Tempting Sydney (9 page)

He was attractive, I’d give him that, but his eyes were also glued to anything with boobs, and he didn’t seem to care who he ended up with tonight, as long as it was a woman, and he got to screw her—in more ways than one.

Brynn had met Derrick and Karl through mutual friends at dinner the night before. They’d invited her—and any of her hot friends—to go out with them tonight. They’d looked at me like I was a nun when we walked up. I guess I did look pretty out of place; my pleather skirt went all the way down to mid-thigh and wasn’t showing off my vulva, and my lacy indigo shirt had fabric covering my chest
and
my back. Judging by their reaction when we walked up, I didn’t pass the “hot friend” requirement, but it seemed they were putting up with me to keep Brynn around. Which was fine. I wasn’t interested in either one of them.

Derrick caught Brynn’s eye and grinned, motioning for her to come over to him. Her smile widened like she’d just won the lottery. And in this world, I guess she kind of had. She grabbed my hand, dragging me with her. “Hey,” she said coyly, twirling one of her dark curls.

“Hey, yourself, beautiful.” He patted the bench seat next to him, “Why don’t you come sit with me?”

She looked at the seat, then at me. “There’s not enough room for my friend.”

He glanced in my direction, giving me a quick once-over, and finding me lacking. “Sure there is, babe,” he grabbed her wrist and pulled her down onto his lap. He scooted over, making room for me to sit between him, Brynn, and Karl. Great.

Derrick lifted his hand at the server, signaling to bring us more drinks. I hoped the server knew I was drinking water. Brynn loved getting drunk. I didn’t. So, we made a good designated driver team.

Brynn and Derrick flirted while Karl and I ignored each other. That lasted about five minutes before I felt a large, rough hand on my knee. Pretty sure it wasn’t mine, I looked down, and followed the hand up the arm of the jerk who had the nerve to grope me. Karl’s lips tipped up in an arrogant smile. He leaned into my ear. “You should sit on my lap. I have a present for you.”

I gave him a too-sweet smile as I pushed his hand off my leg. “Keep dreaming, asshole,” I yelled over the pounding bass.

His smile shifted slightly, no longer as smug, and definitely more annoyed. “You’re a bitch.”

“And you’re a douchebag who probably has a tiny dick. We all have our problems to overcome.” I turned away and looked at Brynn. Her eyes softened like she was asking if I was okay. I waved my hand in front of me like it was no big deal. She believed me, and went back to kissing Derrick again until our drinks came. Brynn got something so bright orange it looked neon. I shook my head, thinking that couldn’t be healthy. I took a sip of my water and frowned. It was carbonated, and had a hint of lemon. I liked lemon in my water, but I wasn’t a fan of water with fizz. It just tasted…wrong. Like soda without the sugar. I decided to ask for a non-fizzy water as soon as the server came back, but for now, this would have to do. It was hot as hades in the club and I needed to stay hydrated.

After what felt like a few minutes, I looked down at my drink and it was half gone. I shook my head, confused. How had that happened? I didn’t even like the bubbles. Bubbles? What was wrong with me? My head felt fuzzy and I was having a hard time thinking. Then I felt myself being pulled on top of someone’s lap. I looked up into a fuzzy face I barely recognized. “Karl?” I asked.

“Come on, baby,” he said, his hand going around my waist and resting on the curve of my ass.

I shook my head repeatedly and my skull felt like it was being hit with Thor’s hammer. “No,” I said, trying to push him away and stand. I was unsuccessful at both attempts. “No, I want to stay with Brynn.” I looked for her, and she was now across from me in a tiny bean bag with Derrick. I frowned. She shouldn’t be there. We needed to stick together. We always stayed together. I stood again and stumbled, trying to make it to the bean bag next to her. Derrick was leaning into her, kissing her like he was trying to put out a fire with his saliva, while his hand moved under her wispy, see-through shirt.

Suddenly, an arm was around my waist again, pulling me in the other direction—away from Brynn. “Your friend’s going to hang out with my buddy for a while, so you and I can spend some time together. I’m going to show you how big my dick really is.” His voice sounded harsh.

My brow furrowed. I didn’t want to see his dick. I wasn’t at all interested in it. I needed to tell him that, and tell him to go to hell, too. But I couldn’t form the words. Something wasn’t right. My head felt cloudy, and the pounding against my skull was increasing. Brynn was drunk off her ass, and I was…something. And whatever it was, the effects were becoming worse with every passing moment. I’d had my drink close to me and hadn’t noticed anything slipped into it, but I’d also been babysitting Brynn, so maybe someone drugged me when I wasn’t looking.

Karl held my upper arm and started dragging me down a hall, away from the dance floor—and all of the people.

That’s when I heard the noise. Like a furious animal roaring. And before I knew it, I was being pushed out of the way, and Karl was being pushed into—and almost through—a wall. I stood across the hallway, bracing myself against a table so I wouldn’t fall. My legs felt like jelly as I watched Karl get pounded. Some guy was using him as a punching bag. I wanted to cheer! He was getting the shit beat out of him! He deserved it. I wished I could do it myself, but I could barely stand.

Without warning, the whole world started to tilt. It felt like it happened in slow motion, and I wondered why the earth had abruptly fallen off its axis. I felt myself start to fall and suddenly, I was weightless. Like a feather floating in the breeze. I laughed and waved my arms. I was flying! Cold wind hit my cheeks and I looked up into the sky, but a face passed over my point of view. It was a gorgeous face with a strong jaw, sexy, messy dark chocolate curls, and bright Caribbean colored irises. I smiled widely. “Blue Eyes!” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. I realized he was holding me. Tightly. “You’re here!”

His lips were pulled into a thin line, his features a study in barely contained violence as he looked around. They changed when his gaze came to rest on me, though. “You’re going to be okay, Syd. Let’s get you home.”

“But…Brynn! I need Brynn!” I flopped my head to the side of his arm, trying to look around. “Brynn!” I yelled. “Brynn! Come with me!”

“Sshhhh. I’ll get her, Syd. Let me get you out of here first.”

When we got to his truck—he had a truck!—he gently put me inside, shielding my head, and belted me into the front seat. He left, telling me not to move. I didn’t. I fell asleep instead. I woke up when he got back, cradling Brynn in his arms. She looked as sick as I did, but her clothes all seemed intact.

I’d been saved by Blue Eyes. Brynn too. Full-on, knight-in-shining-armor, this-only-happens-in movies, saving. I tilted my head and tried to focus on his gorgeous face. “You saved us,” I murmured.

There was a long pause, or maybe I’d already fallen asleep and dreamed his next words, “This time,” he whispered “And I won’t let this happen to you again.”

I tried to sit up, but my head was pounding so hard I thought drums were playing in my brain. I immediately lay back down, tightly closing my sensitive eyelids against the bright morning light, and covering my ears while I rubbed my head with my fingertips and groaned.

I felt hands brush over my hair, replacing my own. Pads of fingers pressed into pressure points on my head and I moaned as I slitted my eyes open, trying to figure out who the angel head healer was.

Even through my sliver of vision, I could see his sculpted features and messy brown hair. He was wearing a tight fitted white shirt, his muscles bulging beneath it. He pressed gently, but firmly along the front of my skull, rhythmically making his way around to the back, pushing deeply into the base of my neck. His touch was perfection, and absolutely what I needed after such a horrible night. As he moved around to my jawline, pressing under it, he cupped my cheek. I opened my eyes a little wider. “Jax,” I breathed.

“Hey, sweetheart,” his voice was as tender as his touch. “Glad you’re awake.”

I moved to get up, but he shook his head, and kept massaging. I was in heaven. “What happened last night?” I asked. I had bits of memory including some dickhead named Karl, but I was having a hard time piecing it all together.

“From what I could tell?” he said, still focused on his task, “Your drink was spiked with something. I’m guessing a date rape drug.”

My mouth dropped. “Seriously?” The whole reason I went to stupid parties and events with Brynn was to make sure shit like that didn’t happen. Ever. We were always careful to stay together. “I don’t know how it happened. I had my drink with me all night.”

A muscle worked at his jaw. “It happened because you were hanging out with assholes.”

I couldn’t argue with that. They were definitely douchebags of the highest order. “I was careful, though. I don’t know when they could have put something in my drink.”

“You can’t watch your drink every second, Syd. I’m sure he slipped it in when you were busy monitoring Brynn to make sure she wasn’t getting in trouble.”

I shifted my eyes to the door, and her room down the hall. “Is she okay?”

He pressed his fingers against my temples and I sighed. “She’s hung over, but that’s it. I don’t think they drugged her. The probably didn’t think there was a need since she was hanging all over the guy, and she was drunk.”

I wasn’t functioning on even half of my brain-power yet, but that piece of information hit, and stuck. “You saw her? Us?”

He didn’t say anything for a minute. He licked his lips before replying, “I did.”

A question—and realization started to form in my head. “Why were you at Edge?” I remembered him standing in his bedroom in his boxers, listening to me talk to Brynn about our plans. I hadn’t even said the name of the club, but he must have pieced it all together.

“Because you were.”

I widened my eyes and immediately regretted it. Jax saw me wince and reached over to the window above my bed, pulling the purple curtains shut. “Thanks,” I mumbled. “Why would you go to the club just because I was going?”

He took a deep breath, and scrubbed his hand over his chin. “Call me crazy, but I don’t like when people go into situations they could get hurt in. You said you’re Brynn’s backup. I’m yours.”

My stomach did a flip-flop. “I didn’t ask you to be,” I whispered.

“You didn’t have to.”

For some reason, Jax’s protectiveness felt a lot like a man reacting to someone he cared about being in danger. Jax might have feelings for me, but I wasn’t sure how far those emotions extended. I didn’t think he was looking for a relationship, though. As much as I wanted him to care about me, and take care of me, I didn’t know if I could handle it. If I let him in, I was afraid I’d get too invested, and be destroyed when he left. “What if that’s not what I’m looking for?”

He stared down at me. “Too bad.”

A warm feeling coursed through me, followed by a giddy rush of excitement at his protective behavior. I wasn’t even annoyed that he’d eavesdropped on my conversation with Brynn and then followed me to the club like a stalker. I couldn’t deny the fact that I was grateful for his presence. If it wasn’t for him, I would have ended up in a horrible situation. I couldn’t thank him for that enough. I put my hand on his arm, his bicep moving under my touch. His gorgeous gaze met mine. “Thank you for being there. I would have been…” I paused, tears pricking my eyes, “I don’t know what would have happened without you.”

He pursed his lips, the muscle ticking at his jaw again. I felt like there was more he wanted to say, but instead, he cupped my cheek with his palm, his thumb rubbing lightly, back and forth, on my skin. “It should be almost out of your system by now.”

He turned away, and handed me a cold bottle of water. “Only take a little, and let me know if you feel sick.”

I took the water, gingerly lifting it to my lips. No beverage had ever tasted as wonderful as that sip; I felt like I hadn’t had anything to drink in days. I wanted to gulp it down, but knew that wouldn’t end well, and vomiting all over Jax probably wouldn’t impress him much.

When I’d managed to keep down half of my water, Jax handed me some fruit and yogurt mixed with granola. “Little bites,” he said.

I chewed my food slowly, trying to make digestion as easy as possible. I dropped a piece of granola on my shirt, noticing my clothes for the first time. Blue pajama shorts and a matching tank top covered me. Well, thank Thor I wasn’t naked. I amended the thought when I realized that I probably wasn’t the person who got me in my jammies.

“Did you stay here all night?”

He nodded. “I watched you and Brynn to make sure you’d be okay.”

I hadn’t noticed the dark circles around his eyes, or his heavy lids until now. I couldn’t believe he’d saved us both from our own stupidity, and then stayed up all night to keep checking on us and make sure we were okay. My heart constricted and I swallowed the lump in my throat. He was a good guy. A really good guy.