Rock Chick Renegade (Rock Chick #4)(133)

“Excuse me?” Jackie asked again.

Jackie now turned full body to me and I stepped clear of the table preparing to throw down.

“I said you must be one of the easy things Vance told me about. You know, easy pieces of ass. Before he met me,” I informed her, my voice dripping with acid sweetness.

“You did not just say that,” she said to me.

“I sure did,” I shot back.

“Jackie, I wouldn’t rile Jules,” Vance decided to wade in.

“You calling me easy?” Jackie decided to ignore Vance.

“Have you slept with Vance?” I asked, even though I knew.

She leaned forward with a catty smile. “It was the best night of my goddamned life.”

“It’s good you’ll have that memory,” I stated calmly as if I was truly happy for her.

“You bitch!” she screamed. Then she came at me, hand out, probably to grab my hair.

I was getting that opening a lot these days. I planted my feet, caught her wrist and flipped her on her back on the floor without barely moving.

Vance did move. He had his wallet out and threw some money on the table. Everyone was staring now most of them had turned to us enjoying the show.

I took a step toward her so I was looking down at her. “Stay away from Vance,” I warned.

She was struggling to get up. “Fuck you!”

“That’s Vance’s job,” I retorted.

Vance had me around the waist and was pulling me toward the door as Jackie made it to her feet.

“I won’t forget this!” she yelled after us.

“I hope not!” I yelled back at her, fighting against Vance’s arm. “That way, next time you’ll keep your f**king mouth shut or you won’t find it so easy to get up!”

Then Vance had me out the door. He let me go, grabbed my hand and dragged me to his Harley.

“I cannot believe that just happened,” I ranted at his back. “What a bitch! I wish I had my stun gun. I wish I had my mace. What a bitch!” I repeated.

He stopped at his bike, pulled me so my back was to it, I was facing him and he settled his hands at my hips.

I looked up at him. “You could have done something,” I snapped.

“And missed the show?”

I hadn’t noticed it but right then I did.

He was grinning, huge.

“You think that was amusing?”

He stepped into me, arms going around me and he touched his lips to mine.

I stood stiff as a board.

“Princess?”

“What?” I clipped.

“Take your time learnin’ to share.”

I blinked. It was my turn to feel thrown.

“What?”

One of his hands went to my jaw and his thumb came out to run along my lower lip. “All the time you want,” he said softly, not answering my question.

The velvet shroud came around us again and I leaned into him.

“Am I going to be beating up all your ex-lovers?” I asked.

“No. Just Jackie, she’s a bitch.”

I didn’t want to ask. I knew I shouldn’t ask. But I asked.

“What were you thinking, being with her?”

“She’s not a bitch to me,” he replied.

True enough. It was pretty clear she really liked Vance.

Then for some reason, do not ask me why, I threw myself in the deep end. “Was she good?”

“No,” he replied immediately.

This time I sagged into him, glad I hadn’t sunk to the bottom of the pool like a rock.

“You’re not just saying that?” I asked.

He shook his head.

My hands came up and I started to play with the edges of his leather jacket. “When do you have to get to your job?”

“Gonna see to my other job first,” he told me.

“What other job?”

His white teeth flashed. “The job of f**kin’ you.”

He was teasing me.

I stopped playing with his jacket. “This isn’t really funny,” I snapped.

“It’s hilarious. That, particularly, was my favorite part.”

“I’m so glad you enjoyed it,” I said, sounding snotty.

He touched his lips to mine. “Let’s get you home.”

Whatever.

He let me go and got on the bike. I got on behind him.

He leaned back, grabbed my wrists and wrapped my arms tight around him.

I put my chin to his shoulder and we took off.

* * * * *

Sometime in the dead of night, I didn’t feel the bed move when Vance got in it but I did wake when his warmth hit me from shoulders to heels.

“Hey,” I mumbled.

“Hey,” he replied softly, “go back to sleep.”

I felt Boo walking up the bed and then heard him slip off the side to the platform with an I-meant-to-do-that meow.

“It was Nick,” I told Vance, still half-asleep.

“Sorry?”

“Nick made me cry. He approves of you, like, a lot.”

Vance’s arm tightened around me and drew me deeper into his body.

“Go back to sleep, Jules,” Vance whispered into my hair.

“Okay.”

I snuggled in and then fell asleep.