I stride up into his personal space and bump my chest against his gear. “Do we have a problem here?”
I’ve been working on keeping my expression flat when I need it to be, so I hope I’m able to pull it off. Duke is kind of a hard-ass, but I’m thankful for it. Without having him breathing down my neck every other minute, I wouldn’t be wearing this cut. And, God, do I love this cut. I wouldn’t exactly give up my dick for it, but I’d consider hacking off a few toes if I had to.
“I don’t know, do we?” Clint the Dick says.
“Step off, or all the body armor in the world isn’t going to save you.” My chest constricts with the desire to hit something. Anything. My skin heats at the thought of making this asshole bleed. My lungs strain for air my body doesn’t want to accept. If he pushes me much further, I’m going to snap. It’s always been like this, my temper. I get so pissed off over the littlest shit that I have to break something before I feel better. His jaw looks like a decent enough target.
“You got in my face, asshole.”
My heart beats frantically in my chest as I tighten my fists at my sides to keep from swinging at him too early. If I get busted for hitting this prick, I want to make sure it’s a good shot. But I don’t have the chance, because just as the tension in my body gets too much to bear, I hear Cheyenne’s voice.
“Jeremy, please stop,” she says quietly. “Please.” She’s pretty much begging at this point. It’s like she’s been silently asking me to back off, and when it came out loud enough for me to hear, it’s nearly a cry.
I open my fists and take in deep breath after deep breath until I can see clearly. He was touching her in a way I don’t like—at all—but he wasn’t hurting her. Grady didn’t task me with this so I could control every little thing she does. I’m not supposed to interfere. I’m only supposed to keep her safe. And she’s safe.
I take one step back slowly and then another. When I look to my side, I find that Cheyenne’s face is beet red and her green eyes are large. She doesn’t look embarrassed. She looks fucking mortified. Shit. That is so not a way to get a girl to suck your dick. I would know because that is one of Duke’s most important tips about women—don’t upset them, or they won’t blow you. They probably won’t do any other nice stuff for you either.
I probably should have learned not to piss off women from being raised by my batshit-crazy sister, but I’m what Duke calls a slow learner. He’s such a fucking asshole sometimes, but I’d be lying if I said I don’t want to make him proud that he vouched for me.
“You wanna tell Daddy’s lapdog to get lost now, Chey?” Clint says. My attention snaps to his face so fast that I’m practically dizzy when I catch the smirk forming in the corner of his mouth. “Run along, bitch boy. I’m busy with my girl.”
I open my mouth to cuss the guy out, but two things distract me. The first is the football coach trotting over, and the second is the bony elbow digging into my side as Cheyenne passes me and strides up to Clint. For a brief second, I think she’s going to wrap her arms around him and tell me to fuck off. But she doesn’t.
“You talk big out here on the field, but you damn sure wouldn’t be saying that in front of my daddy,” she says in the same mocking tone he used a moment prior. “Go ahead and talk shit about Jeremy, but leave his cut out of it.”
And I’m in love. This chick is Forsaken through and through, even if she wants to pretend like she’s some preppy bitch. She’s got the club written all over her, from the way she keeps her chin up to the bite in her tone. I see so much of her father in her right now that it’s going to make my shower jerk-off session a little awkward.
“Know what? I’m done with your fucking tantrums, Cheyenne.”
“And I’m done with you being such an asshole!” she yells. The calm angry girl from a moment ago has been replaced by a crazy little screamer.
“Oh—oh no—” he says with his mouth turned down in a faux pout. Jesus Christ, she’s into some assholes. It’s a wonder she never hooked up with me. “Bitch.”
I take a deep breath to keep from shoving Cheyenne to the side in an effort to reach this guy and break every bone in his body. On the first deep breath, Cheyenne calls him an asshole. On the second deep breath, she kicks him in the shin. Neither effort has any effect on him. He just looks down at her with a bored expression.