141
" Lark wrapped an arm around me and started to speak until Bailey’s startled voice interrupted us. A huge football player had her pinned against the wall and she was yelling for him to back off. Instead, he crowded her more while playing with her blonde hair.
“Hey!” I yelled as Lark and I rushed over.
Six four and wide shouldered, the guy was wasted and angry at the interruption. “Fuck off, bitches,” he muttered.
Bailey clawed at his neck, but he had her pinned in a weird way, so she couldn’t get any leverage.
While I was ready to jump on him in a weak attempt to save my friend, someone shoved the football player off Bailey. I hadn’t even seen the guy appear, but he stood between Bailey and the pissed jerk.
“Fuck off, man,” the asshole said. “She’s mine.”
“Nick,” Bailey mumbled, looking ready to cry. “He humped my leg. Crush his skull, will ya?”
Nick frowned at Bailey who was leaning on him now.
The football player was an inch or two bigger than Nick and outweighed him by probably fifty pounds. Feeling the fight would be short, the asshole reached for Bailey’s arm and Nick nailed the guy in the face. To my shock, the giant asshole collapsed on the ground.
“My hero,” Bailey said, looking ready to puke. She caressed Nick’s biceps and asked, “Do you work out?”
Running his hands through his dark wavy hair, Nick laughed. “You’re so wasted.”
“And you’re like the Energizer Bunny,” she cooed. “My bro said you took a punch, yet kept on ticking.”
Nick started to speak then heard the asshole’s friends riled up.
I was too drunk to know if everything happened really quickly or if my brain just took awhile to catch up.
The guys rushed Nick who dodged most of them and hit another. The room emptied out except for Nick, the guys, and us. I grabbed a beer bottle and threw it at one of the guys shoving Nick.
When the bottle hit him in the back, the bastard glared at me. “You want to fight, bitch?”
“Leave her alone,” Nick said, kicking one guy into the jerk looking to hit me.
As impressive as Nick was against six guys, he was just one guy against six. A losing bet, he took a shot to the face then the gut. Lark grabbed a folding chair and went WWE on one guy. I was tossing beers in the roundabout direction of the other guys. Yet, Bailey was the one who ended the fight by pulling out a gun.
“Back the fuck off or I’ll burn this motherfucking house to the ground!” she screamed then fired at a lamp. Everyone stopped and stared at her. When she noticed me wide-eyed, Bailey frowned. “Too much?”
Grinning, I followed Lark to the door. Nick followed us while the assholes seemed ready to piss themselves. Well, except for an idiot who looked ready to go for Bailey’s gun.
"Dude,” Nick muttered, “that’s Bailey Fucking Johansson. Unless you want to end up in a shallow grave, back the fuck off.”
“What he said!” Bailey yelled, waving her gun around before I hurried her out of the door. The cold air sobered up Bailey enough for her to return the gun to her purse. She was still drunk enough to laugh hysterically as we reached the SUV.
“Did you see me kill that lamp?”
“You did good,” I said, groggy as my adrenaline shifted to nausea and the alcohol threatened to come back up on me.
Nick walked us to the SUV. “Next time, you might want to wave the gun around before you get drunk and dance.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” Bailey growled, crawling into the backseat. Then, realizing he saved her, she crawled back to face him. “You were so brave. I should totally get you off as a thank you."
“Maybe another time,” he said, laughing as she batted her eyes at him. “Are you guys safe to drive?”
Lark nodded. “I’m sober enough to remember everything tomorrow. Trust me that there’ll be mocking. "
― Bijou Hunter , Damaged and the Knight (Damaged, #2)
142
" Laughing, Bailey still put on a little frown. “I want a man to cuddle.”
Tucker stopped kissing Maddy long enough to look at Bailey. “Everyone needs love. Even the dipshit. I’ll find someone for you.” Tucker looked around. “How high are your standards?”
Bailey opened her mouth and I knew a tirade of profanity was coming.
Before she got started, I hugged her to me. “Tuck wants to help you. It’s his asshole way of showing his love. Tell him thank you and we’ll train him to be less of a jerk.”
Bailey took a deep breath and nodded. “Thank you, Tucker.”
A sober Tucker might have teased his sister, but the drunken version hugged her and told her that he would find someone great. Hot, big dick, money, good hair, the whole package.
Cooper frowned at both me and Farah. “You two are having an adverse influence on the family. Fucking Sawyer said thank you earlier today. What’s next? Will she say please?”
Grinning, Farah cuddled up to Cooper. "
― Bijou Hunter , Damaged and the Knight (Damaged, #2)
143
" Ignoring all the whispering couples around him, Vaughn taught me to bowl while I faked like I cared. We were both on the outs and I suspected he wanted to find a new buddy now that Judd was attached to his angel. Every time Tawny laughed, Vaughn’s frown darkened.
“You should be happy for them,” I said as he guided me towards the alley.
“I am. Fucking overwhelmed with happiness. Now, pay attention.” When I flinched at his tone, Vaughn sighed. “It gets boring when your best friend is busy mating like a rabbit.”
“My best friend ditched me too, so I found new friends. Maybe you should too.”
“Crap no. Sounds like too much effort.”
I grinned. “You could play with Bailey. Here, she comes.”
Vaughn didn’t even glance at the arriving blonde who threw her hands in the air. “I got dumped again! Men suck! I hate them all!” she cried, enjoying a hug from Tawny. “Who wants to set me up now?”
“I thought you hated men,” Tucker mumbled with his mouth full of a hot dog.
“I do, but one of them has got to work, right? Everyone in the world gets someone good, but I get shit. It’s not fair. I’m nicer than anyone ever.”
This comment elicited laughter from the crew including Vaughn who took my bowling ball and rolled it for me.
“Look,” he said,” you got a strike. I’m an excellent teacher.”
“Best ever. "
― Bijou Hunter , Damaged and the Cobra (Damaged, #3)
145
" What are we talking about?” Tawny asked as Judd rolled a ball, knocked over a few pins, then frowned like he might knock the others over with his angry glare.
“Aaron’s going to fix her tat,” Bailey explained while Cooper and Farah wandered off.
“He’s an artist,” Tawny cooed. “He made this angel on Judd.”
After Tawny showed me Judd’s arm, she put her hand back to where she had a gorgeous tattoo of a fallen angel. “He’s very talented,” she added.
“I’m excited to get my butterfly finished.”
“He’ll do a great job,” Bailey reassured, taking a ball from Vaughn and rolling it into the wrong alley. “Oops.”
“Idiot.”
“Be nice or I won’t be nice,” Bailey warned, glaring up at him.
“I love feisty women,” he said, smirking down at her.
“Not interested. Blond men are usually stupid. Just look at my brothers. Anyway, I don’t want a dumbass loser. I want a smartass winner.”
“You deserve nothing less,” I said and Bailey smiled at me like I was amazing. "
― Bijou Hunter , Damaged and the Cobra (Damaged, #3)
146
" Farah looked freaked out until Tawny hugged her and the tension faded from her face. A minute later, the table cloth lifted and Bailey appeared with beer bottles in her hands. “I figured you’d need booze to deal with the boredom of hiding.”
“I can’t drink,” Farah said. “I’m off the pill and trying to get knocked up.”
“I am knocked up. I also don’t like that brand of beer.”
Handing the beers to Tawny, Bailey nodded. “Be back in a sec.” A minute later, Bailey returned with two cans of Coke for Farah and me.
“So what are we talking about?” Bailey asked.
“Men needing to protect their women,” I explained.
“Lame. Talk about something I can join in on. What’s your sister like? Is she hotter than me?”
“Yes.”
“I hate her and you should tell her to watch out. If I see her, that pretty face is dead meat.”
Grinning, I cuddled up with her as the table shook from fighting bodies knocking against it.
“You’re having a baby?” she asked, wrapping her arms around me. “Everyone is getting married or having babies.”
“Raven isn’t,” I said as Farah peeked out from under the table cloth to check on Cooper. She smiled and returned to her spot. “Judd and Aaron have stripped Mac down and are shoving him out the door.”
Tawny laughed. “Judd finally got to punish Mac for letting me touch his arm months ago. Good for him.”
Laughing, I leaned my head against Bailey. “Raven has bad taste in men. Going out with her will be great for you. If Raven likes someone, you’ll know he’s a loser. So she’ll distract all the shitty guys from you.”
“Huh. And she’s hot, so she’ll draw guys to us. I think she might be my new best friend,” Bailey said, taking a swig. ‘Don’t be jealous. I just need a man because all of the kissing and fucking and marrying and baby making you guys keep doing. I can’t be the only one alone and Vaughn doesn’t count because he’ll be dead in a few months and shouldn’t be dating anyway.”
We all frowned at Bailey who shrugged. “Those Devils fuck are going to kill him or he’ll try to kill them and get killed. Why do you think they call him Dead Man Walking?”
“You’re bumming me out,” I told her while finishing my soda. “I wish Aaron was here.”
“As you wish,” Aaron said, leaning down. “Look at you pretty girls hiding under here.”
“We’re not hiding,” I said, crawling out. “We’re planning our attack. You know, just in case you couldn’t handle things.”
When Aaron grinned, I noticed blood on his lip. “You’re hurt.”
“You should see the other guys.”
Glancing around, I noticed Mac’s friend was propped up on the pool table and the other guys were throwing pretzels and peanuts at him. In the corner, Kirk and Jodi sat as if on their porch drinking lemonade and admiring the sunset.
“My hero,” I said, caressing the cobra.
“Are you talking to me or the tattoo?”
“Both, baby. Always both. "
― Bijou Hunter , Damaged and the Cobra (Damaged, #3)
147
" Aaron lifted me up onto his hips and I knew we weren’t staying.
“We just got here,” I murmured against his cheek.
“Don’t you think Judd and Coop will take their women home to celebrate?”
Glancing around, I noticed Tawny high fiving Judd who looked pretty proud about his revenge on Mac. Nearby, Farah was squeezing Cooper’s flexed muscles. None of them were planning to stay at the bar.
“Are you okay, Bailey?” I asked as Aaron started for the door.
“Sure, I’ll just hang out and pretend Vaughn is charming. It’ll be good practice for the next loser I date.”
A grinning Vaughn patted the spot next to him in a booth. As the blonds got comfy, Aaron carried me to the Harley and sat me on the seat.
“You saved me from mean words,” I teased as he felt me up in the spot Mac thought I needed help.
“No one messes with my girl.”
“Mighty sperm and powerful fists. Plus, you can cook and paint and write poems and a million other qualities. I’ve hit pay dirt.”
“I need to get you home,” he said and I sensed the ride would be uncomfortable for him. As I wrapped my arms around his waist, he started the Harley.
“Raven bought headphones, so we can fuck really loud and she won’t be bothered.”
“The best houseguest ever,” Aaron said over his shoulder.
As we sped away, I noticed Judd chasing a laughing Tawny to the parking lot. Cooper strutted out with Farah clinging to him. Everyone was happy except for a naked Mac tied to a tree in what I assumed was the club’s version of a time out. "
― Bijou Hunter , Damaged and the Cobra (Damaged, #3)
151
" The crew headed to Tequila Jodi’s for a celebration. Raven and Vaughn arrived an hour after everyone. They made up for their tardiness by binge drinking a bottle of tequila. Well, Vaughn did. Raven binged on a pitcher of Diet Coke.
“I might be binging for two!” she announced then sat down to look over the pictures of her niece and nephew.
Harlow showed up with Toni. While her mom joined Jodi at a back table, Harlow made a beeline for Winnie.
“Are you okay?” she asked, studying Winnie’s face.
“Yes. Are you?”
Harlow rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”
Winnie glanced at me and I saw such peace in her eyes. When she looked back at Harlow, her smile brightened.
“Lark and the babies are okay. Today is a good day.”
Hugging her sister, Winnie couldn’t stop smiling.
“Are you drunk?” Harlow asked.
“I’m happy.”
Harlow studied her sister again and checked her hands for new bruises. “Do you plan to sleep at home tonight?”
“No, I’m staying with Dylan.”
“Any bad memories about the baby?”
“Only hopeful thoughts about the future.”
Harlow frowned at me then shrugged. “I can imagine you two making a decent looking kid. Your pretty eyes and hair and his… well shaped head. Yeah, it’ll work.”
Running a hand over my head, I laughed. “My head shape is helluva sexy.”
Winnie’s calm infected Harlow who laughed and ordered a soda. The sisters danced with Bailey and Sawyer to Amos Moses. I knew Winnie wasn’t comfortable showing off in front of people. Whenever she got nervous, she glanced at me and relaxed.
“Wedding bells,” Nick said from beside me. “You didn’t waste any time.”
“She calms the asshole in me and I calm the broken girl in her. What’s there to wait for?”
Giving me a grin, Nick shrugged. “When you know, you know. "
― Bijou Hunter , Damaged and the Bulldog (Damaged, #6)
152
" Rolling my eyes, I took Dylan’s hand and followed Harlow inside. Jace sat in the front of the TV. I knew he was grumpy based on the way he didn’t look at me.
When I flopped next to him on the couch, he did smile.
“You smell like a strip club,” he said, narrowing his eyes at me.
“How would you know?”
“I’m not telling you my secrets.”
Shaking my head, I sighed loudly. “Why do you make me do this to you? It’s like you want to suffer.”
Jace knew what was coming, but his escape came too late. I pinned him on the couch and tickled him. Despite his efforts to seem unfazed, he couldn’t withstand armpit tickling.
While I tormented my laughing brother, Dad and Mom walked out from the kitchen.
“He missed you,” Mom said as I finally let Jace up.
Catching his breath, my brother leaned next to me on the couch. “I miss beating you at videogames.”
“I miss you beating me too,” I said, kissing his head.
Harlow flopped on the couch next to us and I smiled at the familiar comfort of my family.
Dylan watched us with a slight grin. When he caught Tad and Toni’s gazes, his smile grew.
Suspicious now, I glanced at Harlow who was busy gluing herself to me. “Are they up to something?” I whispered. “Am I going to be embarrassed?”
“I don’t know. If you feel embarrassed, I’ll punch Dylan in the crotch and distract everyone.”
Rolling my eyes at her threat, I studied Dylan who grinned at me.
“What?” I asked, nervous now.
“She’s on to you,” Dad said. “Better ask now before she gets squirrely.”
“Squirrely,” Jace snorted. “She gets batty too.”
Harlow laughed. “Winnie can do so many animal impressions.”
Ignoring them, I stood up and walked to a still smiling Dylan.
“What?”
“What happened to patience?”
Without thinking, I reached to pinch my hand. Dylan took both hands then knelt on one knee.
“Don’t,” Harlow blurted, grabbing for me.
Everyone frowned at her. A moment passed where she stared at me in horror. Suddenly, she shrugged. “I meant don’t stop. Go ahead, Dylan.”
The mood in the room shifted back to anticipation. Our gaze focused on Dylan who smiled up at me.
“I know it’s been a few weeks. I don’t care. I love you and you love me, right?”
“I love you so much.”
“I’m not stupid. I know we’ll have problems. We run into issues. When we do, we’ll work them out. We’ll figure them out because we belong together. You believe that, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I whispered, staring into his beautiful dark eyes.
“Winona Todds, you are perfection and I refuse to live without you. Will you marry me?”
My legs turning to jelly, I knelt down too. “Yes,” I whispered, afraid he was about to change his mind. Maybe it was a trick. All these awful things rushed through my mind. I wasn’t good enough for Dylan. He was going to leave me one day. I didn’t deserve to be happy when I was so weak.
“You love me,” he whispered, pressing his forehead against mine. “You want me to be happy.”
“Yes,” I said, tears rolling down my cheeks.
“You’re what I need to survive.”
“I’m not really strong yet.”
“I love you now. I don’t want to wait. Do you want to wait for me?”
Shaking my head, I looked at my smiling parents then back at Dylan.
“We’re in love and planning to live together. We need to make our relationship official, so your daddy won’t kick my ass.”
Even laughing, I asked, “You want this?”
“I can give up everything else in my life, but never you. Married or not, you belong with me.”
I exhaled uneasily then smiled. “Yes, I will marry you. "
― Bijou Hunter , Damaged and the Bulldog (Damaged, #6)
154
" A loser like Larry didn’t deserve a fine vintage car like Gloria. The Corvette Stingray had been lovingly restored by a jackass who named his car, yet treated his kids like afterthoughts.
I planned to lovingly tear the fucking thing apart.
“Have your fun then we’ll torch it and get a beer,” Vaughn said, yawning.
“Did anyone see you?” I asked just to annoy him.
My question worked like a charm and Vaughn squinted disgusted at me then walked over to a large rock where he sat down and looked at his phone.
Swinging the bat, I smashed out the taillight. As painful as it was to tear apart such a beautiful car, Lark needed vengeance. In my mind, I wasn’t hitting the Corvette. I was destroying every person who ever hurt my girl. Every stepfather who hit her, mocked her, and ignored her. I imagined the hung over fucker who let her little brother die. I even pictured her mother who chose the latest fuck over her own kids.
I hated them all for every tear Lark ever shed. If I couldn’t hunt them down, I’d destroyed the prized possession of the latest bastard to mistreat my muse.
Smashing the windows, the lights, denting the cherry red doors, I trashed the car until I was out of breath. Eventually, I grabbed a blade and tore the tires, just to finish off my rage.
“Wuss,” Vaughn said, standing over me as I leaned against the car. “Shame about Gloria. She was a beauty.”
“I haven’t been to the batting cage in awhile. I think I pulled something”
“Sure,” Vaughn muttered, yanking me to my feet. “Let’s light this little bitch up and get a beer.”
“I need to get home to Lark.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? I steal this car for you and don’t even get to trash it and you won’t have a beer with me? What an asshole.”
“Please, don’t cry,” I said, patting his shoulder. “I don’t have the energy to hold you until your sobs turn to baby hiccups.”
Vaughn laughed. “I miss Judd. The guy knew how to drink a beer and he didn’t mind when I pissed myself weeping like a chick.”
“The guy is the epitome of patience,” I said, picking up the container of gas. “Or indifference. He always did seem a little bored when you two were talking.”
“You looking to have me use that bat on you, is that it?”
Grinning, I splashed gasoline on Gloria, careful not to have the liquid hit me. Once the car was thoroughly drenched, Vaughn lit a match. "
― Bijou Hunter , Damaged and the Cobra (Damaged, #3)
155
" Nodding, I tried to tell myself how Travis didn’t care about me. He hadn’t come for me all these years and he never would. Wanting to be rational, I still felt his rough hands on me. I hurt between my legs like I did when he was done. He had marked me again in the dream and I would never be free.
After a short time, Cooper stood up and walked to the next room. Hating to be alone, I still flinched when he returned. He seemed bigger now. His shoulders wider, his face harsher, his whole demeanor reeked of potential violence.
Instead of hitting me, Cooper lowered a blanket behind the chair so I could cover myself. I stared at him as he sat back down. We studied each other for a long time as I waited for something bad to happen or the fear to fade. Neither occurred, leaving me stuck behind the chair for hours.
Cooper tried twice to caress my face and both times I jerked back and away from his touch. After the second attempt, he stood up and left the room. I heard the front door open and assumed he was leaving. Then, his big ugly dog Rafe waltzed into the room with Cooper following behind.
In his hand, Cooper held a gun and I pushed farther back into the corner. “No one,” he said, kneeling down by the chair, “will come here and take you. If they do, Rafe will wake us up and I’ll kill the fucker. No one is hurting you or taking you away from me. Do you understand?”
Staring into his dark eyes, I did understand. I craned my neck so I could see Rafe comfortable in the corner. When I looked back at Cooper, he sighed.
“Baby, it’s nearly six in the morning. The sun is coming up and you need to sleep. I need rest too, so let’s go to bed and I’ll keep you safe. I won’t even touch you, but I need you to go to bed.”
“You love me,” I said in a rough, exhausted voice.
“More than anything else. I will never let that piece of shit or anyone else come here and hurt you. You are mine and that makes you untouchable. Do you understand?”
Nodding again, I crawled out from behind the chair and Cooper helped me stand. He stepped back, willing to keep his distance to avoid scaring me. Reaching for him, I knew he would keep me safe. If I couldn’t shake the fear of the dream, I could at least know Cooper was someone Travis wouldn’t screw with. Rationally, I knew Travis likely forgot I existed, but I wasn’t rational. I was primal and the monster was always waiting to ruin me again. With Cooper though, I was safe. "
― Bijou Hunter , Damaged and the Beast (Damaged, #1)
157
" Do you think I have good character?”
“The best.”
Smiling, she ran her fingers down my cheek and tapped the cobra’s face. “I’m really loyal,” Lark said, focusing on the snake instead of me. “My mom said I get stuck in the mud a lot. If I like something, I just like it forever. I don’t change. I wasn’t just saying that the first night.”
Leaning down, I kissed her “And you like me?”
“I should play coy, right? I should make you work for it, but I can’t. I don’t want to lie, so I’ll just tell the truth. I like you more than I’ve liked any guy ever. I’m a little obsessed with you. Like if you dumped me, I would stalk you.”
My smile widened. “Your honesty is really hot.”
“Would you stalk me if I dumped you?”
“Of course not,” I said, pulling a blanket over us. “I wouldn’t need to because I’d kidnap you and keep you as my muse slave.”
“I’d escape. I’m wily like that.”
“I bet you would, but we’ll never have to find out.”
Lark and I stared at each other as if waiting for the other one to be brave enough to say it.
“You’re mine,” I whispered. “No one else.”
Lark gave a gentle smile like in the studio. “I love you too.”
Finally, it was out in the open. The words sounded perfect and natural.
“I loved you last weekend,” I admitted. “I should have said that, but I was a jackass.”
“I loved you on our first date. I would have mentioned it, but I’m a bigger jackass.”
Laughing, I leaned her back on the couch. “I want to celebrate the love between two jackasses.”
“No,” she said, squirming free. “I want to be on top. I like exploring.”
“And what you like, you’ll always like.”
Tugging off her tee, Lark grinned. “I’ll be an old woman and still enjoying my cobra. Oh, and the hot guy attached to it. "
― Bijou Hunter , Damaged and the Cobra (Damaged, #3)
