"I'm sorry I wasn't there," JJ muttered and Fox growled irritably.
"Next time, keep your fucking phone on you."
I tried not to feel guilty about the fact that I'd been distracting JJ at the time of the attack, but realistically he had left his phone here while he was at the Dollhouse and I doubted he would have made it out there in time to help anyway. I, on the other hand, could have easily been there to back them up, but I wasn't deemed worthy.
I mopped up the excess blood with some more gauze then quickly plunged the tweezers into the bullet hole.
Chase cursed like a sailor, his body tensing beneath the guys' hold on him and I gritted my teeth as I manoeuvred the metal instrument until I managed to grab the bullet and yank it out.
"Fuck!" Chase roared and I quickly slapped more gauze down over the wound to staunch the bleeding again.
JJ climbed off of him just as Fox's phone started ringing and the big man snatched it out of his pocket with a curse. "What is it, Kenny?"
We all looked at him as he shot a fearful look my way and a second later he cut the call without so much as a goodbye.
"Luther is on his way back here. We have about five minutes to get Rogue hidden. He couldn’t catch up to Shawn so he'll probably wanna stay all night and talk tactics," Fox said, swiping a hand down his face.
"I'm not staying in this house with him here all night," I balked.
"She's right, dude," JJ added before Fox could start screaming at me again. "We can't risk your old man spotting her. There's been enough blood spilled tonight as it is."
Chase pushed himself up onto his elbows, his fearful gaze falling on me as he panted through the pain of his bullet extraction. "She's not safe here," he grunted.
"Fine," Fox snapped. "Fucking...fine. JJ you take her back to her trailer. But I want you on top of her all fucking night, do you understand me? She doesn't so much as piss without you there. I don't fucking trust her not to try and run off again so you ride her ass no matter what she tries to pull. Got it?"
"I'm all over it, boss," JJ agreed, winking at me from behind Fox's back as he turned his badger glare on me.
"I don't need a babysitter," I spat. Not that I was opposed to the idea of JJ riding my ass all night if I was being entirely honest.
"Yes you fucking do," Fox disagreed. "And I'm warning you, Rogue, don't push me on this tonight, because if you think I've been an overbearing asshole up until this point, I can promise you, you haven't seen a fucking thing yet."
I glared at him but he ignored me, turning away and striding towards the kitchen where he snatched a box of dog treats out of the cupboard then whistled to Mutt who scampered over to see him.
"JJ, go pack whatever you need for a sleepover and make sure you're packing plenty of heat too. I want you up all night with a weapon in hand in case that motherfucker catches wind of where she's staying. Maybe we should just shave her fucking hair off so he doesn't have any way of recognising her while we're at it."
"If you come anywhere near my hair with a razor, I will personally take a pair of scissors to your balls," I snarled in warning.
"At least put a fucking hoody on and cover yourself up then," he shot back.
JJ made his escape while I scowled at Fox, clearly sensing the oncoming storm of yet another screaming match blowing in from the east.
"Give me my dog," I said as Fox fed him a treat then scooped him up.
"No. You won't cut town without the little fucker and my dad thinks he belongs to me anyway. So he's staying here as insurance against you running off again. And if you don't like it, I'll just gag and hogtie you in JJ's car and let him deal with your bullshit when he unloads you at the other end." Fox strode out of the room and I picked up a potted plant and hurled it after him. It smashed against the wall, the sound of it exploding mostly cutting out the vile names I was screaming after him too. I was pretty sure he must have heard me calling him an ass-eating control freak with a midget cock though, so I was satisfied I’d won that little back and forth.
"The two of you are fucking toxic," Chase muttered as I was left alone with him and I spun his way, ready to hurl Hurricane Rogue in his face next, but as I took in the concern in his eyes, I blew out an angry breath instead.
I moved back over to him and dropped to my knees in front of him, looking at him over the arm of the couch while he lay there, ass up and feeling sorry for himself.
"Does it hurt?" I murmured and he narrowed his eyes at me.
"Like a bitch. Which I'm sure you'll be glad to hear."
My heart twisted at his words and I frowned because they were wrong. I might have been angry with him, might have even hated him, but I'd seen him in pain more times than I could count when he was a boy and his dad had been knocking him about. So no, I didn't enjoy seeing him hurting now.
I reached out hesitantly and pushed my fingers into his dark curls, smoothing them away from his face and sighing as I looked into his blue eyes. That was the one thing about him which hadn't changed at all in all those years and I still felt like he could look right upon my soul when I met his gaze like this.
"When I close my eyes, I don't hate you," I breathed so low that I wasn't sure he'd even fully be able to hear my words. I leaned closer as he watched me, my forehead touching his before I let my eyes fall closed and breathed in the scent of sea salt that had always clung to his skin. "I'm glad you didn't die tonight, Ace."
His breath hitched at my words and I slid my fingers from his hair to his rough jaw. His hand moved over mine to keep it there and I leaned forward, touching my lips to the corner of his mouth as my heart pattered wildly and a whole ocean of heartache welled up inside me, threatening to wash me away.
Chase turned his head towards me the tiniest amount, the scratch of his stubble making my skin prickle as I opened my eyes and found him looking right at me.
"Rogue," he breathed, my name sounding so heavy on his tongue as his lips brushed against my skin and I was flooded with the weirdest temptation to just turn a little more, steal a taste of something poisonous and let it burn me from the inside.
"You ready, Rogue?" JJ's voice made me flinch back and I shoved to my feet again as I whirled around to face him with a fake ass smile on my confused bitch face.
"Yep. Let's get the fuck out of here before I have to lay eyes on the badger again."
JJ looked from me to Chase slowly before nodding, holding a hand out to me in offering. I stepped forward and took it, wetting my suddenly dry mouth and glancing back at Chase as he watched me walk away.
"Feel better, dude," JJ said to him and Chase nodded.
"Just keep her safe," he replied before seeming to think better of being a decent human being and adding, "I don't wanna have to listen to Fox bitching about it for years if she runs off and lets that psycho ex-boyfriend of hers kill her dumb ass."
I flipped him off as JJ rolled his eyes and tugged me towards the exit.
A muffled bark drew my attention and the sound of Fox swearing followed as I looked back and spotted Mutt racing after us, the bag of treats clamped in his jaws and victory shining in his little eyes.
“Run, JJ!” I commanded, yanking on his arm and taking off down the stairs with Mutt racing between our legs.
To his credit, JJ did as instructed and he sprinted downstairs to his car while Fox swore and yelled after us to bring my dog back. But that would be a hell fucking no to that, so I ripped the car door open and let Mutt jump in ahead of me before dropping inside too. JJ hit the gas with a laugh just as Fox appeared yelling curses at us and I waved to the angry badger as we tore up the ramp, locked inside the orange GT speeding away from Harlequin House.
My laughter fell away and I tugged Mutt close as I looked out at the dark streets, wondering if the man who had tried to kill me really was lurking nearby, ready to jump out like the boogie man and finish me off at any second.
"You wanna talk about it?" JJ asked when I stayed silent too long, my gaze on the dark shadows of the landsca
pe beyond the windows. "Shawn, I mean."
I shifted in my seat as the memories I’d been working so hard to block out poured in on me and I chewed on my bottom lip.
"Not that one, sugarpie," Shawn growled, moving to stand behind me in the mirror as I braided my dark hair over my shoulder. His fingers curled around the straps of my black dress and I met his icy eyes in the mirror, my pulse quickening as I gave him a smile.
"You don't like it?" I asked as his mouth moved to my neck and he bit down, dragging the straps lower until my tits spilled out of the top of it and he was squeezing them roughly, watching the show as it was reflected back to us.
"I said, not that one," he replied firmly, his hand moving to the hem of my dress before he yanked it up so hard that I heard the material rip.
My hand slammed against the mirror just in time to stop my face from smacking into it and I gasped as he yanked my panties aside and drove his cock into me a moment later.
He grunted as he fucked me and I bit my cheek against the sting of pain from his sudden entrance while his tattooed hands moved to grip my ass.
A moan escaped me as his cock started hitting me just right and I angled my hips to chase that pleasure, but with a curse and a groan, he buried himself inside me one final time and came with a dark chuckle before I could even get close to joining him in bliss.
"See, sugarpie? You look too goddamn fuckable in that dress," he said, slapping my ass lightly as he tugged his cock out of me and took the condom off. "Don't want anyone else laying eyes on my girl looking this damn good."
I turned to look at him as he put his dick away and zipped his fly up again. "So what should I wear then?"
Shawn cocked his head at me, moving forward and cupping my jaw in his hand, his thumb swiping across my lips so that he smeared my red lipstick.
"Well now I’ve got the problem of you looking like a just-fucked slut, don't I, sweetcheeks? So maybe it's best you stay home tonight. You weren't really in the mood to party anyway, were you?"
"I can get changed," I began and he arched a brow at me, giving me all the warning I needed about what kind of mood he was in, so I switched lanes. "And wait for you to come home later?"
"Like some nice little wifey?" he scoffed and I narrowed my eyes. We both knew I wasn't that. "Although now you mention it, I might just be in the mood for some more of your sweet pussy when I get back, so it'd be handy to have you here wet and waiting for me, wouldn't it?"
I nodded, not because I was aching for more of his dick but because I knew he would get well and truly fucked up tonight and be out for hours. So if I was destined for a night in at home then his place was better than the apartment he'd given me to live in. He had Netflix and a shit load of food here as well as a comfy as fuck couch.
"Alright then, sugarpie," he agreed, smearing more of my lipstick across my face. "But clean yourself up before I get back, yeah? You look like a common whore."
He shoved me back a step roughly and I swallowed as I watched him walk out, the door swinging closed behind him as he started whistling while he walked.
I glanced at myself in the mirror, the dress I'd picked out now torn and ruined and my red lipstick smeared across my cheek. For a moment I considered grabbing my shit and walking out. But where was I supposed to go? This was the best I'd had it in a long time. And yeah, that motherfucker got in strange moods and called me names from time to time. But he could be sweet when he wanted to turn the charm on too. And he'd never hit me. So what was I even complaining about?
I tugged the dress the rest of the way off of me and headed to find something else to wear. It was probably a good thing anyway. The parties he held with his gang were always full of assholes getting fucked up on their own product and all I'd really wanted was to dance. I could just do that here. Alone.
So I pulled on another dress, cleaned my face and found a bottle of vodka to keep me company as I used Shawn's speakers to play Empty by Olivia O'Brien, closed my eyes and pretended I was somewhere else while I danced to it. Somewhere where the sun shone and people really knew me. But that wasn't my reality and it never would be again, so I let the lyrics sink into my soul and ignored the tears on my cheeks as I just let the drink steal my pain away and tried not to think about how fucking vacant I was inside.
"Shawn and me were convenient," I said to JJ as I blinked the memories away. "He was hot and I was...better off with him than alone."
"Pretty girl," he murmured and the way he said it cracked something open inside me.
I turned to look at him as he pulled into the parking lot at Rejects Park and cut the engine.
"Do you still wanna rescue me, J?" I whispered, not sure where that even came from but he nodded, offering me his hand and putting something back into place in my heart as I took it. "Then spend tonight rescuing me. Because I need to pretend I'm not the girl I was with him. I need to believe it wasn't real for tonight at least."
"Maybe you can rescue me too then," JJ murmured roughly. "Because I think I've been drowning ever since the day we sent you away and if I don't cling onto you now, I get the feeling I might go under for good."
I nodded, taking my hand back from his and getting out of the car.
We walked side by side back to my trailer, an inch of distance separating us and tension coiling though the air in the most nerve wracking way.
I opened the door and Mutt scurried ahead as I stepped inside, leaving the lights off as JJ followed me. The little space seemed even smaller as I turned to look at him in the dark, his huge body filling it up and dominating everything right down to the air I was breathing.
I backed up slowly towards my bedroom while JJ locked the door, tugging on the hem of my dress and pulling it over my head as I made it into my room.
JJ followed me in silence, the heavy thud of his bag hitting the floor the only thing to disturb the air before he pushed the bedroom door closed too.
Then his lips were on mine and I was in his arms, my ass hitting the mattress as I stripped his shirt off of him and he moved on top of me.
"This should have been our first time," he breathed against my mouth as he dragged my panties down my thighs achingly slowly and my whole body buzzed in anticipation of him. "And it should have been a long, long time ago, pretty girl."
I moaned as he kissed me again, the last of our clothes disappearing as our hands moved over each other's bodies until he was pressing me down into the mattress and sliding his cock inside me so achingly slowly that I could hardly even draw breath.
He kissed me deeply, our bodies saying all the things we wouldn't give words to and I pulled him closer to me, wanting more, needing more and giving myself up to him completely as we spent the night in the bliss of each other's bodies and let the rest of the world fade away.
I woke in a sea of coconut with a seriously satisfied dick and the most beautiful girl in the world in my arms. Though apparently my dick wasn’t entirely satisfied as it rose with the sun and songbirds seemed to sing its name.
Rogue was like a dead girl beside me as I ran my hands down the length of her back and she didn’t stir at all. I pushed her hair off of her face and pressed my mouth to hers, teasing her lower lip between my teeth. Nothing. Girl could sleep through a bomb raid.
Mutt whined by the bed and I rolled over as he scratched at the door and gave me a desperate look that said if I have to wait for Rogue to wake up, I’ll piss myself!
I reluctantly let go of Rogue and slipped out of bed, naked and yawning as I opened the door and followed him through the trailer to the exit where he yapped impatiently.
“Alright, alright.” I unlocked the door and he flew outside, charging down a seagull which took off into the air with a furious squawk before he peed right where it had been standing. Territorial little beast.
I waited for him to be done but he went trotting off on some mission and I shrugged, shutting the door and moving to make coffee.
I kept bumping into shit, this trailer was more like it was designe
d for a Polly Pocket than a full grown man and his hard cock. Johnny D switched the oven on more than once before I had two cups of coffee poured, and he was not best pleased at whacking into shit instead of sinking back into his favourite pussy. He hadn’t gotten hard for a single girl since I’d first had her - barring Rogue obviously. It had cost me all of my private clients and now I was an escort with no one to escort. Though, I couldn’t say I was really pissed at Johnny D for that.
I’d wanted that girl my whole life and now she finally wanted me back in some way, I was a goner. But I wasn’t sure what the long-term plan was. I wasn’t her boyfriend, and I knew well enough that she’d slept with Maverick out on his island. But here we were again, so maybe that meant she wasn’t his girl either. I should probably just talk to her about it.
I was definitely being a coward. I didn’t wanna face the truth because the fact was, I wasn’t sure I could handle it. I wanted this thing between us to be more than just sex, but what if she didn’t? My dick could do plenty of tricks, but it was useless at making a girl fall in love with me. Especially a girl like her. And if I cut off my dick tomorrow, then what would I have to offer her? Nothing.
But then again, the way we’d been together last night in her tiny bed hadn’t seemed like it was just about fucking. I’d never been with a girl the way I’d been with her then, tender and loving and taking my time because I never wanted it to end. And it had seemed like she was right there with me feeling the exact same way.
I stepped back into the room, placing down our coffees on the nightstand before moving into bed. She’d rolled over onto my pillow, her face buried in it and her hair spread out around her everywhere. I grinned at her, lifting her so she lay against my chest instead and raising her hand to inspect the shark tooth bracelet she wore which I’d made for her like a Captain Douchenugget ten years ago. Man, I’d been a sap. But I had to admit, it made me feel like a king seeing her wearing it now. It was just some stupid trinket, but it represented me and she wanted it on her. So maybe that meant something, or maybe I was just living in a dream world. I liked it here though, the clouds were fluffier, the sun brighter and my pretty girl was in my arms. I couldn’t really ask for more than that considering I’d have paid every penny I had and given up all non-essential organs to secure that reality once. Alright fuck it, I would have thrown in a few essential ones too. Just not my heart, or my dick. Was a dick an organ? It sure throbbed as often as my heart did whenever she was around, so I was gonna say yes. So I’d have sold everything except those two things so she could have them both. Like, not in a jar or anything, I’d keep them attached to my body obviously.
Dead Man's Isle (Harlequin Crew #2) Page 29