Chapter 15 Reign
REIGN
My girl was ignoring me.
Something shifted during our time at the cabin that had her running scared from me.
That was fine.
She was probably scared and confused. I could give her time. I was a patient man, after all. It helped that I had been able to track her through the app I installed on her phone. And for safe measure, I also placed a tracking chip in her shoes.
In all her shoes.
I looked down at all the messages I had sent her without getting any responses back.
I wasn’t usually like this.
I wasn’t like this at all, but Jamie just had this special ability to bring out all sorts of emotions from me.
She was at her father’s bar.
Drinking the night away?
I doubted anyone would touch her or harm her here, but hell if I wasn’t worried. And it wasn’t like the bar was closed off to outsiders. There could be other men who didn’t know who she was and might try to hurt her.
My mind seemed to be encased in a haze of red at the thought. I would fucking kill anyone who tried.
Or maybe, like an addict, I was going through withdrawal, and I just needed to see her.
I wasn’t asking for much. Just a simple glance would do until she realized she could belong to me.
That she did belong to me.
That she belonged to me and no one else, and that was all there was to it. I would make sure of it.
I didn’t even fucking care why she approached me in the first place, or what she was trying to get out of this.
Fuck it all.
I pulled the cap over my face and stood in the corner. From this point, I had a clear view of her. The light was dimmed, making it easier for me to hide in my corner, but she was like a beacon, calling to me. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
She was sitting at the bar, nursing her drink. I guessed it might be a Long Island iced tea, based on the color. Her head was down as she looked at something on her phone. She didn’t interact with anyone.
And for the most part, no one interacted with her.
That was good.
As long as no one touched her, I would just stay here like this and watch her.
I had come to this bar for her.
I hadn’t intended to listen in on anything Caparelli’s men were saying, but it just so happened that two men were talking nearby about a scheme in play for the Caparelli to intercept the Bratva’s upcoming transport.
I straightened against the wall, keeping my eyes focused on Jamie while I continued to eavesdrop on the two loud bastards. Had it not benefited the Bratva, I might have been disgusted that Davide didn’t run a tighter ship with his men.
If I ever caught any of the Mahankov men talking like this in public, they wouldn’t live past the night.
I shook my head and pulled out my phone, texting Kingston all the details the fuckers were spilling.
They wanted to intercept us?
We’re about to make it into a fucking party. Admission fee?
A dozen of Caparelli’s men would do.
I smiled at the thought just as movement ahead caught my attention. A man had approached Jamie. And judging by his sloppy gestures, he was drunk.
My fist clenched tightly as I looked around to see if any of her father’s men would step in. No one was even paying her any attention.
What the fuck?
I pushed off from the wall without thinking, walking over to them. I caught the fucker’s wrist before he could reach out and touch her.
I put a little pressure, feeling some satisfaction when the fucker’s face twisted in pain.
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to fucking touch anything that didn’t belong to you?” I asked.
He opened his mouth, probably to deny it, but I had no patience for him. I pulled him away from my girl and brought my face down to his until our noses touched. “You should go home. Because if I see your face again, it’ll be a hell of a lot worse for you.”
And if I weren’t in enemy territory…
A hand reached out and grabbed my forearm.
I looked over at Jamie’s brown eyes, rounded in fear. “What are you doing here?”
She looked around, but no one was paying us any attention.
“Looking for you,” I answered. “You’re ignoring me.”
She shook her head. “Let him go.”
I let the fucker go. He fell straight on his ass onto the floor.
Before I could say anything else, Jamie grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the back of the bar.
I willingly followed. I would follow her anywhere she wanted to take me.
We walked to the back door, which led out to the alleyway.
Jamie shivered and wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the cold.
“Where’s your jacket?” I asked, pulling off my own and wrapping it around her.
“In my car. I didn’t think I needed to bring it inside with me.”
“Better?” I asked, cupping her shoulders with both hands and bending down so that we were eye to eye.
She scowled at me and pulled away. “Do you really not know where you’re at?”
“I do,” I answered. “What are you doing here?”
Her eyes widened, and she backed away a step. “It was… it was close to my house.”
My baby was a shit liar.
I shook my head and moved in closer to her. “Come on. Lead the way to your car.”
“Where’s your car?” she asked, trying to push my hand away. I held on. No way was I letting her go now that I had her close.
“I didn’t drive here.”
“You… you didn’t drive here? Are you serious?”
I nodded.
I did drive here, but I wasn’t stupid enough to park my car in their lot. All it would take was for someone in the Caparelli Famiglia to pay close enough attention, and they would realize I was here. I parked my car about three blocks away.
“Come on, drive me back.”
“I can drive you back home.”
I shook my head. “My place’s still not ready.”
She shot me a look that said she didn’t believe me. She would be right not to. My place has been ready for a week now. I even got new furniture and shit.
“I’ll take you back to the hotel.”
“Take me back to your place.”
“I don’t have room for you,” she said stubbornly.
I smiled just as we stopped by her car. “I’ll sleep on your bed. I won’t take up much room. I promise. I’ll be like a little cat. You won’t even know I’m there.”
She stared up at me with an incredulous look on her face. “I don’t think it’s possible to not notice you.”
I grabbed her hand and held it to the door handle, unlocking the car door before climbing onto the passenger seat. I pulled the cap down to cover more of my face while she stood there, as if debating on whether or not she really should drive me back to her place.
She should.
I wasn’t getting out of this fucking car otherwise.
I saw her shoulders rise and fall from a small sigh before she made her way to the driver’s side and got in, turning on the car.
I didn’t ask her why she had been ignoring me these past few days, and she didn’t elaborate.
She did take her usual route home, so that was something. I reached over and placed my hand on her thigh when we were about halfway there.
She glanced at me briefly from the contact, but it was as if she knew it was a losing battle because she didn’t bother to say anything.
I smiled and drew indistinguishable shapes there, my eyes focused out the window.
We got to her apartment in no time.
She opened her front door and walked through, not looking back to see if I would follow.
I let my eyes take in her shapely form from behind, especially when she took off my jacket and draped it over the back of her couch, showing off the tight button-up shirt she was wearing along with black pants that molded to her curves perfectly.
My sweet little librarian.
I walked over and wrapped my arms around her from behind.
She tensed against me. “I didn’t bring you back here for sex.”
“I know,” I said, moving my hand to the front of her shirt and slowly unbuttoning it.
“Then what are you doing?” she asked, not stopping me.
“We’re not going to have sex. But I want to make you feel good. Wouldn’t my baby like that?”
She took in a sharp breath. “I’m not your baby.”
“Oh, but you are. You’re mine and only mine. And baby? I always take good care of my things.”
“I am not a thing to be possessed,” she said, trying to sound outraged. Trying to sound strong. She just sounded breathless to me. I pushed the shirt down her arms, letting it fall to the floor, revealing the black, tight undershirt she wore.
I looked down at the swell of her breasts, my mouth watering. Fuck, but she was beautiful.
I turned her around to face me. “Then tell me why I feel so fucking possessive when it comes to you?” I asked, my voice harsh, angry even.
“You’re fucking crazy. That’s why—”
Her words were cut off when I bent down and pulled her earlobe between my teeth, nibbling on it. I felt her chest push against me harshly.
“You’re everything,” I murmured against her ear, letting my lips graze the sensitive skin there. She shivered. I smiled.
Her breath hitched as I trailed kisses down her neck, pushing my tongue out to taste her skin. Fucking delicious. My hands found her waist, my fingers digging in just enough to make her gasp.
“I missed you,” I admitted. “Did you miss me, baby?”
“I… I don’t know…” she started, but her words dissolved into a soft moan when I nipped at her collarbone.
I pulled back to gaze at her face, drinking in those eyes that have haunted me since the very first moment I saw them. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes dark, and her lips parted.
I grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it up and over her head, dropping it on the floor as well, leaving her in nothing but her pants and black bra. She shifted on her feet, her arms twitching as if resisting the urge to cover herself.
“Don’t,” I said. “You have nothing to feel shy about. Don’t you know how fucking beautiful you are?”
And she was that.
All pale, unblemished skin that I was dying to run my tongue over.
She shook her head, at a loss for words.
I reached out and unbuttoned the pants, pulling the zipper down. They fell to her ankles.
I wrapped my arms around her waist and picked her up, walking us over to her bedroom.