“I’m not running—I’m walking, because if I don’t, odds are I’ll do or say something I’ll regret. Look, I’ve already called a taxi.”
“No way.” He battered the door. “The only way you’re leaving here is on the back of my bike.”
“Good luck enforcing that one.” Her snippy response fueled his anger. “Stop trying to tell me what to do and let me deal with it my own way.”
“I swear to god I’ll kick this door in.”
“ Go ahead, you’ll be the one fixing it.”
His chest heaved and his dick lengthened. I don’t think I’ve ever heard her so fucking fierce. Damn, how could she sound so hot right now? She was giving him hell, but he loved the fact that she’d stood up for herself. It meant she was comfortable with him. He smiled goofily. “There’s no need to be jealous, baby. I’m with you now. These whores aren’t even a blip on my radar.”
“Jealous?” A shriek sliced through the door between them. He clenched his teeth. Poor word choice.
“Hey, man, what’s going on?” Turning, he saw a group of bleary-eyed brothers in the door frame.
“The fucking twins decided tonight would be a great time to surprise me and when they saw Juliette, they figured they’d include her.”
“Oh dude, you are so fucked right now.” Moose snorted.
“Yeah, thanks for the support. Close the door, will you?”
“Sure thing. We’ll get the twins out too.”
“Thanks, Moose.”
The door shut and he sighed. “Juliette…” Silence. “Are you going to ignore me now?” When she refused to respond, he swore and pushed away from the rectangle of wood that felt like a barricade. Ambling over to the bed, he dug out his jeans and slipped them on. Rapping sounded on the door.
What now? “Yeah.”
“Just thought you might want to know your old lady is climbing into a cab right now.”
“Son of a bitch.” She’d climbed out the bathroom window. Gritting his teeth, he balled his fists. Run if you want to, Juliette. I’ll track you down every time.
“Just let her go. I’ll meet her at her
house.”
Prez appeared, and the group parted. A small, rare grin lined his lips. “I gotta tell you, I like the librarian, man.” He shook his head. “I think she’ll fit in here nicely. I wasn’t so sure when I first met her.”
Shooter scowled. “It’s only funny because you don’t have to face her wrath.”
“True, but I been there a time or two. Smooth things out. She looked at you like you were fucking Prince Charming. Men like us need a woman like that at our back.” Having spoken his piece, Tiny walked off.
“All right, show’s over. Let’s leave so the brother can dress and go grovel.” Hawk grinned.
“Jackass,” Shooter spat.
The Native American man chuckled as everyone moved away from the door. A glance down the hall told Shooter the party was still going but the crowd had thinned significantly. Disappearing back into his room, he finished dressing and stalked out of the club. It was time she came clean about her past. It was darker than she first let on and obviously still affecting her. He couldn’t erase his past and he’d told her flat-out he hadn’t spent the past seven years being a saint. But he didn’t think her panic stemmed from that. Concerned, he started his bike and nodded to the brother to open the gate. He should have been rolling over and slipping inside her for a second time, not going on some wild girl chase. He tried to prepare himself for the battle ahead. Two streets over from her house, he killed the bike and walked it the rest of the way. Waking up the neighbors would only add insult to injury. Setting his bike on its kickstand in the driveway, he walked up to the door and knocked. The light illuminated her bedroom but he wouldn’t put it past her to ignore him.
Knocking harder to remind her she wasn’t dating some pretty pushover, he leaned against the wall beside the door and waited. A few moments later the door jerked open. Dressed in a robe, she stood before him with her arms wrapped around her waist. Her red-rimmed eyes, tear-stained face and wounded expression dulled his anger.
“Why the hell did you take off like that? I didn’t tell them to come in.”
She glanced away.
“You believe me, don’t you?” Slouching in an attempt to catch her gaze, he reached out to brush her hair behind her ear. Skittish, she pulled back. Panic swam in her gaze. “What’s wrong?”
She tugged the robe closer and shook her head.