Had to Be You: Bad Boys of Red Hook by Robin Kaye

Author:Robin Kaye [Kaye, Robin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780451413574
Amazon: 0451413571
Barnesnoble: 0451413571
Publisher: Signet
Published: 2014-02-04T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

Slater might have been kissing Rocki, but the kiss was unlike any kiss she’d ever received—it was hard, brutal, raging, and raw.

She tasted anger, pain, confusion—all of which she’d caused.

She’d known deep in her bones that once Slater realized who she was, what she was, everything would change. It always did.

She hadn’t expected it would be this ugly.

She hadn’t expected to feel so much pain; she’d wanted to hurt him back.

She hadn’t expected the fear when he pulled away.

She’d known he’d be angry, but she hadn’t expected him to take a sledgehammer to the walls she’d erected and decimate them.

She couldn’t think; she couldn’t breathe. All she could do was hold on to Slater for fear of being sucked into the maelstrom of emotion swirling around them, through him and into her.

She tried to process what had just happened.

She’d hit Slater.

She’d never hit anyone—okay, she might have popped Jackson once or twice, but she’d never hit anyone with the intention to hurt him. Until today.

How could she do that?

And how could he laugh at her and then kiss her as if kissing her was necessary for life?

Weirder yet was, how could she kiss him back?

She heard a door open, and a cold breeze brushed her legs. Then she heard the stomping of boots. Oh, God. Grace and Teddy were here.

“Racquel?” Grace called out from the mudroom.

Rocki pulled Slater’s T-shirt over her bare ass, dragged in a breath, and ran for the back stairs.

Slater cleared his throat. “No, it’s just me. Rocki’s still upstairs.”

She flew to her room and stood there not knowing what the hell to do. She should get in the shower. She should get dressed and get back to the hospital. But all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry. She wanted to erase the last hour of her life. She wanted to be back in Slater’s arms, making love, and staring into his eyes.

There was a knock on the door, and as if her thoughts had called to him, Slater stuck his head in.

She took a step toward him but the look on his face made her freeze midstep.

He stared through her—his eyes hard, cold, and empty. “Jackson’s out of his coma. We need to get to the hospital. We’re leaving in fifteen minutes.”

She hugged herself to keep from reaching out to him, to keep from shaking, to keep from falling apart.

“Did you hear me?”

She couldn’t speak. She brushed away tears that fell unbidden and nodded.

He shut the door quietly, politely, and so resoundingly that the echo of emptiness slammed through her brain like a cymbal. Slater had never been quiet and polite; he’d been hard, demanding, aggressive, honest, and real.

She took a deep breath—she couldn’t think of Slater now. Jackson needed her. She trudged to the bathroom and showered, letting the water wash her tears down the drain, and wished she was as good as Slater at shutting people out.

• • •

Slater was dressed and ready to go long before Rocki came down.

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