22. LILLY
22
LILLY
T he rusty swing sign above the entrance creaks in the wind as I push open the wooden door to the Black Crow. Seeing as I have a night off from my other job, I came to the bar tonight. It’s becoming my favourite hang out spot, and there’s always someone here who I know.
When my shadow said he couldn’t make our live tonight, I didn’t want to spend the evening alone. I should be happy that he’s busy. He’s already paid me so it shouldn’t make any difference to me whether he joins a live or not. But I can’t deny I was disappointed, hoping for a rerun of last night.
I fight my way through the crowd. A guy brushes past me, causing my wide-neck jumper to fall from my shoulder.
Shane locks eyes with me from the bar, a pint in his hand. He zeroes in on my exposed red bra strap and his gaze darkens, causing a flutter in my core. When I put on my lipstick tonight, I chose the red to match my bra with Shane in mind and one mission. For him to notice me.
The way he’s drinking me in from across the room tells me he’s definitely noticed me. I might not be able to do anything about it, but basking in his gaze gives me a newfound confidence. After all the jibes he gave me growing up, it’s empowering.
Trying to act like he doesn’t make me hot and wet with one look, I turn away and push open the back door to the games room, seeking anyone else I know.
Heather waves a hand as she does her rounds, collecting glasses. Kane lifts his head and catches my eye as I walk by, waving back at the barmaid under the bright hanging lights.
Kane snatches my wrist, causing me to suck in a breath. It’s been a while since he had his hands on me, but I don’t feel the usual flutters in my stomach like I used to. It burns where he grips me.
“Ow.” I pull my hand back, but he holds me firm and yanks my sleeve further up my arm, revealing the chafed skin there.
With both his hands holding me, he examines the bruising around my wrist under the lights over the pool table. “What the fuck happened to you?” His grip loosens as his thumb strokes over the marks there.
I pull my hand away and cover my wrist with my sleeve. “In case you’ve forgotten, we’re not together, and what I get up to is none of your business.”
“Just because we’re not fucking doesn’t mean I stopped caring about you. If someone’s hurt you, I want to know about it.” He grabs my other arm and inspects my wrist there, seeing the same marks when he rolls up my sleeve.
I can’t deny I’ve always loved his protective nature, but I don’t need him to take care of me. “I’m not yours to take care of, Kane.”
“Is it that doctor you work with? Maybe it’s time I payed him a visit.” His steel coloured eyes stare into mine with a familiar darkness. “I’m not having some fucking slimy prick hurt you like this. Whether we’re together or not, I’ll always take care of you.”
I cover my wrists, pulling the fabric tight. “It’s not the doctor. He’s still a sleaze, but he doesn’t force himself on me.”
“Then who?”
“Who what?” Shane says as he arrives back from the bar. He looks between the two of us in the middle of a stare off contest.
Kane reaches for my arm again, and I move my body to the side, but he’s too quick for me. He slides my sleeve back up my arm and holds it in front of Shane. “Have you seen this?”
Shane places his drink on the side of the pool table, steps closer, and takes my arm from Kane. His face pales as he gently roams over the bruising and raised abrasions with his rough fingers, but with the gentlest of touches.
Tingles shoot up my limb, leaving a flurry of goose bumps in their wake. My mouth parts as my breathing speeds up. I can only imagine what those hands would feel like on other parts of my body and, in a twisted way, I wish it was him who marked me.
“What happened?” Shane asks, his eyes lifting to mine with a dark intensity I’ve never seen from him. I can’t tell if it’s anger or something else. His stare is almost primal, like a lion ready to pounce. But is it me he wants to pounce on or my offender?
I scratch my dry throat. “Nothing. It’s fine. It doesn’t even hurt.”
Kane nods to my hand at my neck. “It’s on the other wrist, too.”
I roll my eyes. These men are impossible.
“If you won’t let me protect you, then maybe you’ll let him.” Kane says as he lifts his pint from the pool table frame. “Whoever’s hurt you needs to learn they can’t touch what’s ours.”
“I’m not yours.” I don’t aim the statement at Shane as I’ve always been Shane’s to protect since I was a little girl, but Kane lost that privilege several months ago. “Can’t a girl get tied up once in a while? I was just having a bit of fun. Jeez. You two crazy fuckers should try it sometime.”
Shane’s lip twitches in the corner. “Tell your boyfriend to take better care of you next time.”
“Or we’ll break his fucking fingers,” Kane says.
The twitch in Shane’s lips gives way to a smirk.
I dig my fist into my hip. “What I get up to has nothing to do with either of you.”
“It has everything to do with me,” Shane says. “Any man hurts you, hurts me. Believe me, where you’re concerned, I’m not a cop, I’m a fucking soldier and your safety’s my only mission. I won’t hesitate to put a bullet in anyone who lays a finger on you.”
I pat Shane’s broad chest, loving the feel of his hard muscles under his white t-shirt. “All right, Rambo.” I can’t help but giggle. “A little over dramatic, don’t you think? I have one night of hot sex and now you’re the A-Team.”
Shane’s smirk turns into a wide grin, making his eyes sparkle as if he’s just won the lottery. I’ve no idea what he’s so happy about, but his best friend snarls like there’s a bitter taste in his mouth.
Kane’s eyes narrow. “Those bruises on your arm aren’t funny, Lilly. And you won’t be laughing when I find out who it is.”
I fold my arms over my chest in a huff. “Don’t you have a teen to take care of? You should worry about her instead of me. She was wasted the last time I saw her.”
His nostrils flare. He places his pint down on the ledge before stomping away into the other room, leaving me alone with Shane. The room’s full of many other people, but all I see is him and his penetrating gaze.
“Does it hurt?” His eyes soften, and he hangs his head low.
“No.” I’m not about to tell him that every time it hurts, I’m reminded of the three intense orgasms I had.
“Is this a new boyfriend of yours?” The sparkle’s back in his eyes, along with the twitch in his lips. He lifts his bottle to his mouth to hide the smile forming.
“Boyfriend is a bit of a stretch. It’s just casual.”
“Anyone I know?” He bites into his bottom lip with his chipped front tooth. My walls clench at the memory of my shadow sinking his teeth into my thigh.
“No.” I try to recall the marks on my flesh, but my mind is hazy under Shane’s heated stare, like when the sun’s rays blur everything in its path. “I need to use the bathroom.”
I mindlessly rush to the door that leads up the stairs to the restroom. Bursting into the ladies, I lean over the sink with panting breaths. The smokey scent of weed lingers in the air and I inhale the familiar scent from the farmhouse. I never nagged Kane to stop smoking. I know for him it’s more medicinal to help calm his mind.
Violet and Yaz stumble out of a cubicle with the giggles and a joint in their hand. I should tell them off for smoking in here, but I’ve more important things to think about right now.
“Kane was looking for you.”
“Shit.” She stubs the joint out in the sink and washes her hands before exiting the door with a slight wobble. She reminds me of myself at her age. I went wild after my father passed. I was angry with the world and did a lot of stupid things, but I had my family and Shane to lean on; this girl has nobody but Kane. I’m glad he’s there for her, even if I was a little jealous at first.
Taking in a deep breath, I stare at my reflection in the old mirror on the wall, distorted by flecks of rust on the outer edge. Now I’m alone, I lift my top, and pull the cup of my bra down, exposing my breast. His bite mark’s faded, but there’s a faint ring where his teeth sunk into the skin.
My centre pulses, hoping it could be Shane. A section missing where a tooth should be. With my beating heart, I rush into a cubicle and pull down my faux leather leggings to find the bites on my inner thigh.
Sitting on the loo, I take the chunky flesh into my hands, suck my stomach in to get a good look there. The same pattern marks my skin. I shake my head, telling myself it’s all in my head. Shane’s a gentleman. A hero even. A freaking cop. He’s one of the good guys always doing the right thing. There’s no way he’d hide his identity and take what he wants from me like this. He just doesn’t seem the type.