Damaged and the Outlaw (Damaged #4)

Laughing at me again, they cuddled up with their dogs while I left them to be lame. Really, Barney?

Revving my Harley, I considered chasing Raven down at the Johansson place, but I suspected she really didn’t want to be caught. A part of me didn’t care what she wanted. I was horny and she was the girl I wanted to nail. Screw her needs.

A bigger part of me wanted to make my time with Raven mean something. I’d pissed her off and she’d punished me. We were even. Tomorrow, we’d start again.





Chapter Seven – Raven


Bailey was the only girl in the world who had East Bound and Down ready for a car chase. When we ditched Vaughn and ran for it, she hit a button and gave me a grin. She was still smiling when I jumped out of the car and ran for the back gate at Aaron and Lark’s place. As I unlocked the backdoor, I heard Bailey’s SUV screech away with the song still playing from the open windows. I suspected she and Sawyer would cause more trouble before the night was over.

Once inside the house, I only had enough time to startle Lark coming out of the bathroom and beg her to hide me. She likely thought the cops were coming. Or maybe an irate loser I’d fought with in a bar. Despite her lack of prep time, she handled Vaughn perfectly. I’d never heard her lie so well. Marriage had apparently given her new skills.

Crowded into a tiny coat closet, I prepared for Vaughn to open the door and give me some irrational shit about how I was stalking him by running away. Instead, Lark opened the door and shook her head.

“Vaughn? Really?”

Climbing out of the closet, I hugged her. “I’m sorry he mocked Barney. I think the purple dino is pretty awesome too.”

Lark grinned at me then took my hand and walked to her bedroom. The bed was a mess and I suspected recently used. Good to know the sexing didn’t end with the marriage vows.

“Raven, what happened to giving up men?”

“It was too hard,” I said, playing with her wild hair. “You need a haircut.”

“I know, but Vaughn isn’t a man who will love you. He’ll cheat and dump you.”

“He’s not that bad. He’s actually funny. I’ve never had a guy make me laugh like Vaughn does.”

“I’m not saying he’s bad. I think Vaughn is great as a friend, but he isn’t what you need. He’ll disappoint you and it’ll be your fault for thinking he wouldn’t.”

Sighing, I kicked off my shoes. “Can I stay tonight? I’ll sleep on the couch since the spare room is kidded up.”

“Are you listening to me?”

“Yes, but I’m not done with Vaughn yet.”

“Why hide then?”

“He was a jerk and needed punishing. We’re even now.

“What do you hope will happen with him?”

Lark looked tired and I worried about her. She was never good about complaining about her problems.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“I’ll answer if you answer me first about Vaughn.”

“He’s like a vacation. I know he’ll leave me tired and grumpy when it’s over, but I have to enjoy my time while I have the chance.”

“I assume he’s a good fuck.”

“Hell yeah, but he’s really funny too. He says the most random shit. My life is ordinary and Vaughn’s not average. I want a taste of something special before I get too old to dream.”

“You’re twenty two.”

Sighing, I pulled a band from my jeans pocket and tied up my hair into a sloppy bun.

“I want what you have, Lark. You know I want to be a mom and settle down. I can’t have that yet. Soon, I want to have a kid and it’ll be with some loser I hook up with and it won’t be special like you have with Aaron. It’ll mean nothing, but I want to have the most I can in life. I know men are bad news, but I can have the rest. Not yet though. Vaughn is like my last hurrah before I get serious about life and he’s the perfect guy for it too.”

Scooting closer, I pulled Lark against me and she sighed in an exhausted way.

“With Dex, I thought we were in love. I believed him even when he lied. I always believe their lies, but Vaughn is honest. He says he just wants to fuck and have fun. Even if I want to dream of more, he’ll keep me grounded. That’s why he’s perfect. He’s not pretending to care more than he does. I want romance and a man like you have. I want that, but I’ll never have it. With any other guy, he’d lie and I’d believe him. I’m desperate to have the lies be true. Vaughn is my chance to have fun without believing lies.”

“I admit Vaughn tends to blurt out whatever he’s thinking. I can see why you’d like that. I also know he’s handsome and sexy and you’ve always liked bad boys. I do get it, but I worry about you.”

“I worry about you too,” I said softly as I caressed her head resting against my chest. “You look tired.”

Lark didn’t speak for a minute. When she finally looked at me, I saw a lot of different emotions swirling in those bright green eyes.

“I feel like shit. I’m tired and dizzy. I can’t eat ninety percent of the food I used to eat. I feel awful, but I’m afraid to complain.”