder away.”

Placing a hand on Bruno’s arm, Renny stopped him. “It’s okay. I know the guy. He won’t hurt me.” Because he no longer had the power to hurt her. He’d already done his worst.

“Are you sure? I don’t mind crunching him up.” As a big bull gator, Bruno meant that quite literally.

Living in the bayou meant accepting certain rules. The first one being shifters made their own rules and they were quite often violent.

“If I need you to smash his face in, I’ll let you know. Thanks, Bruno.”

“Bah.” He scoffed. “I’d do it for fun. Anyhow, I’m going to be here for another half hour locking things down. You need me, just holler.”

“I will.” Renny stepped away from the safety of the hulking bouncer and strode to her car. She tried to appear nonchalant, but inside, her heart raced. What did Caleb want?

When she was close enough not to shout, she asked, “Why are you stalking my car? I thought we’d said all there was to say inside.” And she’d also imagined a whole hell of a lot after she realized what Caleb meant to do with her bra. Every time her hand wrapped around a tall glass, she couldn’t help but be reminded.

“I didn’t like the thought of you being out here all alone at night. Who knows what kind of creeps are lurking?”

“Calling yourself a creep now? That’s harsher than what I would have said. More like clingy and unable to let things go.” She stopped a few steps from him, head cocked at an angle as she stared at Caleb, trying to read the mysterious workings of his mind. She came up blank.

“I am not clingy.”

“Oh, that’s right, you’re not, or you wouldn’t have dumped me.”

His lips thinned. “I had my reasons.”

“I hope they were damned good ones.” Should she mention there wasn’t a reason valid enough to justify his actions?

“They were.”

“Good enough to justify leaving me and, other than a measly text, never contacting me again?”

“I said I had my—”

“Reasons? Yeah. Whatever. Move away from my car. I need to get home.”

“I’m coming with you.”

She gaped at him before gathering her wits. “Oh no you aren’t. I can drive myself.”

Caleb snorted. “I should hope you can drive, seeing as how I’ve had too many beers.”

“You must have if you thought bugging me for a ride after work was a smart idea.”

“Actually, I had a ride with Daryl, but I came back.”

Curiosity made her ask. “Why?”

“Like I said, to keep an eye on you and make sure no one bothered you.”

“People bothering me isn’t your business. I’m not your business. And I don’t need you waltzing into my work, giving me hell, and then stalking me after just because we used to date.”

Caleb leaned toward her. “Come on, baby, you know we did more than date. We made love in every which way possible.”

“I was young and gullible.”

“We were horny for each other.”

Yes, they were. Sometimes, at night when she was alone, she could still feel the heat and sensual thrill of his hands on her skin, the exhilarating rush of climax.

His reminder made her flush, even as she sputtered, “You’re gross.”