Page 56 of What Is Love
The gentleness and lightness in his voice made me look up at him. I really wanted him to kiss me. When his gaze dropped, I thought he was about to, but it didn’t stop at my lips. His eyes narrowed as his hand came up to my neck. Very gently, he placed his fingers on my neck one at a time. He was so focused, I realized he was lining them up with my bruises. My concealer must have worn off after a night of dancing and sweating.
“A box did this?” he questioned, disbelief riding his voice. His thumb moved to my collarbone on the other side and began gently rubbing there. His narrowed eyes turned horrified. He let out a curse and I pushed on his chest so he would get off me.
He didn’t resist and moved so I could sit up. I brought my knees to my chest and covered my neck with both hands. “Yes, a box did this.”
He didn’t look like he believed me. His eyes traveled all over me as if searching for more bruises. Before I could move my arm down, he saw the shadow on the outside of my forearm. He caught my arm before I could hide it, and he rubbed away the concealer that still lingered.
I pulled my arm away and clambered off his bed. “I got that from banging my arm on something. I bruise easy. I always have.” I covered my breasts with one arm—the unbruised one—and looked around for clothes.
“Did he do that to you?” Roe’s voice was very calm, but rage was present.
“Did who do what to me?” The moment I asked that, I realized. “Brandon? No. Brandon didn’t do this to me.”
“But someone did?” he asked.
“I told you what happened,” I shot back, feeling panicked. The whole time I searched for clothes, I didn’t see a damn thing.
Roe opened his mouth to say something, but his attention was drawn to the door. I turned to find Reid standing there.
Unabashed, his eyes traveled down my body. I was covering my breasts, but I was still just in a thong.
I was stressed and feeling cornered with Roe’s questions. That was why I snapped, “Are you enjoying the view?”
Reid, in all his leather-jacketed, tight-shirt-wearing, great-ass-having glory, said, “Do you not like to eat?”
Wyatt showed up then with the dress I’d forgotten I’d asked him to get. He saw me, his eyes going wide. “Whoa, hello, joint thief.”
I stormed over to him, snatched my dress, and squeezed between him and Reid, who had both apparently turned into wide-eyed statues.
“Lottie,” Roe called out to me.
“I’m getting dressed,” I said over my shoulder as I dashed into the bathroom that was right next door.
Just before I closed the door, I heard Reid ask, “Did you sleep with her?”
My phone was dead.
Fantastic.
I put it back in my wristlet and set it on the table where the four of us were sitting in a fifties-themed diner. Reid had showed up to see if we wanted to go out for lunch. Not breakfast, because we had slept through that. I was pretty sure Reid had only intended for his friends to go with him, but the moment I came out of the bathroom, dressed, Wyatt had said, “Get your shoes on. We’re going to Checkerboards & Bricks.”
I hadn’t had any idea what he’d meant, but for some reason I’d still gotten into his car. On the drive, Roe had explained that we were going to a diner owned by the wife of a Haven’s Rebel.
“Hi, boys! Oh, and lady!” our waitress greeted us. She looked like she was in her late twenties. She had curly black hair pulled up into a messy bun. What stood out most about her were the ugly black eyes she had.
“Hey, Bonnie,” Wyatt greeted back, but his words were stiff.
Bonnie took our drink orders, and just as she left, Roe’s phone started ringing.
Roe sighed. “Get me the usual,” he told Reid. “I gotta take this.”
We watched him get up from his seat across from me and leave the loud diner to take his call outside.
“Noble?” Wyatt asked from where he sat beside me.
Reid, who was sitting across from Wyatt, nodded.
Bonnie returned with our drinks. I had ordered coffee, black. After last night, I needed it.
