Bad Rep (Bad Rep, #1)(81)

“You think?” I scoffed.  Eli ran his fingers along the strings of his guitar making them tinkle prettily.

“I'd really like to talk to you though.  I mean, if that's cool with you.”  Before I could respond, someone else answered for me.

“No, she won't be talking to you, slick.  Because she's gonna be with her boyfriend.”

I whirled around and saw Jordan standing in the open doorway looking pissed.  Well, he was hot too.  He had dressed in a worn pair of jeans that hung perfectly on his hips and a fitted gray t-shirt that made his body look downright edible.  But yeah, he was pissed.  I saw him click his tongue ring along his teeth and he came up beside me and gripped the railing so tightly his knuckles turned white.  He stared down at Eli, looking very intimidating.

Eli stiffened.  “Man, I wasn't talking to you.  So just back off,” Eli warned.  I saw Jordan's jaw clench.

“And I'm telling you that you're not gonna talk to Maysie.  You got something to say, you say it in front of me, we straight?”  I swallowed thickly.  Damn, who knew Jordan was so freaking territorial.  I glanced over at Mrs. Graves, who had stopped all pretenses of reading the paper and was watching the drama unfold with avid interest.

“This is not the place to be doing this.  Jordan, go inside, I'll be there in a minute,” I told him.  Jordan's eyes flashed to mine and his jaw ticked.

“I am not leaving you out here to talk to that piece of shit.  I'm staying.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned on the railing.  I sighed.  I did not want to start our date like this so I didn't push him.

I turned to Eli.  “I don't think we have anything more to say to each other, Eli.  So I'll see ya around.”  Eli's head dropped and I almost felt bad for him.  He looked back up and his eyes zeroed in on Jordan and they turned to ice.

“Well, when you don't have this jack ass speaking for you, maybe we could have that talk.  It would be nice to hang out with you again.  But until then, I guess I won't bother.  Later, Mays.”  He swung his guitar around so that it rested on his back and stalked off.

I turned on Jordan, who was still standing there like a damn bodyguard with his arms folded over his chest.  His muscles flexed in a way that made me want to touch them with my mouth.  But that would have to be tabled for later because right now I was really mad.  “He's gone.  Happy?” I asked sharply, going into the apartment.

Jordan followed me and shut the sliding glass door.  “Babe,” he said and reached out to put his hand on my arm.  I tensed under his touch.

“What was with the alpha posturing back there?  Don't you think you went a little overboard?” I asked, refusing to look at him.  Jordan let out a frustrated breath.

“Just like you went overboard when you stormed out of my show last weekend?” he reminded me.  Damn him.  He was right.

I looked over my shoulder and he wore an infuriating grin.  “This isn't funny.” I frowned and tried to hold onto my anger.  Jordan shook his head and pulled me into his arms.

“I'm sorry if I pissed you off.  I'm sorry if I acted like a f*cker.  But I'm not sorry for chasing off that pansy ass that used to have what's mine.  Because you're my girl now and I won't have that * sniffing around where he doesn't belong.”  I didn't know if I should be thrilled or totally insulted by what he just said.

“Are you serious?” I asked with what I was sure was a stupefied look on my face.

Jordan sighed and held me tighter.  “You and me, Mays, we're a f*cking mess.”  He buried his face in my hair and I finally wrapped my arms around his back.

“I'm not sure that's a good thing, Jordan,” I said, not being able to stop myself from pressing my nose into the front of his shirt.  I loved his perfect guy smell.

Jordan pulled back, reaching up to run his fingers through my hair.  “No, it's a f*cking great thing!  But, we've just got to learn to trust each other.  And to remember that when it comes to you and me, nothing else, and definitely no one else matters.”  I couldn't stop the smile spreading across my face.  I smacked him in the chest.

“It is impossible to stay mad at you!” I huffed out.

Jordan grinned again.  “That's part of my charm, sweetheart.” He pulled me forward and kissed my mouth hard.  I nibbled at his bottom lip and he moaned.  “No, you can't start that.  I have plans for you,” he said as I tried to rub myself up against him.

“Screw the plans.  Right now, I just want to screw you,” I said crudely.  Jordan laughed in surprise.

“Damn.  My Maysie has developed a dirty, dirty mouth,” he said, his voice getting husky as he kissed me again.

It was my turn to moan as his tongue teased mine.  Then he tore away and set me away from him.  “We are leaving right now.  There will be time later for, how did you put it?  Oh, yeah.  Screwing.”  I flushed red, totally embarrassed by the tart that showed her naughty head moments earlier.  Jordan wrapped his arm around my middle and pulled me toward the door.  He kissed the side of my neck as I locked up after us.