Chapter 14 #3
“Hi, I’m sorry to break this up.” I reached up and behind me to put my hand over Reid’s face. I felt the corners of his mouth stretch against my palm. “But this is mine,” I told her as nicely as I could.
I heard Mac snort.
“You’re very pretty,” I continued. “I’m sure you’d be able to get anyone else.”
She arched a brow as she looked me up and down. “He didn’t say he had a girlfriend.”
That one comment wiped all niceties away. “I’m assuming you have a point.”
“Maybe he’s looking for someone better,” she said.
“The fuck?” Mac gaped angrily.
Reid grabbed my wrist and pulled my hand from his face. He released it and I let my arm relax back down to my side as I tried very hard not to give in to the anger bubbling inside me.
“I see me calling you pretty has gone to your head,” I said.
“I didn’t need you to call me pretty. I already fucking know that I am,” she fired back.
Her attitude grated. “Right,” I forced out calmly before stepping out of the way. I gestured to Reid as I smirked at her. “Please proceed. Let’s see if you are all that you say you are.”
It appeared she hadn’t expected that. The confidence she’d been exuding wavered. She stared at Reid, who was now expressionless, but I could feel how pissed off he was.
Then the girl threw what was left of her martini at me. All I could do was brace to get wet. Reid moved in front of me so fast, his bicep and shoulder were what got soaked.
Then there was a scream. Reid moved out of the way and suddenly the girl was on the floor with Mac on top of her, smacking her and ripping out her hair. Lemon watched wide-eyed. Reid rushed over to them and pulled Mac off her.
“You came into the wrong fucking bar to pull that shit, bitch!” Mac screamed at her as she fought Reid to get free.
The girl got up off the floor, lip bleeding and hair a mess. She wiped away the blood from her chin. She stared down at it on her hand, then glared at Mac. “As expected from a low-class skank from the wrong side of the bridge.”
I had been punched many times in my life. So I was pretty sure I knew how to throw one. When she said that, I made a fist and swung. It didn’t matter how much my ribs hurt. My adrenaline surged through me and I hit her. Hard enough to feel a crack.
She fell to the ground, blood gushing from her nose. I shook my hand, trying to ease the hurt, before kneeling in front of her. “When you go home to complain to Mommy and Daddy about what happened here, tell them it was Charlotte Kendry who hit you. Enjoy the fucking rhinoplasty.”
Her eyes went wide with recognition, and those wide eyes didn’t leave me even as I stood and walked away. Only when I was storming off did I realize that a crowd had formed. Thankfully, people moved out of my path. I’d been on my way to the bathroom, but I needed some air.
I went straight out the back entrance. Thankfully, no one was outside. I turned my face toward the night sky and just breathed as I rubbed my sore hand.
With my back to it, I heard the bar’s door open. Loud music poured out before it was muffled by the door closing. I turned to see who had come out.
Reid was standing a few feet away, watching me. His gaze dropped to my hands. “How bad is your hand?”
I let them relax at my sides. “Are you here to see how I am or lecture me for what I just did?”
“Why would I lecture you?”
“Maybe someone should. For drinking. For hitting someone.” Feeling cold, I hugged myself. “I’m waiting to feel guilty for what I just did, but I don’t. Maybe I will in the morning when I’m sober.”
“The only thing you’re going to wake up with is a swollen hand if we don’t get some ice on it soon.”
“If I don’t feel guilty, am I just like my mother?” I asked him.
“The fact that you’re even worried about that means you’re not,” he said, sounding angry. “I’ve gotten in fights before. One time, some dude got handsy with Mac while she was working. I kicked the shit out of him. Does that mean I’m like my father?”
I shook my head.
He took a step closer. “I’m pretty sure you got your right hook from your father. Not your mother.”
I hoped he was right. “Did you at least try to turn that girl down?”
“I told her I wasn’t interested. She was...” He trailed off as if trying to find the right word.
“Persistent?” I offered. “I saw her grab your hand.”
“She went looking for a wedding ring because no wasn’t a good enough answer,” he explained. “I could have handled it, but it was adorable watching you stake your claim on me.”
I turned away from him. “I’ve been drinking. People do strange things while they’re drunk.”
I heard him step closer until I could feel the heat of him right behind me. His hand smoothed over my hip to rest flat and low on my stomach. “You sound pretty with it to me.” With his other hand, he grabbed my sore one and brought it up over my shoulder to look at it.
“What I just did was sobering,” I said.
His lips pressed to my knuckles. I turned my head to look up and back at him. His eyes met mine before dropping to my mouth. As he leaned down to kiss me, the back entrance to the bar opened. Reid straightened and released me. We both turned to see Roe and Wyatt walking out.
They looked back and forth between Reid and me with curious eyes.
“Mac just told us what happened,” Roe said as they approached. “Are you hurt?”
“She’ll need to ice her hand,” Reid answered for me.
“I bet she does. We saw that girl’s nose,” Wyatt said.
The back entrance opened again. Mac and Lemon walked out with the twins.
Mac came over, handed me my wristlet, and hugged me. “Thank you for defending me.”
I hugged her back. “You defended me first.”
Mac pulled away. “Do you think Rich Girl will cause problems?”
I shook my head. “I made sure she wouldn’t.” And if she did, she’d come after me. I had more power to deal with that girl and her family than Mac did.
“Is that why you told her who you were?” Mac asked.
I nodded.
Lemon came up to us. “If her parents have any business dealings or want to in the future with Sullivan Kendry, Lottie’s grandfather, they’ll ignore this. If that girl is smart, she won’t even tell anyone what went down tonight.”
I was probably only going to be a Kendry for another month. I might as well enjoy the perks while I could.
“We were talking about hitting up C&Bs with the twins,” Mac said. “I always crave greasy food after drinking.”
I frowned. “C&Bs?”
“Checkerboards & Bricks—the diner we took you to,” Wyatt explained.
Oh. I glanced at the guys, feeling torn. I was kind of ready to end the night.
“We can take them if you’re not up for it,” Bash said. “I could eat.”
I glanced at the girls. “I’m a little tired. Would you be okay with that?”
They both nodded.
“We’re good with it,” Mac said and then smiled. “Lemon’s going to stay the night, but you probably won’t see her until the morning.”
I fought not to smile. “Probably not.”
The four of them took off after that. Mac rode on the back of Bash’s motorcycle and Lemon rode with Theo. We watched them drive off and when the rumbling of the motorcycles could barely be heard, I heard Reid ask, “You guys okay to drive?”
“Yeah, I stopped a while ago,” Wyatt said.
Reid nodded. “I’m going to head home, then.”
We parted ways after that.
I got really tired on the drive back to Roe and Wyatt’s house. As we walked inside, I asked, “Who am I sleeping with? Or can we all just sleep together? Because that’s all we’re doing. Sleeping.”
“Let me get ice for your hand and we can all stay in my room,” Roe said.
Wyatt and I headed down the hall while Roe went into the kitchen. Before going into Roe’s room, Wyatt said he’d meet me in there in a minute.
Right when I got inside, I sat on the edge of the bed with a sigh. I sent a quick text to Bram to let him know I was okay and going to bed. Then I set my phone and wristlet on the nightstand. I lay back.
Roe came into the room before Wyatt. He handed me a reusable ice pack. I put it across my knuckles. Without asking, Roe helped me remove my shoes and socks.
“You could strip me, too,” I half joked.
“If I do that, I’m going to have a hard time keeping my hands off you,” he said. “But if you need me to, I’ll try.”
“I don’t think my vagina can take another round,” I said. “We had so much sex, I can still feel you there.”
He ran a hand down the side of his face as he groaned.
“I’ll help her,” Wyatt said as he walked in wearing nothing but navy sweatpants low on his hips and holding a T-shirt in his hand.
Roe went over to his closet to get changed.
Wyatt came over and tossed the shirt next to me on the bed. As he did, I noticed a small butterfly tattoo on the inside of his upper arm. “That’s for you to wear tonight,” he said about the shirt he’d brought. His hands went to the top of my leggings. “Ready?”
I lifted my hips and he pulled my leggings down, leaving my black thong still on.
“Let’s sit up, beautiful,” Wyatt said.
I took his hand and sat up. After I set the ice pack aside, I lifted my arms so he could pull my crop top off. As he reached behind me and unclasped my bra, I felt below my neck for my necklace. Thankfully, it was still on.
With my bra undone, I took it off the rest of the way and held it up to Wyatt. He slowly, distractedly took it, which made me look up at him. His eyes were glued to my chest.
I smiled and grabbed the shirt he’d brought me. “Would you like me to arch back a little to give you a better view?”
Wyatt’s eyes jumped to mine and he grinned. “Since you asked—”
“No teasing, Lottie, or I’ll make sure you feel me between your legs all day tomorrow, too,” Roe warned.
I was tempted to take him up on that offer, but then I yawned. Wyatt set my clothes neatly on Roe’s desk, then snatched the shirt from me and helped me put it on.
Wyatt took the spot closest to the wall in the bed. I lay next to him with my ice pack on my hand. Roe climbed into bed on my other side. I was able to stay up for another twenty minutes talking with them while I iced my hand, but then drifted off.