Chapter 16

WALKER

“Damn jerk,” I muttered, pulling up to my house.

I stormed back inside, tossing my keys onto the kitchen counter.

Hayden, noticing my sour mood, came in from the deck.

“Logan was waiting at the door for her like some overbearing dad!” I vented.

“Want me to make him disappear?” he offered.

Tempting!

I shook my head, running a hand through my hair.

“I need dirt on him. I want Tayla away from him. I can’t stand how he looks at her like a lovesick puppy!”

Anger and frustration bubbled inside me, and I stomped out onto the deck.

I sighed, gazing towards her house, wishing I could just tear it down and save her like some storybook hero.

But I wasn’t a hero.

I was a damn villain.

“I’m going to give Tayla a new phone with our numbers in it,” Hayden announced.

“Good idea. I want a tracker on it too, but don’t tell her.”

Hayden nodded.

I paced back and forth, growling.

“I hate leaving her there with that asshole!”

“Want to go check if she’s okay?”

I frowned.

“I know where her room is?”

Would it be too weird to go see her?

I’d just be checking on her, right?

“Just to make sure she’s okay?”

Hayden smiled and nodded.

“You better change into something you can climb a drainpipe in then.”

I headed to my bedroom, changing into black sweatpants, a matching t-shirt, and sneakers, slipping my knife and phone into my pockets.

Back in the kitchen with Hayden, I remembered what I’d told Tayla when I dropped her off after her interview and smiled.

“Can you do something for me?” I asked Hayden.

He raised an eyebrow.

“Drive down to the store and pick up a box of Milk Tray.”

He frowned.

“Trust me,” I assured him.

He rolled his eyes, grabbed the keys, and headed out.

I picked up the binoculars and returned to the deck.

I scanned the white house in the distance but couldn’t see much.

I hoped she was okay.

If that jerk Logan was giving her any trouble, I’d gut him!

I waited on the deck until Hayden returned with the purple box of Milk Tray and thanked him.

“Want to take the jeep down to the beach or are we walking?”

“Can’t risk the car lights being seen, so we’ll walk. Got your phone?”

He nodded and we descended the deck steps onto the beach below.

Walking beside him with the box of chocolates in hand, we strolled in silence for a few minutes.

“Did you see how hot she looked at the bar tonight?” Hayden asked.

“Damn, I swear I’d lock her up so only you and I could see her. She’s just so tempting.”

“Is it wrong that I just want to do bad things to her?”

I grinned at Hayden and nudged him in the ribs.

“I think she’d do them back to you,” I chuckled.

“But at the same time, I just want to feed her grapes and kiss her until she passes out in my arms.”

I glanced at my friend.

Was Hayden in love?

Aren’t you?, my mind taunted.

Damn!

Tayla was becoming a persistent itch, and sooner or later, you just have to scratch it.

By the time Hayden led me to a garden fence, it was dark.

“Listen,” he instructed.

We could hear angry voices from inside the house but couldn’t make out what they were saying.

“Give me a boost and I’ll try to see what’s going on,” Hayden suggested.

I leaned against the fence, bending my knee up so Hayden could peek over.

He was heavy, but I held him up.

“They’re arguing in the kitchen,” he reported.

“That jerk Logan?” I asked, gritting my teeth.

“Oh, she’s giving it back to him.”

I smiled.

My little vixen was a fighter.

“She just stormed off.”

Hayden climbed down from my knee and stepped back.

A light switched on and we both looked up at the lit window.

“That’s her room,” Hayden whispered.

For a moment, she crossed the window and I could see she was crying.

Something in my chest tugged and I growled.

Hayden bent down and lifted a panel of the fence.

“Go check if she’s okay, Romeo,” he teased.

I ducked under the panel, quickly crossing the garden to a table.

I tucked the box of chocolates into my sweatpants’ waistband, jumped onto the table, and tested the drainpipe against the house.

It was sturdy, well-attached.

I began to climb it easily and when I reached the top, my phone buzzed with a text.

HAYDEN

Don't make her scream H,

it read.

I did want to make her scream!

With my cock buried deep inside her.

My dick began to harden in my pants and I continued up to the window.

Peering in, I saw her sitting on her bed, wearing a long t-shirt, crying.

I could see her beautiful legs, and her face was partially hidden by her long hair as she cried.

I yearned to break through the window and hold her, but I had to be careful.

Holding my breath, I gently tapped on the window.

When she didn’t hear me, I tapped again.

She stiffened and looked up, brushing her hair aside.

I gave a small wave, and she approached the window.

Her face looked shocked, so I put a finger to my lips to signal silence.

She nodded and unlocked the window.

As she lifted it, she leaned out, and her lips met mine in a kiss.

I was so surprised that I almost lost my grip on the drainpipe.

She pulled back from the kiss and looked into my eyes.

“What are you doing here?” she whispered.

I pulled the Milk Tray from my waistband and handed it to her.

She covered her mouth and giggled.

“You don’t strike me as the type to deliver chocolates like this,” she said, her smile lighting up her face.

“If it gets you to smile like that, I’d do it in the buff if you asked,” I replied, grinning back at her.

Her grin widened, and I felt my heart expand in my chest. I wanted to see that smile every day.

“You okay?” I asked, concern creeping into my voice.

She nodded, wiping away the tears that stained her cheeks with the back of her hand.

“Guess that jerk doesn’t take too kindly to your new boyfriends, huh?”

She laughed, nodding in agreement.

“Who I choose to date is none of his business,” she declared.

That’s my girl!

“You’re absolutely right, sweetheart,” I reassured her.

“Want to come inside?” she asked, her voice soft.

My cock instantly hardened, and I groaned inwardly.

“I left Hayden down at the beach, and if I go inside with you, I can’t promise to behave,” I confessed.

Her smile widened, and her eyes sparkled with mischief.

“I don’t want you to behave, Walker.”

Damn!

I reached out, gently touching her face.

“Not tonight, sweetheart, but soon,” I promised.

It was a promise that tore me up inside. My cock was practically begging me to take her, but I knew now wasn’t the time.

She kissed my fingers as I pulled my hand away.

“See you in the morning,” I said, my voice husky.

I climbed back down the pipe, my hard cock hitting against it, causing me to hiss in frustration.

I looked up at her as I reached the ground, blowing her a kiss. She returned the gesture with a smile.

Sneaking back to the panel, Hayden helped me lift it, and I slid back under.

“Is she okay?” Hayden asked, concern etching his features.

I nodded, starting back up the grassy slope.

“Did that asshole give her a hard time?”

“She handled it,” I replied, my voice filled with pride.

“Did she like the chocolates?”

I nodded as we started back up the beach.

“Might have to try that when she’s low on chocolate,” he mused.

I smiled, turning to him.

“Just one thing—don’t try climbing down that drainpipe with a hard-on.”

Hayden burst out laughing, playfully punching me on the arm.

We raced each other down the beach until we reached home, calling it a night.

Dreams of my dark-haired beauty haunted me all night.