Styx (Walk Of Shame 2nd Generation #2) (19 page)

Clenching his jaw, he picks me up and tosses me onto the couch, before throwing himself on top of me and kissing me.

He forces his mouth on mine so hard that I cut my lip on his tooth. Before I know it, his erection is pressed between my legs.

“You used to love this. Remember? Give me a chance to remind you.”

“Get off!” I thrust my hips and yell, until I feel his body weight lift off of me and then hear the sound of bone meeting bone.

Surprised, I sit up, fighting to catch my breath as I watch Styx, beating the shit out of Jase.

Shock takes over and for a second, I can’t speak. All I can do is jump over the couch to get away from them.

The punches only seem to get harder and louder with each swing, until Jase finally throws his hands up in surrender.

Breathing hard, Styx shoves Jase’s head into the floor, one last time, before jumping to his feet and rushing over to me.

His bloodied hands reach for my face, but I back away, before he can touch me.

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

I close my eyes and run my hands over my face, still shocked as hell that this all just happened.

“I just need him out of here. I can’t look at him. I can’t.” I open my eyes and look at Styx to see his reaction.

Nodding his head, he yanks Jase to his feet and begins pushing him toward the door. “Don’t ever fucking come here again,” he growls. “You’re lucky I didn’t kill you for putting your hands on her.”

Turning away from Styx, I powerwalk to the bathroom and shut the door behind me, pacing back and forth.

My heart is racing so fast and hard right now that I can hardly catch my breath.

I don’t know what to think. I’m so fucking confused. This is all too overwhelming for me.

This all has me wanting to scream. So I do.

Rushing from the bathroom, I grab Styx by the back of his jacket and turn him around, crushing my lips against his, before taking a step back and yelling. “What the fuck!” I look over his shoulder to see Jase opening the door to his car and speeding off.

“You’re so much bigger than him. You could’ve killed him, Styx. You need to know when to stop throwing the punches. Sometimes it doesn’t take twenty swings to get the message across.”

Styx’s eyes soften once he sees how worked up I am. “I wanted to kill him when I walked in that door to see him hurting you. He’s lucky he didn’t get fifty swings.”

God. I love him for this, but feel like I should be mad at the same damn time.

“I understand that you were just protecting me, but I can’t handle this right now. Do you understand that in less than twenty-four hours, I stood back and watched you beat the shit out of two grown men? My heart aches seeing you this way.”

Pushing his hair out of his face, he walks toward me, not stopping until his body is pressed against mine. “I’m sorry I’ve made you watch, but I’m not sorry for hurting him. I will do everything to protect you. That’s just who I am. Can you handle that?”

Closing my eyes, I nod my head and kiss him back, when I feel his lips on mine.

Being in his arms feels so damn good. Too good, but I think I need to be alone right now.

“I want to be with you tonight, Styx. I do with everything in me, but I need some alone time right now. Is that okay?”

“You want me to leave?” His body stiffens and I hate that a part of him is worried that I might now want him anymore.

“Just for tonight. I just need to draw a hot bath and relax and then go to sleep and wake up to a better day. I think we both need to sleep today off. I know it’s been a rough day for you and it’s been extremely rough for me too.”

He presses his face into my neck, before he gently kisses it and takes a step away from me. “I need to stop by the club to talk to Cale tomorrow. So I guess I need tonight to think about what I want to say to him.”

“Is everything okay?” I question.

He nods and zips up his jacket. “Yeah, it will be. Goodnight.”

Standing next to the couch, I watch as he walks away and closes the door behind him.

The first thing I do is fall to my knees and cry, letting out all of my frustration and pain.

I feel so damn alone right now, but I need to be.

After spending the whole day at the hospital looking after hurt patients, the last thing that I could take tonight was seeing another person bleeding in front of me, right on my living room floor. I’ve seen too much blood in the last twenty-four hours. I can’t see anymore right now.

Not to mention that I’ve been thinking about my mother, father and aunt since last night.

But especially my aunt since she raised me for as long as I can remember.

Spending the night with Lily reminded me what it was like to have that warm, fuzzy feeling of a parent being around to talk to.

Sometimes when I’m in moods like this, being alone is the best thing I can do. I hate letting anyone see just how broken I truly am.

I just hope that Styx will understand tomorrow . . .

Styx

I HAVEN’T SPOKEN TO MEADOW since last night when she asked me to leave.

I’ve spent the first part of my day at the gym and the second part of it at my mother’s house, making sure that her locks are all properly changed now that Frank has been asked to leave.

The police escorted him out the other night and I made it clear to him that he wasn’t to step foot into this house again.

I’ll pay the rent for as long as my mother needs. So that piece of shit has no hold over her now. If she needs someone she can call me and I’ll be there every single time. She doesn’t have to be alone and she won’t be.

I’m now on my way to the club to talk to Cale, even though the only thing on my mind is going to find Meadow.

I need to know that she still wants me and that I haven’t scared her off. I know she said that she just needed the night, but now that she’s had time to think, maybe she needs more. I don’t know.

Pulling up to the club, I feel and look like shit as I hop off my motorcycle and make my way inside.

It’s not extremely busy here yet, but the instant I get spotted in the crowd, half-naked girls cling to me, pulling me in different directions to get my attention.

It only reminds me more why I need to get the hell out of this place and focus on the gym more.

Having other women’s hands on me makes me feel guilty as hell. The only hands that feel good on me are Meadow’s.

She’s
the
only
person I want touching me.

Ignoring the women groping at me, I make my way up the steps to Cale’s office and knock.

“It’s open.”

Cale stands up and walks over to shake my hand once I step inside. “Everything good, man? You look like hell.”

I let out a deep laugh and take a seat in the chair across from his. “It’s been a rough couple of days, man. Real fucking tough.”

“Yeah, I heard.” He leans back in his chair and runs a hand through his blonde hair.

I feel like we’ve all been through a lot together here, watching each other grow and Cale is probably the best fucker I know. Quitting on him is going to be hard.

“Slade tell you?” I question.

He nods his head. “Yeah. But that asshole deserved it. Tell your mother hi for me and if she needs anything to get ahold of Riley or myself. We’ll help in any way that we can.”

My lips turn up into a thankful smile, but inside I’m feeling guilty as shit. “Appreciate that, man.” I run my hands over my face and lean back in the chair, trying to get the words to come out.

“Relax,” Cale says. “You might forget that I talk to Slade every damn day. I know what you’re here for and I don’t want you feeling guilty. It’s not like I expect you guys to stay here forever.” He laughs when I raise a brow. “Hell, I was happy as hell the day I stopped shaking my dick for money. Trust me. The time will come when Stone and Kash leave too. I’m always prepared. No worries.”

“Can’t tell Slade anything, apparently,” I say with a grin. “That fucker.”

Cale shrugs. “He wouldn’t have told me if he wasn’t trying to look out for you. I know Slade better than anyone else. That just means that he thinks of you as one of our family.”

I stand up and shake Cale’s hand. “You dicks will always be family to me. Thanks, man. But I got somewhere to be now.”

He smiles and starts going through some files. “Looks like I have some auditions to set up. So get out.”

I grip the back of the chair and push it to his desk, before hurrying out of his office and through the club, before some random chick can stop me.

There’s only one place I want to be right now . . .

Meadow

I’VE HAD THIS ACHE IN my chest all day to see Styx, but I’ve been fighting it, afraid of what to say to him.

He was there for me when I needed him and I had the nerve to ask him to leave so that I could be alone for the night.

I feel like the biggest asshole and there really aren’t any words to explain how sorry I am.

Honestly, I felt even shittier as the night went on. All I wanted to do was curl up in bed, wrapped in his strong arms, but because of me, that didn’t happen.

Pulling my truck into Styx’s driveway, I sit for a few minutes, while trying to figure out how to explain to him that I have really bad days sometimes and just need to be alone.

I never meant to make him feel the way he felt when walking out my door. I’ll never forget the look of hurt on his face when I asked him to leave.

“Okay, you can do this.” Shaking off my nerves, I jump out of my truck and walk over to his porch, stopping at the door.

I take a few deep breaths and slowly release them before knocking.

“Please be here,” I whisper. “Please.”

I feel my heart crush once I realize that he isn’t here. I’ve already driven by the gym on the way here and didn’t see his motorcycle. The only other place I can think of him being is the club.

A room full of hot, horny girls screaming and groping at Styx is the last place I want to be at right now.

I honestly don’t know if I’d be able to handle that. Not with all of the emotions running through me right now.

Jumping back into my truck, it clicks that he might be at his mother’s house. So I drive by to see that all the lights are off and his motorcycle isn’t anywhere in sight.

Feeling defeated, I head home, pulling out my phone to text Styx.

I at least want him to know that I’m thinking about him.

Me: I want to see you so bad right now.

A few seconds later, my phone vibrates in my hand with a reply from Styx. My heart races as I open his reply.

Styx: Then get out of that truck and come to me.

Tossing my phone into the passenger seat, I hurry out of my truck to see Styx sitting on my porch, waiting for me.

I can hardly breathe as he starts toward me, dressed in that damn leather jacket of his and ripped up jeans that I love so much.

“Holy shit,” I whisper into his arms as he pulls me into him and squeezes. “It feels so good to see you. I’m so sorry. I can explain.”

His familiar scent surrounds me as his hands move up to cup my face. “You don’t need to explain shit to me. You needed the night to yourself and you asked for it.” He presses his forehead to mine, while running his thumb over my lip. The feel of his breath against my face brings me peace. “It feels good to see you too. Honestly, nothing fucking feels better. You have no idea.”

He gently sucks my bottom lip into his mouth, before kissing me and whispering,” I hated being away from you for the last two nights. Fuck, it made my heart ache so damn bad for you.”

My arms wrap around his neck and pull him closer to me, before telling him how I feel. “I barely fell asleep, because all I could think about was being wrapped in your arms and how it feels to fall asleep next to you. I’ve
never
had a man make me feel so safe and protected before. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me for as long as I can remember.”

His kiss is desperate, almost knocking me off my feet as he spins us around to press me against the door. “Fuck, you have no idea how much that means to me. I want you so damn bad. I’ve never wanted to call a woman mine so much in my entire life. I want you.” He whispers the last part.