Fight (4 page)

Her eyes were a crystal clear blue
that took me back for a second. Her lips were a little thin, but had such a
unique shape to them, I instantly pictured running my finger along them,
tracing them. Better yet, using my tongue.

I snapped myself back to reality.

Christ, I needed to get laid.
And soon.

“
Are
you okay?
”
she asked.

My eyes scanned down. I had no
choice. Her breasts were perfect. Pressing against the black shirt she wore,
leaving nothing for the imagination because it was easy to see she had been
blessed in that department. Besides that, she had a name tag on.

Winter.

“
Eyes
up here,
”
she muttered.

“
Yeah,
sorry,
”
I said.
“
I
’
m
actually looking for you.
”

She put her hands to her hips. The
subtle curves of her body made my fingers twitch.

“
Excuse
me?
”

I put my hands on the counter and
leaned forward.
“
I
’
m looking for you, darling.
”

“
Why?
”

“
I
’
m Tripp. I
’
m supposed to keep you alive.
”

The color dropped from her face. She
stepped back from the counter and bumped into a stack of mugs. They jangled
together and she spun to keep them from falling.

My eyes scanned at her back now.
Her shirt pulled up just enough to show a sliver of skin. Her jeans did wonders
for her ass. I became instantly jealous of her back pockets, wanting to slip my
hands into them.

Then I reminded myself something.

She
’
s a fucking widow, man.
Remember what Aldo said. And someone out there wants to kill her.

Winter looked over her shoulder.
Hair in her face, one of her blue eyes shining through it.
“
Give me a sec.
”

She then charged down the counter
and disappeared.

A few seconds later she came out of
a side door. When she hurried toward me, her breasts bounced so freely. I
gritted my teeth with my mouth shut, demanding myself to keep my eyes on her
face, which didn
’
t help
much because of how beautiful she was.

“
Here,
”
she said and pointed to a
table.
“
Sit, please.
”

I grabbed a chair and spun it
around. I straddled the chair.

“
Do
you want a coffee or something?
”

“
No,
”
I said.
“
You work here?
”

“
Sometimes.
My friend owns the place. I live out back.
”

“
Out
back?
”

“
There
’
s a converted garage. Better
than being in the clubhouse.
”

“
The
clubhouse?
”

“
Yeah.
Red Aces MC.
”

“
Fucking
hell,
”
I said.
“
You
’
re with the MC?
”

“
Yeah.
Didn
’
t
…
whoever sent you tell you that?
”

“
No.
I didn
’
t get much of
anything. Other than you
’
re
a widow and I have to make sure you don
’
t
end up dead.
”

Winter sucked in a breath.
“
Wow. That
’
s bold.
”

“
Sorry,
darling. That
’
s how I work.
So who is out to kill you?
”

Winter blinked fast.
“
Uh, well, I
…
I
’
m
not sure.
”

“
That
helps. You shouldn
’
t even
be in this area right now.
”

“
That
’
s why you
’
re here, right?
”

“
Bullshit,
”
I said.
“
If it were up to me, you
’
d be out of here right now. When does your shift
here end?
”

“
I
’
m not really on the clock,
”
Winter said.
“
I just had to get away from it
all.
”
She leaned across the
table to whisper.
“
All they
do is drink and talk about revenge. Then they look at me funny, you know? Like
maybe I
’
m the problem. Or
maybe they all want to fuck me, since I
’
m
free game now. The sad thing is
…
if one of them wanted to
…
I
probably would. Out of necessity.
”

A weak smile flickered across her
face and faded. I noticed when she spoke she had the smallest of gaps between
her front two teeth. For whatever reason, it drove me goddamn wild. I balled my
hands into fists.

“
That
’
s not going to happen,
”
I said.
“
You
’
re
not fucking anyone while I
’
m
protecting you. What I need you to do is show me where you live and tell me
everything you know.
”

Winter pointed to my fists.
“
What happened to your hands?
”

I looked at the roughed up scabs. I
flexed my knuckles a few times.
“
A
fight.
”

“
I
noticed your face and jaw looked swollen.
”

I stood up.
“
You should
’
ve
seen the other guy. Let
’
s
move.
”

Winter pushed from the table. She
stood up. I moved closer to her, realizing that she barely came up to my chest.
So much shorter than me. Her heart obviously broken. In need of protection.
Somewhere inside her, desperate to have the touch of a man.

Fuck. I was in big trouble. Aldo
should have just shot me in the head.

6.

(Winter)

He smelled like a man, looked like
a man, and threatened every desire my body had. His shoulders pressed hard
against his shirt, his arms filling the short sleeves with ease. He was rough,
tough, maybe even a little dirty, but not like the guys in the Red Aces. They
were designed to look the way they did. Wearing leather cuts, patches that had
different meanings and positions.

Not Tripp.

He looked bold and reckless.

Just what I needed.

I led the way out of the back of
the coffeehouse, feeling him just inches behind me. A few times, I wondered
what would happen if I just stopped walking. If he
’
d crash into me, his hands at my hips.

Shit.

I side stepped and waited for Tripp
to walk at my side. I pointed to the garage.

“
That
’
s my palace.
”

“
Bigger
than mine,
”
he said.
“
You don
’
t feel more protected at the clubhouse?
”

“
I
didn
’
t say that,
”
I said.
“
I just don
’
t
want to be there. All they do is talk. Trying to think of every person that ever
did anything wrong to them. Trying to drag my past into it all.
”

“
What
’
s wrong with your past?
”

I slipped a key into the door and
unlocked it.
“
Doesn
’
t matter.
”

I turned the doorknob and Trip put
his hand to mine and squeezed. I looked up at him. His eyes were a dark, wild
brown color. His face had a little scruff on it. He was a complete and total
bad ass looking man.

“
It
does matter,
”
he said.
“
I
’
ve
never done this before, darling. I
’
m
a fighter, okay? My job is to beat the shit out of someone and earn money. I
’
m not meant to do this
protection stuff. It
’
s not
just your life on the line here. Got it?
”

I slowly nodded.
“
Fair enough. Then I guess I
’
ll have to be an open book.
”

Tripp took his hand away. I opened
the door and we went inside.

I flicked on the light and
screamed.

At first all I saw was a guy
sitting on the arm of the couch, a gun on his lap.

Then I felt someone push me.

I went flying to the left, hitting
a wall, a wild pain jolting through my shoulder and arm. My eyes filled with
tears.

I saw Tripp lunge forward, fist
ready.

Before I could do anything, Tripp
attacked.

The guy on the couch was Harlan.
But Tripp didn
’
t know that.
He tackled Harlan over the back of the couch. Harlan
’
s gun fell to the floor, which was probably a good
thing. I heard the sound of punches being exchanged and then the men were both
standing.

“
Stop!
”
I yelled.

Harlan and Tripp faced each other.
Harlan was in his leather cut, fists balled tight. But he didn
’
t protect himself. I thought
about what Tripp had said.

I
’
m a fighter
…

Tripp had his fists up and moved
in. The punches were fast, hard, and effective. A punch to the face sent Harlan
’
s head snapping back. Then
punch,
punch
to the ribs and Harlan let out a groan. He leaned forward and Tripp
cocked back another fist.

It was kind of sexy to see Tripp
moving like that. He was absolutely gorgeous.

But I couldn
’
t let him kill Harlan.

I jumped up on the couch and
grabbed for Tripp
’
s arm. I
locked mine around his and said,
“
He
’
s not a bad guy! He
’
s part of the MC!
”

“
Fuck,
bro,
”
Harlan groaned, his
nose bleeding and stuffy.
“
What
the fuck?
”

Tripp looked at me. He looked at
Harlan. He then shook me away and backed up from Harlan. But he didn
’
t stand down. He kept his guard
up.

“
Harlan,
what the hell are you doing?
”
I asked. I climbed over the couch.

He stood and wiped his nose. Then
he grabbed his side.
“
What
the fuck are you, man? A boxer?
”

“
Protector,
”
Tripp said.

Ohmyfuckinggod, how sexy.

“
He
’
s here to protect me,
”
I said.
“
Stoney said he was coming. Didn
’
t you know?
”

“
Yeah,
we heard,
”
Harlan said.
“
I was here just in case, Winter.
That
’
s all.
”

“
You
had a gun.
”

“
For
you,
”
Harlan said.
“
So you could protect yourself.
”

I felt Tripp creep up next to me.
“
She doesn't need to protect
herself right now. I
’
m
here.
”

Harlan stared Tripp down.
“
I don
’
t know who you think you are, man. But my leather
cut
…”

“
Want
to go again?
”
Tripp asked.

“
Jesus
Christ,
”
Harlan said.
“
I
’
m
not the bad guy here. She was left stranded. I was just helping out.
”

“
Being
in her place with the lights off and scaring her is not helping,
”
Tripp said.

“
I
was just bringing her a gun.
”

“
I
have a gun,
”
Tripp said.

“
What?
”
I asked.

Tripp reached back and pulled a gun
from
…
nowhere.
“
I can take it all from here. Go
back to your MC and find out who is after Winter.
”

“
We
’
re working on it,
”
Harlan said. He sucked in a
breath and wiped his nose again. Then he looked at me.
“
Are you sure you
’
re
okay?
”

“
I
’
m fine,
”
I said.

“
Who
is your President?
”
Tripp
asked.
“
I
’
d like to meet him. Find out all
I can.
”

“
Really?
”
Harlan asked.
“
You
’
re just going to walk in here and demand things
from us?
”

“
You
obviously can
’
t do your
job,
”
Tripp said.

Harlan
’
s eyes went wide. He then reached behind his back
and pulled out a gun. He lifted it.

“
Harlan!
”
I yelled.

“
It
’
s fine,
”
Tripp said. He put his gun down on my dining room
table. Then he stepped forward. Reaching for Harlan
’
s gun, he lifted it to his own chest, right to his
heart.
“
Make it count,
buddy.
”

I could see Harlan
’
s cheeks turning red. He was
big, he acted tough, but I wasn
’
t
sure he could fight his way out of a paper bag.

Harlan lowered the gun.
“
Fuck.
”

“
Harlan,
go,
”
I said.
“
Go back to the clubhouse. Tell
Stoney that Tripp is here, okay?
”

I walked Harlan to the door and he
left. I shut the door and locked it. I put my forehead against the door and
wanted to cry. But I had too much adrenaline running through my body to cry.

“
Hey.
”

I cried out and jumped.

I turned and had my back against
the door.

Tripp was right there, inches from
me.

“
Are
you okay?
”
he asked.

“
Yeah,
”
I said.
“
It
’
s
just a lot at once. That
’
s
all.
”

Tripp slowly reached forward and
pulled at a loose strand of my hair. It clung between my lips, annoying me. He
tucked it behind my ear.

“
I
’
m here now,
”
he whispered.
“
I
’
m
going to protect you.
”

I nodded.

I believed Tripp. I almost
instantly trusted him.

Maybe because I was just so alone.
And not because Rocky was dead. I had been alone long before that. Of course,
all of this Tripp didn
’
t
know about.

Yet.

~ ~ ~

The hot water hit my body. I needed
a shower so badly. Truth was that half the reason I just wanted to get away
from Tripp for a few minutes.

I shut my eyes and pretended for a
few seconds that I was in a waterfall. Letting my mind slip away, I felt every
droplet of water hit my skin. Through my hair, down my back. Down the front of
my body. Then something happened.

My body started to react. The water
that touched my breasts, trickled over my nipples, made me tingle. Down my
stomach and between my legs, it was like something had been unleashed. Yet I
was alone in the shower.

But Tripp was out there.

I stepped out of the water and
shook my head.

I needed to cool off.

Right now.

I finished showering and grabbed a
towel. I dried off and wrapped the towel around my body. I walked to the mirror
and wiped away the steam. I stared at myself. My hair looked really dark when
it was wet. And it got curly. Which was weird because when it dried the curls
went away and a more blonde color showed.

I had no idea how long Tripp was
going to be here or how bad things were going to get. If Stoney and the Red
Aces could track down whoever shot Rocky, then it wouldn
’
t be all that long. But nobody seemed confident in
that. Normally when shit hit the fan with the MC they had a plan in place. They
went out and started wars to say they could. This time was different. It was
darker, slower, everyone still processing that their VP was gunned down and
taken out.

When I opened the bathroom door, I
let out yet another shriek.

Tripp was sitting right there,
against the wall, one leg bent, the other outstretched across the open doorway.

He looked up at me.
“
Feel better?
”

“
Shit.
You scared me.
”

I started to blush, remembering I
was in nothing but a towel.

I clutched the towel tighter to my
body, but even still, my arms and shoulders were exposed. The towel covered
most of my chest but not all. The towel ended above my ankles and Tripp made no
effort to get out of my way. So I had to step over his leg to get by. My body
was on fire in a way that it shouldn
’
t
have been. This was pure temptation.

I resisted the urge to look back at
him as I walked toward my bedroom.

“
Where
are you going now?
”
he
asked.

I stopped but still didn
’
t look back.
“
Going to get changed. Do you
want to watch me?
”

Tripp didn
’
t reply.

Although, I wished he would have
said
yes.