42. Harden #2
I can’t help but snort a laugh, dropping back into my seat and releasing her so I can sign. Aurora, my friends flirted with you all night, I lost the race, and you’re covered in smudges of blood.
Her eyes track my fingers before her smile widens. “Best night ever,” she replies with a shrug, and I can’t help but lean up and kiss her again.
It’s softer this time, lazy, the kind of kiss I want from her every day for the rest of my life, and when we pull apart, my heart feels like it’s being squeezed in a vice.
We should get going before your brother sends out a search party. I sign, brushing her hair back from her face, and she laughs again, untangling herself from my body.
I help her back across the console, biting back a groan as she bends over to crawl back to her seat, before she readjusts her skirt and reaches for her seat belt.
“It’s okay, we all know how good your right hook is, so I know you’d protect me from him,” she muses with a playful wink, confidently placing her hand back on my leg, and I’ve never felt more needed.
“I’d protect you from anything,” I tell her truthfully, her eyes softening in understanding, as she leans back over and presses a soft kiss to my lips.
“And I’ll protect you too,” she promises, and I nod swiftly, before taking a deep breath and gliding the car back onto the road as she relaxes back into her seat.
The drive back to the house is uneventful after our pit stop, Aurora keeping her hand on my thigh the entire way.
When we pull back into the garage it’s late, but the lights are still on in the house, so I know the guys have waited up for us.
I sigh, turning off the engine and climbing out, before opening Aurora’s door for her and slipping my hand into hers.
“The fun stops here,” I grumble, making her laugh as I guide us toward the house.
We’re barely through the front door before Everest and Griffin are on us, jumping straight up from the sofa and heading in our direction.
“Finally, You’ve been gone for….” Everest trails off, focused only on Aurora, or more accurately, the state of her. “What the fuck happened?” His tone goes from exasperated to angry in less than a second, as he rushes toward us.
“Jason.” I grit the one word out through my teeth, making both their eyes narrow.
“Jason?” Everest repeats, more fury in that one word than I have ever heard, and it’s just like that fucking night all over again.
“What the fuck did he do?” Griffin demands, rushing to my side and searching my stare.
I can see his questioning eyes drifting between Aurora and me, taking in the blood that has clearly been transferred between us, and our no doubt swollen lips. He knows something happened, he just doesn’t know what, but that’s not what he’s concerned about right now.
I don’t say anything and Aurora sighs. “He didn’t do anything, Harden hit him before he could even get near me,” she explains, causing Everest to look at me and grunt in approval.
As if there was ever any alternative.
Griffin picks up one of my bloody hands, inspecting my busted knuckles closely. “Fucking hell, baby, how many times did you hit him?” he asks, startling me a little with his free use of that term of endearment, but my focus is still on everything that happened tonight.
I shake off the caress of his words, flexing my fingers between his own, savoring the way he is touching me. “Not enough,” I reply truthfully, because I don’t care that Jason was fucking unconscious when I left him, it still wasn’t enough.
My thoughts taking me back to two years ago.
We all knew Jason was sniffing around her, and despite the multiple warnings he got from us, the sorry fuck still tried his hand.
Aurora was caught up in it at first, blinded by his charm and popularity, that and the fact we kept all other attention away from her.
However, it didn’t take long for her to see his true colors.
When he cornered her at her mother’s charity event, he knew it was a mistake, but guys like him don’t care.
No, they’re only after one thing, and Aurora Gray was his virginal prize.
I can still remember the tears staining her face and the rips in her dress, and it didn’t matter that Daemon had rendered him unconscious with his fists, like I did tonight.
The second Everest got Aurora out of there, Griffin and I took our time making him pay.
He woke up in hospital with broken legs, ribs and his jaw wired shut, with some made up bullshit about being attacked by strangers.
I guess he didn’t want to out himself as a would-be rapist by placing the blame of his assault on us.
The thought has me itching to hit him again.
“Come on, we need to get you guys cleaned up,” Griffin starts, cutting off my train of thought, and Everest is already grabbing Aurora and dragging her upstairs.
“I got her,” he snaps, tugging her along, her stare wide and apologetic as she is pulled away from me.
Griffin only rolls his eyes, before bringing his focus back to me.
“Did you make it hurt?” he asks.
“He’ll be waking up in the hospital,” I confirm, and he nods.
“Good, now let’s go and get you cleaned up.”