The Bad Boys' Reluctant Woman (12 page)

“Do they live in Law Castle?”

Jake nodded his head. “They used to
live here. They moved away a couple of years back.”

“You do realise you’re making me
want to ask more questions than answering them.”

“Connor made Brent and me promise
never to ask questions and never to go to his parents’ house or talk to them.
We used to see them in the street, and we never talked to them. They tried to
get Connor to talk, but he said something to them that made them turn the
opposite way. They moved out of town, and we’ve never heard from them since.”

“Why didn’t you go and ask them?”

“He made us promise, Zoe. The
promise between us is sacred. I would never break a promise like that.”

Zoe chuckled. “That sounds corny.”

“We made a pact to always be there
for each other. Our bond is stronger than anything.”

“Bros before
hos
,
kind of thing?” she asked.

Jake smiled.
“Yep.
We made that pact, and we’ve never been apart for longer than a few weeks. We
all went travelling in our twenties to see a little of the world.”
 

“You all came back here?”

Jake nodded his head. “I guess there
is no other place to settle down than where you grew up.”

Zoe smiled. The only place she’d
considered home was where she lived before her parents died. No way would she
be going back to that place. The pain of it was too hard for her to bear.

“This is your home now, Zoe,” Jake
said.

She stared at him wondering what he
was implying.

“Your home is with us.”

“This really is not a one-time deal,
is it?” she asked.

“I think you already knew that.”

Zoe blushed when her stomach
growled. Jake chuckled. “I think that is my cue to leave and let you get
dressed.”

She watched as he moved towards the
closet. He pulled out a pair of jeans and a
checkered
shirt. “Here, we bought you these.”

“You got me clothes?”

“Yeah, we all started buying stuff
for you six months ago.” Zoe climbed out of the bed, wrapping the sheet around
her waist. She went straight to Jake and hugged him close. No one, besides her
parents, had ever gone out with the intention of buying her something. His arms
surrounded her. She felt tears well up in her eyes. The emotion was too intense
and unexpected.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Where it comes to you, Zoe, nothing
is ever too much.”

****

Jake walked down the stairs giving
Zoe some privacy. He knew the clothes had made her happy. The tears he’d seen
in her eyes were evidence of that. Brent was at the counter reading the morning
paper while Connor was pulling out another tray of croissants from the oven. He
knew Connor was dealing with a little bit of guilt. Understandable considering
what the bastard had done last night.

“How is she?” Connor asked.

“Fine.”
He poured himself a mug of coffee
and waited for the woman in question to arrive. She’d looked so soft and
inviting in her bed. Jake had wanted to get rid of his clothes and join her.
Work, however, was on the cards for him.

“Do you really think she’s going to
eat all this?” Brent asked, pointing at the plate of pancakes, the two dozen
croissants along with eggs and bacon. “I bet she doesn’t touch this food.”

Jake laughed at the glare Connor
sent Brent. It was obvious Connor had been dealing with his guilt and not
thinking clearly.

“She needs to keep her strength up.”

“If she eats all this, she’ll need
her strength to carry her out of the door.”

“Look, why don’t you stick to
writing porn, and you stick to whatever it is you do. I’ll handle the cooking.”

They still hadn’t figured out what
he did to earn his extra money. He loved being anonymous with his time. The
attic room upstairs which he’d converted to a studio was incredibly private.

“I don’t write porn. I write erotic
romance.”

“Same difference,” Connor said.

A growl emitted from Brent.

“There is a huge difference
actually,” Zoe said, standing in the doorway. They all were startled and turned
towards her.

The jeans were a perfect fit, and
the
checkered
shirt moulded to her curves perfectly.

“You’re a writer?” she asked with
her gaze on Brent.

“Yes.” Jake laughed when he saw the
blush stain Brent’s cheeks.

“And you write saucy romances for
women?”

“And men. Just because we’ve got
dicks doesn’t mean we don’t like a little bit of hot romance either.”

“You sound like a girl,” Connor
said.

“Coming from the guy who owns a pink
standing mixer,” Brent said.

Zoe chuckled. “Not only that, you do
bake.”

“Baking makes me a girl?”

“No, but in the past it was
considered to be a woman’s place in the kitchen. I guess in this partnership,
you’re the woman,” Zoe said.

Connor advanced on her. Within
seconds he had her pinned against the refrigerator.

Jake watched to see Zoe’s reaction.
She was smiling at Connor, and her body was completely open to him.

“Do you need me to remind you how
much of a man I am?” he asked.

He watched her rub her hand against
Connor’s crotch. She was teasing, and he saw the sparkle in her eyes.

“Why would I want to do that when
you walk away afterwards?” She pulled out of his hold, kissed Jake on the lips
and then did the same for Brent.

The message rang throughout the
kitchen. She was pissed at Connor and showing him by taking favour with Jake
and Brent.

“I didn’t think you’d want me
after,” Connor said. His arms were folded over his chest. Jake saw the
defensiveness inside his friend.

“So, I’d rather you use me and then
leave the clean up for your friends? Is that how you did this with other
women?” she asked.

“Not all of them would stay long
enough for me.”

“I’m a slut for letting you have
your way?”

“What? No, I never said that.”

“Good, then next time we’re all
together, you’ll be the one staying to do the clean up after wards.” She walked
right up to Connor and poked his chest. Jake fell totally, completely in love
with her for that action alone. She was proving she could stand up to them. He
damn well liked it.
Especially because the person getting the
poked chest was Connor.
The guy needed to learn some manners. “I swear,
Connor, the next time you walk away I’ll crush your balls. Do you understand?”

Connor stared at her. Jake saw the
admiration in his eyes.
“Next time?”

“You guys said you wanted me for
more than a one night stand, so you’ll prove it.” She moved back to pour
herself a coffee. Jake saw her hand shaking. He stayed in his seat waiting for
her to make the next move. This was what she needed. He knew that and
understood why. “I’m not moving in with you. I’m not ready for that. However,
the other stuff. The dating you guys used to ask me on, I’ll be willing.”

“Good, but you’ve got to promise us
something, Zoe,” Jake said.

“What do you want?”

“You’ve got to promise us you’ll not
step foot outside of Law Castle. You’re ours until further notice.”

She nodded her head.
“All right.
I promise I will not leave Law Castle.”

“Good.”

Chapter Twelve

Zoe finished her coffee while Jake,
Brent, and Connor tried to eat some of the food Connor had cooked. He’d tried
to get her to eat. She might be a big woman, but she couldn’t stomach food
first thing in the morning. Maybe it was one of the reasons her weight stayed,
no matter how many diets and exercise regimes she followed.

“I can take the food with me to The
Dugout. I need to go and speak to the manager to make sure I can continue to
work there.”

“Tell Steve he’d be doing us a big
favour, and we’d offer to do something for him,” Jake said.

Steve, no last name known to her,
rarely stayed at the bar after hours. He was there for the morning deliveries
and when she went to pick up her wages. For a bar owner, he lived like a
recluse.

“I will. Can someone give me a
ride?”

“Sure, I’ll drive you over,” Connor
said.

She went to argue with him and
thought better of it. Jake and Brent kissed her before they left the house
leaving her alone with Connor. He packaged the food into boxes for her. She
helped him transport them to his truck. They walked back in the house together.
Zoe didn’t see him stop until it was too late. She careened into his back.
Connor caught her in time so her ass wouldn’t hit the floor.

“Thank you,” she said.

“You’re welcome.”

He kept looking at her. She knew he
had something to say. Instead of waiting for him, she pulled out of his hold.
“We’d better get that food to The Dugout.”

Connor nodded pulling away from her.
He switched off the lights and wiped down the counter. They walked out to his
truck together. He opened the door for her then helped her inside.

“Thank you,” she said.

He nodded his head. The tension
between them was mounting. She didn’t like it. Zoe felt like he was trying to
talk to her without saying words. It was a strange feeling to have. She’d never
communicated through eye contact before.
 
He got in on the driver’s side, started the car, and pulled away from
the curb.

Zoe spent a most of the trip looking
out of the window. It was only a short trip. When he pulled up outside The
Dugout, he cut the engine, and neither moved.

“Did I hurt you last night?” he
asked.

She turned to face him, not
answering his question.

“Did I?” he asked, after some time
had passed.

“It is a hard question to answer,
Connor.”

“Physically, did I hurt you?”

“A little, but you’re a big guy. I
imagine some women struggle with you.”

“Then how else did I hurt you?”

She sighed not wanting the
conversation.

“Can we leave this to another time?”

“No, I want to have this
conversation now.”

“Fine, then what happened to your
parents?” she asked. Her anger increased as the walls pulled up around him.

“I’m not talking about my parents—”

“Then I’m not talking about last
night.”

She pulled on the truck handle. The
door didn’t budge. “What’s wrong with this door?”

“The child lock is still on.”

“You’re insane. Why is it most guys
think they can trap a woman in order to talk to them?”

“Because most
women are too fucking dramatic for their own good.”

Her anger rose tenfold. “Fine, you
hurt me more by walking away. You fucked me hard without even staring into my
eyes, and yet when it came to looking after me, you split. I thought out of all
of you, you’d be the one who’d stay.” She hated sounding needy, and hearing the
tone to her voice pissed her off. “Let me out of the fucking car, now.”

“No.”

Zoe turned on him. She went onto her
knees and punched his arm as hard as she could. Connor took the punch. When
that didn’t seem to work, she slapped his face. He did nothing to fight back.
She lost interest. There was no need for her to fight a brick wall.

“I like the pain I caused you,” he
said.

She turned to stare at him. No words
came at his admission.

“That’s why I needed to get away. I
look at you, and I never want to hurt you. You have no idea how I feel about
you, Zoe. Last night, I had to get away because I saw the pain I caused you
with that first thrust, and I liked it. You didn’t deserve a sick bastard to
wash you. Brent and Jake are normal inside. I’m not.”

Tears stung her eyes at the softly
spoken words.

“You didn’t hurt me, Connor.”

“Yeah, I did. I saw it in your eyes,
and I wanted to see it again.”

She shook her head. “You’re not like
that.”

“Yes, I am.”

Over her years of living on the
streets and moving from place to place, she’d seen a lot of crap. Connor was
not as bad as he thought he was.

“You like to hurt me?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Then punch me.”

He turned to look at her. His face
disgusted. “What? No.”

“Hit me, Connor. If you like my
pain so much slap
me around a little bit.” If he raised a
hand she’d fucking kill him. He looked like he was going to throw up. “You’re
not a sick man, Connor. A sick man who liked to see a woman in pain would beat
her up and hurt her at every possible chance he got. I believe you need to
think clearly about what you actually liked about last night, as I don’t think
it was the pain of you fucking me that excited you.”