Chapter Eleven
L exi
With my elbows on the counter and my cheeks in my hands, I stare at the steady stream of coffee goodness as it fills my cup.
Shawn's note is crumpled on the bar behind me; it feels like a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off.
Gone to the clubhouse. Stay here. I'll bring back breakfast.
-E
What does it mean that he wasn’t here when I woke up? Did he wake up with regrets? Should I leave before he gets back?
I scrub my palms across my face and growl. “Get out of your head.”
The machine sputters, pushing the last of the dark coffee goodness into my cup. Thank the gods! Wrapping my hands around the warm mug, I take a small sip and sigh.
“It’ll be fine,” I whisper, still talking to myself, still trying to sort through the tangle of emotions coursing through me.
The sound of the front door opening makes my heart leap. He’s back. I turn just as Shawn saunters into the kitchen with a brown paper bag from Dori's clutched in one hand. He drops it on the counter and comes straight for me, not even breaking stride.
His mouth claims mine in a deep, wet kiss that has my toes curling against the tile floor. He tastes like coffee and something else that’s all him, and I melt into it, my free hand finding his chest.
When he pulls back, I can't help the smile that spreads across my face. “Hi.”
“Morning, baby.” His thumb traces my bottom lip, his eyes dark with want.
The intensity of how much I missed him hits me hard. We've known each other for what—three days? And already I'm acting like some lovesick teenager who can't go two hours without seeing his face or hearing his voice.
It’s at this moment the reality of last night crashes over me.
Oh. My. God.
We had sex last night.
Multiple times.
Heat floods my cheeks as memories flash through my mind—the kitchen table, the shower, his bed...
My body goes rigid as embarrassment wraps around me. Does he think I’m a total whore?
“Lex?” HIs hand cups my cheek, concern etching lines around his eyes. “What's wrong?”
“I'm not—” The words tumble out before I can stop them. “I'm not a whore. I don't do this. I don't just sleep with men I barely know.”
Shawn's face breaks into a wide grin, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Baby, I know that.”
“What?”
“It’s clear to anyone who’s around you for more than ten seconds that you’re not that kind of woman.”
“It is?”
His hands frame my face, thumbs stroking my cheeks. “Yeah, it is. And if anyone ever suggests otherwise, they'll be picking their fucking teeth up off the ground.”
“It's just—” I bite my lip, struggling to put my feelings into words. “Everything's happening so fast.”
“Yeah. And?” He leans in, pressing his forehead against mine. “Already told you, baby. I do whatever the fuck I want. You feel this between us? This ain't casual, Lex. Not for me.”
My heart skips a beat. I didn’t realize how much I wanted us to be something special until he said the words out loud. “It's not?”
“No.” His voice drops lower, rougher.“And that’s something we need to talk about.”
I look at him curiously.
“Some things have… developed.”
“Shawn.” I pull back slightly, studying his face. “What exactly did you do at the clubhouse this morning?”
He guides me to one of the barstools, then starts unpacking breakfast—pancakes, bacon, eggs. The normalcy of it almost makes me forget my question.
Almost.
“Well…” He slides a plate in front of me. “Club’s going to wade in and handle the man who took your money.” He leans against the counter, his expression turning serious. “And I told them about John.”
Fork halfway to my mouth, I pause. “You told them about my ex? Why?”
He completely ignores my question, which instantly makes me feel defensive. “Legend's tracking down Randall Brodrick.” He takes a breath.
“And John?” I probe again.
“Dex is looking into John, making sure he can't cause any trouble.”
“Oh.” I set my fork down. “And you decided this was okay without talking to me first?”
His jaw clenches. “It's for your protection, Lex.”
“My protection?” Heat rises in my cheeks. “Don't I get a say in my ‘protection’?” I finger quote the word. He’s really crossed a line here.
“Baby—”
“Don't 'baby' me.” I push away from the counter. “What else did you decide for me this morning?”
He runs a hand through his hair, looking uncomfortable for the first time since this conversation started. Great. This is only going to get worse. “I claimed you. As my old lady.”
He claimed me. The words play on repeat in my head and I can feel the anger inside me boiling to the top. I’m not some piece of property. “You what?” The words come out sharp. “What does that even mean?”
“It means you're mine. You’ll get a Property cut and be protected.” His voice drops lower, that possessive tone I found hot before spilling out of his mouth. “It means no one can touch you.”
“Property,” I repeat the word slowly. “Like some kind of medieval arrangement where you just... stake your claim, huh?”
“It's not like that?—”
“Really? Because it sounds exactly like that.” I grab my plate from the table and dump it in the trash, my appetite gone. “I need to get ready for work.”
“Lex—”
“No.” I hold up a hand. “I have to be at the clinic in an hour, and I can't be late on my first day.”
I head upstairs, my hands shaking as I dig through my suitcase for a pair of scrubs to wear. The black set with the powder blue trim will have to do.
In the bathroom, I splash cold water on my face, trying to calm down. The woman in the mirror is staring back at me with fury in her eyes.
Not for the first time, I wonder how the heck I keep getting myself into these messes. The answer doesn’t come, but I don’t have time to stew on it.
Twenty minutes later, I'm dressed and heading for the door.
“At least let me drive you,” Shawn says, following me.
“I'll take an Uber.”
“Like hell you will.” His voice carries that commanding tone that probably works wonders in his club but just pisses me off more.
“Fine.” I storm outside and yank open the passenger door of his truck. The sooner we get this over with, the better.
The drive to Happy Tails Animal Hospital is tense. Shawn keeps peeking over at me, but I keep my eyes fixed firmly on the passing scenery. I know if I don’t take some time to think, there’s no telling what I might say. I have a temper and I own it.
When we pull up outside the glass-fronted building, he kills the engine. “What time do you get off?”
“Five.” I reach for the door handle, but before I’m able to grab it, his hand shoots out and catches my arm.
Glancing over my shoulder, I narrow my eyes.
“I’ll pick you up,” he says softly.
“Shawn—” I start, ready to tell him this isn’t going to work, but he cuts me off.
“Please.” Something in his voice makes me really look at him. It’s there, in his eyes. I can see that he knows how far over the line he stepped. “Just... let me do this much.”
I nod, not trusting myself to speak, and climb out of the truck.
Inside the clinic, a young man with kind eyes looks up from the reception desk.
“You must be Lexi,” he says with a warm smile. “I'm Ben. Dr. Andrea's waiting for you in her office.”
I follow his directions down the short hallway and find the doctor right where he said she’d be. “Hi,” I say, stepping into her office. “I’m Alexis Vale.”
Dr. Andrea looks up from a stack of papers in front of her and smiles. She’s nothing at all like what I expected. She’s a tall woman in her late forties, if I had to guess, with steel-gray hair and laugh lines around her eyes.
“Welcome aboard,” she says, standing to shake my hand. “Rebecca will show you the ropes today. We've got a busy schedule—four surgeries this morning and a full afternoon of appointments.”
As if on cue, a petite redhead pokes her head in. “Ready for the new girl?”
“All yours,” Andrea says with a smile.
Rebecca takes me on a quick tour of the facility. “Treatment room here, surgery suite there, kennels in the back. We've got state-of-the-art equipment and a great team. You'll love it here.”
By mid-morning, I'm elbow-deep in work, helping prep a German Shepherd for surgery. The routine of it all calms me, letting me focus on anything other than Shawn and his declaration of ownership.
“So,” Rebecca says as we’re cleaning up, “that guy who dropped you off... he your boyfriend?”
I pause in the middle of restocking the gauze. “It’s… complicated.”
She grins. “The hot ones usually are. But girl, the way he was watching you walk in here? Your man has it bad.”
I think about Shawn's words— you're mine —and suppress a shiver. “Yeah, maybe a little too much.”
The rest of the day passes in a blur of appointments, procedures, and getting to know my new coworkers. Ben turns out to have a wicked sense of humor, and Rebecca, who is quite a bit younger than me, is man-crazy. All day long, she’s been rating the men who’ve come through the door.
By five o'clock, I'm exhausted but satisfied. It feels good to be working again.
“See you all tomorrow,” I say, waving over my shoulder.
Shawn's waiting for me on his bike at the curb when I walk out. The sight of his thick thighs straddling the Harley, with his sunglasses on, looking every inch the dangerous biker he is, makes my heart do a little flip despite my still-simmering anger.
“Good first day?” he asks as I approach.
“Yeah.” I take the helmet he hands to me and fasten the strap under my chin. “The team's great.”
He nods, helping me on behind him and pulling my arms around his waist. “Listen, Lex, about this morning?—”
“Can we not?” I close my eyes. “I just... I need time to process everything.”
“Okay.” His hand finds mine, and despite myself, I let him lace our fingers together. “But we need to talk about it eventually.”
“I know.” I squeeze his hand. “Just... not tonight.”
Without another word about property patches, the fight we’re having, or anything else, he brings the bike to life and pulls out into traffic. The ride back to his house is nice and blessedly feels less tense than things were this morning.
I don’t know if it’s because I’m too tired to hold onto my snit or if it’s Shawn’s presence, but whatever it is, there's something about this man that makes me feel things I’ve never felt before.
And maybe that’s what scares me the most.