Slate (Breaking the Declan Brothers #2) (18 page)

Melody drops me off in front of JZS’s. I thank her for the ride and head on in. I find Zeke and he’s more than willing to take me right to Slate. It’s one in the morning. I’m buzzing and Zeke says Slate’s in the basement. I probably shouldn’t be showing up half in the bag to a recovering addict’s home, but it’s killing me. I need to know why Slate let me think that he cheated on me.

Hearing the loud music coming from the closed door, I turn to Zeke. “He’s in there?”

“Yeah, came down around an hour ago to work out,” he says.

“Has he been using?”

“Far as I know, he’s been clean since you locked his ass up in the basement.” He smiles. “He’s still an asshole, though, but it’s gotta be hard, ya know. So, I give him a lot of leeway, Jax too. He had us worried. Fuck, we didn’t know what to do with him.” He looks at the door then back at me. “You did good, Rayna. He needed you.”

“Well, it’s all up to him now.”

“He’s one tough son-of-a-bitch and a hell of a fighter. If he wants to stay clean, then he will. So,” he says with a lopsided grin, “ya here for a booty call?”

“You’re an asshole.” I whack him on the chest, hurting my hand. Damn, just like the rest of the Declan brothers, the boy has some muscles.

“Actually, I’m the fucker, Slate’s the dickhead, and Jax, well, he’s our buttercup.”

“Jax? Buttercup? Really, Zeke, I’m not making the connection. He’s no dainty flower, that’s for sure.”

“Right. That’s what makes it so fucking funny.” He laughs again. “Well,” he nudges, “I’ll get out of here so you can get laid.” He winks at me before he starts to walk away.

“Hey,” I call after him. He stops, cocks his head to the side, and views me from the corner of his light amber eye. “What about Lurlene?”

“Yeah, what about that girl?” He shakes his head with a smile, and then strolls away.

I laugh. Something is going on between him and Lurlene. That’s it. I’m going to have to shake that girl down for some answers.

I turn around. Not wanting to let my nerves get away from me, I place my hand on the knob, turn it, and open the door. In nothing but a pair of shorts, Slate’s lying on his back with his hands wrapped around a bar. He’s pumping it up and down to the beat of the loud music. With each push and pull, his abs tighten then release, the muscles in his arms ripple then flex back to stone. Sweat amplifies his every fluent movement. He is gorgeous.

He releases the bar and the weights drop, clanging loudly together. He looks over at me as if he somehow sensed me standing here. He sits up. Not taking his eyes from mine, he reaches down and flips off the music. Legs spread apart, he sets his forearms on his thick thighs, clamps his strong hands together, and lifts an eyebrow.

Suddenly, I can’t get my tongue to form any words. It’s too busy trying to catch all the drool about to slip out of my mouth. “Ah,” I swallow, “I, um, need to talk to you.”

“Really?” He stands up and moves toward me, carrying himself with a commanding air of self-confidence. “’Cause I had a few things that I needed to say last night, but you refused to hear me out.” He stops in front of me.

“Ah,” I pause as he shifts to the left of me and pushes the door shut. “I’m sorry, about that,” I say, watching him turn the lock on the door. I swallow again, when he moves back to face me.

“You’re sorry?”

“Yes.” I nod, noting the dangerous gleam in his eyes.

“I don’t know. That doesn’t sound very convincing.” He glances down at my halter-top, swaying back to view my short skirt. “Out with the girls tonight?”

“Yeah, but really, there’s something I want to—”

“Oh-ho, no.” His eyes snap to mine. “You can’t come over here looking like this and start demanding shit. You shut me down last night. You didn’t let me explain myself, and I’m still pissed about it. So, if anyone is gonna demand anything, it’s going to me.”

“Slate!” I stomp my foot. “I’m sorry, but I need to—” I halt when he leans forward and places both hands on the door, trapping me. His biceps flex, and I feel his influence all around me. He’s shirtless and not making any effort to hide his scars. The shame of his body no longer stands between us. The years that we’ve been apart, they seem to disappear, too. Krissy said all the girls knew Slate was mine, not that I needed the reminder. Whether we’re together or not, I know deep in my heart that Slate will forever belong to me.

“Oh, so now my little monkey needs something,” he says, and the closer his mouth gets to mine, the more I want to say screw it and kiss him.

“I just want to ask you something, that’s it.” My eyes drop to his lips. I bite my bottom lip, and he smiles. Dammit, he knows I want him. Zeke’s right. Not only am I here for some answers, but I am here for a booty call, too. I came to claim what is mine, but first I have to deal with what happened six years ago. I flash back up to his hooded, collected gaze.

“Okay, you can ask your question, and I’ll answer it, but you’re going to have to do it in nothing but your panties.” His smile gets bigger. “You do have panties on under that tight little skirt, don’t you?”

“If you wanna call the thin string wedged between my ass cheeks panties, then yeah, I do.” Shit! Why am I playing along here? I just need to cut the crap and ask him if he slept with Krissy. I open my mouth.

“Uh-uh.” He shakes his head, and I snap my mouth shut. “Don’t even think about it.” He drops his hands from the door, takes a step back, and crosses his arms over his naked, glistening chest. “I’m not gonna answer anything unless you’re standing in nothing but your panties.”

“Why do I have to do it in my panties?”

“To make up for the way you acted last night and because I want what every other guy wanted when he saw you in that skirt tonight.”

“Yeah, and what’s that?”

“Well, to fuck you, of course.” He grins.

“But you don’t even know what I’m going to ask.”

“I’m not scared,” he says with a low, husky chuckle.

Okay, well, I’m not scared, either. I grab the bottom of my halter and yank it over my head. I pull my skirt down and step out of it, glad that I wore my sexy black thong. I stand up and my body flushes with heat from the brazen look of lust in Slate’s dark eyes. I lift my head and his gaze follows me. “Did you have sex with Krissy Sykes?”

“No,” he says without a lick of hesitance.

With everything inside of me, I believe him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Now.” His head tilts slightly to the left. “That’s another question, and if you want the answer, then you’re going to have to lose the panties,” he says with a wayward, challenging grin.

Screw it. If I have to get naked to get my answers, so be it. It’s not as if he hasn’t seen me naked before. I waste no time stripping the last bit of clothing from my body, thoroughly enjoying the look of desire burning in his eyes.

“You do have a very pretty pussy,” he says, rubbing his chin.

“Slate,” I place my hands on my hips, “my answer!”

His eyes move from between my thighs and he shrugs. “You never asked.”

“That’s bullshit! I never asked! You can’t be serious! You knew what it looked like when I saw you in the bed with her. Why would you let me think that?”

He takes two steps toward me. “Is that another question?”

“Yes!” I say, clenching my hands. “So, tell me Slate, what do you want now for the damn answer?”

He pulls me to him, picks me up, and my legs instinctively wrap around his waist. He pushes me against the wall. “You, I fucking want you.” He kisses me, and for a few seconds, I lose myself to the kiss.

“Why!” I pull back from his mouth. “Why you did you let me think that? Why did you do it?”

“I did it because I loved you,” he says, looking into my eyes. “I did it because you loved me.” He presses me harder to the wall “I did it because I knew that you’d never leave me.”

“You wanted me to leave you? But why would you...” Oh, my God! No! He didn’t. He couldn’t have. Shit! He did it so I’d take that damn job in Michigan. “Slate, that wasn’t your choice to make!”

“It kinda was; I told you before, everything that I’ve done up to this point has always been my choice, and you needed to go, Rayna. We never would’ve made it if you’d stayed. When I saw you that morning, fuck, I knew it would probably be the only way that I’d get you to leave me.”

“You let me believe that you cheated on me!”

“Yeah. Honestly, babe, it sort of pissed me off how easily you thought that I could do something like that to you, but deep down, I think you knew that you had to go, too.”

“No!” I glare at him. “I didn’t want to leave you. I was in shock! I was hurt! I didn’t want to believe what I saw was real, but you never tried to convince me otherwise. So, what choice did I have?”

“Listen, I really am sorry that you got hurt, but it had to be done. Now,” he squeezes my ass cheeks, “shut up, my little monkey, and let me fuck you,” he says, before capturing my mouth with his, before he’s back to luring me closer with his talented tongue.

I’m desperate for him, just a needy wanton bitch.

So, I let him take me.

The ref grabs my arm and lifts it. Normally, after a win, all I want to do is grab my shit, leave the cage, and get high, but instead, I look down into the crowd and find Rayna. She’s smiling up at me, and for the first time, I raise my other arm and pump it. The cheering in the room gets louder, and fuck, it feels good.

The past two weeks, having Rayna back in my life, everything has been awesome. I haven’t used. Don’t want to. All I want, all that I need, is Rayna. I exit the cage, and she’s standing there waiting for me with that damn smile still plastered on her beautiful face.

“Hey,” she says, swinging her arms back and forth, as if she’s waiting for me to give her the go-ahead to come on over.

“Ya know, you gotta stop doing that shit.” I reach out, slip my finger into the waist of her jeans, and pull her to me.

“What’s that?” She wraps her arms around my sweaty body and looks up at me with those shiny cat-like eyes.

“Calling me fucking Superman.” I smile down at her. Damn, I’m falling hard for her all over again. “You got everyone chanting it whenever I fight.”

“But they all love you.” She grins.

“Yeah.” I lean down closer to her. “But it’s not their love I want.”

“No?” Her smile slowly drifts from her lips. “Then whose love do you want?”

“Yours, of course.” Fuck it. It’s the truth, and I’ve wasted too much of my life already on my fears. She’s back, and my shitty world doesn’t seem so shitty anymore. I’m not letting her go. Our time is now. The surprise on her face frightens me a bit, though. Doesn’t she know how much I care about her? The longer she stares up at me with that astonished look on her face, the more I think that she doesn’t get it.

“Hmm…” Her arm slides from around my stiff body, and she taps me on the chest. “Considering I got that job in Santa Fe, I’ll be around, so maybe you can work on that,” she says. I sigh with a bout of relief. She gets it; she's just cautious. Can’t blame her there; I am, after all, an addict.

“Oh, I will.” I smile, leaning in for a kiss. I know it’s gonna take some time, but she will trust me again, and she will love me again, too. Nothing is going to stop me from making this happen. I reluctantly pull back. “I’m gonna go take a shower, and then I’ll meet you at the bar, okay?”

“Sounds good.” She gives me a quick kiss on the cheek before she turns around and walks away.

I make it through the back door finding Zeke in the hall. All gloved up, he’s bouncing on his feet. “Hey, fucker.” I stop. “You fighting next?”

“Yeah.” He nods. “Tommy Bigs can’t make it,” he says, throwing a few practice punches.

I shake my head. “Rusty’s gotta stop putting him on the roster. He never shows up.”

Zeke shrugs. “I wanted to get in the ring tonight anyways.”

“Why? What’s up?”

“Just lookin’ to kick some ass.” He stops bouncing from one foot to the other and claps his gloves together. “You and Rayna gonna be here for a while?”

“Yeah, I’m meeting her up front after I shower. Why? You wanna hang with us after the fight?”

“No, just happy for ya, bro. She’s good for ya.” He starts to jump again from one foot to the other. “You two were really meant for each other.” He shakes his head and chuckles. “You and Jax both being in relationships, that shit is kinda messed up, though. It’s good, but I never thought Jax would ever fall in love.”

“Right.” I laugh. “It kills me whenever I see the hard-ass bow down to Emmie Rue. But, hell, love does that shit to you. It takes the strongest part of you and bends it.”

“Fuck. I’m glad Rayna bent you. I was worried about you, ya know?”

“Yeah, I know, but Zeke, I’m good. What about you?”

His feet halt. “What about me?”

“Don’t give me that shit. I see the way you look at her.” I smile, not having to say Lurlene’s name. Zeke knows whom I’m talking about.

“Not happenin’, dude. This body has way too many strong parts. It ain’t ever gonna bend.”

“That’s too bad. Besides that infamous dick in your pants, you really do have a lot to offer some chick.”

“What do you mean?” He holds his gloves out in the air. “I love them all.”