Page 5 of Safe Word
“You good?” I asked again, flashing a quick glance in her direction.
Her silent tears were accompanied by a nod of her head. Her answer didn’t match her demeanor. The desire to let my chopper sing nagged at me, but it wasn’t in my job description tonight. I reached in the back seat and pulled a bottle of water from the cooler on the floor and shoved the bottle in her direction.
“Drink.”
I heard the seal crack when she opened the bottle and tipped it to her lips. I grabbed the hoodie off my back seat and tossed it in her lap.
“You’re safe now, Carteay. Where are your people? Where do I need to take you?” I quizzed.
“Hmph. My people are his people too. They’ll just give me back to him.”
“What does that mean, Carrie? I don’t understand.”
“Can you just take me to a hotel or something? I’ll figure something out in the morning.”
“I don’t know if I feel comfortable leaving you alone right now. Can they find you?” I asked her.
“What other choice do we have? I don’t want to go back to the party.”
“How about I take you to my place for the night? I have an extra bedroom. I promise I won’t try no funny shit or call the paparazzi and let them know you’re there. I just want to be able to keep an eye on you.” When she hesitated, I added, “If you feel like you’re not safe there, use your safe word. Just say mercy, and I’ll take you to any hotel of your choosing. I just feel better when I know you’re safe. You don’t have to trust me, C. I’ll earn it.”
The solemn nod of her head was confirmation enough for me.
“Kannon?” Her voice was soft and dejected. I hated seeing her like this.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. Just take some time to breathe, and let me handle the rest.”
Chapter
Three
Carteay
“It’s not much,but at least I will know you’re safe for the night.”
“Thank you. It’s more than enough,” I said as I walked deeper into Kannon’s spare bedroom.
After the night I’d had, the basic bedroom was an oasis. There was a bed, a nightstand, and a TV. All I needed was the bed. All I wanted to do was shower and get the stench of smoke and Cy’s cologne the fuck off me.
It was so embarrassing to have Kannon witness the real dynamic of my relationship with the man the world thought I was head over heels in love with. All I wanted was to be alone so that I could cry myself to sleep. Even after all the chaos, I was still drunk and high enough to possibly get a little sleep.
“Make yourself comfortable,” he said before turning and walking away.
I gently closed the door behind him before casually strolling over and throwing myself onto the bed. Both my hands shot to my face as I screamed my head off into my hands. What hadmy life become? What happened to me signing my record deal, being able to take care of my mom and sister, and living happily ever after, doing what I loved to do?
At this point, I was starting to miss my job at the coffee shop. Three years ago, I thought that I was signing the deal of a lifetime that would take me into a dream come true. Every day, my dream became more of a nightmare.
A knock on the door almost made me jump out of my skin. Sweeping the tears from my eyes with the backs of my hands, I sat up on the bed and took a deep breath. I knew Kannon was coming to check on me. I didn’t want him to know that I was still falling apart, so I tried to fix my face before opening the door to face him.
He stood there broad shouldered and eerily calm after having rescued me from Cy mere minutes ago. Kannon didn’t have to do anything to seek attention and demand order, his presence alone commanded it. My eyes swept across his arms, remembering how effortlessly he’d whisked me out of harm’s way. My eyes lingered on the thickness of the full beard that smelled clean and warm like him. Everything about Kannon screameddanger, but he didn’t feel dangerous to me. He reached out and touched my face, causing me to look into his eyes.
When our eyes connected, the concern etched on his face only made me feel worse. Kannon was so big and sexy with milk chocolate skin and tattoos covering both arms and crawling up his neck like ropes and vines. His height made me tilt my head back to take him in. Those smoldering dark brown eyes seared through me trying to study my face as I tried to focus on anything but his rapt attention. A thick gold chain fell against his black T-shirt, giving me somewhere to avert my eyes when his gaze became too much. I knew he was concerned about me, but I didn’t want pity. I was just grateful that I had him tonight. Hewas huge and scary, but nothing about Kannon scared me. When I lifted my eyes back to his, he finally spoke.
“I figured you would want to shower and change. This is all I had,” Kannon stated, holding up a plain white T-shirt and some briefs.
