Vixen
D are showed around his apartment, and it seemed to be as small as hers was. She had always dreamed of owning a house someday, but right now, that was a pipe dream. “I’m sorry that it’s so small. I’ll gladly take the sofa, and you take the bed,” he offered. There was no way that she was going to take his bed from him—and zero percent chance of them sharing it.
“I really don’t mind the sofa,” she insisted. “I don’t want to put you out any more than I already am.”
“You aren’t putting me out, ,” he said. “I don’t mind helping you with this Wyatt situation.”
“I think that it’s exploded into more than just a situation,” she countered. “Your club brother is stalking me for no good reason,” she insisted.
“Well, you did sleep with him,” Dare said. She took a step back from him as though he had just slapped her, and he sighed. “I’m an ass,” he breathed, “and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it to sound the way that it did. I’m just saying that maybe he doesn’t know how to show that he’s interested in you, so he’s going about it all wrong.”
Was he really justifying Wyatt’s behavior? “I think that you’re forgetting the part about him dealing drugs, Dare,” she spat. “Maybe that doesn’t matter to you, but it does to me. I only went home with him that night to make—” she stopped herself before saying the rest of what would have been a very embarrassing statement.
“To make what?” Dare asked. “Why did you go home with him, ?” he asked.
“I’m tired,” she insisted. There was no way that she’d spill her guts to him now. She needed to get a good night’s sleep and then, she’d figure out what to do about Wyatt in the morning. With any luck, Banshee would come through for her and help her out. She knew that she could always count on her Harlot sisters.
“Fine, have it your way,” Dare grumbled. He walked into his bedroom and came back out minutes later holding a few pillows and blankets. He handed them to her, and she nodded her thanks.
“I appreciate you allowing me to stay with you, Dare,” she said, pasting on her polite mask for him.
“No problem,” he grumbled. “I’ll let you use the bathroom first,” he said, disappearing back down the hallway to his bedroom. He slammed the door and jumped. She was totally screwing everything up and it was all due to a silly crush she had on the man who was currently pissed off at her. But telling Dare that she had a crush on him since she was a teenager wasn’t something that she was willing to do. It wouldn’t change anything between them. He had asked her friend, Phoenix to dance the night that she went home with Wyatt. That’s why she had agreed to go home with him—well, that and because she was hoping to make Dare jealous. Not that it worked. He was helping her out because he was a nice guy, not because he wanted her, and she needed to keep that in mind every time he made her swoon a little bit.
The next morning, she woke up with a stiff back and a kink in her damn neck, not that she was about to complain to Dare about either of those problems. She stumbled to the kitchen to find coffee and walked right into a solid wall of man.
“Ugg, sorry,” she breathed. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“What’s going on with your neck, ?” Dare asked. Sure, now he had to go and be all astute and notice even the smallest things about her. But instead of him noticing how she looked at him every time they were in the same room together, he saw that there was something wrong with her neck.
“Nothing, why?” she lied.
“Because you’re holding your head funny,” he said, calling her out. tried to straighten up as much as possible and when her back spasmed, she cried out like a complete baby.
“I said that I’m fine,” she lied again.
“Obviously, you are not fine, honey,” he drawled, putting his hands on his hips. looked his body over, noting that he was just wearing a pair of gym shorts and a tight t-shirt—and God he was sweaty. She had to mentally remind herself to close her mouth so that she didn’t drool on him as he helped her to a kitchen chair.
“Did you work out?” she asked.
“Yeah, my building has a small gym, so I ran down there and had my workout while you were sleeping,” he admitted. She had never really pegged him for a gym rat. Sure, he had a fantastic body and muscles everywhere that his t-shirts didn’t hide, but seeing him like this gave her a whole new perspective on Dare.
“So, you’re an over achiever then,” she grumbled.
“Nope, just a guy who loves a routine. When I was on the force, it wasn’t an option. I had to work out every day to keep up with the rest of the guys,” he admitted.
“Wait, I’m confused,” she breathed, trying to keep up with what he was telling her. “Last night, you said that you’re not on the force and that you are a tow truck driver. You said that you work for Riggs. But now, you’re telling me that you were a cop?”
He grimaced and grabbed her an ice pack from the freezer. “Put this on your neck,” he ordered. “I keep ice packs for after a hard workout.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” said, putting the ice on her neck. God, it felt like heaven even if it was cold as hell.
“Fine, I was a cop, but I don’t really like to talk about it much,” he admitted.
“Why not?” asked. She had heard some rumors about Dare being a cop, but she never really listened to any of them. In a small town like Huntsville, gossip ran rampant, and she learned to ignore it a long time ago.
“Because it’s too painful,” he admitted. “Can we please just drop the subject?” he asked. “I’m sorry that I lied about being a cop last night, but I just can’t talk about it right now.”
“Fair enough,” she agreed. “I hope that someday, you’ll be able to tell me your story, but I won’t push you for it.” She stood from the chair and handed him back the icepack. “I need to shower and get to work,” she said.
He stood from his seat as it made a horrible scraping noise across the hardwood floor. “You can’t go to work. Wyatt will know to look for you there,” he insisted. Of course, he would, but she had no choice but to go into her shop. If she didn’t open, she didn’t make any money, and her bills wouldn’t get paid.
“I have these little annoying pieces of paper called bills, Dare. They have to be paid every month and if I don’t work, they don’t get paid,” she said.
“I understand, but there has to be another way, ,” he grumbled. “Do you have someone who works for you who can open your store?”
“Nope, it’s just me,” she admitted. Once in a while, Phoenix, Rebel, and Juno would stop by her shop and help out, but they all had their own lives, and she didn’t want to bother them.
“I can’t go with you. I’m driving today so that Riggs can have the day off,” he said. “Phoenix has a doctor's appointment.” She wanted to smack herself in the head for forgetting about the sonogram that her friend was having today. She was hopeful about finding out the sex of the baby. made a mental note to call Phoenix later and started for the bathroom.
“You’re not going to budge on this, are you?” he asked.
“Nope,” she admitted. “I’m sorry that you seem so upset about me going to work, but there is no other way, Dare. I have to go in and you have to go to work. I appreciate you letting me stay here last night, but I think that Wyatt will leave me alone now.” She didn’t believe that at all. Wyatt was like a dog with a fucking bone and leaving her alone probably was the last thing on his mind. He had chased her around town for weeks now and she was pretty sure that nothing was about to change.
“Oh, and why would he just stop stalking you, ?” he asked. “I saw how afraid you were of him last night when you asked me to pretend to be your boyfriend.” She was terrified, but telling Dare that now wouldn’t help her get to work any faster.
“Because he’s probably scared that Savage will kick him out of the Royal Bastards after last night. Maybe you all scared him straight and he’ll move on now.” Yeah, she wasn’t buying a word of what she was saying and from the look on his face, Dare wasn’t either.
“That’s bullshit, and you know it,” Dare accused.
“Well, I can’t help it if you think that,” she insisted.
“At least let me get Savage to put a guy or two outside of your shop,” he begged.
“Absolutely not. I’ve already caused Savage and the rest of your brothers enough trouble. I won’t inconvenience them by asking them to babysit me while I’m working, Dare.” That would just be too embarrassing for her. And how long would she have to let them watch her? No, she needed to stop all this foolishness now and put on her big girl panties. She could take care of herself—always had. Now was no different. So what if some asshole guy decided to follow her around. For all she knew, Wyatt could be completely harmless—or not, but she’d find that out for herself.
“You are not inconveniencing anyone, . I wish you’d believe that,” Dare almost whispered.
“I really need to get ready to leave, Dare. Would you mind taking me back to Savage Hell so that I can grab my truck?” she asked. She was effectively dismissing him, and even though she felt bad about that, she couldn’t do anything about it.
“Fine,” he mumbled, walking down the hallway to his bedroom and slamming the door. seemed to have that effect on Dare, but she couldn’t worry about that right now. She needed to focus on the big picture—getting out of Dare’s apartment with her heart still intact because every second she spent with him made her want to make bad decisions and she already knew what happened when she did that.
She had spent the better part of the morning organizing some new stuff that had been brought in for consignment. She was thankful that it had started as a slow day, but things started to pick up just after lunch.
The bell rang over the door, and she looked up, pasting on her smile, to welcome her next customer—but that’s not who had walked into her store. Instead, her smile disappeared when she saw Wyatt standing in the doorway.
“Hey, honey,” he drawled as though he hadn’t just stalked her for weeks.
“You can’t be here,” she insisted. was delusional to hope that he wouldn’t show up at her store. This was on her, but right now, she planned on standing her ground with him and hopefully, Wyatt would finally get the hint.
“I’ve just come in to look around,” he said. “I hear that you have some really nice stuff in here.”
“We don’t carry stuff for men,” she explained. “Listen, Wyatt, I’m sorry about the way things turned out, but you have to understand that I’m with Dare now,” she lied.
“See now, I don’t believe that the two of you are together, . If he was really your new boyfriend, he wouldn’t have allowed you to come in here alone. He doesn’t care about you, honey—not like I do. Do you want to know the real reason that I stopped by today?” he asked. She didn’t, but telling him that would probably only piss him off further.
“Sure,” she grumbled.
“I’m here because I care about you, . I came by to make sure that you’re safe,” he insisted. “I love you.”
“You need to stop saying that, Wyatt,” she shouted. “I don’t love you.” knew that she was poking the bear, but she just couldn’t help herself. Now was the time to drive her point home with Wyatt.
“Don’t say that,” he spat.
“Why not?” she asked. “It’s true, Wyatt. I don’t love you. We spent one night together, and it was a mistake. If I could take it back now, I would.”
He crossed the room and stopped in front of her. “We were not a mistake, . You wanted me as much as I wanted you. I still want you, honey.” She felt sick to her stomach. Every time he shouted at her she wanted to run and hide, but there was nowhere for her to go. He wasn’t going to let this go—she could see that now, but second-guessing herself couldn’t happen yet—not until she was safe.
He grabbed her arm and yanked her into his body. “You’re coming home with me, honey. We need a private place to talk and judging by the fact that Savage just pulled up out front, I’m thinking your store isn’t that place.” The last thing she needed was for Wyatt to take her back to his place. With the way that he was acting, she might never get out of there again.
“Savage is here?” she questioned, trying to look around his body to the front parking lot. Dare went against her wishes and called Savage to check in on her. She should be pissed. Hell, she should want to strangle the big biker with her bare hands, but she didn’t. All she could think about was seeing him again and thanking him for wanting to protect her. She had acted like an ass at every turn last night, and that was something that she planned on changing—if she got the chance to do that. The other thing planned on doing was going downtown to the courthouse to get a restraining order for Wyatt because there was no way that she’d allow him to touch her again—ever.
“Yeah, and we’re going out the back door,” Wyatt explained. “Let’s go.” She tried to pull her arm free from his hand and he tightened his hold. “This is for the best, honey.”
“Kidnapping me is not for the best, Wyatt. It’s against the law,” she shouted.
“I’m not kidnapping you,” he insisted, “I’m taking you back to my place—like the night that we spent together. Maybe it will help jog your memory and you’ll want me again.” She almost felt pity for the guy—almost. But there was no way that she’d leave with him and go back to his place. had a sick feeling that doing so would be the biggest mistake of her adult life—and there had been many.
“Can I help you?” a gruff voice asked from the front door as the bell dinged, letting them know that they weren’t alone.
“Thank God,” she whispered. She’d know that deep voice anywhere—Savage. “Wyatt is under the delusion that I’m going home with him.”
“Do you want to go home with him, love?” a woman’s voice asked from the back of the store. Banshee had come along to help Savage and for just a second, she knew she’d be safe.
“She’s mine and you can’t take her,” Wyatt shouted.
“Wyatt, you need to listen to reason. You can’t do this. doesn’t want you. She’s with Dare now,” Savage insisted. His hands were shaking and worried that Savage wasn’t getting through to him.
“Wyatt, you have everything to lose if you kidnap and nothing to lose if you just let her go. We can help you,” Banshee insisted.
“Please,” begged. She wasn’t above begging if he’d grant her freedom.
“Fine,” Wyatt shouted, thrusting toward Savage. She stumbled across the floor and into his arms. “But I’m walking out of here.” He looked between Savage and Banshee, flashing them a look at his gun attached to a hip holster on his right side. How had missed that?
“When you’re ready to let us help you, you know where to find us, man,” Savage said. stood next to Savage, watching Wyatt scurry out of her store and all she wanted to do was break down and cry—and she wasn’t a crier.
Banshee crossed the store and pulled into her arms. “I called Dare and he’s on the way over.” They had all been lying for her—telling everyone that she and Dare were dating. In just one day, she was sure that it wouldn’t take much time at all for not only would both clubs know, but the entire town would too.
“You do remember that Dare and I are not together,” reminded. “You shouldn’t have bothered him at work. I’m going to go downtown and put in a restraining order against Wyatt. I can handle this on my own,” she lied. Having Dare by her side since leaving Savage Hell, she felt safe.
“The question is, do you and Dare know that you two aren’t really together?” Savage asked.
“Of course we do,” she insisted. “Why would you ask me something like that?”
“Because I’ve seen the way that you two look at each other,” he said.
“You’ve been circling each other for some time now,” Banshee chimed in. “So how about you stop fighting everyone around you, and especially yourself, and just give him a chance, ? What do you have to lose?” She had everything to lose, but telling her club’s Prez that wasn’t something that she wanted to do.
“She’s right,” Savage agreed, “what do you have to lose?”
She looked between the two of them, knowing that they weren’t going to drop the subject without an answer. took a deep breath and let it out. “My heart,” she whispered. “I don’t want to lose my heart to him.”