by L. P. Maxa
“So how bad is it?”
“Bad. Baze is in there talking to the other boys’ football coach. The boys didn’t go to the hospital, but EMS did come to clean them up and check them out. St. Leasing is going to have to eat the cost of that for sure. Our boys don’t have a scratch on them, which doesn’t help their case.”
Molly scanned the room while she continued to talk to Linc, like being at the police station to handle shifter altercations was the most normal thing in the world. His mate was adapting quickly, that much was clear. “What was the fight over? Who started it?”
“Apparently the other guys started it. Jasper left a party with someone’s girlfriend, again, and the guy started mouthing off to all the guys from St. Leasing who were still there. He threw the first punch, but our guys finished it.”
Keller gritted his teeth. “Where the fuck is Jasper?”
Linc pulled his ball cap up and ran his fingers through his short hair. “I don’t know. I’ve been calling his cell but he isn’t picking up.”
“I swear that kid’s dick gets him in more trouble… Go by his dorm. See if he made it home yet and bring his ass back here. He needs to see the trouble he’s caused.” Keller pulled out his phone to text Riley, who most likely knew where his friend was. “I’ll stay here to help Baze. And I guess my mate is here to distract Brooks.” Keller glared at Linc, livid that his friend would have even suggested it. “Where is the asshole?”
“Asshole? I assume you mean me?” Brooks came sauntering into the lobby.
Molly shot him a quick look, silently telling him to keep his mouth shut. “Brooks. How are the boys? Are they hurt?” He guessed she was going to play at what the FBI expected, a worried female.
Brooks put his hand on her arm but she subtly pulled away before Keller could rip the bastard’s head off. “The St. Leasing boys are fine. I wish I could say the same for the Haxton kids though. They are really torn up.” Brooks shook his head and glared at Keller. “You should really teach your kids some self-control. I’m guessing this type of behavior is what got Henderson started in the first place. Such rage.”
Molly stepped between Keller and Brooks. Keller reached down and threaded his fingers through hers, trying like hell not to jerk back against him. “Is there anything we can do?”
Brooks was quiet for a few moments, staring at Molly. “Nah. Baze is talking it out with the Haxton coach. Turns out the Haxton boys were drunk off their asses. They blew way over the legal limit. There are witnesses from both schools that saw the Haxton guy throw the first punch. Other than the medical cost, I think they are just going to let bygones be bygones.” Brooks glanced over her shoulder, making eye contact with Keller. “Not really my style but I guess it works in your favor.” He grabbed Molly’s hand and gave it a little squeeze and Keller’s whole body shivered with anticipation of a shift. “See you in class tomorrow, Molls. Have a good night.”
Keller clenched his teeth even harder, effectively locking his jaws shut. He could not lose it here in the police station. He was trembling like a kid that didn’t have control of his shift. He closed his eyes, which didn’t help. He kept replaying the instant that Brooks had grabbed Molly’s hand. That motherfucker had touched his mate not once but twice. And by his, he literally meant his. Molly belonged to him. When he opened his eyes, she was standing right in front of him. She was looking at him, utterly calm. Her gaze held no fear, no anger; no guilt. Just calm.
“Keller. Breathe. It’s over. He’s gone. I’m still here, and I’m still yours.”
He looked over her head and caught Linc’s eye. Even though he had told him to go, his buddy had stayed. Linc had probably seen him struggling to maintain. “We’re leaving. Y’all wrap things up here and then go get Jasper. Call me when y’all have him and I’ll come meet you.” Keller didn’t wait for a reply. He grabbed Molly by the hand and headed out to the parking lot.
He opened the passenger-side door, helped her in, and then slammed it closed. When he climbed in she reached to touch his arm, but he pulled away. “Keller, please don’t—”
He held up his hand to silence her. “No. No talking. No touching. Please stay on your side of the truck until we get home.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Molly
Molly felt her eyes well with tears. She blinked them away as best she could. She did not want to cry, not right now. He had no reason to be so cold to her. She hadn’t asked Brooks to touch her; she was only trying to help. Trying to keep Keller’s players out of trouble. Molly leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes. This was turning into a really long-ass day.
When they got home, Keller got out of the truck and walked into the house, not waiting to make sure Molly was following him. He walked straight through and into the bathroom, turning on the shower full blast. She could hear everything he was doing, but she hadn’t left her spot by the front door.
“Come here.”
The tone of his voice sent shivers down her spine. She should be mad, she should be worried about his behavior, but she wasn’t. She was turned on despite herself. “Keller, look, I know you’re upset. Brooks should have never touched me, I know. I—”
“Come here. Now.” He turned and left the room without another word.
When Molly walked into the bathroom, she found Keller testing the temperature of the water. The room was full of steam. She stayed by the door watching him, waiting to see what he wanted from her. She leaned her hip against the wall when he peeled off his t-shirt. He had just showered like an hour ago. He caught her eye in the bathroom mirror. Molly’s mouth started to water; he looked lethal, primal.
Keller held her gaze as he removed the rest of his clothes. “Take your clothes off, Molly.”
She wanted to tell him no. She wanted to tell him that they needed to sit down like adults and discuss this. His anger problem and lack of self-control needed to be addressed. He couldn’t shut her out every time he got mad. But she couldn’t deny him. He looked sexy and smoldering. And she wanted him. Molly did as she was told and then stepped into the shower with him.
“What now, Keller?”
“Now I scrub that asshole’s scent off of your body. And then I replace it with mine. I will kiss, lick, and mark every inch of you.” He grabbed her chin and brought her eyes to his. “If I ever smell him on you again, I’ll kill him.”
Nothing about Keller scared or intimidated her, and it was then that she realized that she was not only made for him; he was made for her. If any other man had talked to her that way or looked at her like she was something to be devoured, she would have walked away. She didn’t do intense. Didn’t permit anyone to boss her around. But, with Keller, it felt right. It all felt…good. She understood where he was coming from, and she knew his heart.
She held his stare and she held her ground. “Like I said earlier, Byrne, as long as you’re inside me, you can be as dominant as you want.”
Keller smiled, like a predator. “This is going to work out well then.” He grabbed her body wash, squirted some into his hands, and lathered them up. The whole shower began to smell like mint. He put his hands on her shoulders before slowly let them slide down her arms, then he soaped up her hands, massaging them for a few seconds. He got more soap and ran his hands up and down her long, slender legs. His smile turned genuine when she arched into his hands as he washed between her folds.
After she was covered in soapsuds, he backed her under the hot water and watched as all the bubbles trailed down her body. “You are so damn sexy, darlin’.”
She ached from wanting him. She wanted to beg him to take her. She knew he needed to do this his way, but her patience was gone. Molly grabbed the body wash off the shelf and lathered her hands, and then reached for Keller’s cock. She gently stroked him, slow and deliberate, pulling him toward her. “Keller, please.”
Those two whispered words seemed to be his undoing. He covered her mouth with his and let his tongue dance with hers. He pushed his body fully agai
nst her, backing her up against the wall. The hot water was raining down on them, steam making everything look like a dream. He grabbed her leg and hauled it up over his hip. Dipping down, he placed his hard dick at her entrance. She squirmed against him, silently begging him to fill her. He pulled her leg higher and then drove into her, balls deep. He didn’t wait for her to adjust to the feel of him; he pulled out and then surged back in, repeating the motion over and over and over again.
Molly let her head fall back against the cool shower wall. She dug her nails into Keller’s back. “Oh god, yes.” Her mate wasn’t making love to her, he was owning her. And she loved it. Within seconds, she shattered around him. But he didn’t stop, didn’t let up. He kept the same punishing pace, not giving her time to recover.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Keller
Keller’s legs were shaking, and his arms felt like lead, but everything else was like nirvana. Molly’s center tightened around him, milking him as she came for the second time. The sounds of her moans and screams of pleasure finally brought him to the edge. His whole body tremored with his release. He slowed his thrusts, eventually stopping, and lowered her leg to the ground. He kept his hands at her waist, and rested his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry about how I acted in the truck. I saw red when he touched you. I almost shifted. I didn’t trust myself to talk to you. I needed his scent off of you.”
Molly reached up and stroked his blond hair. “I know that was hard for you, Keller. I’m sorry that it happened like that, but I’m not sorry I went with you.”
Keller nodded his head, making her laugh when his shaggy hair tickled her face. “It was probably good that you were there. He would have never told us what was going on otherwise.” He tugged on her hand. “Come on. Let’s get you dried off and in bed. I need to mark you up before I have to leave.”
Molly stepped out of the shower and into a big fluffy towel. “Are you still going to go check on the kids? It’s almost two a.m.”
He wrapped a towel around his waist and led Molly to their bed, pulling back the covers for her to get in. “I should. It’s part of our job here. We’re in charge of these kids. Their parents are thousands of miles away.”
Molly threw her towel back toward the direction of the bathroom and climbed in bed naked, to his enjoyment. “What did you mean when you said Jasper’s dick got him into more trouble?”
Keller turned up the ringer on his phone and set it on the nightstand on his side of the bed. He slid under the covers and pulled Molly toward him, big spoon-little spoon style. He brushed the hair off her neck and out of his way. “Remember that first time you came to Dom and Coop’s? The barbeque?”
“Yeah.” She snuggled closer to Keller.
“That phone call that came in, when everyone rushed off to help some students was about Jasper, who had started a crazy chain reaction because he went off and hooked up with some chick that had a boyfriend.” Keller began marking her, kissing her neck and shoulders. Running his tongue just below her ear.
“I thought Jace beat up Jasper?”
“He did. But it was because Jasper was about to lose control and shift, and he was about to get into a fight with a bunch of Haxton kids.”
Molly sighed, “Mmmmmkay…” And then relaxed into his arms. Her body was slowly starting to grow heavier, like she was falling asleep.
Keller cursed when his phone started ringing. He rolled over and answered it quickly before it woke her up fully. “Hey.”
“Hey man, we’re back on campus. The police released all the kids—no one was charged with anything. We told the sophomores we’d deal with them on Monday at practice.”
“And Jasper?”
“We’re here with him now. You want to come talk to him? Baze has been tearing his ass up. He sounds like my dad on his worst day.”
Keller looked down at Molly. She had rolled over and put her head on his chest and was tracing lines around his belly button. Yeah, he wasn’t leaving this bed, not tonight. “Hand Jasper the phone real quick, will ya?”
“Sure.” Keller used the pause in conversation to kiss the top of Molly’s head. “Hello?”
“Jasper, what the fuck is your deal, man? Can’t you find girls that don’t have hot tempered boyfriends who can’t hold their liquor?”
“Coach, I’m sorry. I had no idea that those Haxton guys were going to pick a fight. I feel awful.”
“You damn well better.” He made sure to use his sternest tone. “It’s late, but we will deal with this tomorrow, do you hear me? I want your ass at Coach Hardy’s house at ten a.m. No excuses.”
“Yes, sir.”
Keller sighed, suddenly feeling as tired as Jasper sounded. “Ms. Cooper is going to be pissed, dude. Bring chocolate croissants.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Give the phone back to Coach Carter and get your ass to bed.”
“Yes, sir.” Another pause, another kiss placed on Molly’s head. “Yeah?”
“I told him to be at Dom’s tomorrow at ten, which means we need to be there a little earlier to explain what happened. You good with that?”
“Sure thing, man. We’re about to head home. It’s late.”
“Okay, yeah, we’ll talk tomorrow. Thanks for handling all that; sorry I bailed.” Molly kissed his pec then bit down lightly, silently telling him to get off the phone.
“Hey, look—Linc told me about Brooks. You okay?”
Keller tightened his hold on his mate. “Yeah, I’m good. We’re good. See you in the morning.”
After they hung up and Keller had placed his phone back on the nightstand, Molly rolled back over so he could mark her to sleep.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Keller
“Well, good morning, guys.” Coop beamed, seemingly surprised to see her dining room full of people. “Wait. Why are y’all here? What happened? Who died?”
Baze rubbed his temples. “No one died. But there was an incident last night. Linc, Keller, and I handled it. And Molly, she ran interference. But we do need to dish out some tough love today.”
Dom pulled Coop onto his lap. He had been up talking with them for almost an hour now. Coop needed to be filled in. Her opinion was important; she was the guidance counselor, after all. “Late last night Jasper hooked up with a girl that had a boyfriend. Boyfriend was pissed and drunk, bad combo. He started a fight with a couple of our sophomore players, but they finished it. All the kids were taken into the police station, and then later released with no charges filed.”
She shook her head, holding her hand up to stop any further explanation from Dom. “Wait. I just woke up. Let me see if I’m getting this straight. Jasper hooked up with another chick with a boyfriend, it caused another fight, and innocent kids had to clean up his mess?”
Keller nodded his head. She may have just woken up but she had it all boiled down in a nutshell. “Yup.”
She turned to Dom, annoyance clear on her face. “And you didn’t want to wake me up and tell me? These kids are my job too.”
Molly spoke up to keep Dom out of trouble before Keller could. “No, no one even called to tell Dom. Linc called Keller’s phone, and I happened to answer. We went to the precinct, and the kids were released. It was so late.”
“You know, I’m pregnant, not sick. I don’t appreciate being left in the dark.”
Dom rubbed his mate’s stomach. “Baby, there were plenty of people there to help. You weren’t even needed.”
Keller closed his eyes. When would Dom learn? “Coop, before you blow up at Dom’s poor choice of words. You were needed. You are needed. But last night it was so late we wanted the kids to sleep it off. It was more important that you be here this morning.”
Corey gave Dom a go-to-hell look and smiled at Keller. “I understand. Next time though, at least shoot me a text and let me know what’s going on, okay?”
Keller gave a quick nod of agreement. “Of course.”
Keller could barely find the right words to convey his own
emotions without getting in trouble, but he seemed to be an ace at getting Dom out of hot water. His mate shook her head, like she was just as amazed as he was. “Corey, Jasper is on his way over here. The guys were just discussing his punishment.”
Baze set his hands flat on the table, palms up. “What are your thoughts, Ms. Cooper?”
Coop stood and began to pace the kitchen. She stopped behind Linc and put her hands on his shoulders. He looked up at her and smiled. “I think that Linc needs to handle this one.” His smile fell. “Let’s face it, Jasper is a mini Linc. He has Linc’s innate ability to pull any girl he wants. And he has the ego to not care if she has a boyfriend. Linc incarnate.”
Linc turned around in his chair and looked at Corey. “Uh, so he’s a hit with the ladies. It’s not his fault if girls disregard their boyfriends in his presence. That’s their fault. Or even their boyfriends’ fault for not keeping closer tabs on their girls. If they were happy, they wouldn’t go with him.”
Coop gestured to Linc, looking at everyone else. “Case in point.”
“How am I supposed to help? The only thing he did wrong was leave the party too early. Wait. Do you want me to give him pointers? I would say, pick out your girl, wait ’til the party dies down and all your buddies are gone, then take her...wherever they take girls.”
Linc winced when Coop slapped him on the back of the head. “You have got to be freaking kidding me. These kids are your responsibility. You took this job knowing that their parents weren’t here, knowing that they would look to you for guidance and direction. Jasper needs to hear that going down this path he is on is only going to lead to more trouble. Cause more fights.”
Molly nodded, agreeing with Coop. “Jasper needs to stop being a male whore homewrecker. He needs to take other people’s feelings and emotions into consideration before he acts. Because that’s what adults do.”
Coop smiled like she was proud Molly had jumped in. “Speaking of adults, it’s time to be one, Linc. You’ve had a good run, nailed a lot of girls, drunk a lot of beer. But these kids need a better example. They need someone to look up to. I swear, Linc, you show that kid the error of his ways or so help me I’ll—”