by Nola Marie
I tell her more about my parents and Zoey and Jax.
“So Jax’s parents just let him stay with you guys all the time?” she asks with surprise.
“Yeah. Either he was with us or we were with him. They saw the bond between us. And Zoey and I got a couple of older brothers out of the mix.”
“Jax has two older brothers?”
“Just one. And their cousin Sebastian.”
I don’t say too much more about Rory or Bastian. I don’t delve into the relationship I have with them outside of the normal stuff. I definitely don’t talk about River City mafia or my involvement. But we do talk football, that she tells me she knows nothing about. She just knows I play.
I think I have shared more about myself than I have shared with a woman in years. The last person I shared all this with was Lacy. There hasn’t been anyone else I’ve wanted to share with since her. Until now.
“Would you like to go somewhere else or do you need to go home?” I ask her as we walk out of the restaurant.
She looks me over for a minute with a smile. I can already see in her eyes what she wants to say, but I also can see what she’s going to say.
She’s the kind of girl that is fine with sex on the first date. She’s perfectly comfortable with a one-night stand too. But that’s not what’s going to happen tonight.
“I should probably go home,” she finally answers.
I give her a knowing smile. I’m not going to convince her to go back to my hotel, but she’s not leaving here until I know what those lips taste like. Before she can think, I grab her, pulling her close to me. “I’m going to kiss you before you go Darlin’.”
She doesn’t get a chance to argue before I plant my mouth over hers. She tastes just like I thought she would, cinnamon and wine, and when she gasps, I take the opportunity to sweep my tongue against hers. But I don’t let it linger. I let her go to her car with a smile.
I walk into the tattoo shop, catching several stares. Maddox is sitting on a sofa in the corner with his feet propped on a table. He sees me walk in with raised brows. “What the hell are you doing here?” he asks with a knowing smirk.
I flash him a grin with a tip of my head. I walk around the counter and workstations, taking a seat beside him. “She knows you’re here?”
“Nah, man. Didn’t know I was going to be here until last night.”
“Like a work thing?”
I laugh because that would be easier to explain. “Like a I can’t get her out of my fucking head thing.”
“Damn, man,” he chuckles with a huge grin. “Dane is going to want to kick your ass.”
“He can give it his best shot,” I tell him with a smirk. “I give him the first lick free.”
“Zane,” I hear across the shop. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to see you, Darlin’,” I tell her with a grin.
“You haven’t come up with anything besides ‘darlin’ yet?” Maddox taunts me.
I realize how long he and I have known each other. I think I forgot for a while because most of those years was spent hating each other. Me for what happened with Zoey. Him because we ran him out of town.
But this shit with Zoey has caused me to do a lot of soul searching about the guy. Put some things into perspective. After years of anger because my sister nearly died because of him, I’ve decided to let it go. He was a stupid kid that made a stupid mistake. He tried to apologize to Zoey after it happened, but we ran him out of the city.
It was for the best, at the time. Even if he doesn’t realize it. Jax was so angry he would have killed him. Getting him out of the city was for his own good and for Jax’s.
“A little southern charm goes a long way,” I tell him. “Maybe you need to remember that. You’ve been here too long.”
“Coming home next week,” he tells me.
“I remember,” I raise my eyebrows then turn my eyes toward Tori. “It’s why I’m here.”
Tori looks at me in total confusion. I don’t know if she doesn’t remember what I said when she gave us the tattoos or if she didn’t think I was serious.
“I came to make sure you’re on the plane when Maddox comes. If your big brother wants you to have an escort, then Maddox it will be.”
“I don’t need Dane’s approval or a fucking escort,” she huffs with a sexy flip of her hair. It’s one of the things I like best about her. One minute she’s a total hard ass and the next she’s nothing but sass.
Maddox shoots me a look like I just told him he had to sit between a corpse and a three-hundred-pound man in coach. “You came all this way to make sure she came with me to River City?”
“Got the ticket right here,” I tell him as I pull it out of my coat.
“How did you even know when my flight was?” he asks. Then he rakes his hand through his hair with a shake of his head. “Nope. Never mind. I have a feeling I already know the answer to that.”
Tori just stares at me gape mouthed. She looks a mixture of confused, flattered, and frustrated. “You said you wanted to come,” I remind her.
She snaps her mouth shut and narrows her eyes. “I did say that. But I don’t need my brother’s permission or you to buy my ticket.”
“I bet it would mean a lot to Zoey,” I say. “We have to attend a New Year’s party and she will do much better with more familiar faces around her.” I know it’s a low blow slipping Zoey in there. It all happens to be true, but I’ve got to make sure she comes. “You’re coming too Maddox.”
“What the hell makes you think I want to go to a fucking corporate New Year’s party. I’ve had enough of that shit to last a lifetime.”
“Because it’s for Zoey,” I say again. Yeah. Pretty shitty, I know but I do what I have to do to get what I want.
“Man, you’re a fucking tool,” Maddox hisses.
“So, you’re coming? Both of you?”
“Who’s coming where?” I hear a deep voice behind me. I turn to see Dane, the shop owner and Tori’s brother standing behind us with his arms folded across his chest. A deep scowl lines his face as he looks me over.
“Your sister is coming to River City with Maddox,” I tell him without hesitation.
“Now wait a minute,” she huffs. “I never agreed to that.”
I flash her a big grin as I get to my feet. “But you will, Darlin’,” I tell her as I place a kiss over her mouth.
I hear her brother growl behind me, but he doesn’t make a move. Good boy.
I saunter my way back out of the shop. Another smile crosses my lips when I hear the click of her heels following behind me. “Who do you think you are?” she yells behind me when we are out on the street.
I whirl around quickly taking her by the waist as I press her against the side of the building. I kiss her again. This time much deeper sliding my tongue over her lips. She parts on a gasp as she tries to push me off, but I don’t move. I deepen the kiss further until the hands that are trying to push me away, bring me closer as her tongue begins to tangle with mine.
After minutes or hours, I’m not really sure, I pull away. “All I’ve been able to think about are these lips,” I tell her with a pant.
“I can’t believe you came all the way here to make sure I come with Maddox,” she says as she tries to catch her breath.
“Darlin’, I came here to make sure you get on the plane with Maddox. I’m the only one who will be making you come.”
“Oh my God, you’re really full of yourself,” she laughs. “Are you always so cocky?”
“I’m not cocky, Darlin’. I just know what I want and go after it.”
“Until you’re done with them?”
I cock my head a little at her. I narrow my eyes at her insinuation. “I’m not just going to fuck you and toss you aside, Tori.”
“I’m fine with a little fun, Zane," she shrugs with a smile. "I just like to know the score.”
I run my hand up her shoulder to her neck while pressing my forehead to hers. “I don’t kno
w the score. I just know I can’t stop thinking about you. I haven’t felt anything like this in a very long time.”
She smiles at me. “Well, I haven’t done much besides think about you too. It’s kind of been a distraction.”
“I have to go,” I tell her with a groan.
“You came here for five minutes just to get back on a plane.”
“Needed to give you your ticket,” I smirk.
She tosses her head back with a laugh. “You’re a little bit crazy, Zane Valen.”
“Never claimed to be anything else, Darlin’.”
Tori
I lean back on the sofa of the shop with my arm thrown over my eyes. I am so not feeling being here today, but I have a ton of appointments after being gone for several days.
“How was your trip?” Stitch asks as he plops down beside me.
I let out a groan. “Don’t ask,” I tell him.
I do not want to rehash the trip. It started out wonderfully. Zane picked us up at the airport, and ushered us straight to his penthouse, which was fabulous by the way. Jax brought me the dress that Zane probably spent a small fortune on. It was red and beautiful and fit like a glove.
Zane looked like he literally oozed sex from his pores in the tux he wore, in spite of his fidgeting with it. He smelled like sex too. Spice and musk and all things delicious. God, he even sounded like sex with that sexy voice of his whispering all sorts of things in my ear.
I had no idea the night was going to take a turn like it did. I had no idea I was going to walk up on some guy attacking Zoey. Now I sit on a very dangerous secret because she begged me not to say anything to her brother or Jax.
I know Zane and I aren’t really anything to each other. We’re only just getting to know each other mainly through text and video chat. Over a thousand miles separates us.
I normally wouldn't worry too much. I don't go out of my way to have a relationship. Usually the opposite in fact. But I really do like him. I like him a lot, and this secret feels like it has the possibility to end things before they really begin.
Guilt eats at me so, that I faked not feeling well after the party so we could leave early. Then I caught the next flight out without any type of explanation. When I got back to New York, I kept myself holed up in my apartment so no one would know I came back over a week early. He’s been texting and calling ever since. So has Maddox but he's been more forward. He already knows my leaving had something to do with Zoey.
“I’d like to know how that trip went too,” a very familiar voice says angrily from behind me. Like Beetlejuice, except all I did was think of him. I gulp, wondering how I didn’t realize he was here. I turn to find Maddox glaring at me with Dane standing beside him looking curious. “Did you even change out of the dress before you got on the plane?”
I didn’t. I got to the airport as quickly as I could then exchanged the first-class ticket for the next available flight. I sit there saying nothing to Maddox as guilt eats at my insides. “What did that ball playing douche do to you?” Dane asks suspiciously.
Maddox looks at me with raised brows, practically daring me to lie and blame my sudden departure on Zane’s bad behavior. “Zane didn’t do anything,” I answer him with an eye roll.
“Never really had a chance considering how fast you took off. Funny how it was right after Zoey mysteriously left. Also, strange how Zane texted me the next day wondering why you left like I was supposed to know the answer when I didn't realize you did. Then Jax texted me to see if you knew something that happen because Zoey shut down on him.”
I see Dane bristle at Maddox’s insinuation. “What are you trying to accuse her of?”
“I’m not accusing her of anything,” Maddox answers him without taking his eyes off of me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so seriously pissed. “I’m stating facts and making observations and asking questions.”
My phone rings in my pocket. I pull it out and grimace as Zane’s name flashes across the screen. I send the call to voicemail which I have no intentions of checking.
“What’s going on, Tori?” Maddox demands.
This time I see Dane look at me with curiosity, as well. Leaving me with no other choice.
I pretend to need to be somewhere else and get the hell out of the shop. I’ve never felt quite so – discomfited. I know I should tell Zane and Jax about what happened, but I also understand Zoey’s reasons for not saying anything. I feel like I am literally being pulled in two different directions because I want to be there for Zoey. I want to earn her trust so she will feel like she can open up to me if she ever needs to. She needs someone to confide in. She needs all the support she can get.
But in the last few weeks of talking with Zane I’ve learned a few things about him. He may be a friendly guy, but he only really cares about a very small group of people. At the top of that list is Zoey and Jax. He would do anything to protect them. And by not telling him what happen, I am breaking his trust.
I need someone to talk to about all of this, and there are only two people I go to when things weigh heavy on my mind. One, strangely enough, has become Maddox, so he's out of the question.
I send a text out, and instantly get a reply.
Twenty minutes later, I’m walking into the back office. A big desk filled with papers and clutter sits in the middle of the room. Framed posters of past events hang on the walls. A tall case sits in the far-right corner filled with trophies and plaques.
Pete sits behind the desk looking through his papers while puffing on a cigar. He looks up at me over the rim of his glasses when he notices me. A huge smile lights his face.
You’d never know he was in his mid-sixties looking at him. He doesn’t look a day over fifty which is remark able given his habit for cigars and bourbon. The slight graying of his brown hair makes him look like a distinguished businessman which I guess he is. But his well-built physique gives way to a life that hasn’t always been behind a desk.
“Well, Darlin’ ain’t you a sight for sore eyes,” he drawls with that Texas slang with a grin. But I flinch at his term of endearment. Something his sharp eyes don’t miss as they narrow at me in suspicion. “What brings you by? Shouldn’t you have jet lag or something?”
I give him a weak smile as I take a seat in front of his desk. “I probably would if I hadn’t been home since the day after I left,” I admit.
“Something happen?” he asks me as his suspicion grows.
I suck in a big breath as I nod. “Something happened. I don’t know what to do.”
So, I tell him everything that happened while I was in River City. I tell him about Maddox’s questions a bit ago. I tell him about Zane and Zoey. I tell him all of it because I tell Pete everything. I just haven’t seen him in a while because he’s been back in Texas working on something.
He slides his glasses off his face and leans back in his chair with a click of his tongue. “That’s quite a sad story, but I’m not sure what you want me to tell you, Tori.”
“Tell me what to do, Pete. Tell Zane what I saw and break Zoey’s trust, or keep quiet and break his trust.”
‘’I think the better question would be, are you really helping Zoey by keeping quiet? The girl’s been through quite the ordeal from what you’ve said. Is it really in her best interest for you to keep the secret?”
“I don’t know, Pete. I feel like it probably isn’t, but I really don’t know Zoey that well.”
“Tori, do you really need to know her to know if this secret is helping or hurting her?” he says with a look I’ve caught many times over the years. A look that is calling bullshit and telling me to stop being stupid. “Has she talked to you since it happened?”
I shake my head. Zoey hasn't responded to my text and won’t answer my calls. I feel like it’s just like when she worked at Lucky’s.
“So, she’s not dealing with it. She’s just hiding inside herself.”
“I wanted to kick the guys ass, Pete,” I admit with an exhale. I hate men li
ke that. The ones that believe they can take what they want by any means necessary. The ones who exploit the vulnerability of a woman.
He chuckles at me, but he isn’t surprised in the slightest. “Then why didn’t you?”
“I don’t know. I guess because I was more worried about Zoey at the time." It is the truth but not all of it. Normally, I would have kicked a dick like that guy right in the balls. I'm still not one hundred percent why I chose to start recording the incident instead of kicking is ass.
“There’s nothing wrong with that.”
I shake my head then decide on a change of subject. “How was your trip?”
“Same old, same old. Nothing too exciting. Did get a new recruit. Has a lot of potential.”
“As much as me?” I tease with a grin.
“Darlin’, there will never be another you. You could still be big you know.”
I shake my head. “I never really wanted to do it for those reasons. You know that. I did it because it was fun.”
“And then it wasn’t.”
I nod in agreement. “And then it wasn’t. It’s like it was becoming all about the money. It wasn’t about how good I was or how much I accomplished anymore.”
“You know you don’t have to explain to me. Whatever makes you happy. Speaking of happy. This Zane fellow. You really like him?”
I feel myself turning red, and in that moment, I realize that I really do like him which sets off alarms in my mind. It also makes me a little nauseous. Not that it really matters. We are separated by several states and a time zone. But still, I don’t deny it. “You’d like him too. He plays for the Raptors.”
Pete’s eyes cloud over for a minute with shadows I don’t understand. “Zane Valen is the Zane you’re talking about?”
“That’s him,” I nod with a smile. Pete smiles back but something seems – well, it seems off. I don’t question though. I tell him I have to go before my appointment shows up. I’m really hoping Maddox is gone when I get back.
Pete walks around the desk to give me a tight hug then walks me out of the building.