“I already told you, B, I’ll live.”
“Nix…”
“Fine.”
Motioning for him to sit on one of the stools, I grabbed the first aid kit we’d used to clean up Jessa’s bloody nose and lifted his hand gently into mine.
It had been intense, holding him while he broke down on me, only to have him pull away a minute later, wearing a blank expression. He’d gotten good at hiding his emotions—too good—and it made me wonder how bad things had been while I was away.
Nix hissed through his teeth as I ran my finger over his split knuckles, the skin there scarred and angry from old injuries.
“Fine, huh?” A smirk tugged at my lips.
He rolled his eyes, snagging my fingers and bringing them to his mouth. “I’m sorry that our weekend got ruined.”
“You don’t have to apologize, Nix.”
“I just wanted it to be perfect. I wanted us to have space to be together without all the drama and bullshit.”
I cupped his cheek, leaning in close as I said, “Perfect is overrated.”
“Yeah, I guess it is.”
“It could have been worse, they could have walked in on us… you know.”
“No, I don’t think I do.” His mouth trailed along my jaw to my ear. “Maybe you should tell me, just to be sure.”
“Nix…” It came out a breathy moan as his fingers walked along the curve of my neck and slid into my hair. A whimper built in my throat and he let out a frustrated sigh.
“Shit, we can’t. Not now, not with Jessa down the hall.”
“Yeah.”
He kissed me. Once. Twice. Sliding his lips over mine with easy familiarity as if we’d been doing it forever. I loved that. How easy it felt. How right.
“Do you think she’ll be okay?” I asked.
“No.” His brows knitted. “But she made her choice.”
He said the words, but I could still see the doubt in his eyes. He didn’t want to leave Jessa here, and I loved him all the more for it. But you couldn’t always save someone. Sometimes they had to want to save themselves.
I knew that better than most people.
“What will you do, about your dad?”
“What I always do, avoid him, and try to protect her as much as I can. Figure out a way to make some cash.” I arched a brow at that and he chuckled. “A legitimate way, B. Maybe Bryson will let me clean down at the gym, or work with some of the younger kids or something.”
“Is that a good idea, working there?”
“It’s not like I have my pick of jobs. Who’s going to give a tatted guy from The Row a shot?”
“You won’t know if you don’t try.”
“Yeah, okay.” He captured my lips in a bruising kiss that stole my breath and left my knees weak. “Rain check for this weekend?”
“Yeah. You should stay with Jessa. Do you think Kye or Zane will give me a ride back?”
“Yeah, they can borrow my car.” He pulled out his cell phone and started texting them.