Love Me (WITSEC #3)(17)

I took a step back, unable to hide my disgust. He liked that. I could tell by the way his eyes lit up.

“Mmm,” he hummed, his gaze aimed toward the ceiling. “I’ve fantasized about your blood on my dick so many times.”

Not wanting to hear any more and taking advantage of him not looking, I backed away. Because Logan had taught me not to, I refused to give him my back. I only made it a handful of steps before I collided with a wall of muscle. From behind me, a giant hand wrapped around my middle and flattened on my stomach. I couldn’t bring myself to look away from Jacob to see who it was. Not that I needed to. I knew it was Knox.

When Jacob looked down from the ceiling and noticed Knox behind me, his expression hardened. He opened his mouth, but closed it as an elderly lady, pushing a cart, walked by. She eyed the three of us, reading the obvious tension, and began taking quicker steps. Seeing the woman, Jacob’s hardened features changed to what seemed like haughty arrogance.

Knox noticed the change in Jacob as well. “Being in public won’t protect you.” His tone was calm, yet there was a threatening undertone that made my skin break out in goosebumps.

“I’m guessing your girl didn’t tell you about my new friend the sheriff,” Jacob said, his eyes dropping to me. “Or is she your brother’s girl? I really can’t tell which of the two of you she’s spreading her legs for.”

I assumed he meant Colt. One of the times Jacob had tried to come on to me, Colt had showed up and I had kissed him, hoping Jacob would get the hint that I wasn’t interested.

Knox pushed me behind him and stalked toward Jacob. Jacob’s can’t touch me arrogance quickly dimmed. Knox tossed the block of cheese he’d left to go get into the cart before yanking it from Jacob’s grip easily and sending it rolling down the aisle behind us. “I don’t care whose cock you had to suck to get out of jail. They’re not here to stop me from breaking every fucking bone in your body.”

Jacob stumbled backward, refusing to let the space between them shrink.

Knox stopped walking. “I’d keep going.”

Jacob didn’t even slow down in putting distance between them. He just kept walking backward.

“I don’t think I need to tell you what will happen if you come near her again,” Knox said loud enough for Jacob to hear.

Almost to the end of the aisle, Jacob spun on his heel. His feet wobbled, almost causing him to fall, and he dropped the jar of cinnamon he had been holding.

It wasn’t until Jacob was out of sight that Knox turned and came to me. He brought his hand up to my cheek. “Are you all right?”

I nodded.

“Let’s go home,” he said, ushering me toward the cart.

I resisted and went back over to the spice wall. I finally got my own jar of cinnamon because I refused to pick up the one Jacob had dropped. Then we headed for the checkout counters.





5





That night, after having dinner with the guys, I returned home. It felt foreign climbing into my own bed and my house was too quiet. I had stayed with the guys for the past four nights. Ever since the awful dinner where Logan had found out the guys knew the truth about me.

Thinking about my uncle reminded me that I should call him. I needed to tell him about what had happened with Jacob today. I went to reach for my phone off my nightstand, steeling myself for what I knew was going to be an uncomfortable call.

The sound of my front door opening, followed by the alarm beeping, made me freeze.

Colt’s voice carried through the house. “Just us, babe.”

The tension in my body eased instantly. I should have known they’d follow me over here. It hadn’t been talked about, but I knew the guys didn’t want me staying at my house alone. After everything that had happened with the sheriff and then Logan, I didn’t blame them, and it made me feel comfortable having them here as well. I was sure they’d prefer I spend every night at their place. I’d done it enough times that I had a drawer of clothes in each of Creed’s and Colt’s dressers, a few of my dresses were hanging in Keelan’s closet, and I had a shelf for my toiletries in the twins’ bathroom. I had things at their place that I needed, but those things were within their space. Not that I didn’t want to be with them—it was just nice to be in my space, surrounded by my things that represented me, for once.

The alarm stopped beeping, an indication that they’d used the code to turn it off.

“Don’t forget to rearm it,” I said loudly.

“Already did,” Creed said as they both appeared in the hall, heading toward my room.

I scooted into the middle of the mattress as they stripped down to their boxers and climbed into bed on either side of me. As soon as they slipped under the blankets, Creed pulled me to him and spooned me from behind.

Lying on his side, facing me, Colt scooted closer. “Are you doing okay?”

I assumed he was talking about Jacob. “I’m okay.”

“You were quiet at dinner,” he said.

I thought back to dinner. As Knox had explained what had happened at the grocery store, I remembered feeling angry. Mostly with myself, because I had let myself contemplate what I could do differently so I wouldn’t attract monsters. Change what I wore? Shave my head? Figure out what save me eyes were and how to stop making them? Then I’d realized how wrong it was to think like that. I shouldn’t have to change.