IT’S A FEW HOURS LATER, and I’m still shaken.
When Gus finally insisted that I leave after asking me no less than three times if I was okay and wanted to take the rest of the night off, Rhett was kind enough to see me home. I tried to tell him I’d be fine, that he didn’t have to leave seeing as there were more than a few ladies there tonight to see him, but he wasn’t having any of it. He simply ignored my comment and gave me a hard look, put his giant, tattooed hand to my lower back, then guided me out back to the stairs and up to the apartment.
The entire walk up the stairs all I could think of was his hand on me, and I had the hardest time trying not to let his simple touch to my shirt-covered back affect me. It proved to be harder than I’d like to admit.
As soon as we made it through the door, we both seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, the tension from earlier easing slightly. But when the door clicked behind us, my heart started pounding like a kick drum yet again because I was alone with Rhett for the very first time.
Yes, we had been left alone a few times before, but there had always been others nearby. Like at the restaurant the other day at lunch or at In Ruins that night when he followed me out back. There were always people around or in the next room.
Except then.
Then it had just been the two of us and the mounting tension—different from earlier—that always seemed to surround us.
We stood there for seconds that felt like minutes, just looking at each other. Then, before I knew it, he was standing in front of me, our chests almost touching as he lifted his tattooed hands to cradle my face. Rough palms gently laid upon my skin while calloused fingers fanned into my long hair.
And my all-too-eager heart calmed at his touch.
His dark eyes scanned my face, trailed to my lips, then stared reverently into mine while my body yearned to lean closer—to be wrapped in his arms.
Then, shocking me, he said, “I’ll get you to trust me, Kennedy. With your past, your truths…your heart.” His deep voice was quiet and rough, which caused my skin to break out in goosebumps and my once-calming heart to race yet again.
I could tell that he wanted to say more, that he didn’t want to leave. But after making sure I was good to be alone, he briefly pressed his lips to my forehead—featherlight and tender—and with a gruff “lock up behind me,” he was gone.
And for the first time since we met, I really wished I’d have asked him to stay.
The rustling of keys in the lock a while later jars me from my thoughts. My heart and mind still racing from his words, their conviction, and the way his full lips felt against my skin. “Hey, chickie,” Saylor greets as she walks through the door. After locking up behind her, she finds me sitting in the corner of the couch, bundled in a baggy sweatshirt and leggings I had changed into right after Rhett left.
Her face softens, kind and concerned. “You doin’ okay?”
“Yeah,” I reply softly.
“I can’t believe that creep had the nerve to touch you like that. In a bar full of people, at that. If he’d done that to me, I would have laid him the hell out. Let me tell you.”
I wince slightly, feeling weak. Realizing how pathetic I must have looked frozen in place.
Saylor catches my silent reaction. “Oh girl, no one blames you for how you reacted. I’d like to say how I’d react, but who knows?”
“But that’s just it. You would have reacted. I just froze in place.” I shake my head, ashamed.
“Hey now, no need of that, doll. You did nothing wrong. It was all that prick. He’s just lucky it was Rhett stepping in and not me,” she replies, shaking her fist as she walks over to the couch to plop down next to me.
“But seriously.” She turns to face me. “Nothing was your fault. Not him touching you, nor how you reacted. Nothing. So get that out of your pretty head.”
“Right,” I say, a bit sarcastically.
Saylor picks up on my tone. “I’m serious. There’s nothing wrong with getting scared in that situation—”
“But that’s just it, Say. I wasn’t just scared. I was—am—angry. So angry. So why couldn’t I have done something? Or at least said something? It isn’t like it was the first time it’s ever happened to me. But I just froze up and did nothing.”
“What?”
I look to Saylor to see fire burning in her dark eyes, just like her brother’s. When I don’t answer her, she asks again. “What did you just say? That this isn’t the first time a random man has put his hands on you…uninvited?”
Swallowing harshly, I force myself to keep looking into her oh-so-serious eyes and not cower away like I desperately want to. “The last place I worked was a family diner, but I’ve worked in a bar before.”
I’ve also lived a life plagued with men who didn’t understand the word no.
“That isn’t an explanation, Kennedy! Or even a goddamn excuse. No man should ever be putting their hands on you or any woman ever without invitation or a clear cut yes that it’s okay!”
“I know,” I say quietly. “I know it isn’t an answer or excuse; it’s just the truth.” I shrug.
“Oh, honey,” Saylor breathes out as she leans in to wrap me in her arms.
“It may not have been the first time some random guy has touched or grabbed without my consent, but it is the first time anyone has ever stepped in to help me on their own.”
Saylor leans back, her eyes sadder than I’ve ever seen. “Well, doll. Get used to it. Because you’ve got a whole group of us now that will always be here for you. Gus, me, Nash…Rhett. All of us.”
My heart warms. The best decision I ever made was coming to Sunvale and turning into the lot behind In Ruins and walking into that bar.
“We’re a family and take care of each other. And darlin’, you’re one of us now.”
With anger and worry still flowing furiously through my veins, I storm into my condo, throwing the front door open before slamming it shut in my wake.
Pacing my living room, I run a hand through my hair, then down my face. So many pent-up emotions swirling through me, leaving me unsteady and agitated.
I only left Kennedy mere minutes ago, but it feels like a goddamn lifetime. The events of tonight leaving me on edge and ready to fucking tear down everything in my sight.
After walking to my car parked behind the bar, I sat there for a few minutes trying to calm down, to gather some control, but when that didn’t work I made the ten-minute drive to my place, hoping the quiet car ride would help. The entire time I tried talking myself down, reminding myself that she was okay. But nothing worked.
Not one goddamn thing because all I could see was his hand on her body and Kennedy’s reaction to the touch.
The way her body froze, then shook. How shock, fear, and anger covered her beautiful face.
But the fear…that’s what I can’t let go of. Because I know, down to my fucking bones, that there’s a reason behind that fear. And I’m going to find out what. Because just like I told her, one day I’ll get her to trust me, to open up to me.
When that day comes, I’ll slay any motherfucker who ever caused her pain, caused her fear. And I’ll protect her with every fiber of my soul.
Goddamn, I can’t shake this feeling. It’s something I’ve never felt before. So all-consuming and maddening.
I’ve always been protective of Saylor, especially after our parents passed, but this is so much more. With Kennedy it’s magnified, amplified, like it’s fucking built into my DNA solely for her.
Thank fuck I made it to her before he touched her again—that cocksucker—he’s goddamn lucky I didn’t unleash the rage that’s consuming me. That I can’t let go of.
It’s like lava flowing through my veins.
Storming from the living room into the attached, open-concept kitchen, I round the island to grab a beer from the fridge.
Popping the top, I take a swig as my mind races. Running over what happened, before landing on Kennedy.
My palms still burn from touching the satin skin of her cheeks when I cupped them in my hands. My lips still lingering with the feel of kissing her forehead.
It took all of my willpower and strength to leave her in that apartment—the same one I used to share with my sister. Knowing she’s in a bed I used to sleep in.
One that’s never had another woman grace its sheets.
All I wanted to do was stay with her. Wrap her up in my arms. Never let her go.
Keep her safe.
But from the look on her face I knew I had to leave, because she wasn’t ready for that. For me.
Fuck.
I just need a chance with her. To make her see that I’m more than my reputation. That even just after these couple of weeks I know she’s different from anyone else.
That she deserves more than the one nights I was dishing out. That I’d give her more than that.
I’d give it all to her.
And after tonight, I need that chance more than ever.