Make Me Stay (18 page)

He chuckled to himself then looked over her head and straight into my eyes. “So, you finally got your dick in her, did ya?” he asked, still ignoring her and trying to get a rise out of me.

We were alone out here and I was seriously contemplating shoving Kitty aside so I could finish this poor excuse for a man.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Was she as feisty in bed as she was when you found her last night? I never got to thank you for interrupting us.” Taking a challenging step, he reached out, brushing a hand over Caroline’s cheek, the one he’d slapped.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I grabbed Caroline’s shoulder and pushed her aside a little more forcefully than I intended to. She stumbled to the side before regaining her balance. My fist was flying through the air the moment I let her go. I went straight for that smug smile, making sure to wipe it clean, so I’d never have to see it again. I heard Caroline shriek and call my name but nothing was going to stop me. I had hit my fair share of faces, but this one felt the best. My knuckles connected with his jaw, and I felt the crack beneath them. I knew his jaw was shattered, but that didn’t stop me from making my point. I pulled back and went for the nose this time. He blocked me and got in a lucky hit to my face, but nothing serious. Blood sprayed from his nose as I hit him again, my hand stung like a bitch from not only breaking this fucker’s face, but from the wall I had punched earlier that morning.

“Kane, you just made a lethal mistake,” he said, holding his nose.

“No, motherfucker, you made the mistake the minute you laid a hand on my woman.”

“Your woman? You mean the skank that kept handing it out to everyone
but
you.”

I rushed toward him, ready to kill the fucker. Gripping his shirt in my hands, I pushed it up under his chin, and shoved him back against the wall.

“Keep on hitting me. I’d love to put your ass away.”

We were face to face against the wall. I shoved him a few more times before I spoke. “You’re the one that needs to be put away, Rodgers.”

Caroline’s soft hand fell on my forearm, bringing me back. “Kane,” she whispered. I turned my gaze from Nate’s face down to hers. “Let him go,” she said, tugging on my arm.

“Are you fucking kidding me? Did you hear him?”

“Yes, and so did everyone who’s standing out here,” she whispered again.

I glanced around and, sure , there were people milling about.

There was a warm breeze blowing and, as if on cue, thunder roared above us. A crack of lightning lit up the whole parking lot and the skies opened up. A downpour of rain fell on us, as everyone ran under the covered patio.

The blood on Nate’s face washed away as the rain crashed down on us.

“Caroline, guys, get under here, there’s a nasty storm coming this way,” B yelled from the cover of the patio. He had no idea just how big a storm was coming.

“Come on, he’s not worth it,” Kitty said, pulling my arm, before running for cover. I took that opportunity to speak with Nate alone.

“Don’t come near her again. She might want to let what you did slide under the rug, but I sure as hell don’t. Come near her again, I’m going to do whatever I have to, to make sure that your ass is locked up. You let it slip that you’ve done this before. I’m sure it wouldn’t take me too long to find someone else to back our story up.”

“Are you threatening an officer?” he said, standing from the wall and getting in my face.

“No, I’m threatening, a sick fuck, who gets pleasure in taking advantage of drugged-up girls,” I said, eyeing him up.

“You aren’t going to do shit, Lawson. You think one night with her is going to make
you
the better man. You’re just as bad as me.”

I shook my head, water dripping off my hair. “Not a chance. I’ll go straight to B, who’ll go straight to the chief. They might not believe me, but they’ll believe him, and you know it.”

That shut him up. He wiped his face of the blood that was still trickling down from his nose. He pushed me back, stalking off toward his car. He got in and drove away. I stood there in the cooling rain. Pushing my hair back and out of my face, I blew water off of my lips. Caroline was standing under the patio, dripping wet, her hair straight and weighed down by the rain. She was watching me, a look of desire on her face. I knew exactly how she felt. I needed her in my arms, and I needed her lips on mine.

Reading my mind, she ran out from under the cover of the patio and straight into my arms, I held her tightly, her legs wrapped around my waist.

“I don’t know what you said to him and I don’t really care. That was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen, now take me upstairs before I rip your clothes off right here,” she begged me.

Her warm breath on my cold skin sent a chill down my spine. I held her tighter, my lips finding her neck. I carried her past the guys, and the women that they had brought out back. Ignoring all their catcalls and hoots, I headed straight for the stairs.

I burst into her room, kicking the door closed behind me. I placed her on her feet. Our clothes and hair were dripping wet. She shivered under the turning fan. I rubbed her arms to warm her.

“Who saw? Did B see me punch him?” I asked.

“I--I don’t know. I’m sure if he had, then he would have said something. Now shut up and kiss me.”

Damn this woman was confusing as hell
. “I think I should go tell B before he hears it from everyone.”

Her hands were exploring my arms, nails raked down my skin. I kept my hands at her hips. Women had told me I had large hands, but I never thought anything of it until just then as I held her small waist between them.

“No, you’re not. You’re going to stay right here with me. I know I said you were never going to step foot in this room again, but now you’re not allowed to leave, not until I say so.”

So there it was. My knees weak, my heart as heavy as it has ever felt, I stayed in that room with her until the sun came up the next morning.

***

After that night, Nate didn’t show his face. So now two weeks later, Kitty’s head was peacefully sleeping on my chest. I knew that everything was going to be all right. Nate was out of the picture. She was free to let herself warm up to me, let me in. I did, however, catch her lost in thought from time to time. The first time she did this she was watching me undress. I had just gotten home from a construction job. Sweaty and dirt covered, I went up to her room to catch a quick shower before the guys and I practiced for the day. She was sitting on the bed staring at me, as if I might disappear if she took her eyes off me. Of course, I didn’t mind, but it wasn’t the usual I’m-going-to-jump-your-bones look. It was different.

The second time I caught her mind far off somewhere, we were on stage and I happened to see her leaning against the wall, her tray flat to her chest. She seemed to be taking in everything around her, committing it to memory. She’d be there one moment and off in her head the next. It scared the shit out of me, until she’d come back to the present.

Last night was the final time I saw her do it. I was deep inside her, her eyes fixed on mine. Her hand rose to my cheek. She froze under me, like all the times before, when she was somewhere else. Taking in all my features, her fingers ran over my brow, down my nose, across my jawline. My eyes closed involuntarily at her touch. Her hand made its way to my neck, over my tattooed shoulder, and down my arms. I took a chance, opening my eyes, but hers had left mine and were following her hand down my body.

I wanted to ask why? Why was she slipping away at times? But I didn’t, because I didn’t want to ruin it, ruin us. We were in my room, the Saturday morning sun had finally appeared through the window. She stirred on my chest, a beam of sun falling on her face. She was an angel, my angel, and I didn’t plan on letting her get away, ever. I was under her spell, whipped, call it whatever you want. I was ready for everything with her. I found myself skipping practice with the guys, ending shows early, just so I could have her in my arms. I was a lovesick fool.

CHAPTER 31

Caroline

How am I going to do this?
Once again I had made a huge mistake. I thought that giving myself those two weeks to pretend, to play house, would get it out of my system, get Kane out of my system. Of course, it didn’t. I was a fool for thinking I could let my emotions run wild and not pay the consequences.

My flight left tonight at 10:05. The guys would be up on stage, and I would be able to sneak off. They usually didn’t play on Saturday nights, but rumor had it, there were scouts in the area, looking for new talent. So the guys weren’t taking any chances, they were going to play as often as they could. Kane had told me this rumor had gone around a couple times before, nothing coming from it, of course. So the guys were taking it as any other night, knowing that it could be just a rumor--or the break that they had been waiting for.

I only had to make it until tonight. I had to keep my wits about me. I couldn’t let on that I’d be leaving. My plan was to tell my father the moment the guys went up on stage. I’d pull him aside and tell him everything. I’d tell him how much I loved him, and that I would call him all the time. I was going to tell him, I’d have him come visit me and that I’d come back and visit him. I planned on spending every holiday and birthday with him. I wasn’t going to miss out on important stuff anymore. Those four and half months had changed me. I realized just how much I missed having him fully in my life, and I wasn’t going back to my old ways.

The only problem I had walked out of the bathroom with a towel hanging low on his hips. As the water dripped from his hair onto his stone hard, tattooed chest, I was seriously reconsidering. He was going to hate me when he found out that I was on a plane, heading back to New York tonight. The only thing I could say about it was that I hoped he
did
hate me. I hoped he got so mad, that he forgot all about me, and moved on. I was saving us future arguments by leaving now. It was never going to work between the two of us. I was ending it now, while we didn’t resent one another.

I had put on a good show, knowing that the two weeks following our agreement to be together, that I’d be leaving. I put my fears aside, the similarities I saw in myself and my mother. I kept them quiet because I knew I wouldn’t be staying.

Nate hadn’t shown his face, since the night after he drugged and attacked me. Maybe, one day, I’d be able to tell my story, make him pay for what he had done to me. I wasn’t ready to face him again anytime soon. The night that he had come into the bar, like nothing had happened, scared the shit out of me. All I could remember was standing in the corner, dumbfounded that he could strut in, sit at his table, and act like he didn’t try to rape me the night before. I locked eyes with Kane and prayed that he would get done singing so he could be by my side.

I’d never needed anyone the way I needed Kane in that moment. I always relied on myself. I was strong and didn’t need a man to hold me up before, but I needed Kane that night, and being Kane, he didn’t disappoint. He took me under his arm, fucked up Nate’s face again, and then stood toe to toe with him until he ran off. I’d never be able to repay him for that.

I didn’t know what he said to Nate, but I was thankful he got him to leave and, hopefully, never come back. And fuck if he didn’t look sexy as hell standing in the pouring rain. I would never be able to get that image out of my mind.

When he turned back to me, spitting the rain from his lips--the way it dripped off his hair, the way it ran down his bare arms.
Yeah, that image will forever be engraved.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked from across my room.

“Like what?” I said, pulling my legs up under my chin in bed.

“I don’t know. It’s a mix. You’re either plotting my death or deciding whether or not to jump my bones, because I’m irresistible. Preferably, I’ll take the later.”

Damn that smile of his
. Tossing the covers off, I got out of bed and grabbed a pair of pants and my tank top from the floor. “Cocky this morning, huh?”

“Kitty, that hurts. You know I’m always cocky, especially in the morning.”

I was going to miss this so much, but I had to keep moving forward. I couldn’t stay there, not when my dream job was waiting for me at the end of a two-hour plane ride.

I was pulling my hair up, when Kane’s still-damp arms wrapped around me from behind. His chin rested on my shoulder, drips of water ran down my own arm, a few drops making polka dots on my tank top.

“I know you,” he said into my shoulder, leaving a tender kiss in the crook of my neck. “Something’s different. Last night, you--talk to me. Don’t shut me out.” He spoke softly, almost unintelligibly.

I stilled my body. He was noticing the tension that had been building up in me over the last two weeks.

Nine hours left
. I had to smile through nine hours. I had to make him see that nothing was different. He had to believe that, when he left me tonight to go up on stage, I was going to be standing in the hallway waiting for him to take me in his arms when he was done. I needed him to trust me that tomorrow I’d awake in his bed, like I had done for the past two weeks.

Breathe,
I rotated in his arms. My hands rested on his bare, damp chest. I smiled up at him. “Nothing is different, except that--” I wanted to say, except that I was leaving, that I was just committing him, all of him to memory. But I couldn’t say that. “--I have to get home. I have a few things I need to take care of. I can’t stay around, lying in bed all day with a worn-out, wanna-be rock star.” I tapped his chest and then lightly smacked his cheek.

“Worn-out, wanna-be rock star huh?”

“Yeah worn-out. You just lay around all day. I got places to go.”

“Like where?” he asked.

Okay, I had nowhere to go.
Shit I was slowly digging myself deeper into this lie.

“Sightseeing,” I blurted out.

“Sightseeing?” he questioned me.

Fuck! This was not going the way I had foreseen.