Clipped Wings

24

HAYDEN

On Friday afternoon Cassie took off for the weekend. She left Tenley in charge of Serendipity so she and my uncle Nate could go away. Tenley didn’t seem to mind, but her week had been stressful, no thanks to her asshole advisor. I wanted to castrate him to ensure her safety, but that wasn’t an option. So I kept track of her meetings with him instead.

She hadn’t slept well the past couple of nights; nightmares had made her restless. It meant we were both a little tired, and I was snappy, as Jamie pointed out. I finished with my final client of the evening. Since I was already set up for my appointments tomorrow, I decided to stop in the café and pick up a snack for Tenley. She’d complained about an upset stomach this morning, so I doubted she’d eaten much today. She wasn’t at the cash register when I reached Serendipity, so I bypassed the first door and went directly to the second entrance, leading to the café, so I could surprise her. I ordered her a tea and picked the heaviest, most calorie-dense baked good to pair it with.

The door to Serendipity chimed, despite it being almost time to close. From where I stood I could see into the antiques store, but Tenley wasn’t visible. The jazz music floating through the speakers made it impossible to hear the conversation taking place, but I could make out the distinct low tones of a man. Based on her surprise, she seemed to know the person. When the tea was ready, I put it in a sleeve to keep her from burning her fingers.

Tenley sat behind the counter, swiveling back and forth in the chair. The man standing across from her was an on-duty cop. I couldn’t see his face because he was leaning on the counter. He was too close to Tenley.

There was something unnervingly familiar about his voice. As I crossed through the café to Serendipity, the cop noticed my arrival. He pushed away from the counter, his shoulders rolling back, stance widening. He puffed up like a peacock, all forced intimidation and suspicion. Fucking douche in a uniform.

His smile dropped as he took me in. His hand went immediately to the butt of his gun. I was covered in ink, which inevitably made me a felon in his estimation. I recognized him. He was older than me, by more than half a decade. I held his distrustful gaze as I ran my finger along the waistband of Tenley’s jeans where a strip of black ink was visible.

She clutched the base of her throat. “Hayden! I didn’t hear you.”

“Sorry.” I leaned in and kissed the side of her neck. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I brought you tea.”

As soon as I touched her, the rest of the world ceased to exist—even the cop who looked like he might consider shooting me for putting my hands on her.

She smiled. “That was thoughtful.”

“I try.”

“Stryker? Hayden Stryker?” the cop asked with disbelief.

I reluctantly tore my attention away from Tenley. I still couldn’t place him, but the icy stab in my stomach felt like a warning. “I’m sorry,” I said. “How do I know you?”

He looked shocked. “Collin Cross.”

It took a few seconds for the name to register and the pieces to fall into place. The night of my parents’ murder came back in a rush. I was alone in the house for fifteen minutes before the police came. I was intoxicated and high at the time, tripping out hard after I found my parents’ dead bodies.

Cross and his partner were first on the scene. They were too late to make a fucking difference. My belligerence forced his partner to restrain me, while Cross went upstairs to investigate. It took forever for him to come back down. There was no sign of a break-in, so they cuffed me and read me my rights, believing I’d killed them myself.

Cross kept me in the back of the car, repeating the same questions for what seemed like hours until they finally took me to the precinct house. They kept me in an interrogation room for a long time before I was allowed to make a call to my uncle. There was no “good cop–bad cop” routine—just relentless questioning. And then there were the pictures. I never recovered from those. The interrogation sent me into an emotional downward spiral I didn’t come out of for months. Or years, depending on who you talked to.

I passed the lie detector test. My alibi, which they didn’t bother to confirm until after the phone call had been made to my uncle, was more than enough to eradicate any suspicions of my involvement. Even the evidence that was eventually ruled as inadmissible never pointed at me, but I’d still felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility.

Nate was livid when he arrived at the station. In the haze of grief I vaguely remembered him threatening a lawsuit. As a clinical psychiatrist he insisted on a psychological evaluation. It was administered by one of their shrinks. They came up with a barrage of diagnoses in the form of acronyms, which made my statement irrelevant because they deemed me unstable at the time. The abridged version was it fucked me up. I hadn’t seen Cross since the early months after my parents’ death.

“I thought I recognized you.”

I moved closer to Tenley and not-so-absently ran my fingers through her hair, stroking her like she was TK.

A muscle twitched under Cross’s eye. His hand stayed on the butt of his gun. “You know Miss Page.”

It wasn’t phrased as a question, reminding me what it was like when he and his partner interrogated me. They were good at putting words in my mouth. When I first played this game with him I was a kid; alone, ruined. I wasn’t good at it. I was better now.

“It seems you do, too.”

Tenley’s fingers trailed along my forearm to the back of my hand. I stopped willing Cross to burst into flames and looked at her.

“Officer Cross pulled me over when I ran a stale yellow a few weeks ago,” Tenley explained.

“But I let you off with a warning.” The fucker winked at her.

Tenley blushed and looked uncomfortable. I wanted to gouge his eyes out. “I’d gotten lost, I was distracted. Officer Cross escorted me home.”

“That was awfully considerate,” I said, my sarcasm unconcealed.

Cross rocked back on his heels, ignoring me. “I recognized her last name. It was the least I could do.”

Tenley gave him a small smile and he returned it, his sympathy obvious. He knew about Tenley’s accident. He probably had information I didn’t. What bothered me most was that this dickhead who barely knew Tenley could get a detailed history of her life in a heartbeat, while I had to fight for every snapshot pertaining to her past.

I settled a palm on her back, sensing her discomfort. The topic upset her, as did my pissing contest with Cross. His interest in her bothered me. Even if he was concerned for her well-being, I couldn’t see him popping by if he didn’t have ulterior motives.

Unable to stop touching her, I skimmed her cheek with the backs of my fingers. She did that to me sometimes, and it helped calm me down when I was agitated. She looked nervous, as well she should have been. The testosterone level in the store was stifling. If there’d been a boxing ring, Cross would have been bleeding on the mat.

“Do you think you can do me a favor, kitten?” I wanted a few minutes alone with Cross. His sudden reappearance unnerved me, as did his unexpected connection to Tenley.

“Now?”

“Mm, please? I forget what kind of coffee Lisa wanted. Can you run across the street and find out for me?”

“But I have to watch the store.” Her eyes darted from me to Cross and back again.

“I’ll take care of things.”

Cross shot me a contemptuous look before he smiled warmly at Tenley. “You go right ahead, sweetheart. It’ll give Hayden and me a chance to catch up. It’s been a while.”

I gritted my teeth over the term of endearment.

Tenley wavered before she slipped off the chair. “I’ll be right back.” She rounded the counter and stopped in front of him. He was several inches shorter than me and almost twice as wide.

Tenley still had to look up. “It was nice of you to stop by, Officer Cross.”

“It’s just Collin. You still have my card?”

Tenley nodded.

“You call if you ever need anything.” He tipped his hat and winked. Again.

She muttered an embarrassed good-bye and glanced warily at me as she left the store.

Cross waited for the door to close before he turned back to me. The air of civility dropped, and his mouth was set in a grim line as he eyed me with disapproval. “I thought you were messed up as a kid. What the hell happened to you?”

“I’m going to assume that question is rhetorical. Why are you here?”

“I was in the area. You’re quite the poster boy for anarchy, aren’t you?”

Heat crawled up my spine. “Make whatever assumptions you want. You don’t know me.”

“You don’t think so? You were an out-of-control kid headed down a bad path, and I don’t think much has changed. Seems to me you kept on going and never looked back.”

It took every ounce of self-control I had not to reach over the counter and smash the smug look off his face. “Like I said, you don’t know a damn thing about me.”

“I don’t need to. You’re like a homing beacon for the fucked-up.” He gestured to my arms and my face.

“And you’re a narrow-minded asshole.” I wasn’t going to win this argument with him. He had already profiled me, and nothing I could say would change that. Ironically, he’d done the same thing seven years ago. And that was before I’d modified the hell out of my appearance.

“I just call it like I see it.” He looked bored, and it pissed me off. “You know, what I’m really interested in is your relationship with Miss Page. Why don’t you tell me a little bit about that.”

I leaned on the counter. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”

He shook his head. “Of course you wouldn’t.”

“She’s not available.”

His smile was arrogant. “Is that right?”

“That’s exactly right. Tenley’s mine.” It was such an asshole thing to say.

“Does she come with ownership papers?”

His amusement fueled my irritation and my stupidity. “My art is on her body.”

“So you think that gives you some kind of entitlement?” He leaned in, anger replacing the passivity. “What is it you think you’re doing with her? Do you have any idea what she’s been through?”

I opened my mouth, ready to fire right back at him, but he cut me off.

“How long do you think it’s going to take before she realizes you’re a fuckup? That’s what you are, isn’t it? Look at what you’ve done to yourself.”

“Who the fuck are you to judge me? Don’t project your bullshit stereotypes onto me. Take a look at yourself. Hiding behind a badge and a uniform, like it protects you from your fuckups.” I spat, moving around the counter, getting in his face. He was slamming home every insecurity I had, ripping open wounds I thought healed long ago.

“You think what you’ve been through gives you some kind of free pass to drag whoever you want down with you?” His lip curled in derision. He was pushing my buttons and enjoying it. “What you’ve seen? The shit you’ve witnessed? It doesn’t touch what that girl has gone through.”

“You think I’m not aware? Don’t pretend you know her when all you’ve done is search whatever database you have access to. I know what she feels like from the inside. I guarantee you can’t say the same.” The second I said it, I wished I could take it back.

It was the worst possible thing to come out with. It made me out to be exactly what he expected; just another asshole looking to exploit some innocent girl for my own personal benefit. In staking a claim to her I fed right into the stereotype he accused me of perpetuating.

He regarded me with cold contempt. “You sonofabitch. You have no idea what you’re doing. I’m willing to bet she’s going to wake up from this phase she’s going through, and I guarantee she’s going to hate you for whatever you’ve coerced her into.”

“I haven’t coerced her into anything.” She came to me with a design. She invited me into her apartment, her bed, her life.

“You keep telling yourself that. But a girl like her, smart, driven, with her shit together despite what she’s been through? There’s got to be a lineup of guys waiting for you to blow it.”

“Stay the fuck away from Tenley.”

He crossed his thick arms over his chest and smiled. “You sound a little worked up there, Hayden. You think I’m planning to move in on your territory? She’s a little on the young side for me. But you never know, maybe in a few years when she’s got this thing out of her system . . .”

I couldn’t tell if he was messing with me or serious.

“Anyway, things to consider,” he said, like he was contemplating buying a lottery ticket. “In the meantime I’ll keep tabs on how you’re managing her. I’ll see you around.”

With that he turned and walked out the door.

“Fuck.” I gripped my hair to shut down the rising fury. Coupled with fear, it was too much to handle. Everything Cross said could be true. I didn’t want to be a phase. I wanted her to heal, I just didn’t want her to move on and leave me behind. I’d spent the last seven years in self-preservation mode, keeping the people closest to me at a safe distance. Somehow Tenley got past all the armor, and I didn’t want that to change.

Tenley came back a minute later and slammed a piece of paper with the Inked Armor logo down on the counter. “Lisa wants the usual, Jamie said he was good, and Chris is hungry. He gave me a list.” She pointed a finger in my face. “Don’t think for a second I didn’t see right through you. What the hell was that all about? How do you two know each other?”

She was seriously pissed. She had every right to be. I acted like a jealous dick. At least she hadn’t witnessed the worst of it. I pulled her into me and hugged her hard, shoving my face in her hair. She stiffened.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered against her neck.

She remained rigid for several more seconds before she finally eased up. Her arms came around my waist cautiously. “Hayden? What’s going on?”

I just wanted to keep her, in whatever way I could, but it seemed like every time I turned around someone or something threatened to take her away from me. I pressed my lips to her neck, panic overriding every other emotion. “I don’t want you to talk to him again.”

“What?” She pushed away.

I let her go. “Cross is the cop who messed up the evidence in my parents’ murder investigation.”

“Oh God.” She pressed her palm against her mouth as shock became understanding. “That’s terrible. When was the last time you saw him?”

“When they closed the case because of compromised evidence.”

“Oh Hayden. What can I do to make it better?”

“I need you.”

“I’m right here.”

I shook my head. “I need you.”

“Oh,” she whispered. “I’ll take you home.”

I felt desperate, angry, terrified, and a whole host of other emotions I couldn’t and didn’t want to classify.

She turned on the neon Closed sign. After that she emptied the cash register and put the money in the safe without counting it. Once everything was locked up, she led me to the rear entrance. I followed her outside and up the stairs to her apartment.

As soon as were inside I had her pressed up against the door, my tongue in her mouth. I fumbled with the buttons on her shirt. Impatient, I grabbed the lapels and pulled. The buttons made a satisfying ping as they bounced to the floor. Under the pretty blue shirt I ruined was the black bra with the red polka dots. I suddenly wondered if she’d worn this sexy lingerie for anyone else. The idea made me fucking mental.

“Hayden?” Tenley’s hands covered mine.

I was still fisting the destroyed shirt, staring at her chest. I looked up.

“Whatever you need from me right now, you can take it,” she said softly.

“I can’t—I want to be—Fuck!” I shook my head, incapable of articulating how extreme my need for her was.

“It’s okay.” Tenley dropped her hands and stood passively, waiting.

I pulled her shirt down her arms and tossed it on the floor, fighting to keep the aggression in check. My hands moved down her sides and I dropped to my knees. Lucky for her she was wearing those legging things, so I couldn’t ruin any more of her clothes. Black and red satin appeared as I dragged them down her thighs, those little bows on each hip whittling away at my control.

Tenley braced herself on my shoulders as the leggings came off; the panties would follow soon enough. I ran my hands up the backs of her bare calves, along the outside of her thighs, over the scar to her hips.

“Turn around.”

She didn’t hesitate, spinning to face the door. “You want to do this here?” she asked over her shoulder.

“You have a better place in mind?” Eye level with her ass, I didn’t really want to move anywhere.

“There’s a counter a few feet away. I think you said something about bending me over it last week.”

“Give me a minute. I’ll get to that.” I wanted to be good to her, especially now.

She shifted her weight and popped her hips out. The pretty satin covered about three-quarters of her ass, leaving just the bottom of her cheek exposed. There was another little red bow right at the dip in her spine. I palmed the soft flesh and squeezed. Holding her hips, I leaned in and bit down right where her ass met her thigh.

Tenley gasped, so I did it again. Harder this time.

“You like that?”

“I like everything you do to me.”

I stood, sliding one hand between her legs to cup her. Pulling her to me, I ground my erection against her ass. She pushed back, bracing herself against the door. I flicked the clasp on her bra and it came undone, providing an uninterrupted view of her tattoo; my design, my art, mine. The straps slid down her arms and rested in the crook of her elbows. When I grazed her nipple, she let the bra drop to the floor.

“How does this feel?”

“Good.” Her head bowed forward.

“Just good?” I circled the barbell.

“Better than good.”

I would have taken her right there, against the door, but I didn’t think she’d be able to handle standing up for what I had planned. I turned her around, kissing her as I guided her to the counter. “Did you want me to take you to the bedroom?”

“I already told you, Hayden, you can have me any way you want me.” Her hands went under my shirt and she lifted it over my head. Her eyes holding mine, she dipped her head and kissed a line of black ink to my nipple. I groaned; fire lit up my veins and shot down to my cock.

“The bedroom would be safer for you,” I warned. The counter wasn’t exactly soft.

“This isn’t about me.”

My lip curled in a rueful grin. “It’s always about you, Tenley. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”

“Then let me be what you need.” She guided my hands to her body, settling them below the curve of her breasts. The fragile cage of rib shifted under smooth skin with every breath she took. She tipped her chin up and I bent to meet her. I slid a hand into her hair, holding tightly. All the sweetness of the kiss dissipated as I tilted her head back, owning her mouth. I wanted to get inside her and stay there until all the bad parts of me disappeared. I wanted to mark her everywhere so there was no doubt she was mine.

I picked her up and deposited her on the counter. It was becoming my favorite location. Her legs parted automatically to make room for me. I cupped her breasts, my thumbs rough as they moved over the jeweled barbells. Tenley made a throaty sound and arched into the touch.

“I’m so fucking glad you have these.” I shifted one hand to the center of her back and leaned down to kiss the pebbled skin. I was rewarded with a soft whimper. It seemed the piercings were finally healed enough for me to devote some proper attention to them.

I licked at one, seeking confirmation before I proceeded. “Yes?”

“Please.” She ran a hand through my hair, her palm resting on the back of my neck, encouraging me to continue.

Lips parted, I enveloped the piercing, the metallic taste hitting my tongue. I sucked hard. A rare, soft “Fuck” fell from her lips and she pushed her chest out, fingers firmly anchored in my hair, nails digging into my scalp. I released her nipple with a suctioned pop and blew on the tip.

“Was it worth the pain?” I asked, circling the skin with a knuckle, avoiding where it was most sensitive.

“Yes, do it again, please,” Tenley groaned, kneading the back of my head where she’d been tugging on my hair.

“You’re always so polite when you want something.”

I devoted the same attention to the other nipple, licking, biting, tugging at the barbell with my teeth. Tenley’s legs slid up the outside of my thighs and tried to wrap around my waist. I wouldn’t let her, though, because the second she made contact with my very volatile dick, I would lose what was left of my pitiful control. I gave her nipple one more hard suck, enjoying her sweet moan before I laid her back on the counter. I probably should have taken her to the bedroom despite her assurance the location would be fine. It was too late, though. I couldn’t stop, and I didn’t want to.

She was spread out for me in nothing but those sexy panties, hair spilling over the edge of the counter in a dark waterfall. She tried to close her thighs, maybe to rub them together and get some friction, but they locked against my hips. She propped herself up on an elbow, grabbing for my belt buckle. I stepped out of reach and settled my hands on her knees.

“Is there something you want, kitten?”

“Stop teasing and touch me.”

“Or what?” I massaged the backs of her knees, finding the sensitive spot, rubbing in slow, firm circles.

“Or I’ll do it myself.”

Now that was something I wouldn’t mind watching. Not that I had the patience to appreciate it at the moment.

“I’m afraid that doesn’t give me much incentive.” I smoothed my palms up the inside of her thighs but stayed well out of range of where she wanted my hands, waiting to see what she would do.

Her head dropped back again; her chest rose and fell, faster, shallower, as I continued to torment her, sweeping my fingers along the juncture of her thighs. Her hips lifted, seeking out what I refused to provide. She groaned and her hands traveled up, over her stomach, along her ribs to the underside of her breasts. Her fingers glided timidly over the swell to circle the barbell. Her eyes were closed tight, cheeks flushed, those perfect, soft whimpers falling from her parted lips.

I slipped my pinkie under the satin and she cried out. I craved this power over her, the ability to make her feel this way, to keep her on the edge until she couldn’t take it any longer. And when she came, it would be my hands, my body, my touch that would be responsible for her relief.

I yanked the satin down her legs. One of her hands abandoned her breast and descended. I caught her wrist when it reached the crest of her pelvis and pinned it to the counter.

Her eyes flew open, confusion clouding her expression. “What—”

“I get to make you come.”

I rested my forearms on the inside of her thighs, pushing them wider apart. Still holding on to her wrist, I dropped my head and kissed from one hip to the other and down, over the cupcake tattoo. Tenley used her free hand to guide me lower, so I pinned that wrist to the counter as well, rendering her immobile. When I finally put my mouth on her, she shuddered and latched onto my wrists, securing her to me. She was quite the fucking sight, back arched, legs splayed, vulnerable and gorgeous.

“Please, Hayden.”

I stroked her with my tongue, the steel ball hitting the spot that made her moan until her entire body convulsed. Only when the shaking stopped did I let up off her thighs and release her wrists. She groaned and went limp, her breathing harsh.

“Are you okay?” I asked, massaging the joints at her hips.

She made a noise of affirmation as I pulled her into a sitting position. When she seemed steady enough, I lifted her off the counter and spun her around. She bent over, and I ran my hands down her back, thumbs smoothing along either side of her spine, over the expanse of healed ink to the cleft of her ass. She tensed.

Intent on getting inside her, I unbuckled my belt, popped the button, and lowered the zipper, freeing my erection. I fisted it and gave it a courtesy stroke. Tenley propped herself up on her elbows and peeked over her shoulder at me. She spread her legs, giving me better access to the place I wanted to be.

I dragged my cock over her clit and lined myself up at her entrance, watching the piercing disappear inside. Her head fell forward between her shoulders so I couldn’t see her face anymore, but she pushed back against me.

“Hayden,” Tenley whispered.

“Hmm,” I replied absently, holding her hips as I eased inside.

“You don’t have to go easy.”

I stilled, meeting her hot gaze. She looked at me with such genuine understanding, like she knew how fucking hard I was working to hold back on what I wanted to take. What I wanted her to give me.

“Just let go.”

The last vestiges of restraint disintegrated. “Hold on to the counter, kitten,” I ground out. I pressed my palm into the center of her back as I pulled out all the way to the piercing and slammed back in. Tenley sucked in a sharp breath, but she met each hard thrust as I picked up momentum.

Gathering her hair at the nape of her neck, I wrapped it around my hand. I tugged, angling her head so I could see her face. I couldn’t get close enough like this, though, couldn’t get far enough inside her, couldn’t put my mouth on hers.

My muscles shook from the effort to stave off the inevitable. I didn’t want to stop, ever. Like my ink, I wanted her permanence in my world. I covered her body with mine, thrusting deep. My lips parted against her shoulder, my teeth leaving an impression in her skin. I worked my way up the side of her neck, leaving marks behind. Little reminders of my existence for when I wasn’t with her.

She held the edge of the counter tightly as I continued to pound into her, telling her how good she felt, how much I loved being inside her, how I always wanted her.

“I told him you were mine,” I whispered when her muscles started to tremble.

She craned her neck and grabbed me by the hair. I kissed her hard as she came, shaking and moaning into my mouth.