She doesn't respond to my last comment, and I wish she'd give me a glimpse of where she stands.
"Where are we going?" Allie asks as I turn onto a main road.
"I'm taking you home, pretty lady."
"I can't. My car."
"It'll be waiting for you in the morning. You're not driving tonight, so you might as well sit back and enjoy the ride."
"I'm not sure I locked my car when I got out, and the garage door opener is in it along with the registration. Anyone can find out where I live and let themselves in. I won't be able to sleep. At least let me check and make sure it's locked."
"Sure thing."
I turn my truck around and head back to the pizzeria. It's well after midnight. I expect it's closed by now. Her ex and anyone else we'd like to avoid are long gone. The silence between us is heavy, or at least that's how it feels to me. Heavy, like an aircraft carrier. I need something to distract me, something to keep me focused on the road and not how fucking good Allie smells.
I want so badly to touch her. I separate our fingers and place my hand on her thigh. She doesn't tell me to move it. I don't know if that's good or bad. I'm struggling to keep my hand from running up and down her leg, up to her center... I shake the thought off. Too many urges to keep at bay in one night.
Turning into the parking lot, I'm focused on the things my body yearns to do to but I won't allow to happen with Allie. I miss it. I don't see what's in front of me.
"Oh my God!" Allie squeals, sounding like she's in pain.
"What?" I ask, shifting the truck into park and snapping my head to the side so I can look her over. Not understanding what's wrong, I follow her gaze out the front window.
"Son of a bitch!" I growl, jumping out. "Mother fucker!" I walk around to the other side of her car, confirming what I already know. Each and every tire is flat. Punctured. Slashed open.
Something resembling a whimper escapes Allie as her shoulders round in defeat and her hand covers her mouth. She looks small. Deflated. The resignation in the noise wrenches at my heart, squeezing it with a death grip.
I want to take her in my arms and stroke her, soothe her, but I don't. This isn't the time or the place. I'm not sure if the area is secure, and the most important task at hand is keeping Allie safe. My senses are heightened as I look and listen for any tell of danger. I step next to Allie, close enough that I'll be able to shield her with my body if necessary. I look around, scanning the area, careful not to lose focus, because if there is a sudden attack I'm not sure from which direction it will originate.
"Fuck. I didn't need this. Do you have any idea how much four new tires is going to cost me?"
"Come on," I order, grabbing her arm and leading her back toward my truck. "Let's go."
"I can't." She attempts to wrench free from my hold. "I need to call a tow truck." she says, using her other hand to pull her phone out of her purse.
"Not tonight." I answer, snatching the phone away from her. "Now get in my truck."
I see the defiance in her eyes. "Give me back my phone."
"I'll give it to you when you get in," I say through clenched teeth.
She narrows her eyes at me and presses her lips together. I get that she wants to stay and protect her car, or fix it, but there's no way in hell I'm allowing her to go anywhere near it. Not without knowing what else might have been done to it.
"This isn't up for discussion, Allie." I say. "We've been out in the open long enough." I give her one last chance, hoping she understands I'm not going to back down. "Get. Your. Ass. In. The. Truck."
"No."
"That wasn't a request."
Frustrated, I lift her over my shoulder. The action stuns her into submission. At least for the moment. Her slight frame is no challenge for me as I pull open the passenger door and place her down before she regains her senses and attempts to escape. "We need to get out of here. Now."
"Please, Jagger," she pleads. "I don't know what to do."
Her voice and resigned posture convince me I won the battle.
"We'll talk about it on our way home," I respond, my voice cold and clipped. There's no time to coddle her. Not out in the open like this. "Buckle up. Unless you want me to do it," I say, holding onto the metal latch plate, pulling it across her shoulder and down to her chest.
She realizes I'm serious. Instead of answering, Allie reaches for the seatbelt and clicks it into place. I waste no time making my way around to the driver's side.
"I never got to do what we came for," she says, pulling the key fob from her purse.
I snatch it out of her hands before she knows what's happening and shove it down in my pocket. Looking back over my shoulder, I back my truck up away from her car and speed onto the main drag.
"Why'd you do that? I just wanted to make sure it's locked. That was the whole point of this," she says, her voice unusually high.
"Your tires are slashed. Can you be sure the car's not rigged with an explosive?"
"A what? You're crazy. No one would do that."
"Crazy, huh? Bet you never expected to find your tires slashed either."
She turns from me and looks out the window.
"Tell me about your ex," I order while speeding away. "How long has he been stalking you?"
"Bailey? He's not stalking me. And he wouldn't do this. He has no reason to. He's the one that broke up with me."
Allie's too dismissive. She's not grasping the severity of the situation. "He broke up with you?"
"Yes."
"What exactly did he say?"
"I don't know. It was months ago, and I don't remember much after he told me he knocked her up."
"Think. Did he actually break up with you, or did he tell you she's pregnant and you broke up with him?"
"It's the same thing."
"No, it isn't. He said he's been calling you for months and you haven't returned a call. Tell me about his messages."
"There's nothing to tell. It's just him apologizing and asking me to call back."
"When was the last call?"
"I don't know. Weeks ago. I didn't even listen to the last few. I just deleted them."
"Then you have no read on how desperate he's become."
"He has nothing to be desperate about."
"Unless he wants you back or if he wants you on the sideline waiting for him."
"I didn't sit around waiting for him before we broke up. He did his thing and I did mine, which is how we ended up..." She stops suddenly, runs her hands through her hair, and sucks in a deep breath before continuing. "He knows he has zero chance of me hanging around or getting back with him. Not when she's carrying his baby." I don't miss how her voice cracks on the last few words. "Seriously, Bailey might be a jerk, but he's not violent. He wouldn't do this."
She's defending him. That doesn't bode well for her. Or for me.
"Who've you been out with since? Anyone that seemed a little off to you? A little too possessive or someone that wanted to move too fast?"
"No."
"Anyone acting weird that won't take no for an answer."
"Besides you right now?"
I shoot her a warning look. This isn't something to make light of. Unless she means it. I've been doing my best to keep things light, but it’s possible I'm too intense for her and she's not ready for me.
She shakes her head. "I haven't been on any dates."
"Then it comes back to Bailey."
"It doesn't have to be personal."
"Yes. It does. Someone's sending you a message, and if you can't think of anyone else, then Bailey is the likely suspect."
"Why are you harping on this?"
"Because you're in danger!"
"Again, we don't know that."
"Fine, then tell me, when was the last time someone did you a solid and slashed your tires?" I don't mean to yell at her, but I'm already uptight, and her lack of reason is starting to piss me off. I feel the tension in my grip on the wheel and hope I can keep it confined to m
y hands.
She shakes her head, "Never."
"Never. And it just so happens tonight when he sees you out with another guy."
Her eyes narrow at me. I'm sorry she's pissed that I'm stating the obvious, but she needs to deal with it. I hear the tight hard tone of my voice. I need to bring it down a notch. "Look, I'm sorry, but he's the most likely suspect. This was not a random act. Trust me on this."
I can't tell if I swayed her any, since she doesn't have a retort to my last comment, and she's looking out her window instead of in my direction. She's quiet, and I don't want to push her any further right now. We drive for the next five minutes in an uncomfortable silence, with an invisible barrier rising up between us.
"This isn't the way home, where are you taking me?"
"To my place. You're not spending the night alone in that house."
"You're overreacting."
"Great. Humor me."
*
I look around my apartment, wishing I'd taken a few minutes to clear the table and pick the dirty laundry up off the floor of my bedroom before rushing to my brother's house earlier in the evening. I feel like that whole episode was days ago.
"Excuse the mess." I pick up a crumb-filled dish off the table and carry it over to the sink overflowing with dishes.
"It's fine." Allie says, looking around the place. I'm surprised by how uncomfortable I am in my own space. It's like I'm waiting for her to announce I've failed some sort of test. The apartment isn't much. It's simple. It's small. But it's mine.
"Are you tired?" I ask.
She nods. "I'm pretty wiped. I just want this night to end and forget it ever happened."
Fuck. That hurts. I get her wanting to forget about Bailey and her tires, but wasn't there at least a little bit of the night she'd liked? Like when I had her pinned against my truck outside the bar? I wait for her to give some hint that she wants to remember that, but she doesn't.
"Come on, let me show you to the bedroom."
"Um, okay." She hesitates a second, and I'm guessing she's nervous about what I'm implying.
"I'll grab a pillow and blanket and crash on the couch." I say to settle her nerves and make sure she understands I have no expectation of sleeping in there with her.
She reaches out and touches my arm. I glance at her hand on my elbow, wishing she'd glide it up my arm and over my shoulder.
Not tonight.
Her emotions are running too high, and I promised her no regrets. I'm doing everything I can to keep my word.
"Sorry," she says, meeting my eyes and yanking her hand away as if touching me stings. I wonder if she felt that touch throughout her body too. "You don't have to sleep on the couch."
"It's fine." I shrug.
"I don't want you to sleep on the couch."
I take a deep breath and close my eyes, searching for the strength and will to do the right thing. I can't turn her down again. I just can't. But I can't let things go that far either. I struggle to control the caveman in me that's yearning to sweep her into my arms and carry her off to the bedroom.
"I don't want to be alone. You sleep in the bed and I'll crash on the floor. I'll feel a lot better knowing you're in the same room as me."
That cools me off just enough to regain focus.
"Like hell."
Disappointment floods her face as her chin falls and she looks down at the floor. She's uncertain again. I want to kiss the doubts away. How wrong could it be to kiss her? To crush her against me and taste the sweetness of her lips?
I can do it. A kiss is just a kiss. But it's everything that happens after the kiss that's the problem. The touching. The holding. The fucking I already crave. All this turns a sweet kiss into a complicated bumblefuck of a mess.
"Yes, I'll sleep in there with you, but you've got the bed, I'm on the floor," I say, walking past her.
I rummage through my drawers and toss Allie a T-shirt and a pair of sweats to change into. The thought that my clothes will be on her, wrapped around her body, clinging to her like a hug and cradling her curves in ways I won't allow my hands to, has my cock jumping to life. I avoid looking at her as I try to regain control of myself and bring down my heart rate.
Nothing. Can. Fucking. Happen.
While she's in the bathroom freshening up, I pull out a sleeping bag and trade my clothes for a pair of fresh basketball shorts. I prefer sleeping in the nude, but I don't think she'd be too appreciative of it. It's not like she'll even know unless she ventures into my area of the landscape since I'm already settled into my sleeping bag. But still, I don't want to make her uncomfortable.
Once she returns from the bathroom, Allie climbs into bed and pulls the covers over her before turning off the lamp. Neither of us speak. I'm fine with that. It's been a long, emotional night for us both. I'm lying on my back thinking with my hands behind my head and my eyes closed. I need sleep to knock me over the head so I can succumb and stop my mind from focusing on the fact that Allie's curled up between the sheets in my bed.
"Jagger," she breaks the silence. Her voice is close. I don't need to look to know she's leaning over the side of the bed, bringing her head close to my pillow. "Are you awake?"
"Nope. I'm fast asleep," I answer.
"Can I ask you a personal question?"
"Of course," I ask, propping myself up on my elbow and facing her.
"What's the deal with you and Lexi?"
I clear my throat. Out of all the things she could've possibly asked, I never dreamed Lexi would be on the list.
"Deal?"
"I know you call and text her. A lot. You know she's never going to leave Noah, right?"
"Fuck, Allie. It's just..." Do I tell her the truth? No. Not now. Not yet. I don't need her thinking any less of me than she already does. "The deal is, we're friends." At least I thought we were, but it seems Lexi may be on a completely different page and I don't like the way this story is going.
"Did you say those things to me by your truck for them to get back to her? I mean, to make her jealous?"
"No." I push myself up so that I'm sitting with my knees bent, shocked that we're having this conversation, and even more so that Allie sounds like an insecure high school girl rather than the strong, sexy woman I know her to be. The same sexy woman teasing and tempting me with her salacious moves at The Tavern.
"Anything we say or do is between us. It's about you and me. I'm not looking to drag anyone else into an already complicated situation."
"Okay."
She doesn't say anything further, but I can't leave it at this. I need an idea of where her head is. "I don't mean to pressure you."
"You're not," she's quick to answer. Too quick.
"Nothing has to change." It's killing me to say this, but I think this is what she needs. Reassurance, and the promise that she's in control. "Just forget it all, and we'll go on the way we've been. Wake up tomorrow and pretend it never happened."
"Except it did. And I'll remember every bit of it when I wake up in your bed."
"Alone in my bed."
"It's still your bed."
I don't get why she's arguing with me. "Fine, you want to go back home?"
"No."
"Then what the hell is the problem?" I snap, confused and frustrated.
"There's no problem. I just wanted to make sure you're really interested in me, because after what went down with Bailey... I don't want to worry that you're settling for me when Lexi is the one you really want. I don't want to be anyone's second choice. I just want to be someone's everything."
"Someone's everything? Does that imply you'll settle for being anyone's everything?"
"Of course not, but for once, I want the person I'm with to be crazier about me than anyone else. Is that so wrong?"
I can't stand listening to another second of this.
"Wrong? Of course not. First of all, you'll always be my first choice. And I don't just mean between you and Lexi. Between you and anyone. Second, I poured my heart out to yo
u, and this is what I get, accused of using you to get to Lexi? That's shitty. I should go sleep on the couch." I get to my feet, ready to storm out of my bedroom, when she reaches for my hand.
"Jagger, wait." I hesitate and listen to a long moment of silence before she continues. "I'm scared." The quiver of her voice convinces me she's telling the truth.
"There's nothing to be scared of. I told you, forget everything I said."
"Don't you get it? I don't want to forget."
"Then what the hell do you want?"
There's a long pause, and I'm as confused as the sun in a hailstorm.
"You promised no regrets, right?"
"Yes. Worst damn promise I've ever made. Even still, been doing everything in my power to keep it."
"Well, I know if I lay down and go to sleep right now, I'm going to wake up with a major regret. Guaranteed."
"How's that?" I ask as she tugs my hand toward her.
"If I don't kiss you tonight, right now, I'm going to regret it."
That's it. I'm done saying no and trying to take the high road. If this is what she wants, I'm more than happy to give it to her.
She raises herself to a sitting position as I lower myself on the bed next to her. I lean forward and reach under her hair, holding the back of her head. A low whimper sounds from Allie as I stroke the base of her neck and pull her towards me.
This is it. The moment I've been yearning for. The moment I've dreaded. It's the moment of no return.
Chapter 6
Allie
Heart pounding. Pulse racing. Body tingling.
I feel it all with an intensity I’ve never experienced, an intensity I never dreamed existed, as his warm lips meet and electrify mine.
Toes curling. Heat building. Need pulsing.
I can't think. Or breathe.
My lips part at his command. His tongue brushes up against mine, exploring, probing, conditioning my body to succumb to his demands like a lion to its tamer.
Dizzy. Breathless.
I'm a ship sailing over high-pitched crests, swirling like a sprite into the air, floating like dew on the clouds. I'm soaring on exhilarating peaks of lust and longing.
This kiss, the best kiss of my life, causes my skin to cover with goose bumps. It touches my body inside and out in ways I never knew a kiss could. In ways no other kiss ever came close to.
Man Up Stepbrother Page 5