Read Online Damaged and the Dragon by Bijou Hunter - Free Book Online Page A

other guy
said until I turned my glare to him.
    Once he shut up, I focused on the asshole
struggling to breathe.
    “ You will apologize then
you will never speak to her again. If you see her coming your way,
you walk away. Do you understand?”
    No doubt the shithead wanted to act tough,
but he only nodded. I glared at him, ignoring everyone around
us.
    “ I bet you’ve treated women
like shit for a long time and gotten away with it. This time you
picked the wrong girl to mess with and I see you filling a shallow
grave if you ever even look at her again. Understand,
fucker?”
    His eyes bigger now, the guy nodded
again.
    “ That’s Bailey Fucking
Johansson,” I hissed. “If I don’t kill you, her family will. In
fact, I don’t know if you’ll last the night even if I let you
go.”
    After leaning harder on his throat until the
guy couldn’t breathe, I relented and released him. He and his
friend bolted from the alley. I turned around to find Bailey
standing with her brother.
    “ You got that handled?”
Cooper asked me.
    Still too angry to speak, I only nodded.
Cooper looked me up and down then glanced at the fleeing losers. He
gave me an approving nod then returned to Farah and the others.
    Bailey shuffled closer, looking unsure. I
thought she was scared of me. Or worse, she might be
embarrassed.
    “ He wasn’t wrong really. I
did sleep around,” she whispered.
    “ So did I,” I said,
brushing hair from her face as an excuse to touch her. “What’s your
point?”
    Bailey smiled. “We’re different now.”
    When I shared her smile, the rage faded
until it was merely a lump in my gut. I leaned down and kissed her
cheek.
    “ No one talks to you like
that, Bailey. I don’t care what you did, you deserve
better.”
    “ Okay. If things got out of
hand with him, I planned to pull my gun.”
    “ And do what you did to
that lamp.”
    Bailey laughed and the worry left her eyes.
She was so beautiful when happy. I hated how the fucker knew her
like I didn’t. Even if I still had trouble keeping my walls down
around her, I needed Bailey to be mine.
    “ After we’re done here,” I
said softly, “let’s go back to my place and hang out.”
    When Bailey’s face lit up, I nearly threw
her over my shoulder and ran to my apartment.
    “ Yes.”
    For a moment, I couldn’t think. I only
stared into her eyes while she returned my gaze. My feelings were
too intense and I knew I’d ruin what I was trying to create with
Bailey. Standing there, I wasn’t Dragon, just trailer trash
Nick.
    Kissing her quickly, I stepped back and the
hypnotic moment passed. Likely sensing the distance between us,
Bailey shrunk before my eyes. Insecure now, she glanced around like
she didn’t know what to do with herself.
    I’ve only bowled once,” I said, taking her
hand and walking towards the others. “I’ll need you to instruct me
on how far to stick out my ass when I roll the ball.”
    Bailey grinned, but her eyes remained wary.
Tucker shared the same look when I arrived. Cooper was too busy
feeling up Farah’s stomach as she sat on his lap while Vaughn and
Raven were already bowling.
    “ Hey, Nick,” Tawny said,
breaking the ice. “Got roped into the crew crap, huh?”
    I grinned. “Are you kidding? I love bowling.
Why wait until I’m sixty to get one of those shirts?”
    Vaughn glared back at a laughing Tawny then
returned to rolling strikes.
    “ Tawny, I have to pee,”
Bailey announced. “Come hold my hair.”
    “ Can I come?” Farah asked
with Maddy looking interested in joining too.”
    “ Very subtle,” Judd said,
changing seats so he could mock Vaughn easier.
    Tawny kissed his cheek then followed Bailey.
“Hey, Raven, are you coming?”
    “ No, can’t stop playing.
Our first born child’s name depends on the outcome of this
game.”
    Watching Bailey disappear with the girls, I
became very aware I’d been ditched with the Johansson brothers. I
turned to get my bowling shoes and walked as slowly as