I close my eyes, trying to clear my mind. Being with Jack would mean not only accepting the things he and his club do or the possibility that he ends up in prison, but the fact that anything that happens to him could blow back onto me. Are those risks I’m willing to take? I know deep down, Jack would never leave his club, and I can’t ask him to do that.
Over the swoosh and pop of soap bubbles, I hear Jack’s deep voice coming from the kitchen. I assume he’s discussing his plans to take care of Austin and David with Mike. Two minutes later, I hear his bike take off.
Great. He knew I would stop him, so he left without saying goodbye.
CHAPTER 49
JACK
Jessi
Call me.
Jessi
Pick up.
Jessi
Please, I’m worried.
Two hours later, my bike rumbles up the drive. I see Jessi wearing a path in the floors from the front window.
I walk in and head straight to the kitchen sink to scrub my hands. The sink fills with red the moment the water hits my fingers.
“Is Austin okay?” Jessi mutters as she joins me.
“Your brother is fine. David, on the other hand, has seen better days.” I reply as I peel off my sticky shirt. I toss the ruined material into the trash and grab a dish towel to dry my hands. “I need to shower.”
Jessi trails behind me and into my bedroom.
“How areyou?” she says, her eyes as big as saucers.
I knew once she saw this side of me it would shock her, and she wouldn’t look at me the same way. “I’m fine.”
She tries taking my hands in hers. “Let me look at these. You need them bandaged.”
I pluck my hands away. “I need to shower, then we can bandage them. They aren’t that bad. I’ve busted these hands up too many times to count.” I force my lips to upturn, savoring her gold-flecked eyes and perfectly pouty lips, before she runs for the hills.
I go upstairs, turn on the shower, and shed the rest of my stained clothing. I welcome the scalding water rushing over me, washing my exhaustion away. Resting the palms of my hands against the cool tile wall, I try to convince myself that it’s best Jessi sees this side of me before we got in too deep. Now she knows she deserves someone better.
My body sags against the cold tile. Maybe in another life where I wasn’t an outlaw and she wasn’t my teenage neighbor, it could have been her and me. But now that she knows who I really am, there’s no way she still wants me.
I shut off the water, wrap myself in a towel, and head into my room to get dressed.
My eyes land on Jessi’s tiny frame perched on my bed. “I didn’t expect you to be in here,” I say.
She pops up. “Sorry. This is your personal space. I shouldn’t have.” She sets what looks like bandages and ointment down.
I quickly take two strides toward her and snake my arms around her waist. “I thought you would be repulsed by me, after seeing me like that and knowing what I’d done.”
She rests her cheek on my bare chest and hums. “There’s nothing that could make me repulsed by you. I can’t lie. I’m not sure what to think of all of this. No one has ever stood up for me or protected me like you have. I understand why you think having complete transparency is so important in a relationship.I can’t imagine someone coming home and having to hide this—who they are.” She sucks on her bottom lip, peppering kisses over my chest. My body tingles at the sight and warmth of her soft lips. I’m stunned that she’s accepting my bloodstained body so well, but I won’t complain.
I glide the hands I used to defend her down her back, and say, “I don’t know what I’m doing here. I’m used to being alone and only thinking about myself, but I can’t fight my need to be near you. I don’t want to wake up alone anymore. I know that makes me a sick bastard. But I don’t care.” I release her and run a hand through my wet hair.
“Look at me,” she instructs. “I’m not a child. I’m an adult. There is nothing wrong with two consenting adults choosing to be together.”
I let out a sarcastic chuckle. “Your dad is going to want to beat my ass, and rightfully so.”
