Page 22 of Bound By Ink

I wake up to pounding on the front door. I creep out from under Scott, glancing over at the clock; it’s three thirty in the morning. I pad downstairs and yank the door open. Dickhead stands there, his back to the door. He turns slowly, a seductive grin on his face.

“Baby.” His face drops, his casual stance turns rigid, while he pulls his hands out of his pockets and balls them into fists at his sides. “Where’s Scott?” he snarls, slurring and swaying on the doorstep.

“He’s in bed.” I step through the door, clicking it closed behind me. “What did you do to him?”

A smug grin spreads across his face. “I didn’t do anything. We went out. I took my friends home. I said I’d come by later. I’m a man of my word, so here I am. So, you gonna let me in?”

I cross my arms and step forward. He rocks back, and his eyes flick up to meet mine.

“You fucking left him? Alone, in the bar, to take your fucking friends home. You piece of shit.” I shove his shoulder. “Leave now while you still fucking can.”

He steps back up to me. “You can’t tell me what to do. He’s my boyfriend.”

“We’ll see about that.” I turn, stepping inside, spinning on my heel and leaving him outside. “Beverycareful what your next move is gonna be because I’m not as forgiving as Scott.”

“It’s got fuck all to do with you,” he yells as I click the lock on the door and head back upstairs. I slip back under the covers and wrap my arms around Scott again. I’ve got a fight tomorrow night. And I need to prepare, but right now, he needs me, and I can’t bring myself to tear away from him. If Derren comes back, I want to be here, just in case. I pull him tighter against me. He nestles back against my chest.

“Where did you go?” he mumbles.

“Nowhere, Nerd. I’m always here.” He nuzzles into my neck as we pull each other closer. I hold him tight. Kiss the top of his head and promise him I will always be there for him. He’s already asleep again, so I just snuggle him. Not sure who needs this more, him or me, but I vow to never let him go.

Scott

Chapter 12

I awaken, wrapped in a tight embrace. I breathe him in as my eyes flutter open. A smile spreads across my face, his scent engulfs me, and I feel safe. Loved. And it’s like last night never happened. “What you doing here?” I smile against him.

“Iwantto be here. Do you wanna talk about it?” It’s all he says as he hugs me tighter. I allow Killian to hold me, resting my head against his chest. I close my eyes and relax.

“I’m sure it was a misunderstanding.”

“Scott, he fucking left you in a bar, in a shitty town. Alone.” He pushes back to stare at me. “What could you have possibly misunderstood?”

I sigh. “Killian, don’t, please. We’ll sort it out, I’m sure.”

“Scott!” Killian scolds, and I go to pull away from him. “Okay, okay. I’ll leave it for now, but you know I’m here for you. Right?”

I nod, and he hugs me to him. Closing my eyes, I don’t want to think about any of it.

My phone rings. Killian pulls me tighter. “Ignore it.”

I chuckle. “It might be important.” I try to go to my phone.

“What’s more important?”

I shrug but reach for my phone, out of his grasp. He groans, pulling the covers up to his neck and screwing his eyes closed.

When I grab my phone, there are numerous missed calls at around three this morning. It’s Derren calling now. I sigh, answering the phone, but I don’t speak.

“Is he there?” the voice snaps through the receiver.

“What?” I answer in confusion; he’s caught me off guard

“Is he still there?” he snaps again.

“Who?” It takes me a second to realise he must know Killian is here.

“Don’t play fucking coy!” he barks. “Is he still fucking there?”