Reckless Retribution (West Warriors Book 1) (26 page)

“Stop it, Jamie,” I pleaded quietly.

“If he touches you one more time, that’s it. I will gladly do jail time for it.” He glared at me, shaking his head. He folded his arms across his chest and looked out of the windshield in front of him, just staring ahead. I hated seeing him so wound up. Turning in my seat toward him, I put my hand on his forearm, gently stroking it with my thumb for a while. It was nice he felt protective of me, but I didn’t need him threatening to hurt my dad. He looked back at me, and his expression softened. “You don’t deserve this.”

I knew I didn’t, but there was little I could do about it. I lifted his hand and gently kissed the back of it. His knuckles looked grazed and sore from training.

“You don’t have to stay there,” he muttered.

“Where am I going to go exactly?”

“Stay with your friend.” He shrugged.

“I don’t want to stay with her family. It’s not up to them to look after me.”

“So you’re just going to stay with him until it happens again?” He narrowed his eyes at me.

I shook my head. “I have a plan. I’m not going to be there much longer.” I didn’t want to tell him about my plan to move to Texas. I didn’t want anyone knowing yet.

“When I got back into town, I drove straight to your house.”

Ice slid down my spine and I widened my eyes at what he was telling me. “What? Why?” I snapped.

“Waiting for him. Luckily, he never came outside.”

“Jesus, Jamie.” I felt the blood drain from my face. I was glad he didn’t go outside. What he could have done wasn’t worth thinking about. “What did you do when he didn’t?”

“I went back to the club and took it out on the punching bag.” He flexed his grazed knuckles. “Broke it.” He laughed quietly.

I wondered what Kal thought of his mood. He knew the guys too well. I hoped he hadn’t figured it had to do with me. “What did Kal say?”

“He asked me why I was so pissed.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I didn’t say anything to him. What could I have told him?” He shrugged. I agreed with him. Kal would want to know why he was so angry, and if he told him the truth, Kal would question why he was angrier about it than the others, and that would have led him to the right conclusion. “I think he knows something’s going on because he just shook his head at me the way he does when I disappoint him. And because he never forced it out of me, why I was angry enough to break the bag. I’ve never done that before.”

He looked upset that he’d disappointed Kal, and it pissed me off. As much as I didn’t want Kal to know, it annoyed me Jamie couldn’t have a bit of freedom. “For God’s sake, Jamie, he’s not your bloody father. You’ve got to have a life too. Since when has your screwing around upset him?” They went out to clubs every so often, and I doubted he stayed celibate. So it was okay to hook up with random girls, but not to stay with one girl?

“Probably when it’s done on his doorstep with his staff.” He raised his eyebrows at me.

“I’m just staff now, am I?”

“You know what I mean.” He cocked his head, looking at me. I let out a sigh, and he slipped his hand over mine and brought it to his mouth, kissing it tenderly. “I’m so glad you’re okay though.” He gave me a small smile and started the engine again.

When we got to the club, I stepped out of the truck and onto the gravel. My feet crunched on the white stones as I walked toward the entrance, and the noise started to make me feel nauseous. Flashbacks of me stumbling here began to play in my mind over and over. My walk slowed, and I started to feel more and more sick. I covered my mouth with my hand, frightened I was suddenly going to vomit.

“Hey, are you okay?” Jamie grabbed me gently by the elbow.

“Yeah, I feel dizzy, that’s all. Just the sound of the gravel, the memory.” I winced.

Keeping hold of my arm, he gently guided me to the side of the club so I could stop and get myself together. After I took a few deep breaths, he moved in closer to me and placed a soft kiss on my lips. Craving more of him, I pulled his hips, pressing him against me, and eagerly deepened his kiss. I’d missed him so much.

He pulled away from me. “Whoa, Kal’s right in there.” He pointed to the corner, grinning.

“You started it,” I pointed out.

“I did it to stop you from feeling ill, not to try to fuck you against the wall.” He raised a cocky eyebrow. I narrowed my eyes at his curse. “Sorry.” He chuckled, putting his hands up playfully. I shook my head at him and watched as he adjusted himself in his shorts. “Goin’ in there with a hard-on, great.” He flashed a smile through clenched teeth. Laughing at his predicament, I walked to the club entrance while he trailed behind.

“Hey, there she is,” Kal greeted me, as I walked inside. He pulled me into a one-armed hug then briefly glanced at Jamie, who came to a stop behind me. Marc and Cam stood at the desk, and they both straightened with worried looks on their faces when they saw me. I felt really self-conscious about how I looked.

“Are you okay? You scared the shit out of me. I thought you’d been shot.” Marc’s eyes were wide as he looked at the cut on my head.

“I’m okay and thank you for what you did for me. I owe you one.”

“You look like one of us now,” Cam joked. “Glad you’re okay though.”

Jamie stayed by my side, quietly listening in to the conversations, and Kal offered to make us drinks. I grabbed Jamie while the others went to sit down. “Where did you go? You weren’t here on my last shift.” Seeing him now, I realized just how tired he looked. He had a few days worth of stubble, which was unlike him, and he had dark circles under his eyes. He didn’t answer me. “Where have you been?” I asked him again.

He thought about his answer for a second. “I went home for a few days.”

“How come?”

“Just family stuff.” He shrugged, looking away from me. He exchanged glances with Cam, and I hated that he knew but I was being kept in the dark.

“What’s with the stubble?” I stroked the rough hair with my thumb, and his breath faltered. I then realized what an intimate touch that was in public and retracted my hand quickly.

“Going for the rough and ready look.” He smirked, rubbing the stubble between his own fingers.

“Makes you look more rugged,” I quipped.

“More rugged? What you trying to say? I look more of a man with it?” I nodded. I liked the facial hair. “Are you saying I look like a boy clean-shaven?” He rubbed over his jaw again. Marc let out a laugh, followed by Cam. “Fuck you both,” he scolded playfully. Not being able to contain my humor, I laughed along with them. Kal came out of the kitchen with our drinks on a tray, and I took my coffee from him, taking a sip as I rounded the desk to sit at the computer.

Kal handed the guys their waters before joining me at the desk, where he leaned over so he could see the guys. A few minutes later, Leon came walking into the club and came right up to me, wrapping his arms around me tightly. I hugged him back, and he asked how I was doing. I was tired of saying, “I’m fine,” but it was all I could say.

“Do you remember laying your head on my knee?” he said, lowering my face to inspect the cut. I shook my head. I couldn’t believe how little I remembered of the whole thing. “You ruined my best shorts,” he teased.

“I am so sorry,” I apologized profusely. I felt awful for the whole fuss I’d caused. I wondered whether they all knew it was Dad, or whether just Jamie and Kal knew.

“It’s fine, honestly.” He winked at me then joined the guys at the couches ready for their team meeting. Kal started to address them from over the desktop, which was ridiculous.

“Go sit with them. I’ll cover the desk,” I interrupted.

He shook his head at my suggestion. “No, no. You’re not working today, Lauren.”

“Kal, I’m fine to cover the desk.” I ushered him out. I knew how important their meetings were; they reviewed the footage from their fights, watched their next opponents’ most recent fights, and worked out their strengths and weaknesses. They had a big fight coming up again soon that they needed to prep for.

I covered the desk until the meeting was over, and then I decided to go to school and pick up the notes from the classes I’d missed. Jamie offered to drive me again during his break. Pulling up at school, I released my seatbelt and turned to thank him for the ride, but before I got the words out, he opened his mouth first. “Let me know when you can, you know….” He nodded toward me. “Had a bit of a dry spell.” He gave me a cheeky wink then bit down enticingly on his bottom lip.

I blushed at the way he was looking at me. “What happened to the one-night stand thing?” I asked, curious to hear his answer.

“Actually, we settled at two, and I would like to renegotiate.” He grinned, making my insides squirm. If he kept looking at me like that, I was going to renegotiate in the back seat of his truck. He could practically have any girl he wanted; he was absurdly gorgeous, and here he was, chasing after me, again. Stitches, black eye, and all. “No hotties back home?” I teased.

“Nah, not my type.” He screwed his sexy face up then drew me into a kiss. Taking his face in my hands, I gently stroked his cheeks, and he closed his eyes in response and sighed quietly. I loved that I could affect him that way. He opened his eyes and slowly started shaking his head. “Don’t get used to this mushy stuff. It’s only because you’re hurt. I’ll be pinning you up against the wall of the bar again soon enough.”

“Jamie, Jamie….” I rubbed his head, laughing at him, and he relaxed back into his chair. While I watched him, the reason why he went home gnawed away at me. He’d completely avoided answering me back at the club, and I wanted to know. “Why did you go back home?” I asked tentatively.

“Am I not allowed to see my family?” He huffed and lay his head back dramatically on the headrest.

Boy, he really didn’t want to talk about it. “Of course you’re allowed to see your family. It’s just that in the two months I’ve known you, you haven’t gone home. Then you come back looking pale, tired, and unshaven. What were you doing? What happened?”

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

My imagination was driving me crazy. Different scenarios were playing out in my mind, and I just wanted him to tell me the truth so I could stop worrying. He wasn’t down there because of Kal, which made me think it was something more serious. “Do you have a girl down there?” I asked, trying to keep the hurt out of my voice. I couldn’t handle it if he’d been with someone else. I hoped he’d say no.

He looked at me like it was the most ridiculous thing I had ever suggested. “No. I don’t. Now stop asking questions. I need to go.” He turned to look out of the window again, wanting to escape my interrogation. Something was wrong with him, I could tell, and the fact he wasn’t saying anything only made me more suspicious. I knew he wasn’t my boyfriend and I had no right to ask him these sorts of questions. But I hated that he was keeping something from me.

“I just want to know you’re all right. Please tell me,” I pleaded.

“I’m fucking fine, Lauren. Will you just get out of the damn truck?” he snapped, glaring at me.

I jumped at his sudden outburst before losing my temper back. “How is it you get to grill me on Dad and act like you care, but then when I’m worried about you, you make me feel like I’m sticking my nose in?” I immediately regretted shouting; it made my head throb.

“We’re just friends,” he said through clenched teeth, and his words cut me like a knife. “Screw you!” I got out of his truck, slamming his door hard, then stormed off into school. He could keep his damn secret if it was that big of a deal. Shoving him and his tantrum to the back of my mind, I met with my professors for the next hour and gathered up the notes from the classes I’d missed before making my way out of the building to catch the bus home.

Stepping out of the main doors, I came face-to-face with Jamie. He stood a few yards back, resting against a wall with his arms folded. He straightened, and a small guarded smile pulled up his mouth. I slowly walked over to him.

“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I just….” He shook his head then ran his hand over it before setting his hands on his hips, looking at me like he was contemplating what my reaction might be.

I didn’t have it in me to stay mad at him, and I decided I wasn’t going to press him anymore about his trip back home. He obviously didn’t want to talk about it, and if he did, he probably would in his own time. “It’s fine. You didn’t have to wait.”

A grin tugged at his lips. “Come home with me?”

He took hold of both my hands and I was instantly suspicious about his intentions for waiting for me. “Is that why you apologized and waited because you’re horny?” I threw him a playfully accusatory look. He was insatiable.

“No. I apologized, because I was a dick to you, again, and I was worried about you getting home while you look like that.” He gestured to my head. He bit his bottom lip and waited intently for my answer like his life depended on it. “Well?”

The thought of being alone with him again made heat flood through my body. I craved his touch, his smell, his taste again. Teasingly, I glanced down to his sweatpants. “Are you wearing underwear underneath those?” I pulled at his waistband teasingly.

“Stop it.” He laughed, dropping my hand.

“Stop what? It’s not like you to be shy,” I teased.

“I’m not shy, far from it. I just don’t want to walk around campus with a hard-on. It’s pretty hard to conceal wearing sweats.”

“Why would you get a hard-on from me asking you that?” I chuckled.

“Because you’re talking about my dick. Now walk, quickly.” He jokingly shoved me in the direction of his truck, and I couldn’t contain my laughter. I was pretty sure some of the girls wouldn’t have minded.

The minute I stepped foot in his house, his mouth attacked me. “Jamie, let me at least take my jacket off,” I said into his mouth, trying to shake the jacket from my arms.

He released me to turn and lock his front door. “Take all the time you want. I’ll be in bed waiting for you.” He then darted upstairs, and I shook my head humorously at him. Boy, was he impatient.

Walking up the stairs, the anticipation of finding him waiting in bed for me was sexy as hell. I pulled my shirt off in case he got too excited doing it himself and hurt my head. Reaching his room, I found him standing at the side of the bed, naked. His eyes lit up when he saw me, and the gorgeous grin I loved spread across his face. I took in his handsome features and his impressive body and wondered what on earth I’d done to deserve having someone like him.