Bad Boy's Baby: Wicked Angels MC (10 page)

I swallowed. The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t say them. It was too much, too intimate. I’d just given Jenny the fucking of her lifetime and I was exhausted, but part of me was almost nervous. What if she decided she never wanted to see me again?

I shook my head. I couldn’t start thinking like that, not now. Not when everything I knew was about to blow up. Not when Darius was hot on my trail, not when I was worried about Jenny. Not when I had a son to discover and get to know. Thinking about Phin made me feel emotional, but in a different way. Some of the anger was still there; I didn’t think I could immediately forgive Jenny for keeping him from me like that. But she’d already shown she wanted me, that she still wanted me.

My mouth hardened into a thin line. I’d thought she had wanted to be with me before, too. And look what happened. I wound up alone, like always. Someone like Jenny wasn’t ever going to think that someone like me was good enough for her.

“Tristan?” Jenny’s voice broke me out of my reverie. “Are you okay?”

I blinked at her. “I’m fine,” I muttered. Jenny was reclining on the bed. She was still naked, but almost before my eyes I saw the delicious pink flush fading from her skin. Her gaze had been lustful and determined only a few minutes ago, but now she looked scared. She covered her mouth with a hand.
Do you regret telling me that you love me?
I wanted to ask.
Are you sure you still meant it? Because you fucking left me years ago, honey. And you better be sure this time that it’s for real.

“Okay,” Jenny said. She swallowed hard and pulled the sheet up to cover her luscious body. I watched as her magnificent tits disappeared in a sea of white cotton. “Was that okay? I mean, I’m sorry if that shouldn’t have happened.” She reached up and pulled her mass of red hair over a pale shoulder. “I’m sorry,” Jenny added, her voice barely audible this time. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“It’s fine,” I told her. But my voice must have been unconvincing. Jenny’s response was to pink in the cheeks and wrap the sheet more tightly around her body. I watched as she tried to crawl out of bed without exposing her body to me. I wanted to laugh. Not five minutes ago she’d bared her whole self for me to see, for me to taste, for me to fuck.
For me to take
, I thought to myself.
All mine. Just like always, just like before.

“Should I go?” Jenny looked up at me. “I mean, back to Phin?”

I shook my head. “Do what you want,” I said flatly. Part of me wanted her to leave. I wanted to be alone; I had a lot of shit to think about. But the other part of me didn’t want to think about anything. I wanted to set my jaw, climb on my bike, and ride hundreds of miles away where no one had even heard of Tristan Mayer.

“Okay,” Jenny said. She swallowed and stood up. I wished she’d cut out the damsel act. It was annoying, and not like her real self at all. Jenny was fiery, passionate. She wasn’t this weak, awkward creature that I was seeing now. I could tell that she was nervous, but it was getting on my nerves and making me feel anxious. I couldn’t deal with Jenny when she was unsure. It had been one of the things we’d always fought about when we were together. Now, if Jenny told me she wanted to go to a motel and never go back to her parents again, I wouldn’t hesitate. I’d kick the door down with my foot and carry her over the threshold. She’d be mine. Maybe if I’d done that very thing years ago, she never would have left. Maybe Phin would have grown up with a father, maybe Jenny wouldn't be living in a hovel in the worst part of town.

But maybe not. Maybe if we’d stayed together, I wouldn’t have gotten hooked up with the Wicked Angels. Maybe I never would have made any money. I could see young Jenny persuading me to stay in legit business. But I was never the type for schooling. I didn’t even think I could graduate from a community college, much less dedicate myself to an education and providing for my family. Maybe if Jenny and I had stayed together, we would have split up down the line anyway. After all, poverty took a toll on happiness. I’d watched my mother fretting over the bills and debt much longer than she really should have. I could tell that a poor woman scared off any potential boyfriends, too. Sometimes I wondered what really would have happened if I’d grown up with a father.

And that was just the thing. Was Phin damned to repeat my same mistakes? Was depriving him of a father going to hurt him exponentially down the line? There was no way of knowing.

Jenny had pulled her sweater over her head by the time I turned around. I watched as she stepped into her jeans, fastening the snap and tugging her sweater down. It did nothing to hide the glorious curves of her body; there was no doubt that Jenny was just as sexy as ever. She stepped in the bathroom to wash her face as I yanked a clean shirt over my head and pulled my pants up. When she emerged, her skin was pink, soft, and dewy. I could tell that she’d washed her face, but her eyes also looked pink. Was it possible that she’d been crying? A stab of pain hit me in the gut but I closed my eyes and willed it away.

I could see the girl she’d been when she was this vulnerable. She had the same wanton look about her, the same fiery tenderness. Even though she was older, more refined, the sex was better than ever. She’d been so eager to please me—and to be pleased herself. It was almost like sleeping with a new woman, but not quite. Jenny hadn’t been my first, but she’d been the most meaningful woman in my life for years and years. Aside from my mother, she was the only woman I’d ever loved.
Love,
my mind corrected itself.
You still love her, and you know it. She’s the only woman for you, and you’ll never be able to forget her, much less get over her. Face it. She’s it, man.

I cleared my throat as Jenny crossed the threshold of my room. She looked up at me with a curious expression on her face. It was part hurt, part curiosity.

“I’m going to go see Phin,” she said softly.

I shook my head. “Wait,” I told her. I pointed at the bed. “Sit down.”

Jenny opened her mouth to speak but she changed her mind. Flushing, she walked over to the bed and perched her perfect ass on the end. “What is it?”

“Just why exactly did you think it was okay to leave?” I glared at her. “You forget; we haven’t talked about this. Why on earth did you do that? Rod was here to protect you. Are you stupid?”

Jenny had been watching me with a carefully studied expression but she opened her mouth in indignation at my last remark. “Of course not!” she said hotly. “Can’t you tell I was dying for some fresh air? I felt so cooped up in here! I had no idea anything would happen!”

I laughed humorlessly. “That’s just it, you
don’t
think, Jenny,” I told her. “Something really bad could happen to you if you keep up, honey. Don’t think that it won’t. I can only protect you if I know where you are.”

Jenny glared at me. Her ruffled expression sent another shockwave of lust through my body. I wondered what she would do if I unzipped my pants and held her hostage for another couple of hours. I could tell she was angry: her pose was tense and the hair on her arms was standing up. But the way her green eyes were hugging my body was indicative of something else, that she still wanted me just as much as I wanted her. All traces of the fragile, quiet Jenny had disappeared and she was a raging vixen once again. She raised her eyebrows at me and crossed her arms over her chest.

“I bet you think you can just tell me what to do and you think I’ll listen,” she said in a low voice. “I bet you think I’ll do anything you say!”

“Only if you’re smart,” I cracked. Jenny flushed with anger and I chuckled. “I mean, if you want those guys to come grab you again, be my guest. I bet you weren’t expecting to see them again, were you?”

Jenny gave me another furious glare. “Of course not. I wasn’t expecting to be grabbed by some thugs! This is all your fault, Tristan. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here in the first place.”

Anger boiled over in me and I glared at her, stalking the room and staring at the walls, the ceiling, anywhere but Jenny’s beautiful face. “That’s a bit much,” I snarled. “You should be thanking me, really.”

“For what?” Jenny’s face twisted in anger. “For disappearing on me? For never calling? For never coming back? Yeah, I really deserved that!”

I crossed my arms over my chest. I had a brief thought to take a deep breath, to try to forget all about Jenny and her temptations. But the rage coursed through me, hotter than lust, more powerful than love.

“That’s rich coming from you.” It was almost funny. Did she not remember what happened? She was the one who had left
me
. “I mean, rich as Mommy and Daddy used to be.”

Jenny stood up and stalked over to the door. With her hand on the knob, she whirled around and glared at me. I saw tears building but I didn’t care. If she was trying to play me and manipulate me, it wasn’t going to fucking work. After all, I wasn’t born yesterday. I was Tristan Mayer, president of the Wicked Angels. Damnit, I was someone!

“I didn’t ask you to rescue me,” Jenny said under her breath. Her voice was so quiet that I could barely hear her. “I didn’t ask you to step in.” She blinked and I saw a single tear roll down her cheek. “And I didn’t ask you to come back into my life and fuck it all up again,” she added. Before I could reply, she let herself out of my room and slammed the door. I heard her soft footsteps running down the hall.

For some reason, I didn’t feel as good as I thought I should. After all, what the fuck was she talking about? Had she gone crazy in the years since I’d left? She didn’t seem crazy, but I didn’t know what was going on in that head of hers. Even back when we’d been close, I’d never been a mind-reader. I’d never known what Jenny had wanted. It was obvious the kind of life she’d have, or so I’d thought at the time. Her parents wanted to bundle her off to some expensive private college, then make sure she got a cushy job and married a doctor or a lawyer or someone. Anyone who could give her a better life than I could. I saw her working as a secretary for maybe a year or two before marrying the executive, who was sure to be at least fifteen years older than she was. Then she’d insist on being called Jen or Jennifer and become a stay at home mom. The next thing she knew, she’d be dropping her kids off at the same private college she’d attended in her youth.

But obviously, something had changed. Something had happened to make Jenny break off ties with her parents and try to keep her life separate from theirs. It was puzzling, especially because she had a child. Jenny was proud, but she was the type of person to prioritize a kid’s life over her own. I wondered what could have possibly happened to make her change her mind and go her own way. As grandparents, her parents could have helped out a lot. Phin was in public school, and although he was well-cared-for, his clothes were obviously second-hand, just like Jenny’s. All the food at her house had been store brand, and her car was over fifteen years old. She’d apparently gotten really good at making appearances look normal, but compared to how polished she’d been in her youth, I could tell that things had really changed. Plus, she was working as a librarian. I didn’t know much, but I knew you needed a college degree for a job like that. College was expensive, and I could guess the libraries probably didn’t pay much. After all, she was almost thirty. If she’d had the life her parents had planned for her, she wouldn’t have worked past the age of twenty-five.

I had a big house, and it was totally silent. I wondered what Jenny was saying to Phin. He was a cute kid. Smart, too. I wondered if he could pick up on anything going on between me and his mom.
Except there isn’t anything going on,
I thought.
You’re crazy if you think she’s gonna want anything else to do with you, man.

I shook my head and stretched. I could go for a drink, but after what had happened, I didn’t want to leave Jenny alone. I was angry with her, but she obviously had no idea how bad things had really gotten. I didn’t think she would have left if she thought there was a chance those jackasses would come back for her. Part of me almost felt prideful over this; it must mean that she trusted me implicitly. Well, good for her. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to trust
her
ever again, especially not if she kept walking off like that. As much as I’d threatened to leave her alone, I knew I couldn’t stay away if there was a chance she was in danger. She’d have to stay with me until I’d dealt with Darius once and for all.

Darius
. Just thinking about his name put a foul taste in my mouth. It wasn’t enough that my ex-buddy wanted to ruin me. No, he had to go after my ex-girlfriend and her son. That was nefarious. I shook my head. He was a lot eviler than I’d first given him credit for. I felt stupid for not trusting him years ago when he first told me that he’d get me back. I’d brushed it off as meaningless. But, obviously, he hadn’t forgotten about that promise of revenge.