Page 73 of Once Bitten
“Help me out here, Jordyn,” he called out to her.
“Trying to!” When the window was down all the way Jordyn tossed her duffle bag out the window and made to follow it.
“Jordyn! Are you crazy?!” Alex barked, seeing her pushing herself out the window. “Stop trying to crawl out of the window!” he yelled, slamming the car into park.
“I wouldn’t have to do this if you had just unlocked the door!” Jordyn yelled back, half hanging out of the passenger side window.
“Doll!” Steve’s shout made Jordyn look up, and she saw him sliding down the side of the car, making an audible thud when he hit the ground. “That’s my girl.”
“Jordyn, think about what you’re doing. Think hard,” Alex said slowly as they both took in the sight of Steve staggering to his feet with Jamie offering him a steadying hand. “We can still move past Yvonne if you want to, but if you get out now, that’s it.”
“There’s nothing to think about, Alex. Even with Steve drunk, I’d rather be around him than you,” Jordyn replied, and when he didn’t unlock the door, she slid with as much grace as Steve had out the window, and landed in a heap on the asphalt. “Yvonne and you will be very happy together!” she huffed from the ground, and she smiled when she heard Alex swear and shift the car back into drive. She scooped up her bag and was already on her feet, walking toward Jamie and Steve by the time Alex drove away.
“Baby. Sweetheart,” Steve moaned, reaching for her. “Doll.”
“Shhhh,” she managed to get out before Steve crushed her to him in a bear hug, still mumbling endearments to her that she couldn’t make out. “How long was he yelling for?” she asked Jamie and staggered a bit under Steve’s added weight.
“Not that long. We just got here before you, so it was perfect timing,” Jamie said, looking up at the apartment building with a worried frown. “He’s loud, but I think you got here in time, you know before anyone reported the crazed lovesick lunatic screaming your name in the middle of the night.”
“I am sick. I’m so, so, so lovesick for you,” Steve mumbled into her hair. He pulled her against him again, and Jordyn coughed from the force of it. “Where were you? I waited, but you never came home,” he said, his hands coming up to pull her face toward his. His big hands cupped her cheeks in a way that pushed her lips out, and if it were different circumstances, she might have laughed, but seeing as it was in the early hours of the morning after the day she’d had, she kept a straight face. Jamie did not. He let out a belly laugh that had Jordyn leaning around Steve and glaring at him.
“You’re not helping,” she told him, but the other man just shrugged. Jordyn could smell alcohol on his breath, and she made a face at it. “You’re drunk, Steve.”
“Yeah, now,now I am,” he told her, looking very serious suddenly. Again, she almost laughed at the putout look on his face when he took a step back. “I wasn’t drunk when I did this, though,” he said, starting to yank his shirt up. “Can’t and won’t tattoo anyone that’s been drinking, doll.”
Her eyes widened. “Tattoo? What are you talking about?”
Steve didn’t answer her. Instead, he kept struggling with getting his shirt over his head. She side stepped towards Jamie and sighed. “Why is he stripping?” She looked at Jamie for an explanation and he tilted his head to the side watching Steve.
“He’s almost got it off,” he said, nodding at Steve rather than answering her. “You’ll see.”
“This! Look at this!” Steve said, sounding exasperated even though his shirt was up around his face, caught on his chin. He slapped a hand to his chest.
“Steve, what are you talking about?” she asked him, and her eyebrows went up when he pulled his shirt off completely and looked at her with a pained expression. She had to keep her mind focused on the fact that she was supposed to be seeing something specific because she had truthfully forgotten how good he looked without his shirt on. She swallowed hard, not sure where she was supposed to be looking with all that beautiful muscle and ink on display.
God, she had missed looking at him.
“What am I supposed to be looking at?” she asked Jamie.
“He got me to ink your name on him,” Jamie told her with a nod at his friend.
“What?!” Jordyn yelped, turning to look at a very smug looking Steve. “Why?! You did what?”
“Because you’re my girl,” Steve told her, matter-of-factly, and tapped his chest. “And you belong right here on my skin, over my heart, because you’re the only one in it.”
Her eyes widened at his declaration. “Holy shit,” Jordyn breathed, and now that she was focused on where Steve’s finger was pointed, she saw it. Her name was right there, plain as day. In an elegant script, her name was inked in bold lines that made her smile, and before she knew what she was doing, she was walking for and reaching out to touch it.
“I know that look. You definitely like what you see.” Steve grinned at her when her palm darted out and touched him briefly before she snatched her hand back.
She rolled her eyes at him. “I just… When did you do this?”
“After you didn’t come home,” Jamie told her. “He dragged me to the shop from your apartment and made me do it, which I’ll admit, at six in the morning and after a night of no sleep, seemed like a reasonable idea.” He shrugged. “Not one of my strongest moves, but here we are.” He looked at Steve with a pointed glare.“Again.”
Jordyn shook her head in disbelief and motioned for Jamie to help her. “Let’s get him out of here, yeah?”
“No. I’m not going anywhere without you,” Steve said, holding up a finger and pulling her closer. “Not a chance.”
“We’ll take you to my apartment, okay?” she tried, and he relaxed instantly.
