Property of Drex (Book 1)(40)

“I’ve got you,” I soothe, rubbing her back.

She clings to me, digging her nails in as though she’s a cat in water, and it’s the only thing keeping me from going downstairs and blowing out Jessie’s brains right now.

I don’t give a damn who her father is, she doesn’t deserve this. There’s no doubt in my mind that Eve had no clue about her dad’s dealings with us, just based on how terrified and unversed she is with the club.

Even if she did know, even if she was a spy sent to take us down, I still wouldn’t allow something like this to happen to her. Fucking bastards.

“What’d he do?” I ask, wondering if I can even allow myself to hear it.

“He didn’t… He tried… Axle stopped him before he could,” she whispers, her voice tremulous and almost too quiet to be heard, and the words break until she can’t speak any longer.

But I almost sag in relief. He didn’t get to touch her.

Mentally, I remind myself to thank Axle later. Jessie should thank him too. As of right now, he’s the only reason Jessie is still breathing.

“I have to get out of this. It smells like him.” The disgust and brokenness of her tone has my rage once again brewing close to the surface.

She slides down my body, and I feel more anger surge through me when her eyes flick to the door, as though she’s worried someone else might be in here. Her nails dig into my forearms as she presses her shaking body against me.

“I can promise no one is stupid enough to come in here.”

Slowly, her eyes meet mine, and she blows out another relieved breath. Her hands are shaking so bad that she keeps dropping the hem of her dress, so I reach down and tug it over her head.

I expect that to be enough, but it’s not. She immediately starts fumbling with her bra, and I reach around, undoing it with one hand to help her out.

Her appreciative gaze meets mine. Normally when she’s stripping her panties down her legs, I’m hard as stone and ready to fuck. Not now. Not tonight. The fear in her eyes drowns out any sort of sexual air that might be here under usual circumstances.

I take my shirt off as she climbs into the bed, and I pull my jeans down, leaving on a pair of boxers.

I’ll let her sleep with me, because no way in hell is she sleeping on the couch after that.

As soon as I’m under the covers, her bare body is tangling around mine, wrapping up in me like she can’t get close enough. My arms go around her, tucking her against me, giving her the comfort she needs.

“Can I please sleep with you tonight?” she whispers, remnants of fear still shaking her tone.

I swallow thickly, feeling like the biggest son of a bitch in the world, because she feels like she has to ask. I realize I’m not exactly a good guy, but she should know by now I wouldn’t let anything fucking happen to her. I sure as hell wouldn’t shove her ass out of my bed after what she faced.

“You’ll sleep in my bed from now on,” I tell her softly, and she burrows closer against me, hugging me as though she has all the gratitude in the world for me.

This all started off with me wanting her more than I should have. It started with me lying to myself, telling my stupid, fucked-up mind that I wanted to make sure Pop was safe. When in reality, she’s been mine since I saw her.

After this, I should send her home. She’s not made for this shit. But I’m a bastard, and I can’t seem to allow myself to let her go. I just need to do a better job at making sure she’s safe in my world, because I’m not letting her leave any time soon.

“Thank you,” she finally says, her voice sounding stronger. She’s fucking thanking me. Now I feel like a bigger bastard.

Instead of saying anything, I start tracing lazy circles on her back as she slowly grows more relaxed in my arms. But just as she’s about to fall asleep, someone bangs on my door, and she stiffens so tight that I’m worried she’s going to break.

“Christ, baby. Nothing is going to happen to you with me right here,” I say softly, holding her a little tighter. She buries her head against my chest, and I pull the sheet up over her bare body, covering it from view before snarling at the door. “What?”

Eve jumps in my arms, and I inwardly curse. Just raising my own voice has scared her. Fuck.

“Coming in,” Pop says, and my eyes widen. I don’t want him seeing Eve.

Like a kid hiding a girl in my bed, I cover her up completely, blocking her from view. I don’t think he’d try to do something as stupid as deciding I suddenly don’t get to keep her. And I can’t believe that I’m considering kicking his ass if he tries.

The door opens as I sit up, leaving Eve under the sheet. I’d leave the bed completely if she wasn’t clinging to me so tightly.