“I’m so—”
“Don’t,” she snaps. “I don’t want your pity.”
I refrain from telling her that I’m not pitying her. I don’t think she’d believe me if I did, anyway.
After another long stretch of silence, she begins speaking again.
“She’d pissed off more than a few dealers before she got tangled up with Jet. She had a bad reputation, but he still decided to give her what she needed. He knew he could get payment in other forms, and she was mostly more than willing to do whatever was needed. But then she was gone, and her debt was left unpaid. It fell to me. It took Jet less than a week after she died to send one of his goons after me, demanding money or… other services. Thankfully, I managed to make an agreement that would allow me a little time. Only, it seems that Jet got bored of waiting, because he’s calling it in early.”
“How much?”
She shakes her head, not willing to tell me.
“Kas,” I warn. “How. Much?”
“Thousands,” she says on a sigh. “Even with the job at the club, I was never going to pay him back. Not for years, anyway. But now… I’ve got no chance. I may as well let him do his worst and just hope I come out the other end alive.”
“No,” I bark. “We’ll sort it.”
“This isn’t your issue, Spike. I’m not a charity case.”
“Just let me help,” I say, dropping my lips to her bare shoulder once more. “You can pay me back. It can be a loan.”
“Not happening.”
“Then you leave me no choice.” Flipping her on to her back, I pin her hands above her head and stare down into her blue eyes. “I’ll tell Zach everything, whether you like it or not.”
“No, Spike.” She wiggles beneath me, but her strength is no match for mine.
I continue to hold her stare so she can see the strength behind my next words.
“Tonight, we take whatever we need. But tomorrow, everything changes. We put this behind us, we talk to Zach, and we allow you to restart your life.”
“And what if I don’t want that?”
“You have no choice. I should have done the right thing from the beginning, but it seems I was incapable of denying you.”
“And wasn’t it worth it?”
My teeth grind with my need to tell her that it was. That tonight has barely scratched the surface for me. But I know it can’t happen again. Well, not after tonight.
I’ve got to do the right thing… tomorrow.
“Spike,” she cries as I drop my head and suck her nipple into my mouth.
“Get your fill, little girl. You’ve got until the sun comes up.”
I’ve no idea what time we finally fall into her bed and drag the covers over our bodies. All I do know is that I feel like a damn teenager again. Every inch of her body is imprinted into my memory. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or not, because I fully intend to see through my warning. The second I step from this bed, whatever was between us tonight is over.
I’ve already betrayed Zach. I won’t do it again. I might not be all that choosy when it comes to women, but friends’ sisters and exes have always been no-go.
Until now.
Until her.
Fuck.
Kas almost instantly falls asleep. My body is willing me to do the same, but my head spins with all the mistakes I’ve made over the past few days.
I lie there, tracing one of the tattoos on her arms. It’s rough, clearly done by an amateur, and it really needs redoing, but I already know that I can’t be the one to do it. Getting her on my chair would be just one more mistake to add to all the others.
I have no idea how long I stay there, telling myself that I need to move and put an end to the night before, but when I do finally make it to the door, the sun has long risen.
My eyes run over her sleeping form. The sheets expose her back, and the sight of Zach’s artwork is the last reminder I need of why I’m doing the right thing.
Pulling her door shut behind me, I make my quick walk of shame back to my bedroom, via the bathroom to shower her scent from my body.
Eventually my exhaustion drags me into slumber, and the next time I wake, it’s to a pounding on the front door.
Not hearing any movement from Kas’ room, I climb out of bed and pull on a pair of boxers.
The house is still silent as I make my way to the front door, so I can only assume she’s still passed out.
Without looking through the peephole, I pull the door open to find a concerned looking Zach on the other side.
“What fucking time is it?” I grunt, seeing him totally put together while I feel like I’ve just been dragged out of bed by my little toe.
“Almost eleven. Busy night?” he asks, looking around me—I’m assuming expecting to find a half-naked woman waiting for me to come back to bed.
The reality of the situation makes my stomach drop.
“Um… something like that.” Lifting my hand, I run my fingers through my hair in an attempt to brush out the freshly fucked look that I can only assume I’m rocking. “Is… uh… everything okay?” I ask, my brows pulling together.
It’s not all that unusual for him to turn up unannounced, but combined with the look on his face and I’m on full alert.
“I don’t know, you tell me. You sounded weird on the phone yesterday, so I…” His words trail off as a door opens behind me.
13
Kas
I know exactly what I’m going to find when I wake up and look at the other side of the bed, but that doesn’t stop the rejection setting in when I see that it’s empty.
Last night was… I blow
