15. Skylar

Chapter 15

Skylar

I storm back into the bathroom because I'm not sure if I want to scream or throw things at him. Mostly, I have this overwhelming urge to slap the hell out of him. I figure doing that wouldn't be healthy for either of us, so I escape. I suppose there's nothing to stop him from doing to this door what he did to the other one. If he tries it, I'll kill him. As I glance around the small—but usable—bathroom, I see several items that I can use as a weapon, including a pair of scissors. I happen to think they'd look lovely buried in his damn balls. Maybe then he'd learn to stay away from brain-dead bimbos like Debbie.

I dry myself off quickly, wishing that I had brought my pajamas in here. I don't have many clothes here, but I left a few. It's just things I don't wear often. I left them in case I didn't want to go home after dinner or whatever. It doesn't happen much, but sometimes if it's really late, I do it. I hate driving in Cincinnati. They're always working on the roads here, so traffic can be horrible at any time. I also hate driving at night. Secretly, I despise it here, but I would never admit that to anyone in my family. I hate everything about living in the city. I really miss Kentucky.

I shake those thoughts out of my head and grab the large white T-shirt hanging on the back of the bathroom door. The shirt belongs to Heavy. He's an older guy in the club. His old lady died of a heart attack about six years ago. She was so young and had no history of illness. Yet, at thirty-four, she was gone. Apparently, she had some type of congenital heart defect that no one had discovered until it was too late. Heavy's been grieving for her ever since. He gave me the tee the first time I ever stayed here. He told me to sleep in it. He was a good guy, probably a little younger than my dad, and said I reminded him of his own daughter that he lost. The shirt falls past my knees. The guy is even bigger than Torin. Of course, Torin is an asshole and Heavy is a sweetheart. It's too damn bad I couldn't fall in love with him. Sure, he's older, but he is still hot. He may not have perfect abs, but he's not what I'd call out of shape either. He'd also treat a woman right. Unlike the asshole I've decided to try to wrangle.

I'm an idiot.

I finish my business in the bathroom and, as I put my toothbrush and deodorant back in their original places, I take a deep breath. I don't want to see Torin right now. Honestly, I'm not sure I want to see him ever again. Seeing Debbie climb all over him and the way it hurt, tells me he's still too dangerous. I thought I had let him go and was ready to move on. After the pain I felt out there, I think I'm just plain stupid. I need to get some distance. I need to start dating again. I thought losing my virginity would be a turning point, but it's clear I need to show my heart that I can love someone else. Mom once told me that the women in our family usually fall head over heels and go all in from day one. I thought she was crazy. Sure, I've heard the story about how she met my father. It's a story that I wish I didn't know, but for whatever reason, I was told about it. I mean, no one wants to hear that their father met their mother when he was being seen by her for a severe case of crabs. I scrunch my face up in response to the ickiness just the thought of it brings. Still, Dad's a great guy and he and Mom have the best relationship that I've ever witnessed. To me, that didn't mean our entire family was like that. Then Dom and Thea began to work out. Dom went from a self-absorbed asshole to someone that was hopelessly devoted to my sister. Shit, you'd have to be insane not to see it. Now, she's even knocked up and deliriously happy in a way I didn't think was possible. I close my eyes. What if I'm always going to be in love with Torin? I'm starting to think Cincinnati isn't far enough away. There are some great medical schools out west. I always wanted to visit Utah. Perhaps it's time to look at schools there.

With a sigh, I walk away from the bathroom mirror. Staring at myself and going over my love life—or lack thereof—isn't going to achieve anything. I'll make some decisions tomorrow after I'm safely in my dorm and Torin is nowhere around. I unlock the bathroom door, take a deep breath, and head back into the room. I'm going to have to find a place to stay tonight. It's not a big thing, but most of the empty rooms don't have a bathroom. I always have to pee in the middle of the night. That means I'll have to get out of my nice, warm, snuggly bed and drag my ass down the hall to a shared bathroom. It might sound like I'm being a prima donna here, but a shared bathroom with a bunch of drunk bikers is not a good thing. Regular men miss the toilet without an excuse. Drunk and high bikers are much worse. This is just one more thing to make me want to kick Torin in the junk. Bastard.

It doesn't surprise me to find the asshole in question sitting on my bed, staring straight at me when I open the door. I give him the dirtiest look I can muster—which is pretty bad considering how mad I am.

"What the fuck do you have on?" he barks.

I can't say that's the first thing I imagined him saying, but then again, I can never figure the damn man out. "It's called a T-shirt, or I suppose, in this case at least, it's a gown to sleep in." With that answer, I go around the bed and head toward the wide-open doorway. It appears Torin at least picked up the ruined door and leaned it against the wall outside. "Where are you going?" I hate to say he keeps barking out his questions, but that's exactly what he reminds me of. A barking pit bull that wants to tear into you—he just hasn't yet.

"Well, since some idiot knocked the door down to my room, I need to talk to Trudy about either fixing my door or finding a new room."

"You're going to sleep in my room."

"Uh, no, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. You're not going out there in that damn shirt either!"

Normally, an angry Torin would scare me—or at least make me cautious. Right now, it just pisses me off. "I am."

"The fuck you are." I shake my head and keep walking. I make it out into the hall just as he grabs my hand, jerking my body back against him. He's not exactly gentle either. I cry out in surprise and the pain I feel from the sudden attack. I find myself trapped against a very angry man, before I can say one word. He's like a hard wall of fury. I can admit that I'm a little intimidated, but I'm also mad as hell. I look at him, facing his fury without blinking, and matching it with my own.

" Let. Me. Go ." I enunciate every single word, letting each syllable fill with my rage.

"I won't allow my woman to go out there dressed like you are," he growls.

I feel like I'm about to explode. "Did you seriously just say you would not allow me to do something?" I hiss.

"I not only said it, Peaches, I'm going to back it up. It's time you learn what kind of man you've got. I'm not someone you can play with."

"I'm not playing with you, Torin. I don't want a damn thing from you except for you to leave me the hell alone!" I'm screaming so loud that it shouldn't surprise me when people start gathering in the hall. I don't turn to look at them, but I hear them.

"That's not happening, so you need to suck it up."

"Suck it up?" I whisper, not quite believing he had the balls to say that to me.

"Exactly."

"She's going to cut his dick off," I hear Trudy mutter.

"He'll be lucky if that's all she does," Wheeler responds.

"How the fuck is he lucky if she cuts off his dick?" Freeze asks.

"Freeze has a point. Not sure I care what else is done to me if someone cuts off my dick," Archie agrees.

I hold my head down as I hear them all. The last thing I want is to be surrounded by the whole club. Maybe I'll call my brother and let him handle Torin. I'm pretty sure that will get rid of the asshole. With that thought in mind, I decide to just let shit go for now. I don't normally want my brother to fight my battles, but right now, I think it'd be safer. I need Torin gone permanently. It's clear that my brain doesn't function around him, and I can't be trusted. Hell, even now, I'm slightly turned-on—which is bad. Very bad. Just because Dom turned into a decent guy for my sister doesn't mean the same will happen between me and Torin. It has been three years. If it was going to happen, it would have happened before now. Lord knows that I've made it clear to him I was more than willing over the years. I'm done and I'm going to just walk away now. The only problem is the minute I come to this conclusion—I hear her.

"If she doesn't want you, Joker, I'm more than willing, baby."

When I look up, I notice that he's distracted looking at that cunt. I draw my hand back and punch him in the throat. I have strength behind me. I work out daily in the gym and my brother and daddy trained me relentlessly. It might not hurt him, but it will distract him while he tries to get his breath, and that's all I need. His hands loosen on me instantly. He looks down at me in shock, and I turn to walk away. Right now, I just want to be away from him. Before I get more than a couple of steps away, Torin's arms wrap around my waist. I don't think, I just react, using the lesson that not only my family taught me, and reinforced in my jujitsu classes. I grab each of his arms with my hands, digging my nails into his skin. I use that hold to pull myself into his body. Next, I swing my hips out to the left, while releasing my grip with my right hand. I quickly make a fist and swing it backward into Torin's groin. His body jerks, but he doesn't let go. I have too much adrenaline firing through my system, so I don't stop. I repeatedly slam into his groin. On the third hit, he staggers backward, and I use my hold on his arm to rip it away from me. I whirl, reaching up to put my hands on his shoulders for some leverage. Then I bend my leg, bringing my knee up to hit him in the groin. I pull a little of my strength again, but it's still a good hit. I should feel sorry for him, but I don't. I'm actually not inflicting as much damage as I've been trained to. I am, however, taking pleasure in the fact that he won't be able to touch Debbie tonight. After my knee is jammed into his balls, he goes down. I can hear the men commiserating with his pain, while Trudy is laughing her ass off.

"You bitch! My poor Joker," Debbie cries, as I turn around and face everyone.

She starts to go to him, but I catch her by her stringy hair, pulling her backward. She screams as if in pain, but she doesn't know pain yet. I know that I'm just reacting at this point. I'm not using common sense. If I were, I definitely wouldn't touch Debbie. I'd let her go to Torin and say good riddance to both. That's really what I should do. It would probably be the smartest thing to do, but like I said, I've never been smart when Torin is involved. I pull her away from the idiot in question. He's still holding his junk, but at least he's sitting up now.

"Skylar—"

I turn to look at him. "Shut up. I pulled my punches on you, but if you say one word to me in defense of your little whore, your dick won't only be sore, it won't work anymore," I warn him and even I can admit my voice has dropped in tone and sounds deadly. In my defense, I'm pissed as hell. I swing his bitch to my front and wrap my arm around her neck, while keeping my other hand tight in her hair. "You've pissed me off for the last time, Debbie. Do you see that man over there? He doesn't belong to you. He will never belong to you." I'm not applying actual pressure, but she's so terrified that she's stopped moving. "Now, I'm about to make you go nighty-night. You'll only be out for about ten seconds or so, but you need to know that I am in control of that too. I could kill you easily and if you fuck with me again, I won't hesitate. I figure there aren't many people in the world that will miss you, but either way it doesn't worry me because I didn't grow up in this family without learning. I can make sure that your body will never be found. So, when you wake up, remember what I said and stay the fuck away from me and from him. If you don't promise me, I'll make you very sorry."

With that, I apply light pressure with my arm, knowing I have it stationed at exactly the right place. Debbie's out in just a second or two. It isn't long enough for a chokehold to truly work. I actually think she might have passed out from fear. That works out even better. I let her go to the floor, not caring how hard she falls on the concrete. "Trudy, I need a new room for the night."

"You got it, hun," Trudy says, not really hiding her laughter, but she does try.

"You still have my shirt," Heavy announces.

"Yep, and you're not getting it back," I tell him. Heavy picks me up bridal style. "C'mon, little badass. Let's get you a room," he laughs and because I'm feeling over emotional, I relax against him, wanting him to take me away. I'm terrified I might cry, and that's the last thing I want Torin to see.

Before I can agree with Heavy, however, there's this unholy growl heard behind us. I look up to see an irate Torin stalking toward me and Heavy. "You're not taking her anywhere. She belongs to me."

"I don't?—"

I can't get the denial out before he has me in his grasp. He marches me back down the hall and when he passes the fourth door, he stops and opens it. He marches across the room and drops me down on the bed. I bounce as I hit the mattress. It takes a hot second before I finally struggle to sit up.

"What the hell?" My question might have started out angry, but it ends in a squeak as Torin's cut lands on me. I toss it to the side, but by that time, Torin has grabbed the bottom of Heavy's shirt and is ripping it over my head. He doesn't do it gently either. It's so forceful that my hands automatically come up. I gasp as I sit there in nothing but a pair of pale pink cotton panties. Torin's gigantic body has me blocked from the members of the club that have gathered to peek into the room. He extends down over me. I should knee him in the balls again, but I think I might be in shock. I didn't expect him to come at me again so quickly. With the strength I expelled on my knee kicks, I would have thought he'd at least think twice before he came around me again. He presses me back down on the bed and I know my face shows my shock. Even I can tell that my eyes are as round as saucers. He grabs his cut and puts it over me. Normally I'd yank it right off, but in this case, I grab it and cover my body—most importantly, my breasts.

"Stay here," he growls.

I want to argue but watching him march to the only exit in the room—essentially blocking it—I decide to stay right where I'm at.

"Take your fucking shirt, Heavy, and stay away from my woman." He flings the shirt at him. Heavy winks at me, right before Torin slams the door in his face—in everyone's face.

He turns around to look at me. His face is tight with anger, and I swear to God, I can see his eye twitching. I know quite a bit of self-defense, but I think running away might be best. I look at the bathroom and try to judge the distance from here to there.

"Don't even think about it," he orders, making me bite my lip.

I could be in trouble.