Damaged and the Dragon (2 page)

Preggers with their first kid, Farah didn’t
look too sexy waddling around the kitchen. Her corndog breath
wasn’t working either. I did notice her boobs were bigger. Clearly
liking this fact, Cooper said goodbye to them before leaving for
school.

“
He’s an idiot,” I told her
after he left.

“
He’s sweet,” Farah said
with a dreamy smile. Then she frowned at me, “What do you want
again?”

“
To rub your Buddha belly
for luck.”

Farah smiled, but I think she wanted to
smack me. All the hormones made her shifty and I was a big fan of
the feisty changes to her personality.

“
How did you get Cooper to
fall in love with you?”

“
I don’t know.”

“
Liar.”

“
Why don’t you ask
him?”

“
So he can tell me a sappy
story about how your eyes met and his dick just knew you were the
one? I don’t need the romantic version. I need the blueprint. I’m
looking to con a man into loving me.”

“
Sounds like a solid plan,
but what works for one person won’t work for another.”

“
Are you saying I’m not hot
enough to play your tricks?”

Farah smirked. “Yeah, basically. Nice boobs
though.”

Rolling my eyes, I stormed to the living
room where I threw a sighing fit. With a baby girl on the way,
Farah should view my drama as a test run for her future teenage
daughter.

“
Cooper came to Denny’s
where I worked,” Farah said, sitting down with her corndog salad.
“We talked and he made me laugh. I guess that’s how we fell in
love.”

Narrowing my eyes, I muttered, “So the
cornerstone of your epic love is that you served him like a slave
and he made you laugh? I feel like I’m being punked.”

“
Fuck off, Bailey,” she
mumbled with a mouth full of corndog. “I’m sorry you’re having
trouble finding the right guy, but don’t take it out on
me.”

“
You ever wonder if getting
so fat will make Cooper cheat on you?”

Farah stopped mid-chew and the light faded
from her big doe eyes. After allowing her to squirm, I crawled over
to her chair and rubbed where my niece was cooking.

“
You’ve got my brother
whipped. He’d never cheat because you’d cry and he hates that shit.
I hope I break a man’s spirit like that one day.”

Farah caressed my head as I nuzzled her
bump. “Don’t worry, you will.”

Smiling up at her, I glanced back at Winnie.
“Add be a slave and funny as ideas to catch my man.”

Winnie jotted down the advice then hid
behind her dark hair again. When Farah started to say something to
my assistant, I patted her tummy.

“
Don’t mess with her
groove. She’s not in a chatty mood,” I warned. “Do you have any
advice to help me get my man?”

Farah cupped my face like maybe we’d make
out. “Be the best Bailey you can be with him. Don’t be fake though.
When he falls for you, he should fall for the real you.”

Smiling, I pretended her advice was aces
even though it was the same crap Lark told me. No way did I buy
into their “real me” shit, but I’d already been mean enough to
Farah over the last year. No reason for me to smack her around more
by mocking her dumb advice.

After watching Farah scarf down corndogs
while I fought the urge to point and laugh, I left the house with
Winnie.

“
How will I manage to be
Nick’s slave? Should I offer to clean his apartment?”

Winnie said nothing. She didn’t even look at
me either, but I still felt her mentally rolling her eyes.

“
I’ll take that as a no.
Maybe I can make him laugh. Or he can make me laugh. Yeah, humor is
good. I could also spill something on him then clean it up without
asking. Ooh, I’ll be submissive to him.”

Winnie glanced at me as I
prepared to drop her off at the Todds’s 1970’s inspired
Brady Bunch
house.

“
What?” I asked when she
said nothing.

Rather than pissing me off, Winnie hoped to
make a getaway. She climbed out of my SUV then said, “Don’t spill
anything.”

“
What should I do then? I’m
studying with him in an hour and I need a plan to land my
man.”

Winnie sighed. “Go with your gut.”

“
My gut gets me into
trouble.”

“
When the Devils came here
and one of them tried to grab you, your gut told you to fight back
by shooting at him. That was a good move.”

“
Are you still having bad
dreams about that?” I asked softly.

Stepping back, Winnie lowered her gaze.
“Good luck with Nick.”

After waiting until she was safe in the
house, I drove to New Hampton College with the goal of sweeping
Nick off his feet. Too bad my plans remained iffy.

At no point during our study session did
Nick look at me. He looked at other girls. Even smiled at them, but
I was right there and he didn’t see me.

I noticed Nick the first day of our freshman
year. He was cute with his thick brown hair always falling in his
eyes. He also had a great smile, but his bright green eyes were
what drew my attention.

Back then, he hadn’t been so buff or
bruised. Having gained around forty pounds, he had wider shoulders,
thicker arms, and a stronger chest. A perfect body for fighting,
Nick battled guys a few days a week at the Thunderdome. I noticed a
healing bruise on his jaw while he had a fresh one near his temple.
His hair was shorter these days, but occasionally his bangs covered
those amazing green eyes. Though the guy hypnotized me with his
sexiness, I couldn’t even get him to flash a glance in my
direction.

Probably downing a gallon of Sprite before
study group was a mistake. Or maybe I was sick of sitting across
from him and being ignored. No more playing it cool when I ran hot
whenever he was in the same room.

I slammed my hand down on
the book he was reading. Not even flinching, Nick didn’t seem
startled at all, even while the others jumped. He lifted his gaze
to meet mine then waited as if I was a spoiled child and he was the
ever patient parent.
Fuck him for his
patience.

“
You suck.”

“
Bailey,” Emma
said.

When I turned my angry gaze to her, she
probably pissed herself. I didn’t care about Emma or the others. I
wanted Nick to pay attention to me.

“
I’m storming out of here,”
I hissed at him, “and you better fucking follow after me to see
what’s wrong. If you don’t, I’m coming back here and making a
scene.”

The corner of Nick’s mouth lifted into a
half grin. “You’re already making a scene. Think of a better
threat.”

“
I’ll set fire to the
building,” I growled. “I know how to work dynamite and I love
blowing shit up.”

The other half of Nick’s mouth lifting, Nick
smiled at me then lowered his gaze and returned to reading. The
fucker was calling my bluff! Unfortunately, I didn’t know anything
about dynamite and loud noises made my head hurt. Fucker knew I
wouldn’t do shit.

Storming out of the library, I couldn’t just
stay there and show him that he’d won. Once outside, I felt like
crying or screaming. Even felt like finding dynamite and proving I
wasn’t full of shit. None of those moves would fix my problem, so I
sat on a bench and sulked.

Nick was stupid to want Farah even after she
hooked up with Cooper. He was a sap. A fool! Much like me wanting a
guy hung up on my sister-in-law.

I blamed Farah’s fat lips. They were too
sexy and made guys think of blowjobs. While I considered putting
poison in my lips to make them fat like hers, I didn’t want anyone
thinking about blowjobs when they looked at me. I wanted them
thinking I was special. No, I only wanted Nick thinking that, but
he was a loser stuck on a girl who didn’t want him.

“
Out of dynamite?” Nick
asked from behind me.

“
Yep. Used it on the last
loser who pissed me off.”

“
And you’re pissed
why?”

Glancing at Nick next to the bench, I
noticed his shirt was too tight around his chest and loose around
his narrow waist. If he was mine, I would fix it and maybe feel him
up a little. Instead, I glared at him like he was a piece of shit.
I blamed Nick for making me hate him.

“
You suck.”

“
Okay, but why
now?”

“
You’ll never have Farah. I
mean, it’s not like she’s going to leave my hot, rich, stud
brother, so she can slum it with you.”

Nick studied me, showing no emotion in his
bright green eyes. He could be examining something on the heel of
his shoe. His disinterest pissed me off. Hell, I hated him for not
jumping me that very moment.

Glancing down, I admired my boobs jutting
from my chest. What was his problem? I was hot. Maybe not blowjob
lips hot. Or broken little girl needing a savior hot. Simply a rich
girl with great fake boobs hot. Any other guy would at least give
them a quick peek. Not Nick though.

“
You smell like bacon,” I
muttered, standing up. “I hate you for that.”

“
Bacon?” he asked, walking
towards the parking lot as if I wasn’t standing right there. “I
shower more than once a day. I shouldn’t stink.”

“
You ate a bacon hamburger
or something,” I said, rushing after him as he dumped his backpack
onto the back of his shiny red Harley. “You smelled like bacon and
I love bacon. I think you did that on purpose.”

“
Probably,” he said, taking
my backpack and shoving it next to his. “Let’s go.”

“
Where?”

Nick climbed on the Harley then focused his
gaze on my face. “Do you care?”

I didn’t dare smile or give away the happy
dance happening inside me. Shrugging as if bored, I climbed on
behind him. My attempt at playing it cool ended when I wrapped my
arms around his hard stomach. I’d dreamed of this moment a million
times, but reality was better.

When I sighed, Nick became very still.
Emotionless, distant, dead to me, he glanced over his shoulder with
a look of concern.

“
Do you need a
helmet?”

Balking, I prepared to remind him I was
Bailey Fucking Johansson. Before I ranted, Nick smiled and I
realized he was messing with me.

“
Don’t let go,” he said,
turning on the bike.

His words felt like more than a suggestion
about safety. They were the request of a man needing me. I really
liked the thought of him suffering without me. Resting my cheek
against his back, I imagined the dragon tattoo hidden under his
shirt.

Nick drove us to the Hog House on the
outskirts of Ellsberg. The dive only served pork, so I assumed this
was where he ate the bacon I smelled on him after lunch one day. I
slid off the back of his Harley and fixed my shirt. When I looked
up, Nick was standing over me with a strange expression on his sexy
face.

I thought he might say something rude or
tell me I had a booger. Instead, he cupped my face, leaned down,
and sucked at my lower lip. Happening so fast, I barely had time to
savor his kiss before it was over.

Nick stepped back and ran his fingers
through his dark hair. I tried to play cool, but I wanted another
kiss. Preferably a longer one leading to us naked somewhere. I
hadn’t been with a guy in a long time and I’d been dreaming about
Nick for even longer.

“
So you like me?” I said,
placing my hands on my hips and frowning up at him.

“
I like bacon too. Let’s
get something to eat.”

Before I could respond, Nick took my hand
and tugged me towards the loud little outdoors restaurant. He found
us a picnic table then waited until I sat down before sitting
across from me.

“
I’ve been trying to bulk
up,” he said, glancing over the menu. “Eating a lot of protein
helps.”

“
For your fighting?” I
asked, wanting him to look at me.

Nick nodded, but his gaze never found mine.
“Hurts less when I have bulk between their fists and my bones.”

“
Do you like
fighting?”

“
I like making money,” Nick
said, looking up at our waitress. “Can I get a Bud and a
Coke?”

She wrote down his order then looked at me.
“Sprite.”

As the chick walked away, I nearly grabbed
Nick’s face and forced his eyes on me. He studied the menu again,
ignoring me. Every ounce of self-control kept me from kicking him
under the table.

“
I heard you were dating a
girl from town,” I said, setting aside my menu. “Anyone I know? I
don’t want a pissed off bitch showing up and punching me in the
face.”

Nick finally looked at me. His gaze was
soft, tired maybe. Giving me a little grin, he returned his gaze to
the menu.

“
People say she’s a stuck
up bitch, but I think she’s funny.”

“
What’s her name?” I
muttered, tearing my napkin under the table.

Suddenly, Nick stared right at me and I
could barely breathe. “Did you know I’m a hot commodity now?” he
asked before focusing on the returning waitress. After delivering
our drinks and taking our orders, she left us alone and Nick
finally looked at me again.

“
Ever since I started
fighting, girls think I’m a stud,” he said, winking at me. “Some of
the girls now throwing themselves at me used to think I was a
loser. One of them even called me a trailer trash
douche.”