This Regret (31 page)

There was only one problem. I didn't know where she was and she clearly couldn't talk. I only had one choice, to call in a favor to an old friend. I know this guy that is a whiz at computers and shit. It may seem stalkerish to have him track the location of her number but desperate times call for desperate measures.

When I got there and saw her down on the ground, it took everything in me not to chop that son of a bitch's balls off and shove them down his throat. A man should never lay his h
ands on a woman and knowing I've caught this same douche in the act more than once made it worse. I hate to see the ones I care about hurt and the look on her face when I walked through that door about killed me. I wanted nothing more than to pull her in my arms and comfort her. What good would that do though? Having her close can only hurt her more.
Damn! Shit! I'm in a bad position.

“That feels good," the feisty blond moans from below me, sounding as if I’ve just hit the spot, bringing her to climax. She runs her hand up the inside of her thigh and leans her head back looking completely satisfied. "I like it hard and deep. Don't stop." Her voice comes out breathy as she arches her back, exposing even more of her over inflated breast. Someone's a little desperate for my attention and unfortunately, desperate is far from sexy.

Scowling, I pull my head out of the damn clouds and focus my attention in front of me. I spread her long, slender legs wider and lean in to get a better look at the cherry blossom covering the inside of her thigh. “Be still if you don't want a shitty tattoo permanently stained on your skin.” Even with this chick constantly moving around in her seat, I have to admit the work is still coming along beautifully.
What can I say, I'm good at what I do.
"We're almost done here and then we'll get you on your way," I say stiffly, while holding her wandering leg still so I can focus.

Disbelief crosses her soft pale features, no doubt confused as to why I haven't taken her right here in this chair, giving into her obvious desire to have me. Maybe she's used to getting what her little heart desires. I can see why because her beauty is enough to stun the average male. Her eyes trail from my lips, down to the tattoo gun in my hand. "I get the feeling someone's trying to get rid of me. Not in the mood for games today?" Her eyes lock on mine, and suddenly the blues don't seem so bright anymore. It's as if me not wanting her has crushed her whole ego.

Yeah, so maybe I do want to get rid of her. What she doesn't get is, her looking at me this way is doing nothing but bringing back memories of me burying myself deep inside Phoenix on the roof last night. I swear I could close my eyes, flip this chick over and take her right here in this chair, but I would only be imaging it were Phoenix. That's not exactly fair to anyone. Not that I usually play fair. Not anymore.

"Look. No disrespect, but I have places I'd like to be. Being here right now is keeping me from that. I appreciate your business a
s well as the new clientele you've brought me over the months, but I'm in no mood to be here and I have a lot of shit on my mind."

I bring the needle back down to meet her thigh and she moans while trying to hide the pain. I know these games all too well. Many girls come in here and act as if getting a tattoo feels good, in an attempt to get Tyler or myself turned on. In the past, something like this might have worked.
In fact, it would have worked; however, not now. Not after getting a taste of the sweet perfection that taste and smell of cupcakes. Now every time I look at a cupcake, I'll probably get a fuckin' boner.

“Well gorgeous, from the look on your face, I would say it has something to do with a woman,” she says while peeking up at me and gripping the chair. “If any girl is making you feel like what I think you’re feeling.” She pauses to look down at my dick and when she does, her lips curl up into a playful smirk. “Then she’s not worth your time or your pleasure.”

I set the gun down, clean the tattoo, smear a layer of ointment over it and cover it before spinning in my chair and pulling the gloves off. “Something like that. It’s complicated as shit.” I turn back around and look her in the eye, causing her to get a spark of hope. “And trust me, she is very worth it.”

I get ready to stand up, but she reaches for my shirt, fisting it, and pulls me into the chair so my hands are resting on either side
s of her thighs. She bends down and brushes her lips against my ear while running her hand up the back of my shirt. “If she’s causing you pain then she’s not worth it.” She licks my ear before cupping my face and pulling it closer to hers. “I’m all yours if you want. I can do plenty of things to keep your mind off of her.” She growls the last word then brushes her bottom lip over my chin stopping right below my mouth. I can feel her warm breath on my lips and if she breathes any heavier, our lips will be touching.
Hell no. I’m not having that.

I turn my face away from hers and grip her waist, pulling her up to her feet as I back away. She looks at me, waiting on my next move, but I just turn around and walk toward the display. “I’m good. Like I said, I have places to be,” I say stiffly.

Adjusting her little jean shorts to cover her panties, she shakes her head and reaches on the ground for her purse. “Alright then.” She plops her purse down onto the display and starts digging through it, while looking as if she’s just been played. “What do I still owe you?”

At this point, I could care less. I just want to get out of here before I lose my mind and break something a hell of a lot bigger than the mirror I smashed last week.

Why can’t I stop thinking about her?
She’s fucking destroying me. Earlier before I left, she said she had to work tonight. I can’t help but to wonder if her and my brother share the same shift. If he knows what happened with us, I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to get into her pants just to win her back over. Just the thought of him taking her in the back and fucking her has me going crazy.
Man, I’m all kinds of fucked up.

“I don’t know. Just give me thirty. We’ll get you on your way and we’ll call it even.”

She pulls the money out of her wallet and slams it down on the counter while placing a cigarette between her plump lips. Then she looks up and pulls the cigarette out with a small smile. “Well at least I get a discount out of this. Although, I would’ve liked something
else
better. You’ll be seeing more of me in the future. No one’s as good with their hands as you are.”

Silently, I grab the cash and shove it into the drawer before walking her over to the door. “Good to know. Did you lock your doors?”

She gives me a questionable look while digging for her keys. “Yeah, why?”

“Just being cautious.” I push the door open for her and lean against it as I watch her walk over to her car being sure she makes it there safely. As soon as she drives off, I quickly shut down the shop and lock the door behind me.

I have my Harley tonight and all I want to do is hurry and lock up so I can jump on, take her for a ride and feel the wind against my face.

Once outside, I ride heated and angered, the cool air giving me a bit of release. I ride for a good hour before I finally pull into my drive and park it outside of the garage. Riding did little to ease my mind. Not like it usually does.

I step into the house to find Rayne standing right inside waiting on me. I kneel down in front of her and run my hands over her head, rubbing behind her ear over the jagged scar that was left there by her previous owners. The scar runs at least a good seven inches long. It takes a lot for me to swallow my anger every time I feel it. She didn’t deserve the treatment she got. It’s all bullshit. “Is my girl hungry?” She wags her tail and places her paw on my knee. “Come on girl.”

She follows behind me to the kitchen and sits down in front of her bowl as I open a can of her favorite food and fill her dish up with fresh water. “There you go.” I pat her head and then walk over to
take a seat on the nearest bar stool.

Burying my head in my hands, I sit there feeling restless. My leg is bouncing, my pulse is racing and my head feels cloudy as shit. “Fuck!” I slam my fist down onto the granite counter-top before throwing my keys across the room.
I can’t do this.
I can’t sit still while wondering what is going on at the bar.

A few minutes later, my thoughts leave me naked and standing in the shower with my hands pressed against the wall. I pull one hand away to rub over my face as the cool water beats against my head, running down to my chest and legs. As soon as my eyes close, images of me and Phoenix naked on the roof of my shop consume my thoughts. Her flawless body pressed against mine, our lips caressing each other as I taste her
tongue in my mouth and damn . . . she tastes so good. Everywhere. I should have known better than to get a taste. Now my body won’t only want it, but crave it.

Without looking down, I can feel my thoughts have aroused me.
Of course.
This girl doesn’t even have to be around and she still gets me stiffer than any other girl.

Grabbing my shaft, I start to stroke myself, running my hand up and down i
ts length. While stroking myself, I picture the curviness of her plump ass as I spread her cheeks, burying myself deep between those thighs. Her soft lips as they hungrily sucked mine as if she never wanted to let go. The way her sex tasted against my tongue as I pleasured her. All of these things run through my mind until I feel a tug on my balls, and I release myself right here in the shower, my cum mixing with the water and slipping down the drain. My shoulders slump and my breathing comes out heavy as I rub both hands over my face and lean against the wall. This girl is doing something to me and I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do about it.

* * *

I pull my truck up to the bar and park it in the nearest spot, while hating myself for not being stronger. I sit there for a minute before pulling my keys out of the ignition and resting my head against the seat, exhaling. I knew there would be no way I would make it through the night without making an appearance at the bar to check up on things. I was fighting a losing battle and with this one, I’m afraid I might always lose.

When I get out of the truck, I slam the door beh
ind me, and look up to see Martin making his way out of the bar. With a nod, he turns and heads my direction while shaking his head. He stops in front of me and places both hands on my shoulders, forcing a smile. I have a feeling the talk is coming. “How ya doing, old man?” I ask while slapping him on the back in greeting.

“Oh, you know. The wif
e is a pain. The kids are still spending my money. I’m an old grumpy bastard. Pretty much the same old shit but a different day.” I smile and nod my head as he watches me intently, just waiting to start it up. The smile has left his face and is now replaced with all seriousness. I have known this man pretty much my whole life, but no one but Adric knows. “I can’t believe you risked coming back? What was the point of me doing all this work of keeping my eye out over the years when you were going to just come and stir things up again anyways? This is not good, kid. You didn’t tell me you were here when we talked on the phone last week. Come on now.”

Damn this old man.
I’ve been paying him for years to keep his eye out for Kade and Phoenix since I couldn’t be here to keep them safe. I had no other choice. Being in contact with my family would’ve resulted in someone getting hurt. I should’ve thought things through before doing what I did, but in the heat of the moment, I could’ve killed a son of a bitch for letting Adric get his hands on those pills.

Before leaving town, I found Martin and he hooked me up with a ride. He made sure I made it to Chicago with no trace and even found me a roommate that needed help around his shop. It was all cash pay and I managed to save up a shit ton of money before making my way back close to home and opening up
Adi’s Attic.

The problem is, I never told him I was coming or that I was even close to home. A big problem on his end is he failed to mention the relationship between my brother and Phoenix. It should’ve been stopped a long time ago, but I won’t bother him with the details now. I need to get inside that bar, now.

I lean my weight against the side of my truck and cross my arms in front of me in frustr
ation. “It wasn’t planned, Martin. I needed to be close to home so I opened a tattoo shop about fifteen minutes out of town, expecting no one would even notice. Well, I was wrong. My bad. Guess I’m not as smart as I should be, old man.”

He lets out a deep chuckle and shifts his weight to his good leg. “Hell, who is? Just do me a favor and don’t get into some shit you can’t get out of. I’m getting too old to be spending my nights at a damn bar. I don’t know how much longer I can be around to help. The old lady has been riding me lately about staying home.”

The old man’s right. He shouldn’t be doing this anymore. With me being gone for so long, I didn’t even think of how the old man has been aging and probably getting old and frail by now. His health doesn’t look to be doing any better either. “I know. I’ll make sure things stay good. Just go and relax. You’ve done enough.” I grip his shoulder and squeeze. “Thanks for everything. I should get inside.”

I get ready to walk away, but he reaches out his arm to stop me. “Wait.”

I stop and turn around to face him. He’s breathing heavily as if he’s fighting to catch his breath. Maybe he really should lay off the late night drinking. “It’s pretty tense in there. Kade is one hotheaded son of a bitch. Just like his older brother. Just watch your back and don’t make things worse.”