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Rip
I wasn't expecting Jessi to come barreling into the Hounds of Hades clubhouse that night, and when she did, to be honest, she kind of looked like shit. But from the way she looked around the place and immediately locked eyes with me, before even going to the bar to get a drink, that was the least of her concerns. I was halfway out of my seat before she was even near me, ignoring whatever dumb catcalls the guys were giving me.
“What's wrong?” I asked as Jessi approached the table.
She shook her head, looking as though she didn't even have words for whatever had upset her, and she practically fell into my arms, pressing her face into the hollow of my neck.
“Easy there,” I murmured, wondering what had happened. I knew that she and Mick had been at each other’s' throats for a bit now, but I didn't really think that things had gotten this bad around the shop. So that left...
I got a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach as I thought about the university, her other big stress at the moment. Surely nothing had happened there, though, right? She was on top of all her projects, as far as I knew, and I'd seen some of the designs that she was churning out. She was way ahead of her class as far as those were concerned, I was sure.
Jessi trembled a little against me, her arms holding me tightly. “I'm sorry,” she whimpered, and I could feel her tears against my skin. “Can we go someplace private?”
I was taken aback by her tears, and I wondered just what had happened. “Of course,” I said soothingly. I glanced around the clubhouse, grimacing a little as I saw that practically everyone was staring at us. Of course they were. Rip Harris wasn't the guy that chicks came crying to. Unless maybe I had dumped them for their friends or some shit like that. Usually that just made them livid, though.
But with Jessi ... well, it was no secret that I hadn't been sleeping around since I had started sleeping with her. I wasn't dating her or anything like that, nor did I have any intention to, really. She was from a totally different world than me, and she would always be too much of a good girl for me. But all the same, I respected her in a way that I normally didn't respect the floozies I slept with.
“Come on, let's get out of here,” I told her, steering her out of the club and toward my bike.
Jessi pulled away from me before we reached the bike, looking embarrassed. “I drove,” she said, holding out her keys.
I rolled my eyes at her. “I'm not going to be caught dead driving whatever it is that you drive,” I told her.
She flinched a little and ducked her head. “Then I guess I'll drive behind you,” she whispered, hugging her arms around herself.
I frowned at her. “Or you could just hop on the back,” I told her. “I assume you know how to ride a bike, given your chosen career path.”
Jessi tilted her head to the side, even though she still wasn't meeting my gaze, opting instead to pick at the hem of her sleeve. “Yeah, I know how to ride,” she said. “But you told me that no one except you ever got to ride your bike.”
She sounded so nervous and uncertain that it was almost heartbreaking, and it took me a second to process her words. “Yeah, well,” I finally said, holding out a helmet toward her because I honestly wasn't too sure what to say. This was the first time I had ever let a woman ride on my bike with me, sure. But I didn't want to make this a thing. It was just that I wasn't going to drive Jessi's car, and she clearly wasn't in any shape to be driving herself. It made the most sense for me to take her on my bike. That was all.
She hesitantly accepted the helmet that I held out to her and put it on, still looking at me with wide eyes.
I rolled my eyes and swung onto my bike. “Well, do you want to join me or not?” I asked.
I felt her hesitantly climb on behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist. “Are you sure?” she asked, as though she thought I was going to kick her off now.
I reached a hand down and lightly squeezed her arm, hoping to comfort her a little. Words had never really been my strong suit, but I kicked the bike into gear and drove off down the road toward my apartment, going a little slower and more carefully than I normally would have. The last thing I needed was to scare her half out of her mind with my speeding and sharp turns, I figured.
She was silent as we walked up the stairs to my apartment, and once inside, she stood hesitantly in the hallway, looking uncertainly around herself as though she were waking up and suddenly not sure where she was.
I frowned at her, wondering just what had happened, but I didn't want to press. She would tell me when she was ready. “Come on,” I told her, guiding her into the open floor plan with a hand on her shoulder. I got her seated on the couch, and after a moment's hesitation, I wrapped a couple blankets around her shoulders. She seemed to be at least a little bit in shock; her eyes looked glassy, and she was pale as a ghost.
“Water?” I offered. “Coffee? Whiskey?”
Jessi blinked up at me, looking pitiful. She coughed to clear her throat a little. “Whiskey?” she said uncertainly.
“Coming right up, darling,” I told her, giving her a warm smile. To be honest, she was beginning to freak me out a little. I hoped the alcohol would loosen her up, so I poured her a triple shot of whiskey into a short glass and brought it over to her. She accepted it gratefully and took a sip, swirling it around her mouth for a moment before swallowing.
I sat down next to her on the couch, reaching out to rub her thigh. But I was surprised to see her pull away from me.
“You never went to talk to Ellsmith,” Jessi said accusingly.
I frowned at her, a bit taken aback. “I haven't yet,” I agreed. “Your dad's been keeping me busy over at the shop Monday through Friday, working on J.T.'s bike. I haven't had the chance to swing through the campus during the normal class hours yet. But we're getting things done quickly on J.T.'s bike, and after that, I should be free to-”
“That's not soon enough,” Jessi interrupted, her voice merely a whisper. I could see tears starting to form in her eyes again, and she took a big sip of whiskey as though she were trying to hide them.
“Hey,” I said, reaching out to stroke back her hair. “What happened?”
Jessi shook her head, though, causing a couple crystalline tears to fall slowly down her cheeks. “Nothing,” she choked out, even though I could clearly tell that it was a lie.
I started to get agitated, imagining all the things that he could have done to her to get her this upset. “If he's failed you on one of your projects just because-”
“He hasn't,” Jessi told me. She bit her lower lip and turned away from me.
“Come here,” I said, pulling her into my arms.
She flinched away from me, though. “You're going to think that I'm so disgusting,” she sobbed, and I felt my blood run cold.
“Did he ...touch you?” I asked, with barely controlled anger.
Slowly, haltingly, she began to recount the man's advances on her in his office and the way that he had tried to force himself on her. By the time she was finished, I was livid. “I'm going to castrate the fucker,” I snarled, already halfway to my feet.
Jessi whimpered, wrapping her arms around herself. “Don't,” she begged me, her face buried against her knees. “Just—please, don't. Don't make a big deal out of it. I deserve it. I shouldn't have led him on, and I shouldn't have—I mean, you told me that he does this, that he sleeps with his students. I should have believed you, and I shouldn't have-”
“No,” I interrupted firmly, sitting back next to her and pulling her close. “Oh, Jessi, no. It's not your fault. God, I should have gone to talk to him already. I'm so sorry that I haven't. Trust me, I'm-”
“Maybe I should just drop out of the program,” Jessi said, her voice barely audible. “I just don't think I'm cut out for this whole business.”
“Bullshit,” I said succinctly. “Jessi, I've seen your designs. I seriously doubt that Ellsmith has really had anything to do with the grades that you've been getting. I think he was just saying that to scare you. And rest assured that if he does anything to try to get you booted out of the university, the Hounds and I are going to go after him. I'm going to-”
Jessi sighed and shook her head, pulling away again. “I don't know, Rip,” she said, her voice wavering. “What if he's right?”
I leaned down to kiss her forehead lightly, pausing there for a moment, trying to sort through the tangle of emotions that I was feeling. It would be so easy to ignore everything deeper than the anger that I was feeling towards Ellsmith. It would be easy enough to act like the dumb biker dude and go storming over to his house, to pound on his door, and then punch his lights out once he answered.
But I could tell that that wasn't what Jessi wanted to see from me. And for some reason, what she wanted from me mattered.
“Jessi, you're one of the best designers that I've ever seen, anyway,” I told her. “It's been exciting to watch you work on J.T.'s bike with your dad. And beyond that, you're exceptionally beautiful, even when you're covered in grease and dressed in your baggiest, most holey overalls.”
Jessi pulled away from me, staring at me with wide eyes. Then, she winced and looked away. “You don't have to say things like that,” she said quietly. “I mean, I know that you tend to ...sleep around. Some of the other guys around the club have told me. And I've heard some of the stories that you've told my dad.” She took a breath, shaking her head. “Just, I know that the nights that you're not with me, you're off sleeping with other people. You don't have to make me feel ...”
“Jessi-” I began, but she cut me off before I could finish.
“I shouldn't have come to the clubhouse tonight,” she said, looking embarrassed. “And I shouldn't have made such a scene. I'm sorry.” She cocked her head to the side. “Do you ...want me to leave?”
I blinked at her, taking a moment to process her words, not even sure where I wanted to begin responding. “I'm not sleeping with anyone else,” I told her truthfully. “I tried to, once, after we slept together, but ...I just wasn't really interested.”
Jessi stared at me and then laughed a little, shaking her head. “Don't lie to me,” she said, making a move to stand.
I caught her wrist, pulling her back down. “Look, I'm not sure how to convince you,” I told her. “But I really haven't been. Otherwise, I probably would have been sitting with someone else tonight when you came in.”
Jessi frowned at me and then ducked her head a little. “But everyone says that you-”
“I don't know who you've been talking to, but ...” I trailed off, frowning. “Well, yeah. Normally I do sleep with a different girl every night. But I haven't been, lately. And, no, I don't want you to leave. I don't mind that you made a scene. I mean, the guys are going to give me hell about it, and I'm going to have to do all sorts of stupid drinking bets and things like that to keep my biker credentials, but ...”
She at least cracked a small smile at that.
“And Jessi.” When she looked up at me, I reached out to cup her cheek, brushing away the remainder of her tears. “I absolutely do not think that you are disgusting. I think that Ellsmith is disgusting. But I think you are so incredibly beautiful and brave and strong, and I'm so sorry that I haven't been there for you in the way that you needed. I'm going to fix that, I promise.”
***
Have you heard? The story continues in Book 3 of the Hounds of Hades MC trilogy, BEAST AND BABY! Go check it out now!
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