Chapter Six
Havoc
Leighton’s face has gone as white as the walls of the kitchen, and she’s looking at me like I just told her Santa Claus isn’t real.
I hand her the beer I’ve been drinking, encouraging her to take a drink of it with a flick of my wrist. I’m glancing for clues that she’s not gonna pass out on me, but I’m not feeling overly confident about the situation. “You okay, sweetheart?”
I watch as her lips wrap around the head of the bottle right where mine were, touching the same glass I did.
She tilts her head back and drains half of it, and I can’t help but groan when I watch her push the liquid down with the motion of her throat.
I can imagine her on her knees in front of me swallowing down my cock, her throat pushing against my length.
It’s hot as hell when she finishes, sets the bottle down, and laps up the remaining moisture lingering on her bottom lip with a swipe of her tongue.
As I watch her pink tongue swipe at her red lips, I have to move behind the island so that my body is concealed from her view.
Reaching down, I adjust the rapidly rising evidence of how much I want her.
Inevitably, questions will come if she knows how many hours a day I think about the two of us naked, and those are answers I don’t have yet.
Maybe I should have taken a bit longer in the shower.
“That bother you?” I ask her, because I do wonder.
“Me taking a bullet to the vest?” How would she feel if something happened to me?
Does it make her stomach hurt the way it makes mine hurt when I think of danger coming to her door?
She looks away from me, one of her dark curls concealing her face from my gaze.
It pisses me off; I want to see the truth in her eyes, the emotion on her face.
She’s expressive as hell, and right now I need to see it all.
“Of course it bothers me.” She clears her throat before she turns back to me, her eyes taking in the bruise on my torso again.
Her voice is quiet as she speaks the next words, “You’re a very important part of my life.
You’re basically all I have. If something happened to you, I don’t know what I would do. ”
The way she speaks lets me know she’s laying the truth out for me.
I’m not sure how to react. On one hand, I want to be the person she leans on, on the other I don’t want it to be because she has no other options.
It’s a stroke and blow to my ego all in the same sentence.
“You’re a strong woman and an incredibly intelligent person, you’d figure it out, Leigh.
” Then I realize that since she’s been real with me, I need to be real with her, too.
“But I don’t want you to ever have to figure it out on your own.
I want to be the person you call if shit ever goes sideways, and I’ll protect you until my last breath.
I don’t let anybody fuck with what’s mine and don’t ever doubt you aren’t mine. ”
Her chest is pumping up and down as she takes in my words.
“I know, it’s why I trusted you when you asked me to move in with you.
It’s why I said yes when you said we should get married.
I’ve never trusted anyone as much as you,” she whispers.
I notice she puts her arms in front of her chest, hugging herself, in a protective gesture.
If I were any kind of man I’d give it up and go over there, take her in my arms, let her know everything’s okay.
But I’m raw right now; we’re talking more today than we ever have, all because of a bruise on my chest. Tank and Blaze admitted their feelings because of a wreck – maybe it is true what they say, certain situations put life into perspective.
She’s still speaking, so I give her my full attention.
“That may make me the stupidest person ever, but I trust you with everything.”
I shake my head. “Doesn’t make you stupid, sweetheart. I trust you with everything too, and I’m fully aware it puts us both at risk.”
She nods almost imperceptivity. “Is that risk the reason you’re bruised right now?” I know what she’s asking. She wants to know if her family had anything to do with me getting hurt. It annoys me, that she even has to worry about that shit.
I clear my throat. “Nope, this was something else entirely, and you know it’s never mattered to me what stock you came from. What matters to me is the type of person you are.”
I realize then how true those words are, as I grab the hamburger patties and head out to the deck, snagging another beer on my way. Sometimes you need to let loose, and maybe I’m gonna do that by having a couple of beers tonight. Otherwise, I might do something I could totally regret.