Fighting Friction: (Playing it Safe Series Book Two) Read online

  I can tell he has something he wants to get off his chest.

  “You talked to Jaycee earlier? Other than meeting her at the club, I wasn’t aware you knew each other.”

  “She came to see me. How well do you know her, Josh?”

  He leads the way to the front of the shop. A few minutes pass before he speaks.

  “I know a little about Jaycee. It’s not because she’s told me. It’s more because she’s friends with Kat, and I know how they met. Jaycee’s got a lot of shit going on, a lot of scars. She came into the shop one day, and she looked like a lost kitten somebody had dropped. That was about a year ago.”

  “Are you interested in her… as more than a friend?”

  I look him dead in the eyes so he understands I’m looking for an honest answer. He meets my glare with his own.

  “Are you interested?”

  He throws my question right back at me.

  “Listen, it doesn’t matter who might want something more with her. Jaycee isn’t looking for a relationship or for a hookup. Save yourself the trouble and move on, man. Staci’s waiting for me, so I need to get out of here.”

  It’s too late to do anything else, so I head home. I’ll have a drink or two and watch something on TV. Tomorrow, I’ll get with Jaycee.

  I must convince her to stop running from me every chance she gets if she wants me to help her find Kennedy.

  Chapter Five

  Jaycee

  “Jab, cross, hook,” Dylan calls out. “What’s going on, Jaycee? You’re not with me today.”

  I’ve been kickboxing for over a year. It helps let off pressure after it builds, work out frustration.

  “You know what? You’re right. I’m not feeling it today. I’ll get out of here and quit wasting your time.”

  “It’s your time, babe. You’re the one paying me. But, I think you need to take a break. If you want to talk about what’s eating you, I’m here to listen.”

  “I’m fine. I’ll be on track and back to myself next week.”

  My phone rings before I’m out the door and then once more when I get to my car.

  Grant’s been blowing it up all day. I’m being ridiculous because I can’t expect him to help me find Kennedy if I ignore him, but I don’t know how to be around him when I have no idea how to deal with the feelings he causes.

  Two minutes after I ignore his call my phone vibrates with a text message.

  Grant (PI): If you want me to find your sister, you have to talk to me. I need information I don’t have. I’m at the club. If you have time, drop by before it opens tonight. Tell whoever’s at the door I’m expecting you.

  Out of nowhere, I get this odd feeling that someone is watching me. My hair stands on end as the frightening sensations move over me. Thankfully, I’m inside my car. I double check I locked the doors. This isn’t the first time I’ve sensed I’m being followed.

  Going to Grant’s club doesn’t seem like such a bad idea now. Being around him might be a little unpleasant, but I don’t fear him as I do most. I know he’s more than qualified to protect me.

  It’s a good thing I remember directions well. The Grind is out of plain sight. If you didn’t know where the club’s located, you’d never find it. It’s on the outskirts of town, not too far from Masters Security.

  I check my mirrors and look all around to make certain no one has followed me before I get out of my car. It could be nothing more than me being paranoid. But, I made a mistake once. I didn’t use enough caution before I ran into a situation that ruined my life. I don’t plan to make the same mistake twice.

  The club’s door swings open before I can see if it’s unlocked. Instead of one of his security guys, I come face to face with Grant. Unlike that first night when I saw him in the club dressed in his button-down and slacks, this time he’s more casual. It’s impossible to miss how damn hot and attractive he is. He’s wearing a pair of dark jeans. They hang low on his hips, showing off his trim waist. The t-shirt he’s wearing stretches tight across his wide chest.

  “I’m a little surprised you came.”

  I look down to avoid his eyes. What is it about him? I’m twenty-seven years old, and no other man, or even a boy back when I was younger, has ever made me blush before, but when he speaks, I can feel the heat rise to my face.

  He takes my hand in his. I don’t know what the gesture means. What’s more is I can’t figure out what I don’t like about it. I know I should pull away and put a stop to this man touching me, but I don’t and that upsets me.

  Does it piss me off so much because I like him touching me?

  I don’t see how that could be it. That part of me is dead. When Malcolm threw me to the sick, twisted bastards that paid him to do terrible things with me, I was certain they stripped away my ability to be with a man again.

  “Let me show you around the club. We have time before anyone arrives, we can talk later.”

  “I didn’t come here for the club. I’m here so you can ask me whatever you need to about my sister and nothing more.”

  “You’re probably right. An empty club wouldn’t be the same anyway.”

  He leads me down the hallway I remember from before to his office. It’s larger than most offices I’ve seen so I don’t feel so claustrophobic when he closes the door. My skin prickles only for a moment, but after a few deep breaths, I soon calm myself.

  There’s a large wooden desk with a very comfortable looking black leather chair sitting behind it. Two more chairs are in front for his guests to sit. Several bookcases filled with books line one wall. On one side, there’s a black leather couch.

  “Have you found anything at all about my sister?”

  Grant leans against his desk with his arms crossed over his wide chest and his ankles crossed. A serious look on his face.

  “Jaycee, take a seat. We need to talk about a few things. I know you’d rather avoid it, but if you want me to help you, I need to ask these questions… I need to know everything you’re able to tell me about your kidnapping.”

  I sit down on the leather couch and bend over with my elbows on my knees and rest my face in the palms of my hands. He moves from the desk. I feel the seat beside me dip down when he sits, leaving several inches between us. He understands I can’t handle him being too close.

  “How do you know about that?”

  “We’re good at what we do, Jaycee. We have access to a lot of information. Malcolm Phoenix was big news. What he did was despicable. I have a list of all the women the police extracted when they arrested him.”

  “I didn’t hire you to investigate me, so I’d prefer to leave my life and my business out of it. The only thing I need help with is finding my sister.”

  “Even if they’re connected? Huh? Have you ever considered something could have happened to Kennedy just like it did with you? I don’t need every tiny detail. I know there’s a lot of shit you don’t want to remember, and I understand it’s difficult to think about, but I need to know how you ended up with Phoenix. If you want me to help you, I’ll listen to whatever you can tell me, and we’ll go from there. It’s up to you if you want my help or not.”

  It’s impossible to sit still. I stand up to pace back and forth in front of his desk while I tell him. I never talk about this to anyone.

  “Kennedy went out to meet with a guy named Barry she met on the Internet. She didn’t know who he was. She had a few chats with him and they exchanged a few images and agreed to meet. I begged her to take someone with her, but she refused. After she left, he sent a message. She’d left her laptop open, so I read it. He told her he had a flat tire, and he asked her to meet him there instead of the original location. I knew where it was, so I went. He had more men in the car with him. They thought I was Kennedy, so they attacked me, put me in the car, and took me to that sick man. I was there for eight weeks. When I returned home, there was no sign of Kennedy. The last time I saw her was the same night Phoenix’s men kidnapped me.”

  I let the words tumb
le out before I lose my nerve.

  Grant stands up from the couch and comes to stand in front of me. He places his hands gently, but firmly on my shoulders to stop me from pacing. He hooks his finger under my chin and raises my face so my eyes meet his. I didn’t even realize a few tears escaped until he sweeps his thumb down my cheek to wipe them away.

  “Have you talked to anyone about what happened, Jaycee? A therapist?”

  I push his hands away. Why is this everyone’s concern?

  “No! I tried, in the beginning. I talked to three different therapists, but none of them would listen.”

  “What do you mean they wouldn’t listen? That’s their job.”

  “Maybe, but they wanted to focus on the specific things that happened. None of them wanted to get down to the bottom of everything. Those men kidnapped me and then Malcolm allowed several to abuse and torture me the entire time I was there. No one can take that away or change it, so it doesn’t matter if I talk about it, or not. It will always be there.”

  “I think I can help you if you’ll let me.”

  How the hell did we go from me needing him to find my sister to him wanting to help me with my personal shit?

  I’ve done everything alone since it happened because no one can help me. There’s not a single thing anyone can do to erase my past and the things that happened.

  Chapter Six

  Grant

  God, I want to take her in my arms.

  Jaycee isn’t the first woman I’ve been around who’s been through the hell she’s had to face, but there’s never been one time before when I wanted to help someone the way I want to help her. I think she’s been alone since it happened, and she hasn’t had anyone to push her to deal with the shit.

  “Let’s go to the bar and get a drink. I’ll take the night off and let Troy run things. He’s more than capable of taking care of everything for one night. If we work to find your sister, we’ll need to spend time together. How about we take tonight and get to know one another better?”

  Even though she doesn’t know I had any part in what happened to her, deep in my fucking chest, I want to make it up to her. I was only doing my damn job.

  With my last undercover job, I had to do a lot of fucked up shit I didn’t want to, all in the name of taking Malcolm Phoenix down. Knowing the reason I did it doesn’t help much right now.

  Jayson, Malcolm’s nephew, ran the show the night I had to help put Jaycee in the backseat of that car. No one gave me names or details. Malcolm only gave the orders to help them and make sure no one caught us.

  I knew Malcolm was an angry bastard that night. He ended up with the wrong girl caught in his trap. He always wanted the younger ones. They made him more money and were easier for the bastards to brainwash and break.

  “I should probably head home. I don’t like being out after dark, especially now because I feel like someone’s been watching me.”

  Jaycee rubs her hands up and down her arms like she’s rubbing away the chills from just thinking about it.

  “If you’re afraid that’s all the more reason to stay here with me for a while. I’ll see you get home.”

  With Jayson still on the run, she needs twenty-four-hour protection. Chances are he’s long gone because he knows what awaits him when he’s caught.

  The little punk lost his mind when his girlfriend, Lindsey, escaped the mansion. I hesitate to be so positive he’s moved on the way everyone else seems to think he has. I don’t want to take unnecessary risks with Jaycee’s safety.

  Lindsey’s safe now. Just like the rest of the women, she has a lot of work ahead of her. My sister, Emily is looking out for her with my brother-in-law, Lucas’s help.

  I think it’s time Jaycee had someone to look out for her, too.

  “I recommend something from the top shelf, but if I remember, it’s Jack and Coke? I think we can come up with a couple of drinks if I can convince you to stay for a while.”

  Jaycee turns around while she considers my proposition… only to have a drink with me, of course.

  I should have my ass kicked for the thoughts that race through my head. I notice the way her tight jeans hug her ass. My cock twitches when I think how her thick thighs are perfect for a large hand like mine to grip when I slide into her perfect pussy and pound her from behind.

  I turn around so she can’t see when I reach down to adjust myself.

  “I guess I can stay a little while. I need to calm down after the day I’ve had. Maybe a drink will help me relax.”

  Yeah, me too, baby, I think to myself. Except it’s not a drink I need to calm me. It’s a willing pair of lips wrapped around me or a tight pussy I can sink into; it’s been too long since I’ve had that release.

  I hope a drink will help Jaycee relax. I remember how feisty she was that first night she came to the club. She wouldn’t give me or anyone else the time of day.

  I can tell she has a fire in her. Hell, when she gets close enough I can practically feel it.

  She probably thinks she’s too damaged, too broken, to fit in with the rest of us around here, but I’ll work on her. I don’t know who Jaycee was before it all happened, but I want to know everything about who she is now.

  When we get to the main room, I watch her look around.

  “You don’t need to be nervous, Jaycee. You’ll be by my side tonight. No one will bother you.”

  “I can take care of myself.”

  I can hear the doubt. She’s scared of something… Hell, she’s probably scared of everything. I don’t know if she’s nervous because she thinks someone’s following her, or perhaps, it’s because she has feelings she hasn’t experienced in a while. A little of both, I suspect.

  “Let me show you around the place. You haven’t seen most of the club yet.”

  “I… I don’t belong in a… a sex club. I don’t understand why people come to a place like this. It makes little sense why people want to do that in front of other people.”

  “So, it’s not the things they’re doing that bother you? It’s the fact it’s done in a public place where other people can watch?”

  A blush creeps over her gorgeous face, her eyes widen.

  “Oh, my god! I didn’t say that! I… I don’t know what I’m trying to say. All of this scares me, okay? What if… what if I see something that’s a trigger for me, and what if I don’t know how to handle it?”

  I go to the bar to make our drinks so I have a minute to let what she’s said sink in, for her and for me. It’s probably the most honest thing she’s said, or even thought, in a long time.

  She’s scared.

  I don’t want a relationship… Or, I didn’t before, but maybe somewhere deep down, I know this woman might make me consider it.

  Jaycee’s different than any other woman I’ve known. I won’t admit it out loud, but it’s more than just my cock dying to get a taste of her. She’s digging her way into other places.

  I think it all started one night a little over eighteen months ago in the wee hours of the night when I slipped into that locked room.

  Malcolm had turned her over to a group of men and they didn’t go easy on her. They had her strung up to a whipping post for hours while they took turns. When they finished with her, Jayson and another bastard locked her inside a bedroom. No one cared if she lived or died. In fact, I’m pretty sure Malcolm half-hoped she would die.

  I cared, so I stayed with her, and I took care of her.

  When I sit down on the stool next to her, she’s sitting with her face hidden behind her hands, her elbows resting on the bar. I reach over and brush the hair back over her shoulder so I can have a better view of her beautiful face. I need to see what’s going on with her.

  A magnetic feeling rushes through my fingertips when I connect with her.

  She stiffens when I splay my fingers across her back and caress up and down, but a few seconds later, she relaxes.

  Progress already.

  “I’m sure you’ll find triggers, Jaycee.
The fact you’re sitting here after everything you went through tells me you’re strong enough to handle anything. I know you’ve been doing everything alone until now, but I’m here if you need me. That might not mean much coming from someone you barely know, but I promise I’m here. I want to help you find Kennedy, but I’d also like to help you find yourself.”

  When Jaycee lifts her head to look at me, her beautiful, expressive blue eyes tell me she’s still in there. She thinks she’s empty inside, but I can see something mysterious that fills her.

  She’s captivating and seducing me without even knowing it.

  “Jaycee.”

  She blinks twice. “Grant, I don’t know…”

  Before she finishes her sentence, I throw caution to the wind.

  I cup her soft face and gently set my lips on hers. I know it’s too soon for her, but this moment hasn’t come fast enough for me.

  I won’t force her. That isn’t the way I do things. If she pushes me away, if she tells me to stop, I’ll listen, but I want to taste her so fucking bad. Maybe a just small sampling of Jaycee Jennings will satisfy the hunger for a while longer until I can convince her to give us a chance for something more.

  She reaches a hand up and grips my forearm. I expect her to stop the kiss, but instead, her hold tightens.

  I ease us both into position so we’re facing perfectly, and then I reach down with the hand that’s unoccupied and slide it under one knee and lift her leg over my lap, and then I shift us both forward so she’s almost straddling me on the barstool.

  She moans a little. I trace my tongue across her lip so she opens for me. I grasp her hips and pull her close while I take my time exploring her.

  Her lower body rocks against me. My cock is hard as a fucking rock between us. It’s all I can do to avoid popping the button and lowering my zipper to set myself free.

  The loud commotion of people coming in interrupts us.

  Jaycee slides back onto her seat, her lips are red and slightly swollen and her skin is flushed and glowing.