Love Me: Oakville Series:Book 5 (29 page)

“We need to discuss you fucking around on my friend.” He snaps, and my mouth gapes in shock.

“What are you talking about?” I ask once I find my voice. Closing the door, I watch as he paces around for a few seconds, his fists clenched at his sides. My pulse quickens as my body starts to tremble. I’ve never seen angry Angel. There’s a vein in his forehead that is bulging out, moving with every beat of his heart. After last night I’m still a bit jumpy, especially around a man who is clearly angry with me. Leaning against the counter, he crosses his arms over his chest and glares at me.

“You want to know what happened to my face? Well, I got this because of you,” he states, continuing to stare a hole through me.
How is his battered face my fault?
I wasn’t the one who punched him, but I’m a little tempted to do so now.

“How the hell is that my fault?” I ask, pointing to his face.

“I got this from Marcus when I tried to stop him from beating the shit out of his truck after he saw you playing grab ass with some guy in the café,” he huffs, looking at me impatiently. Anger begins to boil in my belly.
Who the fuck does he think he is?

“Not everything is as it seems, douche nozzle!” I yell. He’s biting his lip trying to stop his laughter. “If he would have stuck around for an explanation instead of assuming, he would have saw there was no grab-assing of any kind going on. That guy was my ex. The one I moved here to get away from. And this...” I say, pointing to my face, “is courtesy of him because I told him no.” I tell him. I’m so mad, I am physically shaking. I sit on the couch, afraid my legs with give out. Angel’s eyes soften, but he still seems angry.

“Are you okay? We will kill that motherfucker for laying his hands on you,” he growls. Walking into the living room, he sits by me on the couch. “I’m sorry. Marcus said he saw this guy kiss you. He was so upset.”

“I’m sorry he saw that, but if he would have stuck around two seconds longer, he also would have seen me slapping the shit out of him. And yes, I’m fine.” Angel laughs a deep laugh from down in his belly. I like happy laughing Angel way better than angry Angel. “Marcus really thinks I was cheating on him? Well, not cheating ‘cause we aren’t together. Ah, hell, you know what I mean,” I ramble.

“I think we better go have a talk with Marcus before he decides to beat on anymore trucks.” He looks me up and down. “I think you should go shower and change first.”

“Yeah. Good idea.”

M
y damn hand is throbbing. The pain pills the E.R. doctor gave me don’t work worth a damn. You’d think they would at least help me sleep, but of course not. I’ve been up all night trying to figure out how I had it all wrong. She didn’t seem like the kind of girl who played games. And I don’t care even about what she did to me, I’ll get over it, my anger is for what this will do to my son. She’s the only person he’s gotten close to outside of our group. This is going to crush him. Messing with me is one thing. I’m a big boy, I can take it. But messing with my kid is a different story.

The doorbell rings and I walk to the front door, though I should just not answer it and let whoever is out there go away. I don’t want to have to deal with people today. With my luck, it’s Angel coming over to bust my nose up as payback. I still can’t believe I punched him that hard or that I was so angry I didn’t even stop to see who was touching me. This is the very last time I let a girl fuck with my head. I swing open the door and find Chelsie and Kelly on my doorstep.

“Hello, ladies. What’s up?” I ask as I motion for them to come in. Both women appear nervous. They keep looking at each other, trying to decide who’s going to talk first. I close the door and motion them into the kitchen. “Can I get y’all some coffee?” They nod their heads, but still, no words leave their mouths. I’m starting to get a little nervous myself now. Pouring them each a cup of coffee, I set it in front of them on the table with milk and sugar. “Okay, ladies, what’s going on?” I ask as I take a seat. Again, they look back and forth between each other before Chelsie finally speaks.

“There was an incident yesterday at the café. Lexi was involved,” she says, hesitant to continue. The sound of her name being spoken makes my heart ache. I start to shake my head, not wanting to hear anything about her right now. I’m still too pissed off. “Please, hear me out. It’s not what you think.”

“How do you know what I think?” I snap, and immediately regret it. “I’m sorry, Chelsie. I didn’t mean to bite your head off.”

“I know. Angel told me everything that happened last night. But what you saw is not what you think.” Chelsie’s voice is pleading, begging me to listen. Though I don’t think anything she says will change my mind, I’ll hear her out anyway. She has nothing to do with any of this.

“I’ll listen to what you have to say, but I know what I saw,” I tell her, crossing my arms as I sit back in my chair. Kelly starts explaining the events that occurred from the time Lexi sat down.

“I could see she was scared. When he kissed her, she slapped him so hard, his momma probably felt it,” Kelly says with a giggle. I can’t help but laugh. Not only is her description funny, but I’m proud of Lexi for giving the guy what he deserved. “I called Beasley when I saw the look in his eyes. He was pissed. He grabbed her by the hair and slammed her face first into the table. If Beasley didn’t get there as quickly as he did, I’m afraid of what could have happened. Later, we found out it was the ex she ran away from.” Anger and regret begins to choke me. I could rip that fucker’s head right off.
Damn it!
I wish I wouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. If I would have gone inside, I could have stopped her from being hurt.

“Fuck!” I yell and slam my fists down on the table, sending a shooting pain through my injured hand. Both girls jump and I feel like an ass again. I take a deep breath, trying to ignore the pain in my hand and heart. “I’m sorry,” I say sheepishly. “I have to go find Lexi. Can you two lock up for me?” I ask as I stand and grab my keys from the counter. Both girls smile brightly at me. Obviously, they’re happy with what I’m about to do. I just hope and pray Lexi can forgive me for my jealousy getting the best of me.

I run to the front door and swing it open. Standing in front of me is Angel and Lexi. When I see the black and blue marks on her face, my knees weaken and tears begin to sting my eyes. I lift my hand to her face and gently caress her cheek. Angel slips by us and goes into the kitchen, allowing us some privacy. She closes her eyes and moves into my touch. I can’t stop myself. I wrap my arms around her and pull her into me. Her body pressed up against mine feels so good—so right. Her body begins to shake and know she’s crying, so I hold her tighter.

“I’m so fucking sorry, Lex,” I whisper against her ear. “If I hadn’t been a jealous ass who jumps to conclusions, this never would have happened to you.” She shakes her head vigorously.

“No, I’m sorry you had to see that. I would have thought the same thing. I swear, every time he touched me, it made me sick,” she cries.

“I know, baby. I know,” I tell her, feeling like an idiot for doubting her. I can see it in her eyes. She loves me, not him. I glance up and see Kelly, Chelsie, and Angel sneaking out the front door. Angel winks and gives me a thumbs up before closing the door behind him.

I bend down and pick her up, cradling her in my arms. She wraps her arms around my neck and I carry her to the couch, placing her on my lap as I sit down. She pulls back so she can look into my eyes. Gently, I wipe the tears from her face. She smiles and takes a visible breath.

“I need to tell you something. If I don’t do it now, I’ll lose my nerve,” she says in a rush. My stomach drops, but I keep my mouth closed. Jumping to conclusions has gotten me into enough shit already. She reaches up and takes my face in her hands. Ever so softly, she kisses my lips. “I love you, Marcus. I know you may not be ready yet, but I’ll be here when you are,” she says. My heart skips a beat and there’s not an ounce of guilt washing through me. I put a finger over her lips, keeping her from continuing.

“I love you, too, Lexi. I’m ready to move forward and you are the one I want to do it with,” I tell her and kiss her lips the same way she did a minute earlier. Her smile is wide and her eyes are shining.

“Is Chase home?” she asks.

“No, he’s with Kyle and Amber,” I tell her with a grin. “Why?”

“I was thinking it’s about time you made love to me,” she says, her voice husky and sexy. Butterflies swarm my stomach.
Can I do this? In the house we shared—the bed?

“If you’re not ready, I completely understand.” There’s a small hint of disappointment in her voice. I want this. I want her. Without a word, I stand and walk us through the house to the bedroom. I slowly shut the door and press my lips to hers, bringing her closer to me. Gripping the back of her head, I slip my tongue into her mouth, tangling it with hers. She lets out a small gasp and my cock hardens at the sound. Her hands grip the hem of my shirt and pull up, skirting over my stomach. I groan at the sensation, parting our lips to let out a small gasp.

It’s been years since I’ve been touched by another woman and every touch lights my skin on fire. My cock pulses and I growl, feeling more frantic and frenzied than I can ever remember. This woman does something to me I never thought I would feel again and getting her naked and thriving beneath me is the only thing on my mind.

I pull at her shirt, causing her to drop mine, and lift it over her head before tearing mine off the same way. Her cheeks flushed, chest heaving, body more perfect than I could imagine—I connect our lips again, needing to feel her. Needing to feel every inch of her. She giggles as I push her toward the bed while trying to release the button on her pants and I smile against her lips.

“You think this is funny?” I ask, amusement to my tone as my fingers fumble. She lets out a deeper laugh and breaks our kiss, leaning back on the bed.

“My, my, if I didn’t know any better, I would think someone is desperate to get me naked and having a hard time doing it.” I smirk, taking her body in once again.

“Mmm,” I moan, pulling the right cup of her bra down. “You have no idea,” I say, staring into her beautiful lust-filled eyes before taking her nipple into my mouth and palming her breast. The moan she releases causes my cock to throb in anticipation. I need to be inside her. I lower the cup to her other breast and move my attention toward that nipple as she finally releases her pants and pushes them down. All humor gone, I move back up to her mouth before ripping the pants down her legs, desperate.

“I need you, now. I hope you’re ready for me, baby, because I can’t wait. I need to bury myself inside you.”