“These guys mean business, Walker, and I don’t necessarily like the men that offered to watch her,” Bent said, glancing around the room uneasily. “Take her back to our place. Keep her safe. Just for tonight. I’m meeting up with people I owe after my shift. I need to know Sam’s with someone that can be trusted. Lukas sure isn’t that guy.”
I shook my head again but Bentley was like a dog with a bone - he wasn’t giving up easily.
“They threatened her, Walker. Not my mom. Sam. They know where she works and where she hangs out. Like I said, I got some men on her tail but they aren’t much better. I need you, man. Sam needs you,” Bentley said.
I turned my head to stare at her. She was smiling at Lukas, looking so love-struck that it was sickening. I snorted in disgust and faced Bentley again.
“And just how am I supposed to get her back to the apartment? We don’t exactly get along,” I said, raising one eyebrow.
Bent shrugged. “You’ll think of something. You always do. Just be nice to her.”
I gave a bark of laughter. “And when have you known me to be nice to your sister?”
Bent gave me a look meant to scare. “You really want her to be alone in that house with my mother as protection?”
I didn’t bother answering. He knew my answer. As much as I didn’t like Sam, I would never willingly let anything happen to her.
“That’s what I thought,” Bent said, reading my mind. “Whatever problem you and Sam have with each other, put it aside for tonight, Walker. I need you, buddy. And so does Sam.”
I sighed and tapped my shot glass. “One more. I’m going to need it.”
He granted my wish, filling the glass up to the brim. I slammed it back before walking away, ready to take on Sam and whatever else hell would throw at me.
I went from watching two beautiful girls grope each other to having to babysit a girl who was a pain in my ass. I didn’t know which was worse, walking away from Mia and her new friend or walking toward the woman who drove me insane.
The one I really wanted but couldn’t have.
Chapter Eighteen
-Sam-
Bright lights flashed across the dance floor, highlighting the mob of people around me. As the music grew louder, the lights circled faster, making dizzying designs on the wooden floor. With lightning speed, they shot over to the stage, stopping on the band members performing.
Lukas was front and center, singing his heart out to the crowd. His voice was scratchy and hoarse, one of those sexy bedroom voices that had women wake up and take notice. But it wasn’t the way he sang that had most people stop and listen. It was the way he held the microphone, like it was a lover. His hands cradled the sides and every few seconds he would wrap his fingers around it slowly then unwrap them. It was hypnotic and spellbinding, watching him belt out a song from his soul.
I moved to the music, watching Lukas from the dance floor and ignoring the crowd around me. For just a sliver of time I was free of druggie mothers and neighborhoods full of crime. I was free of a man with black eyes and a darker past. A man I couldn’t stand but continued to think about.
Lukas ended the song and started into another. I wiped the sweat from my brow and pulled the dress away from my damp body, deciding to take a break. The club was hot and I was thirsty. Time for a drink.
I wedged myself through the mob of people, heading for the nearest bar I knew Bent wouldn’t be bartending. I loved my brother but tonight I wanted to avoid him at all costs. I still felt guilty about kissing his best friend and I hated keeping secrets from Bentley.
At the bar, I pushed my way between a girl with green hair and a guy wearing more black eyeliner than me. I planted my elbows on the counter and waited for the bartender. The A/C vent overhead started blowing cool air down on me, chilling my sweaty skin. It felt like heaven in the hot club.
My gaze drifted over the guy standing next to me. His hand was wrapped around a tall glass, the other tapping out the music on the bar. The fingers on his right hand were tattooed. A snake wrapped around one finger in black, perfect lines. Another had a rose and thorny branch curved around it, beautiful in its design. But it was the tattoos on his knuckles that caught my attention. Each knuckle had a letter inked into his skin. I tilted my head, trying to read what it spelled out. S-H-I-T on one hand. D-A-N-G on the other.
“I like your tattoos,” I said to the man, signaling for the waitress when she glanced at me.
The guy looked down at his knuckles then over to me. “Fuckin’ friends did that to me when I passed out.”
“Nice friends,” I said above the music, nodding my thanks at the bartender when she sat a glass of ice-cold water in front of me. She knew I was Bent’s little sister and still underage. No pulling a fast one on her.
“Yeah, look what they did another time.” He lifted up his shirt, showing me his belly.
I stifled back a laugh, covering my mouth with my hand. The guy had a nice body but what was on his skin made me want to die laughing. Around his belly button was a rainbow and in the rainbow was a pink unicorn eating daisies out of his belly button.
“Yeah. Motherfuckers,” he grumbled, dropping his shirt and facing the bar again. He picked up his drink, taking a sip.
I copied him, facing forward and taking a drink from my own glass. “You ever heard of that bad ink TV show? The one where they try to fix terrible tattoos?”
He gave me a quick look, a scowl on his face but humor in his eyes. “Are you fucking kidding me? I’m on the wait list to get on.”
I snickered and he grinned, showing a chipped front tooth in the process.
“My name’s Lane,” he said, sticking his hand out for me to shake.
I put my hand in his. “Sam,” I said, giving his hand a solid shake.
Lane smiled. “It’s nice meeting you—”
“Hello, Sam.”
A chill ran down my spine. The smile slid from my face. I knew that voice. It was the voice I heard in both my nightmares and my dreams. I swallowed hard, my eyes still on Lane. I slid my hand from his, suddenly feeling cold. My knees went weak, but my gut screamed at me to run.
I turned to face my nemesis instead.
Walker stood behind me, his relaxed body a contradiction to the cold-heartedness in his eyes. He wore jeans that probably cost half of what Lukas paid for a pair but Walker made his look like a million bucks, his body was so perfect. The black t-shirt he wore should be deemed illegal. It outlined his solid chest and muscular arms too well, making my imagination go wild picturing what he would look like naked.
I frowned. Was I losing all common sense? Touch me, kiss me, and I become a blob of uncontrollable hormones? My frown deepened. No. Only if I were into self-destruction would I let that happen.
“What are you doing here?” I asked Walker, glancing down his body with scorn. Covering up what he was doing to me.
The corner of Walker’s lip twisted up in a half-smile. “Hello to you too, sweetheart.”
I gritted my back molars and watched with uneasiness as he strolled toward me. The slow, casual movement of his body was so sexy that I felt myself squirm. Just the way he walked made me hold my breath in anticipation, wanting him to touch me.
And that made me mad.
I grabbed my glass of water and took a big swig, keeping my eyes on Walker over the rim. I didn’t trust him and I sure didn’t trust myself around him. We had too much baggage and hate for each other to allow a little physical attraction to draw us together. It just wasn’t going to happen.
“Excuse me,” Walker said to Lane, squeezing between the two of us to lean against the bar. I kept my back to the counter, my eyes forward, as Walker brushed up against my side innocently. But I knew there was nothing innocent about him. Every touch, every brush of his hand, was on purpose.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw him rest his elbows on the bar casually, waiting for the bartender to get to him. I turned my attention to the dance floor, resisting the urge to bolt and run. Luk
as’s band started another song, this one slower than the others. I tried to listen but it was no use; Walker had me on edge.
“What can I get for you, sweetie?” I heard the bartender asked Walker.
“Coors Light and … what are you drinking, Ross?”
Feeling his gaze on me, I held up my glass, my gaze locked on Lukas up on stage. “Water.”
I felt him turn back to the waitress. “Diet Coke,” he said.
I rolled my eyes and huffed. Of course Walker would know what my favorite drink was. The guy seemed to know everything.
I held the plastic cup of water to my mouth, chewing on the rim nervously as he waited for the drinks. Why the hell is he here, next to me? There is plenty of other space at the bar. It’s not like we are friends or anything.
I heard the sound of two glasses being set on the wooden countertop behind me. Walker paid for the drinks, brushing against my back again as he dug in his pocket for money and handed the cash over. I grit my teeth but tried maintained my composure. It was a hard thing to do with him so close, touching me.
“Ross,” he said in a low, rugged voice, facing me.
I sucked in a tiny breath, surprised how his voice could affect me. Without meeting his eyes, I took the glass he offered in his outstretched hand, careful not to let our fingers touch.
For a while, we watched the crowd, neither of us speaking, both of us drinking. I kept my attention on Lukas, but thought of Walker. I wondered when he would leave. When he would walk away without another word to me. That’s what he did. Walk away like he couldn’t care less, staying cold and distant to everyone.
Lane was still on the other side of Walker. He raised an eyebrow at me in question. I ignored him and took a sip of my Diet Coke, holding back a sigh when the cool drink hit my throat.
“So about that kiss…” Walker said before taking a sip of his beer.
I almost choked on my Diet Coke.
“What about it?” I asked, clearing my throat.
“It never happened.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me,” I said, swinging around to face him. Bad mistake. He was only an inch away, so close I could see dark flecks in his eyes. I felt that tendril of fear in me, looping around my heart and squeezing tight.
Walker took a long drag of his beer, his eyes on me. The desire to run wouldn’t leave me but I stayed still, wanting to be near him despite the danger to my sanity.
“So what’s the deal between you and Lukas?” Walker asked, pointing at the stage with his longneck. “You two serious?”
“Does it matter?” I asked, ignoring the way my heart was pounding.
Walker chuckled. “Not really. I’m just trying to make conversation.”
I furrowed my brow. “Why? We hate each other, remember?”
Walker shrugged and put his beer bottle on the counter behind him. “Figured we could try to be friends, at least for Bentley.”
I snorted and took another drink of my Coke. “Not going to happen, Walker.”
He smiled and I wanted to kill him. But instead I gave him one of my own smiles, full of sugar and honey but meant to be deadly underneath.
“I know you don’t want to be friends, Walker. You just want to mess with me. Maybe make me think you’re interested. Screw with my brain some. It’s your style,” I said, glancing with disdain up and down his body. “But you’re not mine.”
Walker tensed, an angry tick appearing in his jaw. Before I could blink his hand shot out, grabbing the back of my neck. I gasped as his long fingers wrapped around my nape, pulling me toward him.
“Listen, sweetheart,” he whispered near my ear, “If I was interested I would do more than just screw with your brain. I would fuck you senseless. You wouldn’t be able to walk for days. But, you see, there’s still this little thing between us that just won’t go away. Hate. You can’t stand me and … well, I go insane when you’re around. It needs to stay that way.”
I hid my shock, his words slamming into me, leaving me speechless and unable to breathe. I tried to erase the image of him fucking me out of my mind but it would never go away.
“What’s your point?” I asked breathlessly, trying to ignore how his hand was hot on my neck. How it sent shivers through me. How his body was pressed against mine.
“My point is I’m still that monster you once accused me of being,” Walker said in a deep, seductive voice. “I can’t hide from it and I can’t protect you or anyone else from what lives in me. That monster caused this hate between us and that hate keeps you away from me. That’s exactly where I need you to be – safe and nowhere near me.”
I couldn’t move. We stared at each other, heat in his eyes and fright in mine. His words … they made the air thick. Warmer. I felt flushed. Overheated. Damaged by what he was saying. He didn’t want to be around me. I knew it’s what we both wanted. So why did it hurt so much to hear?
“Fine,” I said, twisting away from him. He let me go, his hand leaving my neck. “Your wish is my command.”
I set my drink on the bar and started to walk away but he grabbed my wrist before I could get far, stopping me.
“I’m not finished,” he said with a low, gravelly voice. He grabbed the back of my neck with his other hand, his fingers disappearing in my hair. I gasped when he jerked me toward him, his mouth going to my ear again.
“We need to keep hating each other, Sam, but I sure as hell know what I want to do instead.”
I couldn’t resist; I had to ask. “And what do you want to do, Walker?”
“You really want to know?” he asked, his thumb running over my inner wrist, his breath warm on my hair.
I nodded, feeling tingles run up my arm from his caress.
“I want you, Sam. I want to own you. Consume you. I want to drop to my knees and beg you for everything. And I want to fuck you. God, do I want to fuck you. But, I have to go on hating you instead.”
Oh. God.
Suddenly, I wanted the same thing.
Chapter Nineteen
-Walker-
Sam stared at me like I’d lost my fuckin’ mind. And maybe I had.
My plan had been simple - find Sam, get her to trust me, and get her the hell out of the club. The thought that she might be a target because of Bent’s fucked-up lifestyle made me sweat bullets. So I was going to lay on the charm and tell her a few sweet lies. Convince her of just about anything even if it was a load of horseshit.
But something happened. She looked at me with those big green eyes and I lost all reason. All control. Every word out of my mouth from that point forward was the truth. Yeah, it wasn’t pretty; it was downright crude. But she was just too beautiful and I was too much of a dumb fuck to keep my mouth shut.
Sam looked shaken up and damn if I didn’t feel the same. I didn’t mind telling any girl that I wanted some pussy but saying it to Sam felt crazy insane.
She opened her mouth to say something. I expected a few curse words, maybe some name calling, and a slap or two thrown in for good measure, but she never got a chance.
“Hey, Sam!”
We both glanced over to see Lukas jogging toward us, a big goofy grin on his face. It slipped when he saw my arm around Sam.
I didn’t let go of her but she withdrew her wrist from my grasp. I didn’t protest or demand that she stay next to me. I had said my piece and wasn’t going to make her do anything she didn’t want to do. The ball was in her court now. Let’s see what she did with it.
Sam took a step away, putting a safe, appropriate amount of distance between us. She looked guilty as hell but I felt smug when I saw Lukas’s face. Let the little loser see what he was up against. I was in the game now.
“Where have you been?” Lukas asked Sam, stopping in front of her. He kept his eyes on me, but directed the question at Sam, sounding pissed off. I wanted to jump down his throat for having an attitude with her but I didn’t have any right to talk.
“I’ve been here. Why?” Sam asked, sticking her chin up with defiance
. “I didn’t know I had to check in with you.”
That’s my girl. Stand up to his ass.
Lukas reached out and grabbed her hand, tugging her toward him. The animal in me growled but I kept control of it, ignoring my jealousy. But maybe I should call it what it really was – someone messing with what I had started to think of as mine.
“You missed the last song, babe,” Lukas whined, sounding like a lovesick fool. “I wrote it for you.”
My fingers automatically clenched into a fist. He wrote a fucking song for her? Shit. Only thing I could give her was a damn good time in bed.
“Sorry,” Sam told Lukas, her gaze staying on me. “I … I needed a break.”
Lukas mumbled something and gave me another go-to-hell look before turning away, tugging Sam by the hand to follow. She turned her head and watched me as she walked away, still looking shocked by what I had said. You and me both, sweetheart, I wanted to say.
I watched as they walked away, deciding maybe it was a good idea to keep an eye on Sam from a distance. It might be safer for my sanity that way.
I grabbed my bottle of beer and took a long swig. Damn, I needed it and many more. Watching Sam walk away with Lukas was pure hell. I itched to go after her, yank her away from him, and take her somewhere private. Show her exactly what I wanted.
Instead I signaled the bartender for another beer. If I couldn’t have Sam, at least I could have another addiction.
~~~~
I was on my fourth beer by the time 1:00 a.m. rolled around. Tame, I know. I usually liked the hard stuff but I was trying to take it easy tonight even though it was killing me.
I stood off to the side of the dance floor, watching as Sam danced. Her hips moved to the bass pouring out of the speakers. I imagined them moving against me, thrusting against my own. Her hair cascaded down her back in soft waves, looking tousled like she had just gotten out of bed from fucking someone.
Lukas was next to her. His hands were on her hips, keeping her positioned in front of him. He swayed to the music, his crotch rubbing against her bottom. Fire and brimstone flared in me. The demon that I fought every day wanted to tear him a new one. If anyone should be nudging her bottom with his cock, it should be me.