Destroy You (Destroy #3) Page 6

  My agreement to try to be friends, even with the side benefits, was killing me. She kept me separate from the rest of her life, and I was determined to end that shit today. I understood she was scared, because I was, too. I’d never done the relationship thing before, and I couldn’t promise her forever until I knew if I was falling for her or for the challenge of her. Deep down I believed my feelings were genuine, but how the hell was I supposed to know? I also believed my dad loved me when I was a kid, but he walked away without hesitation, and that blood ran in my veins, too.

  Her car wasn’t in the driveway, and the house was dark. She was usually home at this time of night, so I walked up to the porch and suffered a moment of panic when I saw the window near the door was broken and boarded over.

  I texted her, but she didn’t reply. She’d been doing that shit to me for a week. Melody was pretty good friends with Jeremy, one of Toni’s best friends, and I decided to check if she knew anything. After a few minutes, Mel got back to me, letting me know Toni was at Jeremy’s, and she even sent his address.

  I was glad to find out Toni was staying with him. The guy was every woman’s dream, but thankfully I was more his type than she was. He was the only one of her friends I’d spent any time around. He was a decent guy and seemed to be a good friend to her, but he bought her bullshit just like the rest of them. It seemed like I was the only one that saw her clearly, but maybe it was supposed to be that way.

  I thought I wanted her the moment I watched her walk into my bar, but the months that followed proved to me that I also needed her. I wouldn’t admit this to Toni, not right now at least, but this imposed friendship she forced on us was a blessing because it gave us a chance to get to know each other. I missed her when she was gone. Not the feel of her or the release of regular sex, but her. I missed the corny movies she insisted we watch. I loved watching her get excited when her favorite song came on the radio and the sexy sway of her hips when she let the music flow through her.

  I drove the few streets it took to get to Jeremy’s house and was relieved when I saw Toni’s car parked out front. Blocking her in, I hurried up the porch. I’d already texted her and let her know I was coming. Part of me was expecting her to try to sneak out back when she saw me, but the swaying of the curtains gave away that she was watching me from the window.

  “I see you in there, Wildcat. Open the door,” I demanded.

  She opened it a crack and started to walk away.

  “Now there’s a pretty kitty,” I teased and entered her house.

  “I’m not in the mood, Trent,” she growled.

  I caught her hand and turned her around, but she continued to stare at the floor. Something about the way she refused to look at me scared me. “Look at me,” I insisted.

  “No.”

  I started to let go of her hand, but I couldn’t figure out why she was mad at me. I hadn’t done anything, and I mean anything, since I met her. I hadn’t touched a woman, except for Toni, in a long time. I didn’t want anyone else. Meaningless hookups didn’t appeal to me anymore. It had been several weeks before the night I met her, and since then it wasn’t an option.

  “Please.” I wasn’t above begging at this point. I wanted her to look at me and really see me.

  She slowly lifted her head, and I tucked her hair behind her ear. I tried to control my reaction, but my eyes turned cold as I saw the fading evidence of a bruise.

  “Who the fuck do I need to kill?” I seethed.

  Toni flinched and absentmindedly reached up to touch her bruised cheek. “No one,” she whispered. “He’s already dead.”

  I held my breath before I forcefully exhaled. “I think I need to hear the whole story before I lose my mind, Toni.”

  Toni led me to the couch and started telling me what she’d learned about her roommate Kate. She explained that she and her friends were concerned that whoever killed Kate’s ex-husband might also be a threat, since someone shot at Kate and her boyfriend Reed when they decided to go into hiding. Apparently by then her ex-husband was lying dead in a ditch and obviously not chasing after Kate and Reed with a gun.

  “How are you holding up?” I asked. It was a stupid question, because she was clearly terrified.

  She tried to shrug off my inquiry, but I could see her fear. I pulled her into my arms, and she sighed. “I don’t want you to let me go,” she whispered.

  “Who says I had any plans to?”

  She released a shaky breath. “Trent…”

  I put my hands up in surrender. “I’ll be good. Let’s just watch a movie. But Toni…”

  She looked up at me, waiting for me to continue, but instead I quickly kissed her full mouth. “This isn’t over.” One of these days, we’d both figure out if I meant that.

  Chapter 7

  Trent

  Present

  Every time Toni and I started to get close, something or someone crept out of the shadows to shove us apart. After seeing her face bruised from being attacked, I nearly carried her away where I could keep her safe. I’d spent the evening holding her and just calming my racing heart. She wouldn’t let me close enough physically to protect her, but my heart was hers. I felt a shift in the dynamic between us that afternoon, but then her friends gathered together for protection and I was cut out—again. I was grateful that Aiden and Becca had the resources to protect everyone, especially Toni, from the psycho stalking Reed and Kate. I understood their fear that their friends could be targeted to hurt them, maybe even Toni, since she was one of Kate’s best friends, but I wanted to be the one to protect her.

  When Kate asked me to bartend at her wedding, I jumped at the chance to spend more time with Toni. We still talked while she was with Aiden and Becca, but I felt the distance between us building again. The wedding seemed like our chance to reconnect and maybe move forward.

  I knew Toni was nervous that her parents accepted the invitation to Reed and Kate’s wedding. She said they were judgmental and she didn’t want them treating her friends badly. I figured since she and I weren’t serious—yet—she’d want me to keep my distance from her at the reception. I was okay with that because meeting parents was a big fucking deal, and I was still trying to get her to admit we were actually seeing each other.

  However, I was not prepared to find her ex in attendance. Her friends didn’t much care for him and the way he treated her, but her parents didn’t have a problem with him. It still sucked to watch them pleasantly chat with the guy and try to rearrange the seating to force Toni and him together. How was I supposed to convince her to let me into her life completely if her parents were still pushing him at her?

  I almost walked away from the job right then, but I realized she wasn’t paying any attention to the asshole her parents obviously wanted her to choose. Her night-dark eyes were on me every time she thought I wasn’t looking, but she always has my attention when she’s near.

  I popped the caps off a few bottles of beer and passed them over to guests while continuing to watch Toni out of the corner of my eye. She was having fun taking turns dancing with Jeremy and Cameron.

  Miguel had been taking swigs of something from a flask he carried in his jacket pocket. He was also watching Toni, but instead of enjoying her happiness, he scowled at the three of them and continued to drink.

  The music changed to a slow, sexy song. Jeremy pulled Toni close and ran his hands down the skin exposed by the low back of her dress. It was an overtly sexual move, but I don’t think he really thought about it. They were comfortable with each other, and Jeremy was obviously a flirt by nature. It bothered me at first, but I’d come to realize if I wanted Toni, I had to accept her relationship with Jeremy. Knowing he wanted Cameron the way I wanted her made that an easy condition to agree to, if I could only convince Toni to move me completely out of the friend zone.

  Miguel was apparently not as accepting. He stomped across the dance floor and ripped Toni out of Jeremy’s arms. I vaulted over the bar and headed toward her without even consid
ering the fact Jeremy could easily put a stop to Miguel’s possessive display. By the time I made it to her, Jeremy had Miguel’s shirt twisted in his hand, and Cameron was standing in front of Toni, protecting her.

  “Let go of me, fag,” Miguel shouted.

  Jeremy flinched but didn’t release his hold. “Get out of here,” he warned quietly.

  “Antonia?” her father said, walking over to the group with her mother behind him. Everyone was paying attention to the scene at this point. Aiden moved through the crowd, clearly ready to jump to his best friend’s assistance.

  “Sí, Papa.”

  “What is going on here?” her father asked in lightly accented English.

  “Nada, it’s just a misunderstanding,” Toni answered.

  “Then tell your friend to let Miguel go. I’d like you to take Miguel and get him some coffee. The two of you have some issues to work through, it seems.”

  “I’m sorry, Papa, I can’t do that. I have nothing to say to Miguel and haven’t for a year now. I think you and Mama should give him a ride home.”

  Her mother stepped forward. “Antonia, do not disobey your father.”

  Jeremy let go of Miguel with a slight shove. Miguel straightened and moved like he was going to make another attempt at him. Aiden and I moved to either side of Jeremy and stared him down before he took a swing.

  “Get the fuck off my parents’ property,” Jeremy spat out.

  Miguel rolled his eyes. “Gladly.” He reached his hand out and demanded, “Antonia.”

  She stepped around Cameron and came to stand in front of me. My heart stuttered for a moment as I thought she might actually go with the fucker to please her parents. I exhaled in relief when she leaned against me instead.

  “No,” she replied.

  Miguel noticed where she stood, and so did her father. “Antonia, your mother and I do not support you so that you can abandon your culture and a suitable match for this…this…” He waved his hand in front of me, unable to find words to describe me.

  Most parents wouldn’t choose me for their daughters. I’ve got the whole bad-boy image going on, but it’s an image that works for me as a bar owner. It screams, “Don’t fuck with me,” and the chicks love it. Not that I indulge anymore, but there was a time I took advantage of what they freely offered me. Now I enjoy the tips they toss my way and the reduction in fights with drunken assholes at the bar. But I hated that Toni’s dad looked at me like I wasn’t good enough for her. All I wanted was for her to realize we would be perfect together. The last thing we needed was another fucking roadblock.

  Toni tipped her chin up, and I recognized the defiance in her stance. “This is Trent. He’s a good guy, Papa. Just because he has some tattoos and a lip ring doesn’t mean he won’t treat me well. He’s always treated me like a lady.”

  “He is not Mexican,” her mother hissed.

  Toni shrugged. “Doesn’t matter to me.”

  “Let’s see you support yourself, then. When you come to your senses, give your father and me a call,” her mother retorted.

  “If that’s the way you want it,” Toni replied with false confidence.

  I dropped my hand on her shoulder and rubbed up and down her arm. “Don’t worry, Wildcat. We’ll all help you figure it out.”

  Chapter 8

  Toni

  I wanted to punch my parents in the throat for treating Trent like he was something they’d stepped in. “He’s not Mexican.” I couldn’t believe my mother actually spouted that racist bullshit in front of my friends. How could they not see how beautiful he was? It wasn’t the way he looked, although his appearance certainly got my heart racing. It was the way he smiled at me differently than I’d seen him smile at anyone else. His eyes glazed over, and the corner of his mouth curved up.

  I’d seen that exact look before. Aiden got it every time Becca stepped into the room, and I’d seen it on Reed, too. It was like they were in on a secret no one else knew. I wasn’t innocent. Becca and I partied hard our first couple years of college. Miguel was the only guy I’d had sex with, but I’d made out with plenty more, and they were usually satisfied enough that they didn’t complain over a technicality. Enough that when a man’s arms wrapped around me, I recognized their urgency, their drive to find their release, but I’d never felt cherished. Especially when Miguel’s arms were around me.

  That was until Trent wrapped his hard, colorful arms around me. We burned so hot I was slightly afraid I’d eventually be consumed by the fire between us. But when he found me bruised after Kate’s ex-husband attacked me, he comforted me. That’s when I knew he really wanted me and not just a one-off session under the sheets.

  I think that scared me even more. What if I gave in? What if I let myself believe Trent and I could be more than friends? Would I survive the heartbreak when he eventually caved to the numerous offers of no-strings-attached sex he received every night? Odds were that one of the women that threw herself at him would appeal to him. Maybe if we were fighting, or he was bored, or I don’t know what, but Miguel certainly would have taken them up on their offers.

  “Let me take you home,” Trent whispered in my ear.

  I looked around and realized the reception was winding down. Then I saw Cameron and Jeremy arguing in the corner. Nothing Jeremy said was getting through to Cameron. I knew the moment their truce ended. As soon as Miguel spewed his hateful words at Jer, Cameron took a step back. I knew since I was standing behind him.

  Cameron hadn’t come to terms with his sexuality. He still pursued women, but he never looked at them the way he looked at Jeremy. It was possible he was bisexual, but I didn’t believe for a second he wasn’t in love with Jeremy. I couldn’t understand why he felt the need to hurt both of them to prevent the possibility of future pain.

  Slowly, I turned back to face Trent. That’s exactly what I had been doing. I was hurting, and I could see he was too because of the distance I forced between us. Doing that took effort, because the most natural thing for me was to be next to him. I was an idiot.

  “Trent,” I whispered.

  He closed his eyes tight. “Please don’t. Don’t push me away again.”

  “Okay.”

  His eyes shot open, gracing me with their smoky depths. I could get lost in those stormy eyes. “Toni? Are you saying you’re going to stop fighting us?”

  I nodded. “I still want to take it slow.”

  “I can do slow—with some conditions,” he said cautiously.

  I motioned for him to continue, and he nodded. “Really, it’s only two conditions. No more running from me. If you get scared, pissed, whatever, you tell me. We fight, make up, and get over it, together.”

  “The other condition?” I asked.

  “I know I’ve already said this a while back, but I want to be clear. If we do this, then we have to be exclusive. We might be just starting to date, but we’ve known each other for a while now. I don’t need the time to decide if I only want to see you. I know, and I don’t like to share. I didn’t like seeing you talking to Miguel.”

  “So that means you won’t take any women from the bar upstairs?” I pushed.

  “Toni.” He gazed at me with an intense expression. “I haven’t touched anyone but you since the night we met. Actually, I hadn’t been with anyone for a few weeks before that. I meant what I said a few months ago. No one else.”

  My knees almost buckled hearing him say that. Here I was worried about him cheating if we were together and he had temptation thrust upon him, and he was faithful to me the entire time, even though we weren’t officially anything.

  “Me either,” I admitted. “But I can’t go home with you tonight,” I said quickly.

  Cameron stormed away from Jeremy, and I watched my best friend deflate. I wasn’t sure how long he could continue to hold on to his feelings for Cameron. I loved Cameron too, but I was ready for Jeremy to let go and move on. It would be easier for him to do that now since Cam was back at his apartment.

  Tre
nt followed my line of sight, then took my hand and led me over to Jeremy. I wasn’t sure how Jeremy would feel having his private pain shared with a stranger, but I went along. When we got there, Jeremy looked at our hands and smiled. It was a great effort, but he still looked sad.

  Trent tipped his head toward the van he brought the bar supplies in. “Let’s all get out of here. Come over and watch a movie with Toni and me tonight.”

  Jeremy shook his head before Trent finished speaking. “Thanks, but I don’t want to be in the way.”

  “You won’t be. I’ll call Melody and have her come over, too,” Trent offered.

  Jeremy laughed humorlessly. “She really isn’t my type, but thanks.”

  “No offense, but the two of you look way too much alike for me to suggest that, even if I thought you’d be interested. Like way too much. It’s super weird. Just come over. Toni and I need the best-friend buffer.”

  I gave him a dirty look. I couldn’t believe he’d said that. “Are you afraid I’m going to jump you the second we’re behind closed doors?”

  “You know you can’t resist me much longer, Wildcat,” he taunted and rubbed his hand suggestively up his abdomen. Some of his shirt followed his hand up his chest, revealing the deep V of his muscles by his hips.

  I licked my lips and was lost in images of following that line with my tongue until Trent’s masculine chuckle snapped me back to the moment. “Fine, so you’re kinda sexy. It isn’t like you do much better resisting me.”

  Trent’s eyes darkened to a gunmetal gray. “I can resist any woman at any time, except for you. Remember that before you start strutting your sexy ass around me. I’ll always stop when you ask, but don’t for one second think I won’t take what you offer me. And keep in mind, Wildcat, the moment I get you underneath me, I’m keeping you there.”

  Jeremy laughed. “I’ll join you guys. It’ll be amusing if nothing else.”

  “I live to entertain,” I quipped back.