Page 22 of Bear
In the end, though, what the fuck do I care if Morgan wants to suck my old man’s dick or anyone else’s?
“Morgan, here, was telling us earlier that there was a mouthy young lady who told her in no uncertain terms that you didn’t need her… services… after the fight.”
My gaze shifts to Morgan, who eyes me with interest. I’m sure she wants to know more about her competition or whatever she sees Lennon as.
“Having your choice of women after a fight is a winner’s perk you shouldn’t pass up.” Tristan’s brows lift. “Unless you’re saying you intend to usemy daughterfor those purposes, instead? Is that what’s going on here? Because that’snotan option.”
At his words, Morgan lets out a huffed exhale and leans closer to my dad. “That’s what I took it to mean, Mr. Valentine.” She gives him what I can only describe as a beguiling smile before she turns and pins her viper eyes on me.
I could lash out at her, but I won’t. She’s not worth my time. Tristan, though? This prick needs a wake-up call. “Oh, please. Lennon is not your daughter, and if you cared two shits about her well-being, you wouldn’t have sent her to live in a house full of men. Don’t kid yourself,sir.She means nothing to you, and we both know it. Weallknow it.”
Tristan’s jaw twitches, but he doesn’t deny the truth of my comments.
“But like I said, I wasn’t far off in my assumptionsorwhat I said to Lennon after all.” Derek throws his head back, laughing. “I’m glad you’ve at least confirmed that for me.”
My jaw pops as it shifts to the side, fury rushes through me at his audacity. I bore my eyes into his as I let the rage at my own father’s words seethe from me. “You know jack shit. Keep Lennon’s name outta your goddamn mouth.” And I don’t think, I simply plow my fist into his jaw, then turn and walk away, the sound of him crashing to the floor a distant noise in my buzzing head.
* * *
Outside,Mason and I hustle to the car deck. “Fuck, I never thought I’d see the day.” He shoots me a wicked grin. “That was fucking awesome.”
I grit my teeth, the violence still not having left me. It flows through my blood, surging and crashing in my veins. “He had it coming. Didn't he?” We’d only stopped long enough in my dressing room for me to pull on shoes and grab my bag. I’m covered in sweat and walking to the parking deck in my compression shorts. I don’t fucking give a shit.
Mason glances over his shoulder, and I look too, but no one is behind us. “I’m not saying you did anything wrong. I’m fucking proud of you that you stood up to that asshole. And really, I was on the verge of letting loose on Tristan for some of his snide remarks. He’s putting on a piss-poor daddy act. I see right through it.”
I exhale heavily. “This is going to be really fucking ugly.” My fists clench as it sinks in what I’ve done. What I’ve brought down on our heads.
We enter the parking deck, which is all but empty, and head straight to the SUV where Duke and Lennon wait for us. He stands outside what has now become our getaway vehicle and Lennon sits sideways on one of the back passenger seats, long legs dangling out the open door. I press my lips together, fucking hating it even more now that I have confirmation of the sort of garbage my dad said to her. It was one thing to have her hint at it and another to have him admit it to my face.
And the worst part is, I’m betting he made her feel fuckin’ awkward, considering shehasactually slept with two of us. Now, why it’s okay for a man to fuck around all he wants and not a woman is beyond me. The thing is, I will take whatever pieces of Lennon she wants to give me. I love her take-no-shit-from-anyone attitude… even if I know sometimes it’s a show. Sometimes she does care. She just hides it well. It makes me want to dig in deeper with her and find out more.
Of course, that means she will likely want to do the same with me, which scares me to death. The idea that she could ever find out the sort of person I really am. It’s a conundrum—but one I will fight tooth and nail trying to find my way around.
“What the hell happened?” Duke approaches, eyes darting from me to Mason.
“Let’s get in the fucking vehicle and get out of here,” I snap. “I made a goddamn mess of things.”
Duke huffs out a laugh, tucking his phone back into his pocket. “Yeah. Sounds like maybe you did. But also, I bet it felt fucking good.”
I assume Mason has already mostly filled him in via text. I give a brief shrug. “Yeah, maybe.”
Mason points at Duke. “You drive this time. I’ll take the front. Bear, in back with Lennon. You know that’s where you want to be anyway.”
I give a stiff nod, noting that in the few seconds we took to arrange that, Lennon has hopped out of the vehicle and approached us. “What’s going on?”
My jaw grinds, but I tuck my fingers into the front of her jean shorts and tug her close. I cup her cheek with my still-gloved hand. “Sorry, Little Gazelle. We’ve gotta run now. There’ll be time to talk at home. I just need a few minutes on the ride there to decompress.”
Her blue eyes search mine, but she nods as she lifts onto her toes, her hand resting on my sweat-slickened chest, and plants a kiss on my chin. “Okay. Let’s go.”
TWELVE
LENNON
On the way home,I’d helped Bear out of his gloves and wraps while Duke drove. He hadn’t been kidding about needing to decompress. He’d been silent the entire journey, as had Mason and Duke. The two of them seemed to understand the situation, but I’m still very much in the dark. But—I’m also not that girl. I’m not going to beg for details. Besides, I’m certain from the way the three are behaving that it’s all going to come out sooner or later. Probably sooner. The tension in this SUV is far too great to think some sort of explosion isn’t imminent.
I know Bear and Mason were with Derek and Tristan immediately following the fights, so I can only assume that’s when everything went down. Whatever happened to make Mason send us out to the SUV early and had Bear hauling balls out of the warehouse without showering and changing had to have been kinda crazy. Like so stupid crazy I can’t even come up with a scenario in my head that fits.
Oh god, the more I think about it, the more this has Derek and Tristan written all over it. My gut twists and roils at the thought of them and what they might have said or done, but— I suck in a breath through my teeth. Maybe I simply don’t want to know. Did it have to do with me? I can only assume so, and that’s why the guys are quiet.
