Sexy Bastards Anthology: Bad Boy, Biker, Alpha, Motorcycle Club, Contemporary Romance Collection (44 page)

Rick was his name. I loathed him for what he had done to me and my mom. Rick had eventually caused the demise of my mother, feeding her addictive personality with drugs and alcohol until her small, pale frame couldn’t take the abuse anymore, and she’d succumbed to an overdose.

I went through bouts of being angry at mom for not being strong enough to stand up to Rick, to a deep, dark sorrow at her gullibility and sensitive nature that had caused her to stay. “He’s sick,” she’d say, referring to his alcoholism. “I vowed to stay through sickness and in health, and he’s sick, Talia,” she’d croon, brushing a stray curl from my face, smiling at me with the warm caramel colored eyes that were so much like mine.

Not that I had an argument for that. I didn’t actually want to argue, but I was still angry to an extent. Angry at her, angry at Rick, angry at myself. But that was all in the past.

Was I ready to take on a damaged man, just like my mother had? It had ultimately been her downfall. That was not a future I wanted for myself. I was in school, and Bo was there, cheerleading, telling me I was almost done.

The coke, the heroin, the marijuana, the spice… I had tried it all and I had pulled myself out of the mire of addiction. I wasn’t going to turn out like her. I wasn’t going to let a man tell me what to do, how much money I could spend, where to work or not work, and what kind of person to be. I was going to be my own person.

My phone chirped and I pulled it from my nightstand to look at it. I first noticed the time – 1:42 p.m. Smiling at how lazy I’d been to sleep in this late, I then looked at the text.

Ellis:
I want to see you tonight. Feel like being seen in public with me, sweetheart?

I sighed. My night was wide open and the thought of seeing him exhilarated me a little, but also scared me.

Yes, he’d been gone this morning when I woke briefly, and my heart ached at the thought of seeing him. I bit my lip in contemplation. He said he wanted to take me out. That, I could do.  So was I ready to go out with him instead of just letting him into my bed? Yes, I was. He had my heart, there was nothing mysterious about that.

Well, I think I was. I chewed my cherry-red lip and hit reply:
Yes. What time are you picking me up? PS – I hate Thai food, so just don’t.

I grinned at my sass and hit send. Throwing my phone back on my nightstand, I giggled like a schoolgirl and threw my arm over my eyes.

Chapter 6

Ellis

I punched the air in triumph. She agreed to go out with me. Like, out in public. I was cautiously happy. My brain questioned as to why she hadn’t agreed to this before. Then a thought hit me: Had I ever asked?

Meeting her in that coffee shop six months ago had been the best thing to ever happen to me (even above being
sentenced
to becoming a Marine instead of an inmate, as if that was some sort of punishment), and when we first started talking, nothing made me happier than to get a call or text from her. Sometimes, if I didn’t hear from her for a day or two, I’d visit her coffee shop under the pretense of just wanting coffee. Sure, I lived off the shit to keep me from dozing off mid-day from the lack of sleep I got at night, but seeing her there in her green apron and wild red hair was more of a buzz than any caffeine jolt could ever be. But I think she knew it, too. She would smile shyly while asking what kind of drink she could make for me.

We went on a couple of dates here and there, but after a few weeks, it seemed to morph into just sex. Not complaining about that since it was completely fucking incredible, but knowing what little I knew about women, I knew she probably wanted more than that. But who was I to decide what she wanted? I was only in charge of my own self – what I wanted, what I needed, what I craved, and what I had to have. Talia was all those things. Did she feel the same? I thought so.

I chuckled at myself. These thoughts were starting to sound way too chickish. What the fuck was wrong with me? I should just be happy I had some hot girl willing to let me into her bed.

Blowing out a breath, I silently cursed myself for wishing my brain worked that way. It didn’t, but that didn’t stop me from keeping up the ruse that it did. While was I happy she had agreed to go out with me, I had to whip down these over-analyzing thoughts and hopes. I was behaving like a stupid, pussy-whipped bastard, and that just wasn’t me. I was a badass with tons of skill and no need for something permanent or –
shudder
– emotional. Chicks were just baggage and a hassle that I just didn’t need. Right? That’s what I kept telling myself.

After fucking off all day looking at job websites and scrolling through social media to see what else everyone else was doing, I got myself cleaned up and put on a fitted white T-shirt with a collared white and blue plaid button-up shirt thrown over it that my mom had gotten for me one Christmas. I left it open down the front. My jeans slid on nicely, and after a squirt of cologne, I plucked my keys from the dining room table and drove my rumbling baby to Talia’s apartment.

She opened the door looking irresistible. I had to flog back my desire when my eyes raked over the loose black dress paired with a set of rough worn cowboy boots. Her red hair was wild around her shoulders, eyes twinkling at me in amusement when she caught me ogling her.

Quickly reining in my desire, I smiled coolly and held my hand out. “Ready?”

Talia nodded and bit her lip. “Yep.”

I led her to the car, opened the passenger door, and made sure she was seated before I closed it. I smiled and exhaled. I could do this. Why was I so nervous?

The drive to the restaurant was mostly quiet, except when she asked me where we were going. I decided to keep her guessing so I told her it was a surprise. I shot her a sideways glance, trying to gauge her reaction, but it was too hard to unravel. Did she like surprises, or hate them? She was such a closed book, it made me crazy.

I saw her smile as we pulled up outside a brightly and colorfully lit popular barbeque place. There were people standing outside waiting for tables, some smoking, others holding to-go containers, hugging their loved ones goodbye before departing to their respective cars.

Talia opened the car door and got out before I had a chance to open it for her. I went around quickly to her side, and before she could close it, I grabbed her arm and scooted her over so I could close the door myself. She looked up at me in surprise and I fixed her with a serious stare, boxing her in against the car with both arms.

“Do not open the door when you’re in the passenger seat. You wait until I come around and do it for you. Understood?”

I said it way more confidently than I felt. I sort of wanted to laugh, but I was also testing her.

Her eyes narrowed at me and once again she caught her lip between her teeth before she said, “I appreciate your chivalry but I really can open my own door.”

Surprised and secretly turned on by her confident sass, I said, “Sweetheart, next time I’ll lock the doors. Only I get to open and close the door for you.”

Nodding, she bit back a smile right before I leaned down and surprised her with a kiss on her beautiful mouth. She gasped right before our lips connected and I smiled against them.

Putting my right hand out, I led her through the crowd and to the hostess station, where I informed the pretty lady behind the podium that I had a reservation. We weaved our way through a throng of crowded tables to a small one for two in the corner. I thanked the hostess, and then we sat down across from each other.

Talia picked up her menu and smiled at me, and it made my chest constrict a little. She was so damn beautiful. “I love this place. I don’t get to go out very often so this is a treat. I love barbeque.”

I was happy I’d made her happy. I was also sad, and honestly, sort of ashamed I didn’t take her out more often. Of course she didn’t get out much. College student working in a coffee shop. I doubted she had much spending money.

“So tell me, what’s good here?” I asked as her pretty face made serious business of searching the menu.

“Ooh! Fried pickles, I definitely want some of those. And the pulled pork is really good here, too. I think they make their barbeque sauce from scratch…”

She began to prattle on about the food but my eyes had caught a guy two tables over looking at Talia. He had really short light hair, almost blond, and looked to be about my age. He wasn’t smiling at her, but just staring at her – and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it one bit. While he wasn’t exactly looking at her like he wanted to fuck her, he was staring too long. That was enough to make my blood pressure go up.

“I asked you a question,” Talia said, her high-pitched voice breaking me out of the death stare I was giving this other guy. Her lips were set in a firm, grim line, clearly annoyed.

Slowly sliding my blue eyes back to her, I said, “Huh? Sorry, what was the question?” I tried to throw her a sincere smile.

Her ginger eyebrows dipped together thoughtfully before she answered, “I asked if you’d eaten here before.”

I nodded. “Yes, I love this place. I’ve lived in Tampa my whole life – well except when I was in the service – and this is one of the best in the city.”

Her lips twitched in amusement as she set the plastic-laminated menu down. “Take all your girlfriends here then?”

I wanted to laugh but blond douchebag was staring at my girl again. “No.” I answered. “Excuse me real fast.”

Watching as the guy got up, I was going to follow him when I saw that once he was upright, he had a perfect left leg, but his right was nothing but a titanium rod from the knee down under his shorts. He didn’t look at me as he headed toward the men’s room. My determination to fold this guy’s teeth back with my fist softened when I saw his disability. Still, he had no right to stare at my girl like that. I would think if he knew her, he’d come over and say hi. Or Talia would be looking at him too, or she’d say something.

Still determined to confront him, I followed him to the restroom. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or agitated that we were alone in there. He was already taking care of business at the urinal when I walked in. I washed my hands and waited for him to finish.

He zipped up quickly and came over to the sink and began washing up.

“Hi,” he said to me.

I folded my arms over my chest and measured him with a death stare. “Why you eyeballin’ my girl?”

His eyes raked down to my tats and then back up to my face. His chin jutted at my right arm where a USMC insignia had been inked to cover the stupid OAB tat I’d gotten as a young dumbass. “You were in the Marine Corps. Who were you with?”

I looked down at my arm in surprise but tried to keep a neutral gaze. “Why do you care?”

He rolled up the sleeve of his shirt to show me a large USMC tattoo on his left shoulder. “I was Golf 2/8, with two tours in Trashcanistan until this happened.” He moved his gaze to the titanium rod holding him up.

I nodded. “Look, I’m sorry about your leg, and that you had to sacrifice it for a thankless shithole of a country. Bravo 1/7 was who I was with. Twenty-Nine Palms, eight years. Now answer my question, man.”

My posture was still defensive, but I wasn’t budging. I did soften on the inside to meet a fellow Marine who’d lost so much but my anger was failing to calm past percolating.

“Look, I’m sorry. She looks so much like my ex-wife, and I’ve… just been dealing with that for a while. I’ll stop. I promise I don’t know her.”

I nodded. “I’d appreciate it.” I turned to leave and he grabbed my arm.

Looking down at his hand around my bicep, my gaze traveled slowly up to meet his green eyes. “You probably should get your hand off of me.”

He held his hands up in surrender. “I’m Kyle Adams. I think you could probably benefit from this company.” He handed me a business card, which I took reluctantly.

I looked down at it.

Harper Mathis, Owner

Mathis Associates

Helping veterans with job placement and counseling

VFW Approved

There was an email address, website, and phone number underneath.

I looked up at Kyle and held the card up between two fingers. “What makes you think I need this?”

Kyle leaned on the counter, seeming to need to shift his weight off his leg. “What’s your name?”

I sniffed and lifted my chin. “Ellis Anderson.”

“Well, Anderson, what do you do for a living?”

I swallowed down the shameful pride that engulfed me every time I got asked this and gave my pat answer. “I am still looking for work after being released from the Marine Corps.”

He smiled slightly, and the handsome bastard looked almost smug. He pushed off the counter and tossed a paper towel into a nearby trash can. As he passed me, he clapped me on the shoulder. “Call Harper. She can help. And thank you for your service, Ellis Anderson.”

As he exited the bathroom, he left me feeling like the douchebag I had taken him for not five minutes ago.

Dinner was perfect after that. Talia hadn’t questioned why I’d spent so long in the men’s room, but she did lift a questioning eyebrow at me briefly once I returned to the table. I’d just thrown her a cocky grin and the rest of the night went smoothly. Kyle never returned to his table, and admittedly, I was partially relieved. I’d felt bad Talia looked like his ex, but I still had to admit I was proud of myself for standing up for my girl. I should have done it in front of her, though. Maybe one day I’d tell her what had happened.

As we got in the car, it seemed to steer itself toward the water, wanting to park on one of the many piers that overlooked the beautiful gulf waters.