Reckless Retribution (West Warriors Book 1) (33 page)

They all raised their drinks to me, and Kal gave a toast. I was presented with an enormous bunch of flowers and a few other token gifts, and I shyly thanked everyone and told them I would miss them too. The party resumed, and Kal pulled me to one side, handing me an envelope. Curiously, I opened it up and pulled out a check. Reading it, I was shocked at the amount that was written on it. It was too much of a gift from a boss to an employee.

Graciously, I gave it back to him, but he refused to take it. “Please, love,” he pleaded. “It’s a down payment for an apartment.” He nodded seriously.

I knew his reasons behind it, and I was humbled by his thoughtfulness. He was concerned for me and wanted me to live independently and safely. Feeling tearful at the kind gesture, I gave him a big hug. “Thanks, Kal.”

“Take care of yourself, kiddo,” he said. Lucille beamed admirably at him.

I spent the rest of the night flitting around the room, speaking with all the guests. Max had even showed up, and Jamie wasted no time proving whose girl I was. My heart swelled as he pulled me to him and gently placed a kiss at the side of my head. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I inhaled his scent. I’d missed the smell of him. I’d missed
him
. He was the only person I ever wanted to be with.

For a few seconds, I closed my eyes and wished I could stay like this forever, but I knew that was never going to happen. Quiet doubts over my choice to move to Texas began nagging at the back of my mind. Soon, the other guys were beckoning us into the cage for a fun dance on the ‘dance floor,’ so Taylor and I kicked our sandals off and joined them, while Kal watched on animatedly. They made Taylor and me giggle as they tried to out-dance each other. Taking the opportunity of my nearness, Marc came up to me and leaned into my ear, but not before Jamie intervened and I was gently pulled away. I felt like a ragdoll.

“What are you doing?” Jamie’s eyes narrowed at him.

“Fuck, Jay, I want to talk to her.” Marc narrowed his eyes back at him, and I hoped I wasn’t going to witness fight number two. I looked nervously between them both. “Can I say my piece?” Marc asked him. Jamie gestured for him to continue, but never left my side; he simply angled his body so he could talk to the others, leaving me with a little privacy to talk with Marc. He turned away from Jamie to face me. “Look, I’m sorry for the shit I caused between you both. I shouldn’t have done that.” He did look a little sorry, but I didn’t trust him.

“Why did you do it then?” I shouted above the music.

He shrugged at me. “I was testing him. Jay never gets in relationships, and I guess I wanted to see how serious he was about you.”

I shook my head at his idiotic idea.

“I never expected him to actually do it, Lauren. It was a shitty thing for me to do. I didn’t realize just how goddamn head-over-heels in love with you he is, and as for the beating I got for it….” He whistled playfully, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, okay?”

I looked at Jamie, who was talking with Leon and had obviously missed the bold statement Marc had just made. When I turned back to him, Marc nodded then leaned into me. “Never thought I’d see the day,” he said, and then gave me a boyish grin before resuming his dancing with my best friend. I took comfort in the fact his plan backfired and Jamie wanted me.

The night drew to an end, and everybody began to leave and make their way home until just Kal, Taylor, and the guys were left.

“I’m taking Lucille home. Lock up for me.” Kal handed Jamie the keys to the club.

I thanked him again for my party and gave him a hug, and then he lovingly put his arm around his wife’s waist and walked her out the door.

“Do you wanna go?” Taylor asked. She looked tired.

“Yeah,” I agreed. I was exhausted too.

“Actually, do you wanna stay and hang out?” Jamie asked.

A bit of alone time sounded nice. “Yeah, sure.” Taylor cocked an eyebrow warily at me, and I knew what she was thinking. “I’m fine,” I reassured her. “How are you going to get home?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I’ll share a cab with one of these.” She wiggled her finger between Marc and Leon. I didn’t need to guess who it would be. A laugh escaped, and she looked at me, puzzled. “What?”

“Never mind.” I grinned.

Jamie and I watched everybody leave, and he locked the doors behind them. We tidied up the club, putting everything back to the way it was. I put the leftover food in the fridge for tomorrow, although I highly doubted the guys would eat it. They barely ate anything tonight because of their diet.

“Do you want a beer?” he offered.

“Please.”

Holding out a beer for me, he asked. “Where are you going to live once you graduate?”

I froze at his question, and I thought about telling him the truth while we were alone, but I couldn’t bring myself to. I couldn’t stand the thought of being apart from him again.

“I’m not sure. I need to start looking,” I lied. The disco lights flashing on the cage floor caught my eye. I walked over to the socket and switched them off then stepped inside the cage. I ran my hands along the cold metal, and I felt sad that it would be the last time I would see it. It was significant to me because it was how I grew close to Jamie. I didn’t know where things would stand with us once I left for Texas, and the thought made me anxious.

I didn’t know if he would want us to go our separate ways. He needed to fully get back into training, because like he said, I’d been quite a distraction for him. I definitely knew I didn’t want us to go our separate ways, and the one thing that worried me was once I moved to Texas, I planned on staying there. My original plan was to only come back to Michigan to see Dad and Taylor for the holidays. Throwing Jamie into the mix, I didn’t know how it was all going to work out, and at this rate, I was pretty sure I didn’t want to leave at all.

“What’re you doing?” He broke my thoughts as he appeared on the opposite side of the wire.

I lifted my eyes to him. “Nothing, just thinking.” I gave him a smile and took in his handsome face.

“About?”

You,
I wanted to say. I wanted to tell him how much I’d miss him, how much I loved him.

He moved closer to me and placed his fingers on mine through the metal rings. “It will be weird without you here.” He looked around the club. “Who am I going to wash my truck for?” He looked back at me, grinning.

I felt myself blush as I remembered my blatant staring at him. I would miss watching him do that. “I’m sure you’ll find my next replacement to entertain,” I joked. I wondered who Kal would hire next. From recent events, I think it was safe to say it certainly wouldn’t be a girl.

“There’s no one like you, Lauren. Trust me.” He laughed quietly, pulling the material of my dress to him so he could kiss me softly through the rings. Our lips touching for the first time in forever almost felt too good, and I softly moaned. He pulled away from me and walked into the cage. Reaching up on my toes, I cupped his cheeks and kissed him passionately.

He wrapped his strong arms around my waist and a moan rumbled from his chest. “God, I’ve missed this,” he murmured in between kisses. He pressed me tightly against him like he never wanted to let me go. I knew the feeling all too well. His mouth moved to my neck, where his lips trailed soft kisses down, just the way I liked. Giving in to the pleasure, I let my head fall back, giving him better access. His hands ran down to my thighs, and he took hold of the hem of my sundress and pulled it up over my head. Heat instantly flooded my body as his desire-filled eyes looked at me.

Realizing where this was heading, I glanced at the club windows. “Can people see in?” I asked quietly.

He turned his head in their direction then looked straight at me, narrowing his eyes. “No, it’s one-way glass. Have you never noticed on the countless times you’ve been here?”

I laughed, embarrassed. Of course I had. “Yeah, I was just making sure….”

He shook his head, humored by me, and the smile on his face soon disappeared as I began to slowly unfasten each button of his shirt, revealing his golden skin. I placed slow kisses on his broad chest as my fingers continued to work down the shirt.

“Fuck,” he hissed through his teeth, grabbing fistfuls of my hair as he did so. When his shirt was fully unbuttoned, he gently tugged my head back up and his mouth came at mine, devouring me. Slowly, he walked me backward until I was up against the rings and the ice cold metal of the sides made me arch into him. He scooped me up, wrapped my legs around him, and pressed himself into me so I could feel what my body craved. Our lips separated, and while still holding me, he skillfully shrugged out of his shirt then unbuttoned and dropped his jeans, freeing himself, and then watched me intently as he lowered me onto him, teasing me through my panties.

I whimpered, “Please, Jamie.” I wanted him inside of me. I needed him.

“Those words… fuck, Lauren… drive me crazy.” His hands came to my hips, and in a swift move, my panties came apart like paper in his hands. He discarded my underwear that was now in two pieces on the floor. Stunned, I looked at them, then at him, and he gave me a cocky shrug. “I’ll buy you some new ones.”

As I shook my head playfully at him, he pressed his soft lips against mine, moved us away from the cage wall, and gently lay us down on the floor. With one thrust, he was inside me, and the relief I felt was unnerving. His eyes never left mine, and the longing in them was what I needed to see. His mouth lowered to my ear. “It’s just you, only you. I’m yours. I always have been,” he whispered, before lifting his head to look at me.

Those words made me tingle all over, and for the first time, I saw his vulnerability, and it made me fall even deeper for him. Kissing him deeply for a few seconds, I then stopped moving my mouth against his, and he looked at me expectantly. I wanted to tell him.

“I’m in love with you.”

I watched him desperately, hoping he wasn’t going to react badly. It was a huge risk to take, but I needed him to know. He didn’t say anything back. He didn’t recoil or panic. He just slowly nodded like he understood then kissed me with so much passion I knew that he was okay hearing that I was in love with him. His pace picked up and he moved deeper in and out of me. I felt myself clenching around him, and my head started to spin as my orgasm released. Jamie groaned in response and came to a thunderous climax, almost hollering as he came. The sound of him echoed around the club, and I couldn’t help but laugh. He looked down at me, somewhat satisfied, before hanging his head laughing, almost embarrassed at himself. It was a first for
him
to be embarrassed.

“Well that just gave a whole new meaning to ground and pound.” He chuckled, moving to lie next to me. I turned to him, and he wrapped his arms around me, tucking me into his chest. “This is where it all began.” He smiled down at me contentedly.

The memory of us training made me smile. “You were horrible to start with.” I raised my eyebrows accusingly at him.

He opened his mouth, shocked. “No, I wasn’t.”

“Yes, you were. You were moody. You wouldn’t even look at me. You made a face every time Cam asked you to train me.” He rolled his eyes and didn’t respond back. “By your silence, I’m presuming you know I’m right?”

“For your information, I didn’t want to train you, because you were a girl and I knew you would bitch and moan if I accidentally hurt you.” He shifted his body to lie on his side, propping himself up with his elbow, and he began to trace patterns on my stomach with his finger. “Then I started noticing things, and I knew you needed it, so I quit whining.”

He lifted his eyes away from my stomach to meet my gaze. I noticed the glint of hatred that tried to appear, but it went as quickly as it came. “Then, the more I trained you, the more I kind of started liking you, and I wanted to push your buttons… literally.” He nudged me, and I playfully smacked his arm. He lay on his back again and pulled his jeans up, leaving his shirt off. I traced the short scripted tattoo on his ribs with my finger, the one that read,
I’d rather die on my feet than live on my knees.

“I’ve never done this before.” He gestured to the cage, looking pleased with himself.

I couldn’t believe we were naked on the floor in the middle of the cage, doing what we shouldn’t have done in Kal’s club. “Kal would kill you if he ever knew.”

“I’d dread to think what he’d do to me.” He chuckled again.

I started to feel uncomfortable lying here only partially clothed. I kept wondering if Kal had a spare set of keys. He could practically walk in at any minute. I reached for my dress and began putting it back on then looked to my now nonexistent panties lying on the floor in two pieces. I was gonna have to go commando.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“We can’t stay here all night.” Although, I was pretty certain I wanted to.

He grumbled then stood up and put his shirt on, buttoning it up. I walked out of the cage with a smile on my face. I’d never look at it the same again, and I highly doubted Jamie would either. He followed me out, grabbing his shoes, and put them on. Then, as I fastened my sandals, he boxed all the beer up to take with him. We made sure everything was tidy, ready for in the morning, and then he turned the club lights off and we walked to the door.

“Do you want to come back with me?” he asked, locking the club up.

“Yeah, sure.” I didn’t want to go home. I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could. How on earth was I going to tell him about Texas?

Monday night, Jamie invited me down to Lake Louis to watch football at Marc’s lake house with the guys. I loved that he was being all official with me and including me in social things outside of work. I invited Taylor along because I wasn’t about to sit on my own with a bunch of guys watching football, of which I knew little about. Taylor hadn’t hesitated in her answer, and I needn’t have guessed why.

Knocking on Marc’s door, we could hear hearty laughter coming from behind it. When Marc opened the door, his face instantly lit up.