GRIT: A Spartan Riders Novel

by J.C. Valentine

  Spinning her around, Blake’s manhandling snapped her out of her thoughts. He carried her to the opposite side of her car, away from the action, and turned her so her back was pressed against the passenger door of her car.

  Panting heavily, Gabby looked up to find Blake’s twisted smile staring back at her. “What?” she snapped, edgy from both the fight and the memory. “What the hell is so damn funny?”

  “You. You’re hot when you’re all riled up, teach,” he said with a giant smirk. Pushing her ratted-up hair out of her eyes, he dragged a single finger down the side of her face. “I don’t have to ask who started it, but I do want to know what it was about.”

  Twisting, Gabby tried to turn and see where the bitch had gone, but Blake grasped her chin and forced her to stay with him. Huffing, she said, “She was making it clear who you and Ash belong to. One clue, it isn’t me.”

  Blake’s silver eyes lost their humor. “The fuck she say to you? Exactly.”

  “Oh you know, the usual ex-baby momma drama spiel. Back off her man, I’m not her kid’s mom, I’m nothing.” She shrugged. “Pretty standard stuff.”

  “You know she’s nothing to me. We’re over.”

  “I know that.” He’d told her as much. In fact, he made his hatred of his ex as clear as the morning sky overhead.

  “Good.” He scraped his fingers through his hair. “That bitch is a thorn in my damn side,” he muttered. After he took a steeling breath, his gaze fixed on her again. “I’ll make her pay for this. I swear it, Gabby. That bitch crossed a line coming here and threatening you. Putting her hands on you just sealed her fate.”

  Gabby’s heart thudded painfully. “Blake, God, no, don’t do anything stupid,” she pleaded with him. “She’s not worth getting into trouble for.”

  Blake’s eyes danced with fire. “Who said I’d get caught.”

  “Stop it,” she snapped. “I’m not going to stand here and listen to you talk about hurting someone. I don’t care who it is or what they’ve done. I don’t like it.”

  “Do you forget who you’re talking to?”

  She eyed his jacket, the lumps beneath that she suspected belonged to the shoulder holster she’d seen hanging on the back of his bedroom door when she’d climbed out of bed that morning. How could she forget who he was? Easy. Every time he looked at her, she got sucked into those magical eyes and that sexy voice and lost herself.

  Blake must have sensed the direction of her thoughts. Pulling in a quick breath, he stepped into her personal space, cupped her head in both hands, and dropped a kiss on her forehead. With a touch of humor in his voice, he asked, “So who threw the first punch?”

  For a moment, she struggled to hold onto her irritation, her doubts, but simply being in his arms disarmed her in a way nothing else ever could. Gabby’s lips twisted into a half-smile. “Technically? Me. But she started it. She pushed me. I was just making it clear which one of us was actually in charge.”

  Blake stood there for a long moment, eying her with an intensity that made Gabby’s insides squirm. Then he shoved his hands into her hair and tilted her face up toward his. “Fuck, you are one hot piece, teach. If there wasn’t a whole damn school full of kids watching us right now, I’d push that skirt up and be inside you in a heartbeat.”

  The little hairs on Gabby’s skin stood on end, and she felt a whole body tingle work its way from her scalp all the way down to her toes. The last vestiges of her anger fell away and she shivered, thinking of how much she wanted him to do just that. Her hands made their way under his leather jacket, past the bulky harness framing his chest and back, and around his narrow waist, gripping the cotton fabric of his shirt in her fingers.

  She was surprised to realize that, even being so close to his guns, just knowing that he carried them on him didn’t frighten her. If anything, she felt even safer for them being there. It was a curious feeling, to be so close to danger, yet feel completely at peace with it.

  “First, tell me you aren’t married.”

  “Never in my life. Did she say that too?”

  “Yeah, but I didn’t believe her. So how about later, at your place?”

  “Consider it done,” he growled, then leaned down and touched his lips to hers. “Looks like the cops are waiting to talk to you. Want me to stick around?”

  Glancing over her shoulder, Gabby saw two uniformed officers standing there. One was talking to Jodi, and the other had his eye on Gabby, clearly waiting to speak to her. “Yeah,” she said around the sudden thickness in her throat. “Maybe just until they go.”

  Blake gave her a tight nod then, placing a proprietary hand on her lower back, escorted her over.

  School had been in session for nearly an hour before Gabby finished making her report and was released to her class. True to his word, Blake stuck by her side until she’d finished telling her side of things, even smiling and waving as the police stuffed Jodi in the back of their cruiser and drove off.

  At least the truth had prevailed. Gabby breathed a sigh of relief, thinking of how great it had felt to watch the woman hauled off for a night behind bars and have Blake there for her through it all. Before he left, he hinted that he might know someone who could pull some strings so the only sunlight Jodi would see for the foreseeable future would be from the blacktop of a prison yard. The thought made her smile, but nothing topped the high she felt when he planted that toe-curling kiss on her before whispering in her ear all the things he planned to do to her later that night after Ash was in bed. If she hadn’t already acknowledged it before, she would now. That man was growing on her something fierce.

  It was with that thought forefront in her mind that she headed inside, only to find herself standing before a very stern-faced Principal Linden. “Miss Morgan, can I see you in my office please.”

  It wasn’t a question. Gabby nodded and smiled. “Yes, of course,” she replied pensively.

  Once they were closed in the ten-by-ten room, Gabby stared across the desk at her superior feeling just like a kid again. She felt her muscles tremble and seem to grab onto her bones as she awaited whatever he was about to say.

  Folding his hands atop a pile of papers, Principal Linden regarded her with a stony expression. He sighed deeply. “I don’t have to tell you that what happened out there today cannot happen again.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said quietly, shamed.

  “I pride myself on creating a safe environment for these children, and two grown adults duking it out in the parking lot, in front of students, staff, and parents alike doesn’t exactly inspire trust.”

  “I understand that, sir, but in my defense, I didn’t start the fight.”

  “I never said you did. However, most concerning for me is that it happened at all. I don’t know what goes on in your personal life, and it’s none of my business, but I can’t have it spilling onto school property. It creates a certain level of distrust between the parents and the staff, as I’m sure you can understand.”

  “Yes, sir.” God, she was going to lose her job, wasn’t she? Gabby’s stomach fell just thinking about all she’d worked for, lost, and all because some woman with a chip on her shoulder couldn’t let go of the past.

  “Even more concerning is the students. Most of them saw the fight, and if they didn’t, they’re certain to talk about it with their friends. I’m now faced with figuring out the best method of damage control.”

  “I’ll talk to my kids,” she offered. “I’ll talk to the whole school, if you want me to. I’ll tell them that this was a dispute among adults that never should have happened, and then discuss how to better handle problems. It would be a great opportunity to address the anti-bullying campaign the district has been striving for this year,” she ventured.

  They had posters up all around the school, and they were always preaching respect and tolerance. She knew she was grasping at straws, but she would be damned if she lost her job because some haggard, delusional shrew of a woman decided to target her instead of working out her
problems with the person who’d truly caused them: herself.

  Principal Linden sat back in his chair, regarding her. “That could work, Gabby. Lord knows I’d hate to let you go. You’re a good teacher, and the kids respond to you. It’s one of the reason I haven’t issued walking papers yet. I’ve seen the way that Mahone kid has improved since you started working with him, and I think it’d be a shame to lose you. To be frank, there’s a shortage of good teachers, and I’d like to see what you can do.” Sucking in a whistling breath through his nose, he continued. “Let’s do the rally in the auditorium this afternoon while it’s still fresh. I’ll work on putting something together for the kids to take home and have my secretary print them up.”

  Standing, he rounded the desk, and taking that as her cue, Gabby rose on shaky legs. Following him to the door, she paused when he did.

  “You’re an asset, Gabby. We’ll figure this thing out, but word of advice. Clean house. Make sure nothing like this happens again. My power as principal only extends so far.”

  Gabby passed him a grateful smile. “Thank you, sir. I truly appreciate it.”

  He nodded once and opened the door. Gabby fled. As soon as she hit the empty hall, she gasped for air. The adrenalin surging through her veins had her breathless and edgy. It was a wonder she even made it back to her classroom without completely falling apart. Inside, she could hear the kids reciting their sight words to one of the teachers who’d stepped in for her while she was away.

  Shaking out her hands, Gabby reached for the doorknob.

  TWENTY

  “I hate public speaking, even in front of a bunch of elementary kids, but it could have been worse. I could have lost my job.”

  Gabby stood at the counter in Blake’s kitchen, mindlessly stabbing a wooden spoon into the cooking hamburger for the spaghetti dinner Ash insisted on having, while Ninja wrapped himself around her ankles. Once again, Blake had talked her into staying over, and she was beginning to lose track of how many times she’d done so. He was just so easy to be around. The time they spent together, her and Blake and Ash, felt special somehow, as if she had her own little family going on. They had dinner together almost every night, watched movies, did the whole bedtime thing. If this was what it was always like, she couldn’t fathom why Jodi had walked away.

  “I’m sorry you had to deal with that…” Blake glanced around. “That bitch,” he finished, though his voice was markedly quieter this time.

  Gabby chuckled. Ash had created a swear jar that he kept front and center on the dining table. Every time Blake cursed out loud, he had to put a coin in it.

  The jar was nearly full already.

  When she’d asked Ash what he planned to do with all that money, he’d told her that he planned to take all three of them to Disneyland. She’d been so moved by his willingness to include her in their plans that she’d promised to keep an ear out.

  Using the wooden spoon to point at him, Gabby informed Blake, “That’s a dime in the swear jar.”

  Blake paused in draining the spaghetti to look at her. “Are you fucking kidding me? You’re in on this too?”

  “That’s a quarter.”

  “Jesus—” Cutting himself off, his gaze cut to hers and he growled as he dropped the colander into the sink and reached into his pants pocket. “I’m disappointed in you, teach, ratting me out like that.” The coins clanked as he dropped them in. Trudging back her way, he stopped behind her, flattening his hands against the counter on either side of her hips. Skimming his lips up the side of her neck, he drew her earlobe between his teeth, biting down lightly. “I have a mind to spank you later, see how many coins you rack up for that damned jar.”

  Gabby’s eyes slid closed, picturing it. “Mmm, I’ve always wanted to go to Disneyland.”

  “Then you’d better cash in some dollars, teach, ‘cause you’re going to need them.”

  After placing a teasing, openmouthed kiss over her thundering pulse, they reluctantly parted to finish up dinner. At the dining table, they discussed their impending trip to Disney, with Ash excitedly declaring that he was going to ride everything, no matter how scary. Blake told her about his day, enlightening her about the construction industry and, more specifically, the job he was working to complete.

  She’d heard about the condominiums going up down by the river. It was part of a revitalization effort that the township hoped would attract more tourism and investors. She had yet to see the dig site, but anything Blake’s capable hands were involved with was likely to be a success in her opinion.

  “I can’t wait to see it,” she told him. “Maybe I’ll even buy one.” It would be the perfect time to move, in fact. She’d already started her savings, and by the time the building was complete, she should have enough to get her place. Why not live in something new and modern and that had Blake’s stamp of approval on it?

  “You’re planning to move?”

  Blake’s odd tone caught her attention, and she frowned. “Well, I certainly don’t plan to live with my parents forever.” She tilted her head, studying him. “Why?”

  “No reason.” Setting his fork down on his plate, Blake asked Ash if he was finished and then stacked their dishes together, heading into the kitchen to begin cleanup.

  “Ash, sweetie, why don’t you go get washed up and in your PJs. I’ll meet you in the living room when you’re done so we can watch a show.”

  “Can I pick tonight?”

  She smiled brightly. “Of course.”

  “Yes!” Jumping up from his chair, Ash raced through the house to his bedroom. He was getting so much better at not whining at the mention of his bedtime routine.

  Gabby followed Blake into the kitchen. Leaning back against the counter, she crossed her arms over her chest and watched as he rinsed the dishes and loaded them into the dishwasher. Something was definitely bothering him. “Care to tell me what that was all about?”

  “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “That attitude you have going on,” she pointed out. “The one that started when I mentioned moving. Do you have something against me buying one of your condos?”

  “They aren’t mine,” he corrected, “and no. You can live wherever you want to.”

  Her brows furrowed. He hadn’t looked at her once, and his tone was chilly. “Then why am I getting frostbite over here?”

  Turning off the tap, Blake dried his hands and turned to face her. His face was a mask of hard stubbornness that Gabby wasn’t certain how to take. “You’re here every night. You eat, shower, and sleep here every single night.”

  “Okay…” she said, dragging the word out. “Don’t forget that you insist on it. You’ve even hidden my keys before, so if you’ve changed your mind or something, then all you have to do is say so. I can leave.”

  He huffed as if annoyed. “Right. Sure. Well, if it’s that easy for you to go, then go. I’m not holding you prisoner.”

  “Whoa, okay.” Gabby held up her hands. “What just happened here? Am I missing something?” Blake just stood there, staring her down, his defensive posture mirroring hers. Well, maybe he wanted her to guess. “Are you upset because I’ve overstayed my welcome, or because you don’t want me to move into my own place?”

  A muscle in his jaw jumped as he continued to stand there in silence. Wasn’t she just thinking of how easy it was to be around him? Hell, the man could be so infuriating sometimes. But as she puzzled it over, she wondered if she hadn’t just hit the nail on the head. Maybe it wasn’t so much that she wanted to move out of her parent’s house, but where she wanted to move that was bothering him.

  “You want me to move in here, don’t you? That’s it, isn’t it? You’re mad about me mentioning the condos because you want me to move in with you.”

  “You can do whatever you want.”

  Gabby threw hers hands up. “Don’t be so damned stubborn, Blake. If you have something to say, then just say it!”

  “Fine! I want you here, not in some goddamned, ov
erpriced condo! There! Ya happy now!”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact, I am!” She didn’t even know why she was still shouting. She should be happy that he wanted her around. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she breathed deeply. “I don’t want to argue, Blake. I just want you to talk to me. I’m not a mind reader.”

  His gaze shifted up, toward the ceiling. “Yeah.”

  That’s it? That’s all he was going to say? Gabby huffed a laugh. “Well, that was enlightening. I feel like I completely understand where you’re coming from now.”

  Blake’s gaze lowered, pegging hers, and they stood there, staring each other down as silence ensued.

  His eyes grew hooded as his gaze raked over her, and Gabby’s lady bits sat up straight. Running her tongue over her bottom lip, she gave him the same treatment, feeling a sense of power when she caught sight of the hardness swelling along his right thigh. Instantly, her nipples hardened, abrading against the lacey cups of her bra.

  Unsurprisingly, Blake was the first to call the truce. Lips twitching, he said, “Goddamn, you make me hard, you sassy little witch. Get over here.”

  She was still a little annoyed, but what woman could resist a man like him when he issued a command like that. Pushing away from the counter, she went into his waiting arms and tilted her head back to accept his ready kiss. His firm lips took hers in a heated kiss that curled her toes, and she moaned long and low into his mouth, eliciting a rumble of approval that had her pressing all her soft curves against his hard, muscular frame.

  Before she got completely lost in his kiss, Gabby pulled back, determined to address the issue at hand. “I don’t think I’m ready to move in with you, Blake. This is all so new.”

  Cupping her nape, his fingers tugged at the fine hairs while the rough pads of his thumbs smoothed across her cheeks. “Yeah, it is, teach. But you can’t tell me you don’t feel what I feel, that pull. I’ve felt it every day since the first time I set eyes on you. Thought I just needed to get my dick wet, but that’s shit’s only gotten more intense since I got you in my bed, so I’m thinkin’ it’s more than that.”