Page 63 of Rough

Covered in blood, and missing a few teeth, he eventually opened his eyes. As he tried to speak through his battered lips, I shook my head and raised my bloody hand. “If you say one fucking word, I’ll knock the rest of your fuckin’ teeth out.”

His worried eyes widened.

Standing over him, I turned his driver’s license to face him. His eyes shot to it.

“If you ever talk to Marcus again, other than to apologize, I’ll hunt you down and I’ll cut off your cock. That’s a promise. If you ever touch him again, for any reason, I’ll kill you. If he tries to talk to you, you better run the other fucking direction.”

I shoved his driver’s license into my pocket, pulled out my knife, and sliced a six-inch long wound into the meaty flesh of his forearm.

As he bitched and whined about what I’d done, I pressed the heel of my boot into his neck.

“That’ll leave a nasty scar. Every time you look at it, remember what I told you.” I lifted my boot from his neck. “Use your shirt for a tourniquet.”

I folded my knife and clipped it to my pocket.

“If you scream or stand up while I’m walking away, I’ll come back here and cut your fuckin’ throat, understood?”

He did his best to nod.

“You’ll hear a loud motorcycle pull away in a minute. When you can’t hear it any longer, you can get up.”

As I rode away, I was proud of the man I was.

And of the man I hoped to become.

NINETEEN

Tegan

I ran to the door, fully expecting it to be Marcus. Without peering through the peep-hole, I pulled it open.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. I took every inch of him in, one inch at a time. I stole one more quick look at his face, just to make sure it was him. I opened my mouth slightly.

And then, it hit me. Why he was in front of me looking the way he did. It was clear.

My hands shot up and covered my mouth. My tongue had gone completely dry, but somehow, I swallowed. And then, again.

“Is everything okay?” I asked softly, trying to stay calm. My voice was barely audible. Deep inside, I was furious.

It could only be one thing.

He nodded nervously. “Uh. Yeah. Everything okay with you?”

My heart had risen into my tightening throat. I swallowed against the dry lump, and looked back at him, confused.

“Everything’s okay?”

He rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet and nodded, grinning the entire time. “Yep.”

I wouldn’t have guessed shaving would have made such a difference, but it did.

A huge one.

I reached for my pockets, and then realized I was wearing pajamas. As I twisted my hips back and forth, I admired him. He looked remarkable. His hands were clasped together at his waist, and as my eyes became fixated on them, I noticed something else, too.

I felt every ounce of available blood rushed between my legs. The surge of emotion hit me like a freight train.

“Come in,” I said. “Please.”