Shell put her hand over his, linking their fingers as she looked between her husband and daughter with heartbreak on her face.
Shit.
She stepped back, her chest heaving.What had she done?That was too much, too over the top. She knew how Copper was. She knew he loved her and only wanted to protect her body and heart. She hadn’t meant to spew all her pent-up feelings at him, but that’s precisely what they were—emotions that had been building over weeks and months, festering in silence while Jason chipped away at her piece by piece. They’d finally exploded from her mouth at the man who’d shown her unconditional love her whole life.
The wrong man.
The safe man.
“I’m sorry.” She shook her head, walking backward. Luckily, people moved out of her way, allowing her escape.
“Beth…” Copper called after her.
“No.” Tears burned behind her eyes, threatening to spill, and she refused to cry in front of the club on top of her emotional vomiting. “Not tonight. I… I need to go.”
She turned and rushed through the parting crowd with her face burning. At least the music still played. If not, the place would probably be as quiet as a cemetery at midnight. As quiet and as depressing.
Shame washed over her, hot and suffocating, as she walked out into the warm, peaceful night. All that was missing from her epic tantrum was a foot stomp and an eyeroll.
God, she was a mess. A complete fucking disaster.
“Dammit,” she muttered, jamming her hands on her hips. She tipped her head back and stared at the stars, blinking hard against the sting in her eyes. The night air cooled her flushed cheeks, but nothing could cool the sick churning in her gut. She’d just publicly dressed down the man who’d taught her to ride a bike, who’d held her when she cried, who’d probably stayed awake countless nights worrying about her while she was with Jason.
And she’d done it because she was jealous of a woman touching a man she had no right to want.
Pathetic.
The door opened behind her, and her stomach dropped. Probably her dad. She exhaled slowly, trying to prepare herself for his outrage or his pain. She wasn’t sure which would be worse.
But it wasn’t Copper.
Saint stood a few feet away, looking fierce and sexy, and something inside her cracked open with relief. He’d come after her. Not her dad, not her mom, not Lindsey—him. The man she had no business wanting had followed her out into the night.
“Come on.” His voice was low, steady. “Let’s go for a ride.”
Her breath caught. “Where’s Melody?” She didn’t bother to keep the snark from her question.
Saint’s lips quirked as he shrugged. “Fuck if I know.”
Well then…
He started toward his bike with long, sure strides. “You coming?”
Her gaze fell to his ass, where it filled out those jeans in a way that made her groan. This was a terrible idea. If she had any brain in her head, she’d turn back, go inside, and apologize to her father.
“Yeah.” She hurried after him. “I’m coming.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE SECOND MELODY touched him, Saint knew tonight was the night he’d fuck up in a colossal way. But not in a way that had anything to do with the woman hanging all over him.
Beth’s gaze had stayed on him while Melody tried her hardest to seduce him, morphing from hot and needy to something darker, laced with jealousy and possession.
He liked it. That angry fire in her eyes, the quick hint of potential violence and hatred as she’d watched Melody practically sit in his lap. He liked thinking Beth was imagining ripping Melody off him and taking her place, sliding one of those toned legs across his lap, and settling her pert ass on his thighs while forgetting Melody existed.
Yes, he was fucked up. His view on love and relationships bordered on obsessive, but he’d come to grips with that part of himself long ago. It was others who might not accept his intense need, but maybe Beth could.
Unfortunately, she was the one woman completely off-limits, as her father made extra clear tonight. Still, Saint found himself compelled to follow her outside and offer her a reprieve after Copper pissed her off.
