Page 32 of Tripp

“Don’t you wish?” Hawke glared at me before nodding toward Reece, who was still standing behind me. “Nice to meet you,” he finally said. “But I think you might have something wrong with you, you know . . . up here,” he said, pointing to his temple. “Anyone willing to hang out with my brother just can’t be right in the head.” He laughed but soon grimaced when I punched him in the chest.

“Shut the hell up,” I grated, a half smirk on my face when I finally turned away from him and walked back toward the truck, Reece quickly following. “I’m takin’ your truck again. Be back later.”

Zip’s house was a five-minute ride from the clubhouse, which put me at ease knowing I could easily check in on her. In case she needed me, not for my own selfish need to see her.

Yeah, keep tellin’ yourself that.

We entered the modest home and I gave her the condensed tour, although there wasn’t that much to see. The living room was first, followed by a dining room and finally the kitchen toward the back of the house. Upstairs, there were two bedrooms and a small bathroom. The entire place was void of any fancy décor, but it was clean and was a million times better than that fuckin’ shithole of a motel.

Watching Reece take it all in, I knew I’d made the right decision bringing her here. Going over the security system left Reece in a panic, so I wrote down the instructions on how to arm and disarm it, explaining everything in more detail as I jotted it down.

Rooting through Zip’s hallway closet, I came across a fresh set of sheets and a new blanket. After making up the bed in his room, knowing that’s where she’d be sleeping, I said good night and instructed her to set the alarm as soon as I left.

As I walked back toward the truck I was struck by an odd sense of anxiety about leaving her all alone.

Tripp

Bag of groceries in hand, I unlocked the front door. As I approached the keypad to disarm the alarm, I noticed Reece had never set it. Annoyance and a hint of fear coursed through me that she was left unprotected all evening. Looked like we’d be having quite the conversation as soon as I saw her.

Placing the bag on the kitchen counter, I filled the coffee pot before checking out the contents of the fridge—empty except for some condiments. Like I said, Zip spent the majority of his time at the clubhouse, so it didn’t shock me that he didn’t have any food.

While I waited for the coffee to brew, I went in search of Reece, taking the steps two at a time and quickly reaching the top. I tried to tell myself not to appear too eager, or enthusiastic, or whatever would make me seem as if I’d been counting the minutes until I laid eyes on her again. Dispelling my impatience, I told myself the reason I was quickly walking toward her bedroom was because I needed to have a talk with her about safety. The sooner that issue was resolved the better.

Looking down at my watch before entering her room, I saw that it was just after eight. By most standards, including mine, it was still kind of early, so I assumed she was still in bed.

As soon as my eyes landed on her sleeping form, I relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief that she was safe. To be this worried about a woman I barely knew was uncharacteristic of me, but there was just something different about Reece. I felt it the first time I saw her dancing on stage, and again when I rescued her from that asshole. Every time we interacted, or touched, or laughed, I knew my world was changing.

Reece had thrown the covers off her at some point, the nightshirt she wore riding up enough that if she moved even an inch I’d be able to see her panties, if she was even wearing any.

I can dream.

Her hair fanned out on the pillow. Her arms were raised high above her head, and the first image that popped into my brain was her splayed out underneath me, instantly making me as hard as stone. My imagination took hold and I envisioned her in every position possible, all in the span of a minute. Before I even realized what I was doing, I’d reached out to touch her, but she moved before I could do so.

Then she moved again, mumbling something in her sleep as her chest began to quickly rise and fall. Tossing her head to the side, she opened her mouth as if to say something but no sound came out. Lowering her arms, she clenched the bedsheet and groaned. At first I thought she was having some sort of erotic dream, but that notion quickly flew out the fuckin’ window when the word “no” left her lips. Over and over again. Then she began pleading with someone not to hurt her, that she wouldn’t do it again. Was the guy who attacked her coming back to torment her in her dreams?

I knew I had to wake her from her nightmare. I tried to be as gentle as possible, knowing that I could frighten her even more if I tried to shake her awake, but the more she writhed around, I knew I had to pull her out of her dreams quickly.

“Reece,” I called out, gripping her by the shoulders. “Reece, wake up. It’s only a dream.” I grew frustrated the longer she remained asleep, and it wasn’t until I practically shouted at her that her eyes popped open. It took her a few seconds to realize where she was, and that whatever she’d been dreaming about was no longer a threat. Before that realization took hold, however, she scooted back on the bed and threw her hands up in front of her, as if to protect herself from me.

I knew it was instinctual on her part, but it didn’t hurt me any less. I would never do anything to harm her, and I kept telling her that with the look of concern in my eyes. Eventually, the fright she felt faded, and it was only when the relief set in that she lunged at me. At first I thought she was gonna try and attack me, which I would’ve let her do to help her purge whatever haunted her, but I quickly understood that she needed me to comfort her.

“Tripp,” she cried, flinging herself into my arms and snuggling into my chest. While I hated that her reaction stemmed from her nightmare, I couldn’t help but love the feel of her against me.

“Was it that bastard who attacked you?” I asked tentatively, not really wanting her to answer but knowing she needed to in order to start moving past what happened to her. She remained quiet, hanging on to me for dear life. After several intense moments, I unlocked her fingers from around me and pulled back enough for me to look into her eyes. “Was that who you were dreamin’ about?” She started to shake her head but then quickly nodded, looking down when she saw the frown on my face. “Reece. . . .”

“I don’t remember.” I knew she wasn’t telling me the truth simply from the way she kept avoiding my eyes.

“Well, you’re safe now,” I soothed, running my hands up and down her arms in a show of comfort. I decided not to grill her about her dream. She relaxed, and so did I. “Come on. I brought you some food.”

“Did you make coffee?” she asked, swinging her long legs over the side of the bed.

“Sure did.” Those were my last words before I walked from the room, leaving her behind me to do whatever she needed to before she came downstairs.

“I have something to talk to you about,” I said, waiting until she’d taken a seat at the table, a forkful of scrambled eggs poised at her lips, ready to be devoured.

“Okay,” she responded, looking rather worried.

“The alarm,” I started. “You have to make sure you arm it. Every time. I don’t care if the door is locked. You can’t mess up on this.” She remained quiet. “It’s very important. Do you understand?”

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