I stand there with tears in my eyes just begging to spill over, and I smile—a genuine smile—for the first time in weeks. I think I’ve always known that I wasn’t exactly alone, but to have someone I hardly know strip me bare emotionally and address every worry I’ve had since my baby’s father was murdered brings a kind of peace that I didn’t know I needed. A safety that I didn’t know I was lacking until this moment.
Deciding that I need a moment to collect myself before returning to the group, I quickly make my way into the bathroom to clean my face up—completely oblivious to the furious eyes that just watched that whole scene unravel.
Chapter 8 – Asher
I can’t even explain the fury that is racing through my veins right now. After dealing with Pammy, my mood was already deteriorating. But after seeing Maddox with his arms wrapped tightly around Chelcie’s luscious body and his lips against her creamy skin, what little control I had left snapped.
She’s mine.
She doesn’t know that yet, but I’m not going to sit back and let Maddox have her.
The small, rational part of my mind that isn’t clouded in a red-hot rage right now is trying to remind me that I have no claim over Chelcie. Not only that, but everyone knows that Maddox only has eyes for Emmy. I should recognize that there is not one thread of a reason for me to be this jealous, but I’m already too far gone to listen to that nonsense.
The only thing that matters is what I just witnessed. MY woman in the arms of Maddox Locke. MY woman holding him back just as tight. And MY woman with a smile on her beautiful face that could light up even the darkest caves in Hell.
Hell. No.
With a single-minded determination, I set off towards the women’s bathroom I just saw her duck into. It’s time to let her know exactly where my head is at, and I’m sick of this avoiding game she’s been playing lately.
“You.” I point to the waitress who just came out of the bathroom that holds my woman inside. “Is there anyone else other than the blonde woman wearing jeans and a white shirt in there?”
She shakes her head slowly, her jaw slack and her eyes wide.
“Does that door lock?”
She again just nods her head.
“Good girl. You didn’t see me, got it?” I pull a fifty from my wallet and hand it to her.
She hesitantly wraps her fingers around the bill before hurrying down the hall. Who knows if she will keep her mouth shut. All that I heard and care about is that Chelcie is in there. Alone. And I’m about to make it perfectly clear that she is fucking mine.
The overwhelming stench of cheap perfume and fried foods is the first thing I smell when I walk through the bathroom door. It’s like being slapped in the face with it. Why don’t chicks understand that they don’t need to bathe in that crap? We don’t want them because they smell like the makeup part of the malls. You know, the part of the store you avoid because you feel like if you don’t stop and smell that stupid white card they might start running after you. Less is more. One of the things I crave the most about Chelcie is the subtle, sexy smell she has. I can’t even explain it. I can even smell it in here—just barely, but enough that my cock is straining to find her like some damn beacon.
Like fresh berries and the mouthwatering undertones of crème br?lée.
Goddamn. I can feel myself growing even harder. Visions of her underneath me as I slowly drive her body over the edge, smelling her on top of that lotion she is always rubbing into her skin… Fuck. I have to physically stop myself from storming up to her and taking her against the wall.
There she is.
She hasn’t seen me yet. She’s standing at the sinks, dabbing a wet paper towel against her face. I can tell that she’s been crying. Her eyes are slightly swollen and red. Her nose and cheeks have a blush to them that, if she wasn’t cleaning up the evidence of being upset, would cause the desire racing through my veins to hit a raging boil.
I watch in fascination as she lowers the paper towel, looks at herself for a few beats in the mirror, and smiles. This isn’t like the smile she had in the hallway. No, this is a smile I’ve been on the receiving end of before. The kind that makes me feel like the sun is shining on every inch of the darkness I’ve been trapped within. It is impossible not to feel touched when she turns that smile on you.
I find my own lips tipping up slightly. What can I say? It’s infectious.
She takes a deep breath, holds her hands to her stomach, and closes her eyes. I watch as her lips move slightly as if she is speaking before she smiles again.
Reaching down, I adjust myself quickly before she has a chance to notice that I’m here. Once I’ve curled my arm behind my back, I silently turn the latch and lock us both inside.
“Chelcie.”
Her eyes snap open and a look a horror and panic flashes over her features before she quickly hides it. A feeling of frustration washes over me that she is once again closing herself off to me. I have not one damn clue as to why she’s been acting like this lately. At first, she would walk on eggshells around me, but then again, everyone else did as well. Then, as we got to know each other better during the weeks she spent helping me research Dominic, I felt like she had finally let those damn walls down.