Watch Me Burn

by Nikki Drost

  She has no idea what I am, or what I’m capable of. Would she be so willing if she knew that I was a werewolf? A supernatural killer who has seen more death and suffering than anyone has the right to.

  I shake my head to clear away my wayward thoughts. None of this matters now. I may not be in love with this woman, but she gave me access to her body when I needed comfort and for that, she deserves my respect.

  “Gia, listen to me for a minute.” I lift her off of the ground and place her on top of a nearby counter.

  After stuffing my semi erect cock back into my pants, I stand between her legs gaining her full attention. Her arms wrap around my neck, drawing me closer to her body. I allow the contact even though I know it’s wrong.

  “I’m sorry, babe, but you and I are over. You knew from the start that I was never going to be your happily ever after. I never promised you anything but a good time and we had that, didn’t we?”

  Gia slowly nods her head. “I know, but I hoped you’d change your mind.” She rolls her eyes and lets out a humorless laugh. “I should’ve known better. It’s always been, Kelsey.”

  Shit, I hadn’t realized my feelings for Kelsey had been that transparent. Now I really feel like a piece of shit, I never should have continued to use Gia the way I did.

  “You’re a beautiful woman, Gia, and as cliché as this is going to sound, you’ll find the right man, someone who’ll cherish you the way you deserve.”

  I’ve learned over the last few months that Gia Dewitt has had it rough. Growing up in a trailer park with an absentee father and a drug addict for a mother must have been hell on her self-esteem. It’s probably the reason why she dresses the way she does and attaches herself to any man who shows her a shred of attention. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not judging her, hell, it’s not like I have any room to talk, but sometimes we just have to suck it up and decide that we deserve to have something more.

  “Thanks, Jamie, even if you don’t mean it, it’s still nice to hear.”

  A lone tear trickles down her cheek. I swipe my thumb across her skin, wiping it away.

  “Don’t cry,” I say as I wrap my arms around her back. “If you ever need anything, just call me and I’ll be there.”

  I mean it too. I might be a cold-hearted bastard most of the time, but never toward a woman.

  Gia nods her head against my chest. “I appreciate that, but I’m not sure that Kelsey would, she hates my guts.”

  I’m about to ask her to explain when the bathroom door opens.

  “Sorry the ladies room is out of…order.”

  No, this can’t be fucking happening. This has to be some kind of joke. My lungs seize in my chest as I take in the sight of Kelsey standing in the doorway with her jaw on the ground. Our gazes lock and the pain I see in those green depths hits me square in the gut.

  “I swear it’s not what it looks like.”

  I try to explain, but honesty, I know how this looks. Lord knows there are worse positions that she could have caught me in, but it’s still unbelievably bad. Kelsey doesn’t give me the chance to finish my lame explanation. Instead, she rushes out, slamming the door behind her.

  “Shit.” I push myself away from the counter and finish zipping up my jeans.

  “I’m sorry, Jamie.”

  “Don’t be, this is all on me.” I shake my head at my stupidity. This is what I get for trying to be a decent person.

  Once I reach the main room, I scan the bar for my mate, but come up empty.

  “Kelsey ran out of here cryin', mo’chara, what happened?”

  Dropping onto a nearby stool, I lay my forehead against the scuffed wood counter and proceed to bang my head against it, repeatedly.

  “My mate caught me in the arms of another woman, but I swear nothing was going on.”

  God, I can’t believe this, I just told her how much I wanted to be with her, that she could trust me, and that I would never do anything to hurt her. Well, if she didn’t have trust issues before she definitely has them now.

  Finn forgoes his shot glass and takes a pull right from a bottle of Jameson.

  “Jaysus, Mary, and Joseph what are yer goin’ ter do now?”

  I shrug my shoulders in response. “What can I do? I’d go after her, but it’s not like she’ll believe anything I have to say.”

  “I knew yer were playin' with fire. Go and find Kelsey and explain yourself, the longer yer wait the worse it’ll be. Yer need ter fix this.”

  “I don’t know how to fix it!” I snap, my temper already getting the better of me.

  Finn rolls his hazel eyes as he pours us another shot of whisky. “I told yer not ter play games, didn't I? If yer had been honest then this could have been avoided.”

  I down my shot before answering him. “I know, Christ, I keep fucking up with her.” I shake my head in disgust. “Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.”

  Finn grabs a beer for a nearby customer and waits to comment until we are alone again.

  “I am gonna give yer some advice whether yer want it or not. Be honest wit' her, stop bein' so pigheaded cause we both know how short life really is. Everyone deserves ter be loved, mo’chara, even yer.”

  I wish I could believe that, but apparently, love isn’t in my destiny. Except for my brothers, anyone who has ever loved me has been taken from me, and those who should have loved and protected me betrayed me in the most heinous of ways. I should probably be thankful that this happened before I had a taste of true happiness. You can’t miss what you’ve never had.

  I run my hand over my Mohawk and notice a group of women checking me out. Wonderful, bring on the next batch of nameless females who will devour the rest of my soul.

  Chapter 3

  Kelsey

  “Good morning, Mattie,” I mumble as I make a beeline for the coffee machine.

  A low whine alerts me to our newest addition to our little family.

  “Morning, Dutch.”

  The large German shepherd cocks his head to the side before slinking back down to lay against my brother’s feet. When my brother showed up a few days ago with a massive dog in tow, I had begun to question his sanity, but then Matt explained that ‘The Dutchman’ was a member of his team and was no longer needed for service. He went on to say that, even though the dog would most likely end up at a military shelter in Texas he couldn’t leave a member of his team behind. How could I argue with that?

  “Morning, boy you look like crap.”

  I wince at Matt’s loud assessment of my appearance. “Can you please stop shouting? I have the hangover from hell.”

  His laughter only grates on my nerves further. How can anyone be so damn chipper this early in the morning? It’s sickening. I sip my coffee while silently berating myself for drinking so much last night, but I was trying to burn the image of Gia in Jamie’s arms from my memory. My temples begin to ache as I contemplate my current predicament.

  After walking in on them together, I had rushed home and spent the better part of the evening drowning my sorrows in a bottle of rum. I can only imagine what I must look like. My eyes feel dry and itchy from all of the crying I did. Seeing Jamie in the arms of another woman broke my heart. Except Gia Dewitt isn’t just any other woman.

  If I had a nemesis, she would be it. Ever since we were in grade school it seemed like we were in constant competition. It didn’t matter if I was running for head cheerleader or homecoming queen, she was always there as a permanent thorn in my side. It didn’t stop with school functions either, oh no. Gia has gone after every guy I have ever liked or dated.

  I should have known that she’d sink her claws into Jamie. In truth, none of those reasons are why I hate her so much, it’s because of what she did to my brother. I blame her for all of the pain he went through and she is the sole reason why I haven’t seen my twin in ten years.

  “Rough night,” Matt asks, bringing me out of my reverie.

  I snort in response. “Yeah, you could say that.”

  Not only do I
feel like ass from the vast amounts of alcohol I consumed, but I set myself up for heartache the moment I gave into my desire for Jamie. I knew he was a womanizer, but honestly, I thought the man would show an ounce of self-control. It hadn’t been ten minutes after our conversation before I caught him with someone else. I can’t believe I almost fell for his bullshit lines. God, I’m such an idiot. My pity party is interrupted as Matt places a bottle of aspirin and an icepack in front of me.

  “Ok, I give up, what’s the icepack for?”

  My brother gives me a sly grin as he casually twirls his index finger around my face.

  “Your eyes are red and puffy which means you spent the night crying. Should I blame Mom and Dad for your new look or do I need to kick someone’s ass?”

  “Just leave it alone, Mattie.” Instead of heeding my warning my twin quickly goes into big brother mode.

  “Kelsey, did someone hurt you? You better tell me what happened before I lose my shit!”

  Damn it, the last thing I need to deal with right now is Matt’s temper, but I’m going to have to tell him something to pacify him. We aren’t in high school anymore and he and Henry can’t go around beating up whoever they want, especially not now that Matt is a highly trained killing machine.

  “It’s not what you think so just calm down.” I sigh. “I thought SEALS were supposed to be able to control their emotions.”

  Matt rolls his blue eyes before crossing his arms over his chest. “You can drop my ass into any type of war zone and I’d breeze through it without breaking a sweat, hell, I’d even whistle a merry little tune, but when it comes to you or one of our friends all bets are off.”

  Same old Mattie, I guess it’s good to know that his personality hasn’t changed much.

  “Fine,” I sigh, “I thought I had everything under control, but then he kissed me and my god, can that man kiss. Then I thought I had lost him forever and it felt like a part of me died, you have no idea how confusing that was at the time.”

  I shake my head at the memory of watching those men open fire on Jamie and his brothers a few months back. Andy had assured me that Jamie had survived the attack, but I hadn’t fully believed her until he had walked into that hospital room dressed in nothing but a pair of tight leather pants and combat boots. Jamie had looked like a knight in shiny black armor.

  “Then I was hit with all of these feelings. I had no idea how to deal with them so I avoided him, but then seeing him at Andy’s wedding brought everything back. It was such a romantic ceremony and I had too much champagne and then, oh my god the orgasms!”

  There were so many I actually lost count.

  “Just as I was learning to accept the fact that we would never have a future together, he goes and says the most beautiful things to me. It was everything I had wanted and more then, Bam, life came along and did a drive by. Now it’s too late, the damage has been done and every time I look at him all I’ll ever see is him with that bitch.”

  As the words leave my lips, my heart instantly drops in my chest. The pain is overwhelming, I feel like my heart is actually breaking.

  “Are you still drunk?” Matt chuckles, “Because you aren’t making any damn sense.”

  “Oh my god, what part did you not understand!” I cry, “I think I have major feelings for him, Mattie and I don’t know what to do about it. Help me!”

  “Okay, calm down you’re acting like one of those hyperactive puffy dogs.”

  “Did you just compare me to a poodle?”

  “Yup, now are you calm enough to give me this guy’s name and some basic info or do you need me to scratch your belly and give you a biscuit first?”

  “Asshole,” I chuckle as I playfully smack my brother on his arm.

  “Yeah, but you love me, now spill.”

  For the next several minutes, I fill my brother in on Jamie and the rest of the Enforcers. Of course, I leave out the part about them being immortal shape shifters.

  “He’s a bounty hunter? Oh, I can’t wait to see Mom and Dad’s faces when you break the news to them. It’s going to be priceless.”

  Yeah, like that’s ever going to happen. Not to state the obvious, but my parents are snobs. My father would take one look at the six foot three, tattoo covered biker and disown me in a New York minute. I may not need my parents money or approval, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to put myself through the hassle, especially if Jamie can’t be faithful for more than five minutes.

  “So tell me, sis, who was the woman you caught him with?”

  Crap, I had hoped that Matt would forget about that part.

  “It was, Gia Dewitt.” As her name passes my lips, I can’t help but notice my brother’s pissed off expression.

  “Matt…”

  “It’s fine, Kelsey, what happened between Gia and me was a long time ago.”

  Matt offers me a small smile that doesn’t quite reach his dark blue eyes. The man can lie to himself all he wants, but I can see the pain and guilt that he still harbors and my heart hurts for my twin. My pain turns to rage when I think about Jamie ending up in a similar situation.

  “So do you have a picture of this guy?” Matt asks while crossing his heavily tattooed arms over his chest. God our parents are going to freak when they see all of that ink.

  Instead of answering my brother, I motion for him to follow me into my bedroom. I had secretly taken a few snapshots of Jamie at the wedding with the camera on my phone. He had looked so unbelievably sexy in a crisp unbuttoned white shirt and low hanging cotton pants. Jamie’s bronzed skin and multiple colorful tattoos had been too irresistible to resist.

  I pass Matt my phone just as he unceremoniously tosses himself onto my bed.

  “Jesus,” he sighs, “You sure know how to pick ‘em, sis. This guy looks like he eats kittens for breakfast.”

  “He does not,” I snicker, “I happen to think that Jamie is fiercely handsome.”

  “Whatever, if you ask me this guy doesn’t deserve you, especially if he’s sticking his dick in that gold digging bitch. If he’s dumb enough to fall for her sob stories, then I say he deserves to deal with the consequences.”

  I bite the inside of my cheek to hold back my spiteful response. How can Matt of all people be so utterly insensitive? He knows firsthand what it’s like to be under Gia’s spell.

  “Just forget I said anything. This is my problem and I’ll deal with it.”

  Turning my back on my brother, I go about packing my things into my duffle bag. I don’t have time to deal with this anyways. I have to teach a hip-hop class in a half an hour.

  “Come on, Kelsey, your boyfriend is a grown ass man and deserves to have his ass kicked for hurting you, by the way. As far as I am concerned, he has made his bed, now let him lay in it. He doesn’t need you to save him and I want you to promise me that you won’t go off the rails and do something stupid.”

  White-hot fury washes over me pumping unadulterated hatred through my veins. Matt may have amnesia, but I haven’t forgotten all of the things she put him through. Gia blew into my brother’s life, infecting him with her poison, and then left him broken and empty. I refuse to allow that to happen to someone else I care about, even if that person is a jackass who doesn’t deserve my loyalty. I failed to save my brother all of those years ago, but I won’t fail Jamie, I just can’t.

  “Well, someone has to save him! I can’t just sit around and do nothing while Gia ruins his life. You know as well as I do what she’s capable of.”

  Matt pushes himself to his feet, arms crossed over his muscular chest. He regards me with a solemn expression.

  “Fine, but before you hop on the crazy train promise me you’ll at least find out exactly what happened last night. I’m not going to make excuses for the man, but like you said, we both know what Gia is capable of. It’s obvious that you care for him, so just hear him out and if he deserves it, give him a chance to make it up to you.”

  “I promise, but only if you promise to be nice to him when you meet him,
I mean it, Mattie. He’s not like the other men I’ve dated. Jamie is different.”

  “No shit? I think the tats and UFC haircut were a dead giveaway.”

  I note the hint of sarcasm in his voice, but chose to ignore it, I can’t really be mad with him, he’s right after all. I’ve always gone for clean cut preppy types.

  “I’m sorry if it seems like I’m being a jerk and I don’t want to fight with you, but being in this town again has opened up some old wounds.”

  Matt tugs my arm, pulling me into his embrace. Despite being a major pain in my ass, I love my twin and should probably cut him some slack as well.

  “It’s going to take me a while to adjust to civilian life again, Kelsey, but I’ll do my best to be the brother you remember. So for starters, I promise I’ll give the guy a chance, but if he hurts you again, there won’t be a place on this Earth that he can hide from me.”

  Matt places a kiss to my forehead and turns to leave. “Now if you excuse me, I’m going to go wake up my best friend and force his lazy ass to run ten miles with me.”

  “Good luck with that,” I snort.

  Pushing aside all thoughts of tearing Gia’s bleached blonde hair out of her scalp. I decide I should get ready for my class. After donning a pair of black Zumba cargo pants and a matching sports bra, I quickly slide into a pair of high tops. I grab my brush and stand in front of my full-length mirror. As I pull my hair into a ponytail, my mind wanders to the image of Gia nestled in Jamie’s arms.

  Maybe I should listen to my brother and give Jamie the opportunity to explain. The scene in front of me had been damning, but it’s not like they were actually doing the deed when I walked in. If anything, it almost seemed like Jamie was trying to offer Gia comfort.

  Now that I think about it, earlier in the evening when Gia had rubbed on Jamie like a cat in heat he seemed more interested in my reaction than hers. It was almost like he was purposely trying to make me jealous.

  “That sly bastard.”

  Once he got the reaction he was looking for he had brushed Gia off and walked away from her without so much as a backwards glance. It’s obvious that they had a relationship of some sort at one time, so maybe what I saw was them saying goodbye to each other. That or she was giving him another one of her ‘poor me’ stories and he was soaking it up like a sponge.