“Motherfucker,” I hiss and she smirks.
“Now you know what it feels like to be used and lied to, Lincoln.”
As I slowly regain control of my body, she walks away from me in all her naked glory and slams the bedroom door shut.
Chapter Twenty-One
Tatum
“So, what happened last night?” I hear Smith ask from the front seat of the Camaro as I pretend to sleep in the back. Emma and Nix invited the whole club over for a barbecue and although I was reluctant to go, I wasn’t given much of a choice since Lincoln’s been a little pissy today. I smirk.
“What are you talking about?” Lincoln asks.
I peek my eye open just enough to see Smith shrug.
“I don’t know. I thought I heard y’all talkin’ last night.”
Lincoln glances in the rearview mirror before sighing and shaking his head. I don’t think he saw me watching him.
“Naw, man. We didn’t talk.”
“You sure? ‘Cause I could have sworn I heard y’all.”
“What the fuck are you trying to get at, Smith?”
Smith starts laughing. “Streak sent the camera feed to my phone, too, dumbass. I watched the whole thing.”
I bite my lip to hold back my giggle as Lincoln growls.
“What the fuck do you mean you watched the whole thing?”
“I mean,” he replies, getting himself under control. “I watched the two of you go at it like rabbits as soon as I went upstairs and I saw her tase your stupid ass before she walked away. That had to hurt like a bitch.”
“I could give you a demonstration so you’d know for sure,” Lincoln snaps and Smith laughs again, holding up his hands.
“Naw, man. I’m good. When are you going to give it up though?”
My heart pounds in my chest as I wait for Lincoln’s response. Last night turned out to be more real than I intended it to be. I wanted to get back at him; I wanted him to know how much he’d hurt me but I never intended to let him see past my defenses. I never once intended to admit that I missed him so much it was hard to function sometimes.
“Never. I’m never going to give up on us.”
Smith sighs, looking out of the passenger window for a second. “I don’t know, brother. Sometimes you’ve just got to cut your losses. There may be too much damage here.”
“I don’t believe that for a second. What I feel with her… I’ve never felt it before and it’s something I won’t feel with anyone else so I’m never giving up on that.”
Oh, hell, why does he have to say things like that?
“She might never forgive you.”
I open my eyes and find Lincoln staring at me in the rearview mirror. “Then I’ll spend every day of the rest of my life trying to win her back because there’s no one else on this earth for me.”
“It’s really too bad you couldn’t figure that out before you ruined us,” I snap, hoping he doesn’t pick up on how half-hearted it is. Truthfully, each day I’m warming up to him more and more. I’m still pissed as hell and nowhere ready to forgive him but I can’t confidently say I’m through with him either. In those few weeks we were together, despite the multitude of lies he told, he also managed to steal my heart and mark me as his and if I walk away now, it will be with an empty chest.
“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Smith says, smiling at me and I roll my eyes.
“You’re lucky I don’t pluck your eyes out for watching me have sex, Lucas,” I tell him and he has the decency to look embarrassed. He rubs the back of his neck and nods.
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
I shrug. “You should ask Lincoln to describe what it feels like to be tased so you can make a more informed decision next time.”
Lincoln flicks an annoyed glance to the mirror.
“You wouldn’t do that to me,” Smith says with little confidence.
“Wouldn’t I?”
“We’re here,” Lincoln growls as we pull down a dirt driveway that opens up to a large plantation house that takes my breath away.
“Jesus, they live here?” I whisper and Smith nods.
“Yeah, Nix bought it for dirt cheap and fixed it up.”
Lincoln parks the car next to a few bikes and the boys climb out first before Lincoln leans the seat forward and helps me out. I tuck the shoebox under my arm as I turn toward the house.
“What’s that?” he asks, pointing to the box and I glance down at it as I tuck it closer to my side.
“Something I need to show to Nix.”
Lincoln nods and wraps his arm around my waist as we head for the house. Flicking an annoyed glance over my shoulder, I sigh. He leans closer, his lips brushing my ear.
“After what you pulled last night, I’m done playing nice, Tate. You and I are going to work this out but I’m not your damn punching bag anymore.”
Damn, why does that turn me on?
“We’ll see,” I murmur and his grip on my hip tightens.
“You’re just going to have to come to terms with the fact that I fucking love you and I’m not going anywhere.”
“Tate!” the brunette from the clubhouse says as she comes walking out of the house and I freeze. “Sorry. I never introduced myself the other day. I’m Emma, Nix’s wife.”
“Oh, it’s really nice to meet you.” I hold my hand out for her to shake but she ignores it, going in for a hug.
“It’s so nice to meet you officially. I know this whole situation is… unorthodox but you’re family so if you ever need anything, just holler.”
I nod. “Okay, I will.”
“Here, why don’t you put your stuff down and I’ll introduce you to a few people,” she says and I scan the yard.
“Actually, I was hoping to talk to Nix first. There’s something I need to show him,” I reply, holding up the shoebox and she nods, turning toward the house.
“You’ll find him down at the dock. He wasn’t all that thrilled that I invited everyone over today with things so tense between him and Blaze.”
I nod in understanding. “Have they talked at all?”
“Blaze has showed up here everyday and they go outside and talk until they start yelling. Then, Nix barrels inside and Blaze peels out of here on his bike so tensions are still a little high.”
Nodding, I excuse myself from the group and round the back of the house, spotting Nix at the end of the dock. As I get near the water, he glances back at me.
“Sorry, I hope you don’t mind but I wanted to talk to you for a bit.”
He studies me for a moment before nodding. I sigh as I walk out onto the dock and sit next to him.
“What a fucking mess, huh?” he says, staring out at the water and I laugh.
“Yeah, you could say that. It’s been one thing after another lately.”
He nods, looking a little lost. “What was she like?”
“Our mom?”
“Yeah.”
I sigh, thinking over my words before explaining my childhood to him – the moving around, the drills, the training – and when I finish, he blows out a breath.
“Sounds…intense.”