Damaged and the Dragon (18 page)

“
I wouldn’t want him
fighting either. Did he call your bluff or did you just back
down?”

“
Does it
matter?”

Lark shook her head. “Things are good
though?”

“
He said he loves
me.”

Poking me with her toes, Lark grinned. “How
could he not?”

“
Hell yeah.”

“
And you love him for
real?”

“
For real. He’s all broken
up inside though. I worried I wouldn’t know how to help him. Or
even make it worse. I’m not exactly sensitive.”

“
You do good with
Winnie.”

“
Yeah, but she’s weak
though. With Nick, he’s strong in some ways and weak in others. I
just didn’t know if I could handle the weak stuff. I’m not a
sweetie like you.”

“
But you did right by
him?”

“
I think so. He loves me,
so I must be doing okay.”

“
You sound
nervous.”

Sighing, I both loved and hated how well she
knew me. “Nick is difficult to read sometimes and I don’t have
patience.”

“
No, you really don’t, but
he knows that about you.”

“
True.”

“
Don’t try to control what
happens, Bailey. You fear being hurt or embarrassed, so you try to
bend everything to your will. With Nick, that won’t work. People
don’t bend. They run or break. Just relax and know he’s the
one.”

“
He really is.”

“
Then it’ll work out
despite his problems and your lack of patience.”

Rubbing her belly, I grinned. “My man is
hanging with your man. He’s getting his dragon touched up.”

“
Aww, we should have you
over for dinner. I love double dates especially with such great
friends.”

I squinted at her. “You want something?”

“
Feed me,” she said
dramatically. “I’m gorging myself for three here.”

“
Sure, Jabba.”

Even laughing, Lark struggled for a minute
to rest on her side. Once she was comfy, she turned on the
television and ignored me while I warmed her a can of low salt
soup. Pregnancy definitely looked like a whole lot of trouble just
to create a person who would scream at you for the rest of their
lives.

Leaving Lark later as she napped, I returned
to the apartment with a plan to be patient. Yeah, I wouldn’t push
Nick for anything he wasn’t willing to offer freely. Zen was my new
thing.

Nick sat on the couch, but jumped up when I
entered. His face was still bruised, but the gash over his eyes
wasn’t as puffy.

“
Bailey.”

“
Nick,” I said, trying to
keep things light.

When Nick frowned, I realized maybe he
didn’t want light. I told myself to just roll with whatever he
wants.

“
How is Lark?” he asked,
looking edgy now.

“
Giant, but
adorable.”

Nick smiled tightly. “Aaron seems worried
about her.”

“
He should be. In fact, I
wouldn’t be surprised if the twins eat their way out of her
soon.

Finally, Nick stopped standing awkwardly
near the couch and walked to me in the kitchen.

“
Are you mad?” he asked
when I just stared.

“
No. Are you?”

“
Why would I be
mad?”

“
I don’t know.”

Nick stepped back and studied me. “Should I
leave?”

“
Do you want to
leave?”

“
No.”

Finally, I rolled my eyes. “I hate Zen.
Pushy is my new thing,” I announced. “You’re mine and you’re
staying with me. Fuck, I’ll even chain you down to keep you here.
Is that a problem?”

Nick took a step forward and kissed me
softly. He still seemed edgy, so I kissed him back with more
intensity. I wanted him to know where I stood.

“
I love you. Fuck anyone
who thinks that’s a problem,” I said once our lips
separated.

“
Who would have a problem
with it?”

“
I don’t know. People, I
guess. I’m just saying that I’ll kick people’s asses if
necessary.”

Nick finally laughed “You’re acting
weird.”

“
So? Is that a
problem?”

This time he rolled his eyes and walked out
of the kitchen. “I’ll tell you later.”

“
Tell me what? I don’t do
secrets. Is that a problem?”

Nick flopped onto the couch and stared at
the TV playing football. Joining him, I felt awkward now about
ditching my Zen plan so fast.

“
I said I loved you and you
didn’t say it back,” I whined. “I’m feeling insecure. Coddle me
please.”

Nick extended his hand to me and I caressed
it until realizing he wanted me to look at his wrist. When I
realized what was written on his flesh, I lost the ability to
think.

Zen. Pushy. None of it mattered. My man had
my name on his wrist. Just like Pop did with Mom, Cooper with
Farah, and dumbass Tucker with Maddy. Nick wouldn’t mock something
so important to my family. By having my name tattooed on his wrist,
he was claiming me.

“
Are you happy? I can’t
tell from the look on your face,” Nick asked.

Staring into his worried green eyes, I only
smiled. “It’s beautiful. I’d really like to fuck your brains out
now as a reward.”

Nick grinned. “Your smile is reward enough.”
Yet he stood up and tugged me to my feet. “I wouldn’t mind a shower
though.”

Walking into the bedroom, I lovingly held
his wrist and looked at those letters. With each one, Nick took a
step away from the darkness of his past and towards the future we
could enjoy together.

Bailey wanted me to stop fighting. A part of
me wanted to stop too, but fighting gave me a freedom I wasn’t
willing to throw away. So I still woke up early and drove to the
Reapers’ gym. Even if I couldn’t fight for a few days to allow my
eye to heal, I wanted to stay in shape.

One of the few guys to beat me in a fight
remained a thorn in my ass. Entering the gym, Cooper talked on the
phone and I hoped he might walk past me. I wasn’t that lucky and he
stopped next to my punching bag while finishing his call.

Hanging up, Cooper shoved his phone into his
back pocket and sized me up. “You and my sister work. I like that,
but this fighting shit can’t continue.”

“
Stay out of it,” I
muttered, punching the bag.

“
You need money. I get
that. Farah was afraid to spend too much and always looking for
ways to make more.”

“
What’s your
point?”

“
I just want to know if you
fight because you love it or because you want the
money?”

“
I’m not giving up
fighting.”

Cooper nodded. “Do you worry about your
brain at all? Teaching won’t be easy if you’re brain damaged.”

I glared at him. “Brain damaged?”

“
I gave you a concussion.
You’ve probably gotten a few others in the cage. What happens when
you fuck up your brain so much that your dream to become a teacher
isn’t something you can have anymore?”

Saying nothing, I punched the bag without
any real force.

“
I know how it is to have a
dream like you have with teaching,” Cooper said, leaning against
the wall. “Farah is the same way. It’s what she used to pull
herself out of a shitty childhood. You used it too, but fighting so
much will leave you fucked up, man. I’m saying this as the brother
of the girl you love. I’m not shitting on you. I take care of
what’s mine and Bailey’s my responsibility. Her happiness was
always something iffy. She screwed losers and had no direction. I
wrote her off as someone I needed to baby, but she’s not that chick
anymore. She’s got goals and a guy she loves. I see her future
looking real and I want to make sure she gets what she dreams. My
family is tight like I bet yours wasn’t so maybe this seems like
meddling. It’s not. I love my sister. She deserves to be happy and
she wants you to be happy too. That means I am telling you that
fighting will fuck you up. The guys who stick with it always end up
losers.”

“
I need the money,” I
muttered.

“
For school.”

“
And rent.”

“
Bailey wants you to move
into the apartment. If you wanted that too, you’d need less
money.”

“
I’m not living off
Bailey’s money.”

“
No, didn’t think you
would. I can get you a different job. Something that pays decent
and gives you time to study.”

“
I don’t want to work for
your family.”

“
Again, I figured that
out,” Cooper said, smirking. “Dylan Campbell is working on my
office. He has a lot of projects and needs help. Not just the
physical crap either. Project manager stuff too. I talked to him
and he’d be cool with trying you out. That is, if you’d be
interested.”

“
Is this how it’ll be? You
running Bailey and my life together.”

“
Yeah, Pop and Mom too.
Hell, even Sawyer will boss you around. It’s how family works,
Nick. You can’t just have the fun stuff like barbecues. There are
responsibilities that come with family and one of them is watching
each other’s backs. You want to be with Bailey and that’ll make you
family. That means your life matters to me. I want you to be a
teacher. I want Bailey to finish college and do whatever she wants.
If it’s helping with the family business, great. If she wants
something else later, I’m cool with that too. I’m happy to know she
won’t need me running her whole life, just the small
stuff.”

Stepping back from the bag, I grabbed my
bottle of water. Cooper gave me a few minutes to think then stood
up.

“
Your strength in fighting
comes from taking a beating and remaining upright. You win those
fights, but you’ll lose the battle. If you were a punk with no
skills, I’d say fight away. Enjoy the victories, but you have
bigger goals and you need a healthy brain for them. Don’t think of
it as me telling you what to do or the family pushing you around.
Think of it as you getting what you want because you deserve it. If
you were an asshole, I’d bury you rather than let you ruin my
sister.”

Finishing my water, I frowned. “I’ve never
done construction.”

“
Dylan has a few contracts.
Fix it shit. Lawn stuff. I don’t know it all, but he wants to
expand and prove himself to his old man. I’m sure you know
something about that and Dylan’s a good guy too. I thought you both
sucked, but I’m perfect enough to admit I was wrong.”

Rolling my eyes, I grinned. “Perfect.”

“
Look, I nearly lost my
girl because I let my ego get in the way. You might lose Bailey for
the same reason. Why give up what you want when everything is just
waiting for you? You’re not proving anyone right or wrong by taking
Dylan’s offer. You’re doing what you need to do to make shit right
for you and Bailey.”

Cooper looked ready to leave when I
spoke.

“
It’s not that I think your
family is bad. I just can’t be part of the business. I saw the
junkie side growing up and I need to be away from that
shit.”

“
I get it. Aaron is my best
friend and like a brother, but he didn’t want to be part of the
club. The life doesn’t interest him. No harm in feeling that
way.”

“
I do love Bailey, so I’ll
think about the job with Dylan.”

“
Good. I care about
Ellsberg and don’t want the kids having a brain damaged
teacher.”

“
Asshole.”

Cooper grinned. “Take a break from all this
shit and go see my sister. Life is too short to be frowning all the
time.”

Opening my mouth to say something, I decided
to let it go. My enemy wasn’t my friend, but he had my back as long
as I took good care of his sister. I intended to do just that.

Ready for her baby shower, Lark waddled out
of the bedroom in a polka dotted maternity dress slash muumuu. She
wore no shoes because her bloated feet wouldn’t fit in anything
except flip flops. Of course, she couldn’t see her feet enough to
slip on her shoes anyway.

Following her sister out of the bedroom,
Raven looked winded. “I think I pulled something shoving your ass
into that dress.”

Lark settled onto the couch and placed the
TV remote on her bump. Once she was comfortable, she double gunned
the middle fingers for her laughing sister.

“
You look ravishing,” I
said. “Like a sex kitten flower with a hint of angel around the
face.”

Lark grinned. “You’re doing your fake nice
thing again. Aww, thanks.”

“
You’re welcome. You
deserve it.”

Lark glared at Raven. “Why can’t you be more
like Bailey?”

“
I didn’t fuck away my
personality when I got a man. Apparently, Bailey did.”

“
Allow me to translate,” I
said, sitting on the coffee table and rubbing Lark’s belly. “Love
suits me better than it does Raven. She remained a grumpy hag while
I blossomed into a Candyland of joy, rainbows, and other happy
crap.”

While Lark laughed, Raven rolled her eyes
while no doubt terribly jealous of my happiness. I remembered
hating her something fierce when she and Vaughn hooked up. Hell, I
resented everyone who found what I didn’t have. Now, I had Nick
which seriously cut down my hate list.