KC covered his face with his hands again. “Yes.”
“You better watch him,” she directed at me with a smile. “I’ll start the discharge paperwork.”
My instincts were to tell a real adult what was going on, and for some reason I didn’t feel like Ren quite qualified. “Your dad would want?—”
“No, please,” KC said, tugging me down to hug me.
I burrowed close and luxuriated in the warmth radiating off him. “Okay.” My stomach twisted. KC had a dad. A dad who loved him. Talked to him. Lived with him. It seemed wrong not to tell him KC had gotten hurt. “I’m worried about you.”
“Don’t worry too much.” Ren rubbed my back and stared KC dead in the eye. “This will never happen again.”
KC shivered, and as fucked up as it was, I felt better with Ren looming and growling. He reallywouldn’tlet anything bad happen to KC. I bit my bottom lip. And perhaps that meant he felt the same way about me.
I hid a smile against KC’s chest.
21
KC
How long would Ren keep glaring at me? For the last two days, I hadn’t gotten any peace. He hovered worse than Pa would’ve. Whenever I even mentioned a smoothie, he growled fiercer than a rabid dog.
This afternoon, I was sitting in his tattoo parlor behind the counter in the naughty corner, ignoring the narrowed stares he sent my way. Oli was practicing on fake skin, which was really bizarre and gave me flashbacks to horror movies I used to watch as a kid. He kept giving me sympathetic smiles, but he also didn’t argue with Ren.
Maybe he thought Ren had a right to be mad.
Oli was wearing my football jersey again, and while it was big on him, it looked really fucking cute. There was something delicious about the way it fell from his slim shoulders.
And how it marked him as mine.
Ren, on the other hand, had on a tank top, jeans, and boots, all in black, and goddamn it, he had my mouth watering. His ink was even more vibrant under the parlor lights, and I didn’t miss the way the woman he was tattooing kept eyeing him hungrily. Ididn’t blame her, either, but if I staked my claim, then what was she going to do?
“I’m sorry.” I pouted toward Ren. “How many times do I have to tell you that? Give me a kiss?” I pursed my lips.
“No,” Ren said simply, his tone leaving zero room for argument. He pushed up his reading glasses with the back of his hand. It’d been two days of controlled silence, where he loomed at my back and watched me like a hawk. I’d come to work with him and Oli yesterday because I was officially on medical leave for a week from practice, and Ren was adamant about keeping a close eye on me. I was damned lucky Pa was prepping for another work trip that was coming up soon, which meant he wouldn’t have time for football gossip, or my ass would be grass. As it was, I kept waiting for him to track me down and demand to know what had happened.
New Gothenburg was just small enough for football news to be everyone’s business.
But Ren was as bad as Pa. Every half hour, Ren brought me a glass of water and watched me drink at least half before he retreated. He had the intensity of a military commander, and I hated how hot he was when he was this way.
“I’m sorryyyyy,” I sang, grinning at Oli when he ducked his head and chuckled into his hand.
Wylie and Flint laughed from where they sat packing up their gear. It was near the end of the day, and they’d both finished with their last client. The shop was busier than I’d expected, especially considering it’d only opened this week, but then I’d already seen advertisements around the city. At some point, Ren had bought space to promote. It was clear the former clients were models and definitely from LA because they were gorgeous and had that too-perfect Californian look.
“Be nice to him, will ya, Boss?” Flint winked at me, offering his support. His Texan accent was nice. “Rumor has it this cityloves their football as much as their hockey and this kid is a hometown hero.”
I rolled my eyes, but he wasn’t wrong. New Gothenburg got behind their college sports and the stars. “I’m not a kid. I’m turning twenty-two soon.”
Flint held up his hands. “Well, I’ll be, you’re nearly a full-grown adult. Quick, call the authorities.”
“Fuck off,” I grumbled, which elicited a loud laugh from him.
Ren shook his head, but the corner of his mouth quirked up. Obviously, he enjoyed that Oli and I got along with his friends. From what Oli had told me about his first day, Flint and Wylie were nice and I had to agree. I could see why they were friends with Ren. They had similar traits, though Ren had more of a domineering presence than the other two. He was the leader and they followed. I wondered if they owed him for something because they weren’t submissive types. They were both big guys with huge personalities.
Ren fell into a meditative silence as he finished off his work on the woman, and when he was done, he wrapped her upper arm and gave her care instructions before he gestured for her to approach me at the counter. I gave her a card with the same instructions Ren had told her and booked her in for her next session like he’d taught me to do yesterday.
“Have a nice day,” I said cheerfully, and her giggle ricocheted around the room.
“You too! I hope you’re forgiven sooner rather than later.” She twiddled her fingers at me in a wave as she left the shop.
