9. Jenson
Jenson
F ighting the urge to press a palm to my aching side, I stride down the sidewalk after River. He took off almost before I could park the fucking car, leaving Kai and I to follow his trail as we head toward the store he visited yesterday and the woman he wants us to meet with a holdall of ripped clothing gripped in his hand.
Ahead of me, Kai raises one eyebrow as he glances over his shoulder and down to my side. A fine cut sits just above his right eye, courtesy of my aching fists.
I scowl at him. “Fuck off. I’m fine.”
Any aches and pains are worth it. I slept like a damn baby, the bad memories beaten out of me by Kai and more than a dozen vicious-as-hell rounds. We only quit when River intervened and turned the damn lights off on us.
But they never leave for long. Especially now, with what we’re looking to do. Those thoughts try to creep in again, and I shove them away.
She’s not Katherine.
This situation is not the same.
I need to give this girl a fair shot. Especially as River doesn’t seem inclined to look for anyone else, now that he’s found her. Kai’s expression is relaxed enough, but I know him well enough to see the curiosity he’s trying to hide.
The desperation.
This is about much more than me.
Suck it up, asshole.
We reach a small, dilapidated storefront, and I rock back on my heels. In front of us, a wooden door that’s clearly seen better days has a cheerful looking sign in curly pink writing pinned to it.
Briar Rose Designs.
“This is one of ours, isn’t it?” Frowning, I glance down the street. “Did we miss it in the revamp?”
The retailers in our territory hand over small parts of their income for us to keep an eye on things. Not just from a security perspective, but wider. Landlord issues are something we’ve been battling with for years, but we have a good crop of owners on our roster now. Although the run-down street doesn’t fit with the work we’ve been doing to boost our area.
“Shit.” River pauses with his hand outstretched. “I didn’t even think about that. I assumed it was Clubs, to be honest. The boundary line is pretty close to here.”
He’s not overly involved in the wider territory, his focus on Mystic and overseeing the men that work beneath us.
Beside me, Kai is frowning too. I’ll look into it.
River almost vibrates. “Good. Are we ready?”
I wave a hand, not hiding my smirk. “After you, Captain Obvious.”
He doesn’t even bite. Just ducks inside the store, Kai and I behind him. A small, tinkling bell announces our arrival, but I nearly walk into River’s back. He throws out his hand. “ Shhh , both of you.”
He sounds distracted. Amusement is written across Kai’s face when I turn. Did he just tell me to shut up?
He has a point, you noisy little shit. My own lips twitch as I duck around a motionless River. “What—,”
My voice trails off.
“Well, fuck.” River whispers, echoing my own thoughts. “Think it’s a sign?”
I don’t say anything.
“Told you.” The fucker sounds smug, now. “Didn’t I tell you?”
“River,” I mutter. “Shut up.”
He wisely snaps his mouth closed as I take another step, my head tilting to the side.
A sign indeed. Because Briar Rose is… sleeping . Curled up in a hideous excuse for a pink armchair that almost swallows her completely, her cheek pillowed on her arm and masses of dark hair scattered fucking everywhere. A pair of sleek nude heels lay abandoned on the floor, toes delicately painted pink poking out from the edges of her long black dress.
Blinking, I sweep my gaze over her again.
My mouth dries. That fucking hair.
It looks like the softest liquid silk, a waterfall of darkness tumbling down. It must reach her waist at least, and a whole new image enters my head—
Swallowing, I yank my gaze away and turn to Kai. “Are you fucking blushing?”
He is . His cheeks darken further as he shakes his head, lifting his hands and dropping them again before he shrugs, still watching her.
“So,” River murmurs. When I glance to him, he’s leaning back against the wall, his expression smug as fuck, but his eyes soft as he stares at her. “You can see it, right?”
Phantom hands threaten to cut off my oxygen at his words. Yes, I can see it. See her, in the middle of the three of us. Underneath me, legs spread, those perfect fucking lips parted—
Fuck – I couldn’t have imagined anyone better. If I had a pen and paper and the skill of Michael-fucking-angelo himself, I couldn’t have come up with her.
Which makes her… dangerous. It’s like a bucket of ice-cold water thrown over my head.
“River.” My whisper is hoarse.
He straightens at my voice. “I hate it when you use that tone.”
I could become obsessed with this girl. Easily.
She could ruin me.
Already I’m cataloguing this room, the lack of security, the way the door was left unbolted while she fucking sleeps, as if anyone couldn’t just walk in off the street. Hell knows that she looks like she has the defensive capabilities of a newborn kitten.
I know that when I walk out of here, the first thing I’m going to do is find out who owns this building so I can rip into them, or fucking buy it off them to make it better.
If I get any closer – if she said yes – I wouldn’t let her go.
I step back. “You were right.”
My voice is like gravel. Kai spins to look at me, his eyebrows pulling together as River pales. “She’s too sweet. It’s fucking obvious that she doesn’t fit with us. No .”
Only part of that is true.
I need someone we can make a start-and-finish, short-term deal with. Someone I can use and walk away from without looking back. Without caring. It doesn’t matter how perfect she is, how much I want to see her in Ravenhall, sprawled and satisfied, dark silk against cream bedding.
It doesn’t matter that I want to see her face when she climaxes with my cock buried inside her.
That was my input. My request, for good fucking reason.
You haven’t even spoken to her. Kai’s hands fly with his agitation, his eyes dark. At least speak to her first.
I already fucking know how that’s going to go.
I’m shaking my head, backing away. But River stalks after me. “She’s not Katherine.”
“I know that.” I snap the words, trying to keep my voice quiet as my hand rakes through my hair. “But Jesus - look at her, River.”
For the love of fuck – she has strangers, three of the most dangerous men in the city standing around her, loaded up with weapons and arguing, and she’s still fucking sleeping.
No defence instinct. How the hell is she still alive ?
She wouldn’t need it if she was ours.
Fuck. I take another step back, and my hand is shaking. “River. Please.”
This is what I was afraid of. Nothing – not a single fucking thing in this life – scares me, but the possibility of what’s in front of me is enough to have my heart pounding and sweat dotting my brow.
A possibility I can see clear as day, history repeating itself. River’s expression shifts into something I’ve never seen before.
As if he’s torn.
As if he’s already chosen.
I swing to stare at Kai, and my stomach churns. “You too?”
He meets my gaze, steady and resolute. She might not even say yes. But you are not your father.
The divide is clear.
Kai’s face softens. If this is your choice, I will respect it.
River opens his mouth—
“River?”
At the small, shaky voice, the three of us swing around. My eyes collide with bright, vibrant green, fucking emeralds and sunny fields and holy fuck.
As I stare into Briar Roses’s wide, perfect fucking eyes, I already know I’ve lost the fight.