Part 23 (1/2)

”Well, considering me and the boy can down two by ourselves, if you'd been interested in eating more than a tiny helping, then you should've made three. I didn't put three boxes out just for the h.e.l.l of it.” Sebastian grumbled.

”Whatever. Guess I won't eat.” I sniffed.

The metal spoon Sebastian was using hit the side of the pot with a clink when he dropped it. He'd turned around, crossed his arms over his chest, and glared at me.

”Don't pull that pitiful s.h.i.+t on me. What's your f.u.c.king problem?” He finally asked.

I didn't want to tell him I was feeling emotional. Didn't want to tell him that the last three days had been horrible. I'd missed him terribly, and my being on the most dreaded time of the month didn't really help matters, either.

”What's your problem?” I shot back.

”My problem? You really want to go there?” He finally asked.

My back straightened at his tone of voice. ”Yeah, I really want to f.u.c.king go there.”

Then I felt instantly bad because Sebastian's child was at the table behind me. Or he had been. Now he was on the floor underneath the kitchen chair sleeping. I wanted to laugh, but I was in too good of a snit to stop it now.

”My problem,” he said, stepping so close that my hips b.u.mped against the kitchen counter as I tried to step away from his advance. ”Is that you keep f.u.c.king jumping to conclusions. You took three torturous days to decide that you wanted to be with me. Now that I think about it, I'm not really sure if you chose me on your own free will or if it was because someone called to tell you I was hurt, and you felt the need to be there for me. Oh, and I'm f.u.c.king h.o.r.n.y!”

I stopped retreating at his asinine a.s.sumption and pushed forward. ”I'd put the vest on even before I got your call. I was coming to see your a.s.s at the station. This is the first day that I haven't felt like utter s.h.i.+t. I've texted you a ton in the last few days!”

”Property patch. And what could possibly have bothered you that much that you couldn't come to me?” He growled, leaning closer.

”Oh, just, you know...a period! They aren't very forgiving for me. I get weak and sick to my stomach. The blood loss isn't anything to sneeze at either. I don't even work those times of the month. I have to call in sick.”

Sebastian's eyes narrowed. ”You're going to tell me that because you were on the rag you couldn't come see me?”

I ground my teeth together to keep from shouting my head off at him and risk waking up Johnny. ”Yeah, I'm telling you it was because I'm on the f.u.c.king rag that it took me three days to come see you. I sure didn't see your a.s.s at my front door. I invited you over!”

”I was busy. I couldn't just drop everything to come see you, even though I wanted to. Why is this so bad for you, when millions of other women function with their periods every d.a.m.n day?” He said, caging me in with his arms.

Was he being serious, or was he provoking me?

Did he want to fight about this? Because I was about to oblige him.

”You remember when I fell and sc.r.a.ped my hand? Or how about when I poked my finger? Imagine that times about ten. Except for, you know, lower.”

The conversation got harder to speak about after that. Needless to say, by the time I was finished explaining, he felt sorry for me and wanted to buy me a cupcake and even offered a backrub.

”Now, go wake that kid of yours up and let's try to get him to eat.” I instructed, placing Johnny's plate on the table.

Sebastian yelled at Johnny to get up while he fixed his own plate, and I narrowed my eyes at him. ”Hey! I could've done that!”

I hadn't meant to, but I was laughing. It felt so good to laugh with him again. Even if it made my ribs ache.

The sound of Sebastian's phone had his smile dying from his face as he dug it out of his pocket and answered it with a frown.

”Yeah?” He answered as he walked stiffly into the hallway, and then beyond to his bedroom.

His voice was m.u.f.fled after that, but I could tell he was p.i.s.sed.

Knowing he wasn't going to get off the phone in the very near future, I woke Johnny up, fed him, and got him in his pajamas before I sent him to his bed.

”Will you read to me, Monster?” Johnny asked as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

I wrapped my arms around him, pulled him close, and rubbed his hair. ”Your daddy calls me Monster when I'm not around, doesn't he?”

Sebastian, who'd just finished his phone call, smiled unrepentantly at me.

”Oh, yeah. He called you his b.i.t.c.h the other day, but he told me not to repeat that. He said you'd get upset.” Johnny told me in his little boy voice; it was so cute I couldn't keep the smile from overtaking my face.

Sebastian had covered his face with both hands, and was trying gallantly not to laugh. He managed, but only barely.

”I need to drive to the clubhouse for a few. Well, I need you to drive me. I don't think I can drive by myself yet. And we'll have to take my truck, because I don't think I can manage to move his car seat over without hurting myself in the process.”

He looked nervous as he explained his reasoning for needing me to drive, but I agreed, albeit apprehensively.

”You're going to have to help me. Make sure I don't sideswipe any cars.” I bit my lip nervously.

Twenty harrowing minutes later, and we were pulling into the driveway of the Dixie Wardens' clubhouse.

”Wow that was really easy to do. That back up camera comes in really handy!” I said gleefully. ”I'm going to have to get one of those!”

Sebastian chuckled as he carefully dropped down out of the pa.s.senger seat of his car. ”Why don't you go ask Normus if he can find you that?”

I'd yet to meet Normus. Although, I'd learned, he owned a garage on the outskirts of Benton. He was the resident mechanic, and what I'd heard from Trance, the resident flirt with anything that had a working pair of legs. 'Working,' meaning they could spread them on their own, that is. He didn't discriminate. Big, short, tall, old, young, he didn't care. If they'd open their legs for him, he'd do them.

”Do you think he has one?” I asked, being completely serious about the fact that I needed a backup camera.

Sebastian ignored the question, and I decided that he was being serious, and I made a mental note to ask him when I saw him. Apparently, he wouldn't be hard to find, from what Trance had told me the last time we'd seen each other.

Just follow the s.e.xual innuendos.

I forgot all about Normus and his innuendos as soon as we entered what Sebastian liked to call the 'clubhouse.'

It was nothing more than a glorified saloon. There was a bar along the front wall of the room spanning nearly the entire room. Only a small open s.p.a.ce at the very corner of the bar allowed anyone to go behind to the area beyond.

Along the front, there were barstools made out of old motorcycle seats, even going as far as to have license plates on them.

The rest of the place was a ma.s.s of mismatched couches, recliners, and loveseats.

The wall closest to me was sporting a screen that dominated nearly the entire wall.

Then there were the men.

Only seven of them in all, but each and every one of them were intimidating.

Two of them I knew. One was Trance, who was sprawled out on the closest couch, a finger curled around the lip of a beer bottle.

He had a bowl of popcorn resting on his stomach, and his eyes moved to us as soon as we entered the room.