“Why do I get the feeling there’s more you’re not telling me?”
This was where things got tricky. She had some theories, but that was all they were—theories.
“Since Matt and the guys came to Sumneyville and started building Sanctuary, several local women have ended up with them. Sam was the first, but there’ve been others, including one of Lenny’s best friends. He, and others, took it as a betrayal of sorts.”
Penny clamped her lips shut and let Jaxson put the pieces together. It didn’t take him long.
“So, basically, what you’re saying is, this is an attempt to keep you in the local dating pool?”
Penny shrugged. “I told you it wouldn’t make sense. It sounds ridiculous, but yeah, that’s what I think. I can’t imagine what else it could be.” Not that she was anyone’s first choice, but she might be considered a decent consolation prize. “You didn’t piss anybody off, did you?”
“Only you.”
She smiled at that, feeling the heat suffuse her cheeks. “Frustrated is more accurate than pissed off. I don’t really get mad.”
“You get even?” he asked.
“No. More like I try to figure out where I went wrong and try to do better next time. But I usually end up making things worse.”
He shook his head. “Penny Hoffmeier, what am I going to do with you?”
“Are you really asking me that? Because I have a few ideas.”
Heat flashed in his eyes before he shuttered them. “Bad ideas, I’m sure.”
“I guess that depends on your definition of bad.”
“You should go.”
“I thought you said I should stay off of my feet?” she said, wiggling them.
Chapter Twenty
Jaxson
Damn it, she was right. Even if he hadn’t said that, he couldn’t allow her to walk home, barefoot.
When she looked up at him like that with those big brown eyes, it was hard to say no. He found himself wanting to give her everything. But that was such a bad idea. He was already regretting his decision to take her for a ride, feeling her body wrapped around his, hearing her squeals of delight as they’d cruised the mountain roads in the moonlight.
She was like a drug, and each tiny hit he allowed himself made him crave more.
“Come on. I’m taking you home.”
Disappointment flashed in her eyes, and he felt it in his gut. Then, her eyes filled with determination.
“You’re in no shape to drive a motorcycle right now. And unless you’re willing to go to the ER and get checked out, I’m not leaving you alone. Head injuries can be tricky, even for a head as hard as yours.”
“You can’t stay here.”
“Of course I can. Unless you plan on physically removing me; in which case, I’ll just sit outside your door until morning.”
“Penny.”
“Jaxson.”
She was so damn stubborn. And so damn ... desirable. This was a woman who actually gave a shit despite not having a reason to. He hadn’t done anything to earn that kind of unwavering support. Quite the opposite in fact.
Which was exactly why it was so dangerous for her to be here. She couldn’t know that by having his back, she was making herself nearly irresistible.
She held his glare with one of her own. There was no sense in arguing with her. The harder he tried to push her away, the deeper she’d dig in her heels.
“Fine,” he said finally. “Have at it. I’m getting a shower and going to bed.”
He got up and stiffly moved toward the bathroom. Without turning around, he said, “If you change your mind, don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.”
The words felt wrong as they made their way past his lips, but they were necessary. The more time he spent with her, the more time he wanted to spend with her.
You could let her stay and take care of both of you. Get it out of your system.
As much as he might want to give her what she thought she wanted—what he also wanted—he couldn’t.
He took a shower, first letting the water run hot to lessen his aches and then cold to reduce some of the swelling. When he came out, his hopes that Penny had changed her mind were dashed. She’d moved to a chair in the corner, and was currently flipping through the cable channels.
He decided to try again. “As you can see, I’m fine. You can leave now.”
She didn’t even spare him a glance. “Not happening.”
Time for another tactic. “Penny, what are your parents going to say when you don’t come home?”
She shrugged. “They won’t even know I’m gone.”
“Excuse me?”
“My parents are dead to the world by ten. Even if I didn’t have my own apartment over the garage, they wouldn’t know if I was there or not. And if they did realize I wasn’t there, they’d just assume I was in one of the greenhouses. I spend quite a few nights there.”
“Why?” he asked, unable to stop himself.
“Because I like it,” she snapped, surprising him. “Any other questions?”
He shook his head and turned off the lights, and then he got into the bed. Penny sighed and muted the television. In the resulting silence, he heard her moving around, trying to get comfortable in the chair.
You could ask her to join you.
No, he definitely couldn’t do that. Having her at his back on the motorcycle had been torture enough, feeling those soft curves pressed up against him. If they were in a bed together, it would be ten times worse.
He turned his back to her, his chivalrous conscience battling with his reasoning as the pain meds tried to pull him under. Eventually, he did nod off into a restless sleep. Despite his frustration, something about having Penny around, watching over him, calmed and relaxed him enough that he could.
* * *
When he woke, daylight was seeping into the room. He immediately sought out Penny, but she was gone. The television was off, and the vase of flowers she’d brought him that first day was gone, too.
He wasn’t disappointed. He wasn’t.
Moving even slower than usual, he made himself a cup of coffee with the in-room machine, got dressed, and went in search of answers.
The shades he donned hid the burgeoning purple around his eye, but there wasn’t much he could do about the swelling around his nose and his busted lip.
Harry’s eyes widened when Jaxson appeared at the front desk. “What happened to you?”
“I was hoping you could tell me.”
“Me? How can I help?”
“You’ve got a security camera over the back entrance, don’t you?”
Harry blinked. “Yeah, but it’s broken.”
“Of course it is,” Jaxson muttered, turning to go.
“Wait ... you’re saying that happened here? Like, someone was waiting for you?”
“No, I was followed.”
“That sucks, man. Do you know who it was?”
“I have some ideas. Did anyone come around asking about me? What room I’m in? Anything like that?”
Harry shook his head. “Not while I was here, but someone else mans the desk at night. He comes in around six or so.”
Jaxson nodded and turned to go.