Chapter 12 Reign
REIGN
Early Saturday morning, I headed to her apartment.
She opened her door as soon as I knocked, almost as if she had been doing nothing but waiting for me to come pick her up. For some inexplicable reason, I liked that.
She was dressed casually in jeans and a light sweater, her overnight bag packed and ready beside her.
Fuck, but she even made casual look good.
Her face was free of any makeup, making her appear younger than her actual age.
I let my eyes take in her features. Jamie had the kind of beauty that only got more appealing the more you looked at her.
It made me never want to look away.
Like most times when I stared at her, she squirmed and looked away, pretending my eyes didn’t make her nervous. She was smart to be nervous—most people were when I stared. “You’re punctual,” she said, grabbing her bag before I could.
“I try to be.”
She pushed past me out of her apartment, and I followed, grabbing the bag from her hand and purposely letting our fingers graze.
She glared at me from the contact, but I pretended not to notice.
She didn’t like to be touched. I just didn’t know if this was the case with everyone, or if I was just special…
and what I could do to get her used to my touch.
I wanted to touch her. I leaned against the wall, watching as she locked up, letting my eyes stray down to the generous curve of her ass.
Fuck, but I really, really wanted to touch her.
“Excited?”
She shrugged, her expression closed off. “I wouldn't call it excitement. More like… curiosity.”
“About my friends?” They would be surprised to see her.
“About everything.” She brushed past me, her scent momentarily enveloping me. I resisted the urge to pull her in close to me and keep her there until I became desensitized to her scent. “How far is this cabin?”
“About two hours north. It’s secluded, quiet. You’ll like it. It’s close to where I took you when we went on that drive.”
She nodded, her eyes twinkling a little. It hadn’t been that long since we took that drive, but fuck if it didn’t feel like it.
I had been in a bad mood, but by the end of it all, things weren’t so bad.
I followed close behind her as we left her apartment building. Then we were off.
I watched Jamie grab my coffee cup from the cup holder between us and take a sip. I didn’t stop her. I liked that we were sharing the same drink. So she didn’t have a problem with that. She just didn’t like to be touched.
Why was that? I wondered again.
Did it have to do with her childhood? Had someone hurt her?
My grip on the steering wheel tightened at the thought. I forced myself to relax when I noticed her eyes on me, frowning a bit, though she didn’t comment.
Jamie, as usual, sat in the car in comfortable silence, which I didn’t fill with useless words either. Instead, I kept my eyes on the road and thought about work. Hell, I was technically working right now.
This entire trip was nothing more than a guise for me to meet up with a new buyer who might help us transport some goods up north.
Jamie’s father was expanding.
He already managed to secure contacts down south with his son’s help, and while the Caparelli weren’t a bigger threat to us now any more than they had been, it could easily change if we slacked off.
Baran, Makar, and Fabian were coming along as backup. And I knew those fuckers wouldn’t miss an opportunity to have some fun, bringing “dates” with them.
I didn’t know what I was thinking when I invited Jamie. She wasn’t stupid—she was her father’s daughter, after all.
I doubted she would miss much.
But it had been two days since I had last seen her, and I didn’t want to wait an entire weekend before I could see her again.
Why that was, I didn’t want to know.
I didn’t want to analyze my feelings too closely when it came to her, especially since I knew she was most likely playing me.
But when I looked at her, I didn’t fucking see it.
Halfway through the trip, she fell asleep.
I tried to keep my attention on the road, but I found my gaze drifting over to her.
Her head was tilted against the window, her breathing even, and her lips slightly parted.
A strand of hair fell across her face, and I had to grip the steering wheel tighter to stop myself from reaching over to brush it away.
I would no doubt wake her if I touched her now.
What was it about this woman that made me feel like I was losing all sense of control? I wasn’t the kind of man to just lose control. In fact, with the way I grew up, my control had been my most valuable possession. I should have cut her off just for making me feel like this.
The road stretched ahead, winding through the increasingly dense forest. As we climbed higher into the mountains, my phone rang, connecting to the car’s Bluetooth. I glanced down to see Makar’s name on the screen.
“Already there?” I answered quietly, not wanting to wake Jamie. She shifted a little in her seat.
“Yeah.” Makar’s voice filled the car. I turned down the volume. “We’re all set up. Fabian’s already started drinking, though.”
“Tell him not to overdo it,” I said. Between Fabian and Baran, things were expected to be… interesting.
“Yes, Mom,” Makar replied.
I ignored that and said, “I’m bringing someone, so behave.”
There was a pause at the other end. “The girl from the bar?”
To say Jamie Caparelli was just the girl from the bar felt wrong. It wasn’t like they didn’t know who she was. I glanced over at Jamie. She remained asleep, her chest rising and falling with each breath.
“Yeah,” I answered. “We’ll be there in about an hour. Make sure everything’s ready.”
“It’s already done. The buyer called. He’ll be in later tonight.”
I shook my head. Haven’t even met yet, and the fucker was already making a show of his power. I had set the meetup for tomorrow.
“Okay,” I said, hanging up the phone, shifting in my seat a little to relieve the ache in my back.
The marks Jamie had seen the other night were a reminder from the old man. And the bastard didn’t hold back. I shook away the memories and focused my attention back on the road. A part of me just wanted to get this done and over with, but the other part…
I looked over at Jamie once more.
I was looking forward to having her with me.
I shook her awake when we finally got there.
With the way she jumped in her seat as soon as she felt my hand, you would think I was holding a knife to her throat.
I smiled when she turned those tired eyes my way. “We’re here.”
“We’re here?” she asked, looking around. Her eyes focused on the cabin just ahead. “Is this yours?”
I nodded. I could see some movement inside through the windows. “Are you ready to meet everyone?”
“Sure.”
I laughed. “You don’t sound it.”
She perked up, shooting me a wide smile. “Sure!”
I knew she meant it as a joke, but fuck if my body didn’t react to her smile.
When she noticed I didn’t respond, her expression turned serious. “What? Do I have something on my face?”
Slowly, I reached my hand out toward her and was pleasantly surprised when she didn’t immediately back away from me.
I swiped my thumb on the corner of her mouth before pressing a firm touch on her bottom lip. She gasped slightly, her brown eyes seemingly turning just a shade darker, but she didn’t pull away from me.
She held still.
Whether she knew it or not, she was getting used to my touch.
“Just a little bit of drool there,” I said.
It took one long second for my words to register. She pulled away and glared at me, her cheeks flushing red. I didn’t think there would ever be a time when I wasn’t fascinated by the color of her skin.
“What?” I asked innocently. “It’s cute.”
She rolled her eyes at me and, without a word, got out of the car.
I stayed where I was for a beat, thoroughly enjoying teasing her before following her out.
I walked over to the trunk and grabbed our bags. I liked that she didn’t even offer to help. She expected the princess treatment from me, and she knew she would get nothing less than that. Instead, she was waiting for me by the hood of the car.
“Is this going to be a common occurrence?” she asked me as we walked up the narrow front steps leading to the front porch.
“What?”
“You teasing me all weekend.”
“But you’re so much fun to tease.”
Her expression darkened. She did not like that.
I winked at her just as the door opened, and Baran filled the doorframe. He looked from me to Jamie, his smile widening. I knew what his ass wanted to do before he could, so I blocked his path to her.
“Don’t,” I said, the warning clear in my voice.
“What? I just wanted to give her a hug.”
“She doesn’t want your hugs.”
“Not want my hugs?” he asked, sounding offended. I knew better. The fucker had thicker skin than a fucking crocodile. He looked past me to her. “Jamie, tell him it’s not true.”
Jamie looked at a loss for words. I didn’t blame her. Baran was a lot to handle on a good day.
“Get back inside and stop bothering my girl,” I said, shoving him forward.
“I’m not bothering her,” he whined. “She likes me. Don’t you know? Me and Jamie, we’re like this.” He held out his hand with his index and middle fingers crossed.
I rolled my eyes and looked back to see Jamie still standing there.
“Coming?” I asked her. She looked like she was thinking too deeply about something. She shook her head slightly and moved forward until she was close enough to me without touching.
We came inside, where everyone was.
Makar was sitting on the couch, looking at something on his phone. He looked up when he heard us, while Fabian was by the small makeshift bar, pouring himself another drink. I frowned at the sight. I doubted this was his first, nor would it be his last.
There were three other girls around that I had known in passing. But it was the blonde standing next to Fabian who had me internally groaning.