Honor Bound (15 page)

I walked out of the building with a couple of the students in the class who always sat near me. They were complaining about the class, and I was just listening and smiling sympathetically.

They seemed very young to me, although they were probably just a few years younger. Roy, the male student, lingered after the two girls walked off in the other direction.

He was nice and smart enough and had a good sense of humor. He asked if I wanted to get some coffee to recover from the class, looking a little nervous about the invitation.

I sympathized with him. He was trying, and he’d have no way to know I was seriously dating someone. Or that I was probably four years older than him. I smiled as kindly as possible as I said I had someone waiting for me.

As if on cue Sebastian pulled his fancy car up to the curb in front of the classroom building.

He got out of the driver’s side, looking sexy and buff and vaguely intimidating in a black t-shirt and jeans.

Roy’s face fell as he saw who was waiting for me.

“Sorry,” I said, with a sheepish shrug and another smile.

“Just my luck,” he muttered.

I waved at him as I walked toward Sebastian, who was waiting by the passenger door, frowning.

“Was that boy coming on to you?” he muttered, glowering at Roy’s retreating back.

“He asked me if I wanted to get some coffee with him.”

“And he didn’t know you were already taken?”

“Am I supposed to wear a sign that says, ‘I’m already spoken for by Sebastian Maxwell’?”

“That’s not a bad idea. Maybe I could get a t-shirt made.”

I shook my head at him as he took my bag and shoved it in the backseat.

“Thanks for picking me up,” I said. “And for helping Tyler with his car.”

“No problem. I’m not all that great with cars, but I can at least show him how to change the oil.”

“He likes you.” I’d been really encouraged by how well Tyler had taken to Sebastian. I was hoping he could be a good influence, a better influence then the friends he’d been hanging out with lately.

“He’s a good kid. I think he’ll be okay.” Then his expression changed. “Speaking of kids, that boy didn’t say anything inappropriate did he?” he asked, looking back over at Roy, who was now almost out of sight.

“No. Of course not. He seems like a decent guy. He just asked me to get a cup of coffee. It does happen occasionally, you know. I said no.”

“I guess that’s one of the drawbacks of dating a college girl. She gets hit on by obnoxious boys.”

I giggled and stretched up to kiss his frowning face. “And now I guess I’m only allowed to get hit on by one obnoxious man.”

“That’s right.” He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me against his body. “This obnoxious man is the only one allowed to hit on you.”

“And that goes both ways, you know.”

“I know. I’ve been giving my most on off-putting glare at any woman who approaches me.”

I wrapped him in a hug, loving him so much that I couldn’t help but show it. “I don’t think you even
have
an off-putting glare.”

“I do too.” He edged back so he could look down at my face. “How’s this?”

I laughed at the exaggerated grimace he gave me. “That’s perfect. Very intimidating. I expect you to give that look to any woman who looks like she might hit on you.”

“Got it. You’re the only one who gets to hit on me.”

I leaned my cheek against his chest, trying to hear his heartbeat. “Good. That better be true for a really long time.”

“Forever.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Sebastian

“To Gavin,” I said as I raised my glass. Soon the guys were doing the same. It would have been his birthday today, and it only seemed fitting that we got together and drank a toast to him. In a perfect world, he’d be here with us, and we’d be celebrating.

Unfortunately, we lived in an imperfect world.

“I’ve got the next round,” Levi said, as he stood and grabbed the pitcher before heading over to the bar. I stared after him for a long moment until Declan brought me around by punching me in the arm.

“What?”

“You okay?” he asked, motioning between me and Levi.

“It’s just hard, you know? I mean, we’re all sitting here, and it’s cool that we can get together and reminisce about Gavin and talk about the good times and the bad ones, but for Levi, he’s got to go home to Harper and her family, and it’s a completely different vibe.”

He nodded. “I was actually kind of surprised that he came out with us at all tonight. I thought for shit-sure that he’d need to be with her.”

I shrugged. “I know that they all went to the cemetery today and had dinner together, but Harper understands how important it is for him to have this with us, too. I just imagine that it’s emotional overkill for him.”

Declan nodded, and before the mood got any more depressing, he finished his beer and slammed his mug down on the table. “Which brings up another point.” I looked at him in confusion. “It’s getting pretty damn depressing around here. You guys are dropping like flies.”

“Not me,” Cole said as he lifted his mug and saluted himself. “Life’s too short to spend with just one woman.”

“Amen to that,” Dec agreed. “The way I see it, Levi and Harper? That was bound to happen. I mean, clearly he’s crazy about her. But you?” He looked straight at me as he spoke. “I thought more of you.”

“What the hell does that even mean? Is there a problem with me being with Ali?” I almost wanted to get up and deck him—he brought out my violent side—but I was mildly curious about his logic.

“It’s nothing against Ali. She’s great. It’s the fact that you fell so damn fast. I mean…it was crazy.”

“Think what you will, but when it happens, you can’t always control it.”

“I will,” Declan said, reaching for the pitcher Levi had just placed on the table. “There’s a thing called self-control. You should look into it.”

“No way.” I poured myself another drink. “The way that I see it, losing control was the way to go. Ali’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“What are we talking about?” Levi asked, returning and looking between me and Declan.

“The fact that the two of you are now officially whipped,” Declan said.

“And off the market when we just started to get settled back into civilian life again.” Cole winked at a blonde standing at the bar. “Now if you gentlemen will excuse me, I don’t have a curfew, and I intend to see if the lovely lady at the bar has any plans for the evening.” He raised his glass to us as he walked away.

“And you’re not worried about
him
?” I asked Declan.

“Hell no! He’s going to go over there, take that woman home, and tomorrow he’ll have forgotten her name. C’mon! What’s happened to the two of you? We all used to talk about how we couldn’t wait to get home and have our freedom! Now? I feel like you have to get the ‘okay’ from your women before you’re allowed to come and hang out.” And then he sat back in his chair and sulked. Actually sulked.

“Look how cute he is when he pouts,” I said to Levi, and we both started to laugh. “Are you seriously sitting here and throwing a hissy fit because we have women in our lives and you don’t?”

Dec rolled his eyes. “Of course not. And I’m not having a hissy fit.” He straightened in his chair and leaned on the table. “I’m just saying that I thought the four of us were going to have more time together. Gavin’s life was cut short, and we talked about how much we wanted to live—to experience everything that life had to offer—before it was too late. And now…now you’re both done.”

“I don’t see it like that at all,” I told him. “The way I see it is that I’m still able to experience everything life has to offer. It’s just that now I have Ali to experience it with me.”

“Harper encouraged me to come out with you guys tonight,” Levi said. “I thought she’d want me there with her and her folks, but she knows what you all mean to me and what Gavin meant to me. She’s not hindering my life, Dec. She’s making it better.”

“I know that you guys haven’t spent as much time with Ali as you have with Harper, but I think once you get to know her, you’ll see that she’s not someone who is going to hold me back, either.” I took a pull of my beer. “You watch,” I said to Declan. “Someday it will be your turn, and we’re going to just sit back and smile.”

“And point and laugh,” Levi said for good measure.

“It will be a cold day in hell when you’re sitting back watching me take the fall with any woman. There are far too many to choose from so I won’t ever have to decide on just one.”

I looked at Levi, and we both cracked up again. “Okay, you keep telling yourself that.”

“What? It’s true!” Declan said defensively. “I’ll bet you five-grand right here, right now, that you won’t see me settling down with any woman ever.”

It was tempting but a little too broad. I shook my head. “Ever is a pretty long time. I’ll wager on say…five years. I’ll give you a five year span and to be honest, I don’t think I’ll even have to wait that long. I’ll see your five-grand and say that you’ll be taking the plunge and you’ll be taking it willingly.”

“Dude, this is going to be the easiest five grand ever. You sure?”

I laughed. “Oh, yeah. I’m positive.”

“Just make sure you let Ali know where the food money’s gone.” Declan gave us a confident smile as he stood. “And just be sure to let her know that I offered you a way out.” He swaggered away to join Cole at the bar.

Yeah, I’d let him have his time to prowl now, but I knew him better than he thought. He’d always been kind of a player, but that lifestyle didn’t really give you the things that matter.

Life happened sometimes. It changed in the blink of an eye. We witnessed that firsthand with Gavin. The gut-clench was still there, but not the oppressive guilt I’d felt about it even last month.

It almost felt like Gavin was here—with us—and that he might be sitting between me and Levi. That he was happy for us.

Levi turned to see what the other guys were doing, but I raised my glass one last time. To Gavin. To happiness. To peace.

If you enjoyed Honor Bound, you might enjoy the first book of the Protector’s series, Duty Bound (Levi and Harper’s book).

As soon as I put weight on my ankle, my leg buckled, and Levi had to catch me around the waist.

I should have objected to the arrangement, but I couldn’t help but like the feel of his strong arm around me, the way I had to lean against his big, hard body.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“Twisted my ankle. It’s probably not too bad.”

“Can you walk?”

“I think so.” I put weight on the ankle again, and it hurt like hell, but I didn’t flinch this time.

All my life, I never liked for other people to see when I was hurt.

He sighed loudly and reached out to support me once more. “Why do you have to be so damn stubborn?”

“And why do you have to be so damn arrogant?” I bit out, immediately riling up at his exasperated tone. I tried to pull away from it, but it wasn’t a smart maneuver, since I put too much weight on my twisted ankle. The shot of pain ran through me, stealing my breath.

Down I almost went again.

Levi caught me before I did, and I manfully resisted the desire to jerk away from his arm.

“Can I at least help you get home?” The words were polite and conciliatory, but his tone was not. “Do you think you could put aside your dislike of me at least long enough for me to do that?”

So my first instinct was to snap his head off, but he did have a very small point. It was going to be very hard for me to hobble to my car and then drive home in my current condition. I could probably have done it, but it would take a lot longer and be rather painful.

“Fine,” I muttered. “Thanks.”

“Try not to sound so grateful.” Despite his sarcasm, he was actually being quite helpful, in that he’d already managed to get me moving toward my car. He was supporting quite a bit of my weight, and I was hopping one-legged to make myself feel like I was doing some of the walking myself.

He brought me around to the passenger side of my car and helped me in. As he was leaning over, I felt another sudden surge of attraction.

His face was so close, and his body was right there in front of me. His hands were strong and gentle at the same time as he arranged me in the seat.

I didn’t need quite so much help in getting situated in the seat, but I didn’t really want him to pull away either.

Clearly, my mind was hopelessly disarranged by the fall and near disaster.

He didn’t pull away when I expected, and I started to feel flustered again by his closeness and my response to it. So I said, “I think I’ll be okay just sitting here.”

His eyes lifted to my face, and the dark brown of his looked like melting chocolate. “You think?”

There was irony in his tone, but he still wasn’t pulling away. “Yeah. I’m sure I could drive home if you’d—“

“I’m not going to leave you to drive home with a sprained ankle.”

“I don’t think it’s really sprained.” When he started to move down to examine my ankle, I added, “You don’t have to mess with that here. Just get me home.”

His eyes moved back up to my face.

“Sorry,” I mumbled. “I appreciate your help.”

I’d appreciate it more if he’d back off a little so I didn’t feel so much like grabbing and kissing him.

He reached up toward my face, and my breath hitched, since it seemed like he was going to cup my cheek. Instead, he stroked a hand down my hair, which had messily slipped out of the clip I’d twisted it up with.

I stared at him like an idiot.

“You had dirt in your hair,” he explained, his eyes still warm and sweet like before, but also with a flicker of humor.

***

You can find out more about Duty Bound
here
.