Page 7 of Break Away (Riot MC Next Generation #2)

Chapter five

Scary

Alexandra

By the time we’d finished dinner, my headache went from a pulsating pain to a semi-noticible throb. If it weren’t for my pain, this would have felt like old times.

No. That wasn’t entirely accurate.

It would have felt like old times if Rafferty and Uncle Roll hadn’t been acting weird, with a side of Aunt Trixie bubbling with excitement. At first I’d wanted to blame her excitement on having one too many beers, but that wasn’t it. I suspected I knew what it was, but that couldn’t be right.

I went upstairs to the bathroom after everyone left. Even though I’d showered earlier, I needed to wash my face and brush my teeth.

It felt odd knowing Raff was staying the night in the house. At the same time, it was familiar, because when I was growing up Mom and Dad would let Rafferty and Jasmine sleep over at least once a month.

Rafferty’s words from this afternoon kept repeating in my brain.

Any man biding his time to get in your pants is far from sweet.

He’d never been so forthright before, which made me doubt him. The look in his eyes, though - that was real… and totally serious.

We would never work. Even if I were living in town, Rafferty would get bored with me. I wasn’t biker ol’ lady material. Not by a long shot. I didn’t party like they did. I drank every so often, but I’d never be like Aunt Trixie or the other ol’ ladies who seemed to live for the next get-together.

When I was done with my night-time routine, I opened the bathroom door and found Rafferty milling about the hallway.

“About time you finished up. Thought you might have fallen in.”

My lips quirked to the side. “I wasn’t in there that long.”

“Wasn’t that short either.”

“It’s all yours now,” I said, hurrying to my room.

I flipped on the light and froze. He’d made the bed earlier. That seemed like something new, because from what Jasmine told me, he was allergic to that particular chore. As quick as I could, I changed into a pair of spare pajamas I’d left here.

A few minutes later, Rafferty leaned on my doorjamb. “You good to sleep alone? Or are you gonna have fitful sleep?”

I shrugged. “It’s hard for me to predict that.”

“Is your medicine supposed to make you drowsy?”

My eyes slid toward the nightstand. The sticker running down the side of the bottle with the half-closed eye couldn’t be missed. “Yeah. Seems that way.”

“Then I’ll be next door. Unless you’re on a strict schedule, we’ll leave whenever you wake up.”

Part of me wanted him to climb into my bed, but a bigger part of me knew that wasn’t the best move. I smiled and nodded at him. “Thanks, Rafferty. You’re the best.”

His eyes lowered into a slow blink before he shook his head. “I’m not the best by any stretch. See you in the morning.”

That cleared things up. Those words that had been running through my mind in a loop faded away.

If Raff wanted in my pants, then he wouldn’t have let me bow out that easily.

After all he’d said about Porter, it was clear he was learning the fine art of being an overprotective alpha.

Undoubtedly that was why Dad was cool with him being here.

I quietly closed the door, pulled down my covers, and turned off the light before climbing into bed. My eyelids felt like two small weighted blankets, and I drifted to sleep in no time.

“How’s your head?” Rafferty asked, stopping for a red light on University Avenue.

We had spent the last ninety minutes of the ride to Gainesville listening to alternative rock music.

The lack of conversation was comforting and unnerving.

Comforting because I liked that neither of us felt compelled to fill the silence.

Unnerving because he obviously didn’t mean what he said yesterday afternoon.

“My head’s fine - as long as I don’t touch the side of my face.”

He sighed. “I’m sorry you’re in pain.”

I twisted a hand up. “I appreciate that. It’s not that bad.”

He reached out and gave my knee a squeeze. “Still. Bruises like that suck.”

His words brought back memories of high school, when he’d get into fights and I’d bring him ice packs for the bruises on his face.

That was before he’d pushed me away and everything turned sour.

I kept quiet as he navigated the congestion around the campus.

“Do you still ride Simone’s Vespa?”

My lips tipped up. “It’s mine now, and yeah, I still ride it. Why?”

He pulled into a parking spot near my apartment building. “You need to stay off it for a while.”

I aimed a closed lip smile at him. “Dad already made that clear.” I grabbed my phone and wallet. “Thanks for the ride… again. You can come up for some coffee or something, but I don’t want to keep you from anything.”

He turned off the truck. “No worries, Lex. I’ll walk you up.”

As I led the way to the apartment, I realized some lucky woman would revel in Rafferty’s steadfast over-protectiveness.

I put my key in the lock, and suddenly Rafferty moved in front of me. It happened so fast, I didn’t even realize it until the door swung open.

“Who the fuck are you?” Rafferty demanded.

“That’s Brantley,” I said, peeking around Raff’s shoulders before either of them started arguing.

Rafferty glanced over his shoulder at me. “Did you know he’d be here? Or that he had a key?”

“It’s none of her business. Ines gave it to me,” Brantley argued.

I pushed forward. “Cool it, Raff. I’m sure it’s okay.”

Brantley stared down at me. Once I pulled my key from the lock, he opened the door further.

Rafferty shot me a look, then pinned Brantley with his stare. “Her name’s on the lease, yours isn’t. It’s absolutely her business.”

I shook my head as I went inside. “Rafferty, forget about it. Are you here to get some things for Ines?” I asked, looking at Brantley.

“You can handle that,” Brantley clipped out.

Rafferty shut the door, glaring at Brantley. “Say that again.”

Brantley shrugged. “She’s her roommate and she’ll know what to pack better than I do. Only met Ines’s parents once, and they didn’t care much for me, so it works better if she does it.”

I nodded to make my lie more believable. “That makes sense.” I turned around to face Raff. “You said you wanted coffee. The Keurig should be ready to go if you want to make yourself a cup.”

Rafferty stared at me for a moment, glared at Brantley for a beat, then shook his head. “I don’t need any coffee, but I’m gonna hit the bathroom.”

Once I heard the bathroom door close, I narrowed my eyes on Brantley. “I’ll pack a bag for Ines, but aren’t you going to see her?”

Him not going back to Georgia struck me strange because he’d been involved with Ines for over six months, and she’d told me how much she cared for him.

She usually had a thing for weight-lifters, but Brantley had the build of a long-distance runner. Thin, and a smidge over six feet tall; he was almost Rafferty’s height. His dark eyes were almost hollow. He appeared to hide a lip curl before he spoke.

“No, you caused the accident, so you can take her ‘some things.’ Hell, I oughta sue you. My neck hurts like a mother.”

His words felt like bullets aimed right at my chest - particularly since the police officer had shared that Porter said the same thing.

“I didn’t have anything to do with the other driver hitting us, Brantley.”

He put his hands on his narrow hips and leaned forward.

“No, but you’re the reason we stopped at that rest area - acting like Porter was attacking you or some shit.

You’re a goddamn tease, that’s all. Wearing low cut shirts that are tight on your tits all the time.

Self-centered, entitled bitches like you are the worst.”

Anger roared through my body. “I’m not self-centered, entitled, or a tease.”

Brantley narrowed his eyes on me. “You strung Porter along for months with the excuses. Hell, you wouldn’t even go down on him. Typical tease.”

Between the restless sleep and sheer anger coursing through me, I lost control of my mouth. “Not that it’s your business, but I can’t be a tease, when I’m a virgin , asshole.”

The way his mouth dropped open, he believed me. That was little comfort since I hadn’t shared that with anybody - not even Simone or Jasmine, my two closest friends.

While Brantley stood there staring at me, it registered too late that the bathroom door had opened during our argument.

“You got two seconds to leave the damned key and get the fuck out,” Rafferty growled from behind me.

Brantley’s gaze shifted to Rafferty. “I’ll leave, but I’m keeping the key, asshole.”

Rafferty stepped forward, but I put a hand on his forearm. “It’s fine, Tee.”

That earned me a fierce dose of side-eye. It was worth it since it gave Brantley time to hustle out of the apartment, and I didn’t want to spend another minute around him.

The moment the knob clicked, Rafferty faced me and crossed his arms on his chest. “Woman, he can’t have a key to your unit. There’s no fuckin’ telling what he might do.”

I held up my hands. “Don’t call me ‘woman’ since I know what that means in your world, and I’m not your woman. And just so you—”

My words were cut short when suddenly Rafferty grabbed my shoulders, guided me to the couch, and sat us both down. “Get this through your head, woman . You’re as much mine as I am yours - it’s been that way for years.”

For a moment, I twisted my head to the side and stared up at the ceiling.

“You’ve got to be kidding. Now you decide we’re meant for each other or something?

Even if I ignore what happened between us back in school, this will never work.

I’ve got another two years of dental school, and you’ve got another eight or nine months of prospecting with the Riot. ”

Rafferty tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. It gave me time to admire his thick dark hair, full beard, and the column of his throat leading to those strong, broad shoulders.

And the ink peeking out of the collar of his t-shirt.

Rafferty righted his head and leaned forward so an inch separated our noses. “Your locks have to be changed. Now that I’ve met him, I trust that asshole even less than you do.”

He didn’t address how we wouldn’t work out, and I let that go, shooting him a coy smile. “Of course, I have to change the locks. Luckily, Dad insisted I keep a spare set of locks he had, so once I grab a screwdriver and get to work, I’m all set.”

It wasn’t until his hands slid up to my jaw that I realized Raff hadn’t let go of my shoulders. Our eyes locked. As though his eyes had a direct line to my body, a tendril of warmth skated through my torso, slow and easy.

“God, I almost forgot how damn independent you are. Please tell me that you lied to him.”

My brows drew together. “About what?”

His hold on my jaw loosened while his eyes gleamed with seriousness. “Alexandra. Did you lie to him just now?”

Understanding rolled through me which extinguished the earlier heat. I reared my head back, but his hold didn’t falter. His expression shifted and I wanted to curl in on myself.

He wasn’t supposed to know.

I despised that I’d slipped up and said anything, but I also hated that Brantley had been so horrible.

Some might say boys would be boys and they stuck together, but Brantley telling me that I was a tease was totally out of line.

I had gone down on Porter, just not that often.

Brantley didn’t know anything about my relationship with Porter, so he had no way of knowing if I’d been a tease.

Which highlighted why I should have kept myself in check, and that led to more self-loathing.

“You’re a virgin,” Rafferty whispered.

Why did him whispering affect me so much?

I tugged at his fingers resting along my jaw. He’d always been sneaky and somehow he kept me from pulling his hands away.

After a long blink, I exhaled, “Yes.”

Finally, Rafferty’s hands left my jaw, but he ran one along the top of my hair to cup the back of my head. “They both need a fucking ass-kicking.”

I exhaled a chuckle. “How do you figure?”

He gave a short head shake. “I’d tell you to just trust me on this, but I know you won’t. Porter’s clearly a piece of shit since he let that jackass think you’re a tease.”

“What are you —”

He put his finger on my lips… and just like when he did it yesterday it gave me such a thrill that I wanted to nip at it. “If a man’s friend says a woman’s a tease… that man has obviously shared information with his friend.”

I nodded and Rafferty’s finger fell away.

Whew.

“Did Porter know?” he asked.

I swallowed down my shame. No use wallowing in my embarrassment. “It wasn’t something I let anyone know. If Brantley hadn’t made me so angry, I wouldn’t have blurted it out.”

He nodded. “Brantley’s an even bigger asshole.”

“Agreed.”

“Is there a reason?” he asked.

“A reason he’s an asshole?” I asked jokingly.

“Lex…” he murmured in a warning tone.

I wobbled my head. “Not really. The few guys who met Dad freaked out afterward.”

Rafferty’s eyebrows went up in acknowledgement as he gave a small nod. “I can see that.”

“And for some stupid reason…the timing’s been wrong with anyone else - assuming they kept my interest.”

“Explains the cavalcade of boyfriends.”

I spluttered. “A… caval…, did you just say ‘cavalcade’? That’s ridiculous!”

He shot me a shy smile. “Don’t take offense.

Porter was around for what? Five months?

Maybe six. Who was the douchebag before that?

Simone told me he made some ridiculous joke about you having lion hair?

As I recall, you had five so-called boyfriends in the year and a half before you transferred to Gainesville.

From what Cal said, none of them lasted more than three to four months with you.

I’d call that a cavalcade even if I wasn’t around for you to parade them in front of me. ”

“Dad can be scary.”

He leaned closer. “Your dad isn’t scary, Lex. You are.”

I was scary? What was he thinking?