“I don’t know what you…” I stutter, but I don’t get the sentence finished because his lips come down against mine. They’re warm and soft. I can taste a hint of coffee on them. I’m in shock. I never expected to be kissed, not by Bull and not here. My body is frozen, but slowly things begin to register. Like the feel of his hand sliding up my back and the heat of his touch, even through my jacket. The woodsy outdoor smell of him is nice, and I take a deep breath through my nose wanting more.
“Open your mouth, Red,” he mumbles against my lips. Would it surprise him to know that no man has ever kissed me before? I’m debating opening my mouth for him. Half of me really, really wants to and the other half fights against it. The other half wants to give all my firsts to Jacob. That’s stupid. I know it is. Jacob wants nothing to do with me and certainly doesn’t want my kisses. I have this amazing, good-looking, virile man wanting entry into my mouth and I’m thinking of another man. A man who hates me and can’t stand me, and yet I can’t stop wanting him. This would explain why I’m still a virgin at twenty.
My hands go to Bull’s biceps to steady myself and to pull away, when I hear Jacob’s voice.
“Don’t look now Alexander but looks like your Twinkie has already moved on to another brother.”
The contempt in Jacob’s voice is so thick it physically wounds me. My body jerks from the thinly disguised blow. Of course he thinks I’m a whore. Why wouldn’t he? I pull back and look up at Bull. His eyes are hidden behind his sunglasses. Can he tell how much Jacob’s words cut me? Does it show on my face?
Bull’s head moves down so his lips graze my ear and his finger slides along the side of my face. “Toughen up, Red. Anything good is worth fighting for.”
I swallow as I try to concentrate on his words. They’re good words. I would totally listen to them, if Jacob gave me anything to fight for. If we ever had anything between us, I would absolutely fight. We haven’t though and I’m pretty sure Bull is wrong.
He steps away and walks back towards the hotel where he had first been standing. I watch him for a minute, wishing he had stayed. At least when he was here I didn’t feel so vulnerable from all the hate pouring off of Jacob. I can feel it. He’s doing nothing to hide it. How can a man stand in front of you with hate radiating from every single inch of him and yet still look so heart-stopping gorgeous? The color in his tattoos, the deep brown of his eyes, the short dark hair I crave to touch, the muscular build that makes me weak in the knees…There is so much to want, so much to crave.
“What are you looking at, bitch? You want to tangle with me too? I’d rather chop my dick off than have it anywhere near you,” he growls and it hurts.
I look down at the ground so he won’t see my face. I’m afraid I can’t hold back the tears that want to fall. “Still, you seem to have Crush and Bull hot for you. I bet they’d tag team you if you asked nice enough.”
I try to tune out his words. I stare at the cracked pavement at my feet. My eyes follow a jagged line to where it disappears under my shoe. I wish I could disappear. When I look up I see that Bull has returned and punched Jacob in the stomach. He’s watching Jacob closely. Jacob is bent over rubbing his stomach and cursing.
“You’re a fucking asshole Dance, but keep shooting your poison. I’ll gladly take what you’re giving away,” Bull says over his shoulder as he grabs my hand and pulls me along with him.
“You’re riding with me, Red.”
I shuffle my feet and try to follow because he is tall as heck. It’s hard for me to keep up and for some reason Bull is intent on pulling me with him, so I stumble.
“Where the hell is she going?” Jacob yells.
“If you had your head out of your ass, you’d know,” Bull replies and I’m trying to decide which is more astounding. The fact that I’m in the same area with Jacob after all this time or the fact that Bull has said more words in the last twenty minutes than he probably has spoken all week.
He hops on his bike and I use my hands on his shoulder to brace myself as I get on behind him. I lay the side of my face against his back and wrap my arms around him tight. Bull pulls out and directs his bike towards where Alexander and Jacob are standing arguing. My eyes freeze on Jacob’s. It seems like forever, but I know it’s just mere seconds. It couldn’t have been any longer than that but it’s long enough that I have to close my eyes against the pain I see reflected back at me.
Chapter 3
Dancer
I watch as Bull rides away with Carrie, it leaves me feeling unsettled. I don’t know why. It shouldn’t bother me to see Carrie on the back of Bull’s bike. After the shit she pulled two years ago… Fuck, I know that’s not fair, it wasn’t her fault. It was me. I made the decision to gut the motherfucker who tried to rape her. I did that and I shouldn’t hold her responsible. Hell, given the choice, I’d do it again. How screwed up is that?