Page 11 of Reese’s Protection

“Fucking ballsy to call the cops after what you did!” I shouted.

There was a scuffle, then a face appeared in the busted window. Jeremy looked more like a Halloween mask than a man, with his lips contorted in a toothy snarl. The cheek I’d punched earlier bloomed with a growing purple bruise, and I wished I’d hurt him a whole lot more at the club.

“Reese, is that you?” the asshole bellowed, then turned away.

Swearing, I grabbed Reese’s hand and tugged him along through the yard and behind the neighbor’s house. The sirens got closer, and there was the sound of boots on the grass behind me.

For the second time that night, I turned and swung my fist, but I missed, and Jeremy slammed his into my gut. I brought the axe handle up and smashed his nose with the end, using most of my strength.

Jeremy shrieked louder than a baby and sat down hard on his ass as blood gushed everywhere.

“Oh wow!” Reese said, and I had to agree because I’d heard a disgusting crunch. I grabbed Reese’s hand again and dragged him over toward the street where we’d left the truck.

“I wanted him to leave me alone!” Reese slapped at my arm, but he wasn’t trying to get away.

“Well, he wasn’t!” I snapped. “Maybe now he will.”

Reese groaned as I tossed the axe into the bed of my truck. “Or maybe he won’t! Maybe now he’ll kill me!” His eyes were far too wide.

As my heart stopped racing quite so fast, I could see where he was coming from. Why the hell did I have to let my temper get in the way? Most days I was a level-headed guy, but this type of shit throbbed in my brain worse than a splinter under a fingernail.

“Men like him are fucking cowards.” I made sure Reese was looking me in the eye. “They only come after people they think they can hurt. But he knows I give it better than he does.”

“That’s great, but I don’t,” Reese grumbled. He slapped my arm hard and it barely stung.

“Christ.”

The truck window next to us lowered. “Get in!” Layton waved at us as if that would make us move faster.

Reese and I piled into the truck. The breath was knocked out of me as his warm, solid weight settled on my lap. Layton stomped on the gas pedal, sending the truck lurching forward at top speed, and I wrapped my arms protectively around Reese.

“What the fucking fuck did you do?” Layton scowled at me.

“Nothing,” I muttered, leaning back against the seat with Reese securely held on my lap. I planted my hand on his hip, and he rested his on my wrist, almost as if he was telling me not to move. I gave him a squeeze.

“Right.” Layton shook his head. “I’m going to go home. I’m guessing those sirens I heard were for whatever you just did, so Jeremy will probably be tied up here. I’m not worried.”

“You’re going back to my house. You can call the cops about your apartment from there. Tell them you’re staying with me because you were concerned for your safety.”

Layton rolled his eyes but didn’t argue, thank God, and the blue glow of a gray false dawn kissed the horizon when he parked the truck beside my garage.

“I have the pullout ready with blankets,” I said as Layton got out of the truck.

“No, you have the floor.” He slammed the driver-side door, then tugged out his phone and pressed it to his ear. I figured he was probably calling off work, which I would also hear about later.

“What the hell was that?” Reese turned to look into my eyes and his lips nearly ghosted across mine. “Why did you do that?”

I shrugged. “I fucking hate to see assholes like that getting away with shit. Thinking they have a right to hurt other people and break their stuff just because the mood struck them.” I gave him a hug and couldn’t help but notice how perfectly he settled against my chest. “Didn’t it feel good to get your own back? Protect yourself?”

“Yeah, that wasn’t protecting myself. That was revenge.” His warm breath rushed across my skin, and if I squeezed him a little tighter, I doubted he would mind.

“Didn’t you like it?” I murmured.

He blinked at me and a small tantalizing grin curled his mouth upward. “Yeah, you know what? I did. Thank you.” He leaned in and pressed his lips gently against mine. The tease of warmth and the way he plastered his slim body to my front had me well on my way to desperate by the time he backed off. “Do you think things will be fine?”

“Who knows?”

He brushed his lips against mine again. “Does this count as tomorrow or do we have to sleep first?”