“What man wouldn’t?” I’m not an idiot. I see the way other men look at her, even though she never seems to notice. I never knew I could be so jealous. I never thought one woman would make me want to fight every man just because I know the thoughts he has of her.
He also leans up placing his elbows on his knees. “Any man would be lucky to have her. And for some God forsaken reason she chose you,” he says with a frown.
I stand up and lean over my desk. “Let me get something straight with you. I love Angel and I will kill anyone who touches her, including you,” I growl.
He sits back in his chair with a small smile on his face. “I promise you, you have it all wrong.”
“Then fucking explain it to me.”
“Do you have secrets Slade?” He tilts his head to the side.
“What kind of question is that?” I snap, getting irritated.
“It’s an easy question. Do you have secrets?” He leans up and picks up the picture of Angel and me. “Has Sam told you about my past? About our past?”
I shake my head, confused, as far as I know they don’t have a past other than friendship.
“Marie practically raised me.” He smiles like he’s remembering her. “My mom wasn’t always able to take care of me. That’s why I helped Marie.”
The fact that he had hidden stuff from Angel has me mad at him for a new reason. “You should have told Angel.” I slam my fist down on the desk. “Do you know how much pain she was in? The pain she is still in?” I growl. “I don’t care what she says, I catch her all the time looking up at the fireplace where both of her parents now rest. Why do you think all of her mother’s things are still in boxes in the garage? Because it’s too painful for her to go through them.”
He stands up and folds his arms over his chest. “A secret for a secret,” is all he says.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Fuck, this guy is like a riddle. He keeps changing shit up on me.
“That means I owed Marie,” he spits angrily. “You think it was easy to lie to Sam? It wasn’t.” His voice rises. “Do you know how hard it was to see her at her college graduation? Or to see her around town with that piece of shit, Jax? No! You don’t,” he yells.
I let out a long breath as I look over at him. “What are you not telling me? If you know something, you need to tell me.”
He takes a step back from my desk. “Not everything is what it seems, Slade. All I’m going to say is that I would never tell your secret, but I know that you wouldn’t be able to keep mine.” He turns and starts to walk toward my office door to leave.
I follow after him and spin him around.
I pull my arm back and punch him in the face, making him stumble back. “I’m not keeping any secrets,” I growl.
He places both hands on my chest and shoves me backward. “I don’t want to fight you, Slade. Believe me, I would love to.” He stands there looking at me, and for a second I think we are about to have it out here in my office. “But for Sam’s sake.” He lets out a rough breath. “Hasn’t she gone through enough?” He looks at me and his question makes me feel like a fucking jackass. “She needs everyone on her side right now. Someone is after you, or possibly her.” He throws his hands up in the air. “I’m not your enemy, Slade. I promise. I don’t want her the way you think I do. We should be working together to protect her.”
I take a few steps back and fall into one of the chairs, defeated. “That’s a full time job all on its own,” I mumble.
“Exactly!” he says, sitting down beside me.
I look up at him and see the true concern on his face. “You love her,” I state, trying once again to fight the urge to threaten his life.
He glances over at me. “There are different kinds of love.”
His choice of words does not help ease my jealousy. “I know you have her parents’ rings,” he says, changing the subject and making me nervous as hell. “That’s your secret. You want to ask for her hand in marriage. Believe me when I say, that is not the type of love I feel for her.”
I relax back into the chair and close my eyes. The thought of asking Angel to marry me has my palms sweating.
“I’ll help you keep her mind off looking for the rings,” he says, getting my attention as he stands up.
I stand as well. “What is your secret, Tate?”
“I already told you. I don’t trust you to keep it.” He then turns and walks out of my office, closing the door behind him. And now that I know he is hiding something, I have an uneasy feeling. Even if he doesn’t want Angel, he’s still hiding something from her. The only way to get close to someone is to earn their trust, so that’s what I will do. I’ll become his best friend and learn what I need to know, and then when I find out, I won’t hesitate to tell her what he’s hiding from her.
I turn around and pick up my office phone.
“Hello?” answers Angel’s sweet voice.
“Hey, Angel. How is work going?” I ask, sitting down in my seat.
She lets out a long breath. “Slow.”
“I’m sorry. What time are you going to be off?”
“I have to work a double.”
I frown as I look at the clock on my desk. My workday is done. I wanted to take her out to dinner tonight. “What? Who says?”
“Well, no one told me I had to, but Becky called in sick. I volunteered to cover it for her.”
I lean back in my chair trying to figure out why she takes this bartending job so fucking serious. She does not need the little income she makes working there. “Call someone else to cover for her. I don’t like you working nights, Angel.” I have never liked her working there anyway and I sure as hell don’t want her working nights since our house was broken into.
“I don’t like you telling me what I can and can’t do, Slade,” she fires back.
I sigh. “I know. I just want you to work only day shifts until we find out who broke into the house and why.”
“It’s too late now. I’m working tonight.”
“You should have called me first,” I say, clenching my jaw.
“Why?” she scoffs. “To ask your permission?”
“Well, yeah. What if I had plans for us or—”
“Goodbye, Slade. Don’t wait up.” She hangs up.
I smash the phone down onto the desk. Fuck, she can piss me off with just one word sometimes.
She knew her volunteering to work tonight would piss me off. She knows how I feel about that bar and the scummy men that walk in there to flirt with her. Plus, if a fight breaks out she always seems to be the first one to jump in and try to break it up. That woman is fearless, but also a huge pain in my ass at times.
Tate’s words come back to me. “We need to work together to keep her safe.”
That is one thing he is right about, and I could use him to my advantage. Angel trusts him and I want her to see me getting along with Tate.
I dial up Josh’s number. “Hey, what’s Tate’s number?” I ask as soon as he answers.
“Slade, don’t call and threaten him,” he says annoyed.
“That’s not why I want his number,” I snap. “Angel offered to work a double tonight and I plan on going up there and hanging out. I figured I could buy Tate a few beers.”
“I don’t believe that for a second,” he offers with a chuckle.
“Believe what you want. All I’m trying to do is keep my girlfriend safe and she continues to get mad at me over it.”
“Yeah, who knew women didn’t like men bossing them around,” he replies sarcastically.
“Just give me the damn number, Josh.”
“Fine.” I write down the number as he rambles it off. “Courtney and I will come up there as well.”
“Think I need babysitter?” I tap the pen on my desk.
“Something like that.”
We hang up, and then I dial the police station to see if they have any new leads before I go home to shower and change.
*****
SAMANT
HA
As I clean off the dirty bar top, I try to take a calming breath. Today has been a day from hell. I had to train Jeremy for two very long hours and then Slade gets mad because I offered to work for Becky. I answered the bar phone when she called and she sounded awful. Her daughter screaming in the background probably didn’t help matters either. I felt sorry for her, I wasn’t going to tell her I couldn’t work her shift because it would make my boyfriend mad.
I place the rag in my back pocket after I clean off the bar and turn to wash my hands in the sink when I hear Slade’s voice. I look over my shoulder to see him walking into the bar with Tate right beside him, followed by Courtney and Josh.
I smile at Courtney and Josh. “What are you guys doing here?” I ask looking at Tate.
“We thought we would come and have a few beers,” Slade says clearly not getting the memo that I’m ignoring him.
So, I’ll make it easy for him. “I’m ignoring you,” I say, finally looking him in the eyes.
Tate and Josh laugh as Slade gives me a smirk. “Oh, I figured that was to be expected.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Then what in the hell are you doing here?”
“Actually it was my idea,” Tate chimes in, getting my attention. “I wanted to hang out tonight and Slade said you were working.” He shrugs. “What better place to hang out than a bar?”
The smirk on Josh’s face is telling me that is not completely true. I look at Tate and notice he has a small mark on his chin. “Where did you get that bruise on your face from?” I ask, tilting my head.
He reaches up and touches it. “Oh, I worked at the repair shop today and lost a fight with a wrench.” He smiles.
The guys laugh and I feel like I’m missing an inside joke or something. I shake it off. “What does everyone want?”
I start grabbing drinks out of the bin as they tell me what they want. I pop the tops and place them down in front of them, trying to ignore Slade staring at me with a smirk on his face.
“You guys want to play some pool?” Josh asks.
They all say ‘yes’ as they get up and walk back toward the pool tables.
Courtney moves to the seat that is positioned right in front of me. She goes to speak when I place my hand up. “I don’t even want to know.”
“I just wanted to tell you my job has an opening,” she says excitedly.
Courtney had found a job in no time. Josh pretty much knows all the businesses in town and got her a job at the local bank. She wanted to continue working as an event organizer, but couldn’t find an open position fast enough. She took the job at the bank with future thought of quitting when the right one comes along.
“Thanks, but I’m good here.”
She looks around and then back at me, frowning. “Why do you want to work here so badly?”
“It’s not that I want to do this forever.” I sigh, staring down at the top of the bar. “I don’t know.” My shoulders slump. “I feel comfortable here, like I belong here,” I whisper.
“What do you mean ‘belong here’?”
“Since senior year things have been so depressing. College sucked. I never went out. Then when I moved here with Jax, he didn’t want me to work. He wasn’t happy when I took the job here, but then I met Holly and Micah.” I smile. “Things just seemed to turn around. Then, of course, Slade came into my life.” I look over at him as he takes a drink of his beer while listening to Tate talk about something. “Everything just felt right. It all started here, why would I want to leave that?” I look to her. “I don’t know why Slade won’t just drop it.”
“He’s afraid for your safety.”
“I won’t lie, I was terrified when I discovered someone was in the house, but that is not going to keep me from living my life.”
She grins. “Then don’t let it.”
“That’s my plan,” I reply cheerfully. My eyes slide back over to Slade and I see him smiling as he looks from Tate to Josh. It’s hard to stay mad at a man as gorgeous as he is. He must have gone home after work because he is in those baby blue jeans that hang low on his waist, with a dark gray t-shirt that hugs his muscular arms and wide chest. His hair is spiked and that smile on his beautiful face has me forgetting our conversation from earlier.
“It was Slade’s idea.” Courtney gets my attention as I stare at Slade.
“What was?” I look to her.
“Coming up here.” She takes a sip of her beer.
I smile. I knew it had to have been. “Why was that supposed to be a secret?”
She shakes her head. “I haven’t figured that out yet.”
I laugh as I open a bottle of water for myself. I didn’t mind working for Becky tonight, but I can’t hide the smile from how happy I am that Slade wanted to see me.
*****
I clean off the last table and go behind the bar to pick up my purse as Slade walks out of the bathroom. “You better not have dirtied it up,” I try to say firmly.
He walks up and pulls me into his arms. “The only thing I’m going to dirty up is you.” He slides his hands into the back pockets of my jeans, giving my ass a little squeeze.
“Then why aren’t we leaving?” I mumble with my lips against his. I’ve been trying to give him the cold shoulder. It was easy not to talk to him when he was playing pool with the guys, but that didn’t stop me from staring over at him.
“Because I don’t want to wait,” he says, pushing me backward.
“Hmm. Are we going to have a repeat of the last time you fucked me in the bathroom?”
He groans. “You have no idea how much that word turns me on when you use it in reference to us.”
I giggle. “Such a dirty boy.”
“Absolutely!”
He smashes his mouth to mine as we come to a stop. As our lips work together and his tongue dances with mine, I feel his hands working on the zipper of my jeans.
I pull my face away from his. “Did you ever stop to think that I don’t want to have sex?” I say a bit too breathless.
He smiles. “Did you really think I didn’t see you staring at me from behind the bar?”
“I wasn’t trying to hide it.” I laugh.
He reaches up and slowly pulls my ponytail out. His blue eyes look into mine as he runs his hands through my hair. “You still mad at me?” he asks with concern on his beautiful face.
I reach up and wrap my arms around his neck. “You going to continue bugging me about my job?”
He looks at me as if conflicted on how to answer that question. I know he wants to say yes, but he doesn’t want to fight with me. We have bigger problems going on in our life right now besides my job.
“Do you promise me you won’t work nights anymore?”
I nod my head. “No more nights.”
“Then I won’t continue to drive you nuts about it,” he promises with a small smile.
“Enough talking and a little more fucking,” I say with a sly grin on my face.
“I love the way you think,” he responds, picking me up as I wrap my legs around him. We take a few steps backward and I hit the pool sticks, knocking them to the ground.
I place my head back against the wall and lift my arms up as he discards my shirt.
I thread my fingers in his hair as I smash my lips to his. He pulls me off the wall and walks backward until I feel him plop down on the small couch in the corner.
I reach down and he pulls his lips from mine as I yank his shirt off and throw it behind me. I crawl off of him and onto the floor where I’m facing him on my knees. I look up into his blue eyes as I unzip his pants.
“Lift your hips.”
He lifts them enough for me to pull his pants off along with his boxers as he kicks off his shoes. I lick my lips as my eyes gaze at him sitting naked before me. He reaches up and slides his hands in my hair and I close my eyes at the feel of the power those hands hold. It makes me want to melt into nothing.
Without a word, he lowers my head and I open my lips, knowing exa
ctly what he wants. He gives me an inch at time. His hands control my head as his hips meets my mouth with each thrust.
I hear him moan as his fingers tighten and release my hair a few times. I open my eyes to look up at him, and he has his head resting back on the couch and his lips are parted. I suck him in deeper until he is all the way to the back of my throat. He opens his eyes and looks down at me. He smirks as he pulls on my hair, removing my mouth.
“What are you doing?” I ask with a matching smile.
He lifts me up onto the couch, laying me on my back, and is hovering over me in no time. He tears off my jeans and settles himself between my legs.
“You, Angel. I’m going to do you.” And with that, he thrusts into me, causing my breath to catch. He grabs my wrists and holds them down on either side of my head.
“Slade,” I pant as he slowly pulls out.
“Don’t worry Angel, this isn’t going to be slow.” And with that he slams into me as my moans and cries of ecstasy fill the empty bar.
*****
As I’m driving to the house, my phone rings. I pick it up out of the center console to see a blocked number again. I hit ignore then wait a few seconds before I search for Jessica’s number in my phone.
When I find it I hit send.
“Hello?” she answers slowly.
“I believe I told you to quit fucking calling me,” I say sweetly.
“How did you…uh....”
“I told you it wouldn’t be hard to find your number.” I look in the rearview mirror to see if Slade is still behind me.
She laughs. “It was probably just as easy as it was finding yours,” she says, no longer worried that I have her number.
“What do you want, Jessica?” Why is she calling me so late? I glance at the clock on the dash and it reads two forty five.
“I wanted to let you know that Slade was with someone while you were at work tonight.”
What? How does she know I’ve been at work? I look out all my windows to see if she is in a car nearby or something. There is no one else on the highway besides Slade and me at this hour. Wait. If she knows I was at work then how does she not know that Slade was there?
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