Rock Chick 06 Reckoning by Kristen Ashley Read Free Book Online

flash.
    “Don’t lie to me, Stel a.”
    “I’m not lying. His name is Eric. We’ve been dating for about a month. We’re considering taking it to the next level.” Eric was considering it. I wasn’t so sure but Mace didn’t need to know this.
    Mace stared at me as if trying to assess the validity of my statement.
    Then he spoke. “Your relationship progression with Eric just stal ed.”
    I felt my eyes get wide. “Erm, excuse me?”
    “He’s out of the picture.”
    At that, I felt my eyes narrow. “He is not.”
    “He is.”
    “Who do you think you are?”
    “In our current scenario, I’m the guy who’s gonna keep you safe. I’m the guy who’s gonna keep you alive. And I’m gonna do it however I need to do it and while I’m doin’ it, I don’t need to have to deal with any of your groupies.” My groupies?
    Okay, I had groupies. I was in a band, a somewhat successful band at least local y. Groupies came with the territory.
    However I wasn’t a col ector of groupies. I had enough to deal with considering Pong and Hugo were both in my band because they were dedicating their life to perfecting the art of col ecting groupies.
    And anyway, when did Mace turn into such an asshole?
    “He’s not a groupie!” I yel ed.
    “Discussion about Eric just ended.” He said Eric’s name like it tasted bad. If I was smart, I would have read something into that. Instead, I was seething that he was being so bossy. “Now you and I are gonna get things straight –”
    “No we aren’t,” I interrupted him.
    He ignored me. “You and Juno are movin’ in with me.” Uh… what?
    “No we aren’t!” I shouted
    “Okay,” Mace said amicably. “Then I’m movin’ in with you and Juno.”
    “No you aren’t!” I screeched.
    He kept ignoring my outbursts. “You don’t go anywhere unless I’m with you or I know where you’re goin’ and I got a man on you. Got me?”
    I decided to extricate myself from the current conversation and start my own.
    “You’re a jerk.”
    “I’l tel Pong, Leo, Buzz and Hugo that you’re out of commission as their twenty-four-seven babysitter.” What he said pissed me off but I ignored it in order to stay with my own theme. “You’re not a jerk, you’re an asshole.”
    “I’l cal Floyd and tel him what’s goin’ down and he’l back me with the band.”
    Effing hel , he was pul ing out the big guns.
    My eyes narrowed again and I hissed, “Don’t you dare.”
    “Floyd knows I can keep you safe and Floyd won’t take any shit from the band.”
    “Don’t you dare!” I shouted.
    “And when this is al over, you and me gotta talk.” I did not like the sound of that.
    “This is al over. I’m not your woman, just let it be known to Sid’s boys that you don’t give a fuck about me and I can go about my life –”
    “You and I both know that’s bul shit and, obviously, so does Sid.”
    “It isn’t bul shit.”
    “We’re over but that doesn’t mean you weren’t once my woman.”
    “I’m not now.”
    “No, you aren’t, but that doesn’t stop the fact that I’d care, a great fuckin’ deal, if you got fil ed with bul ets.” I had nothing to say to that. Nothing at al . I was trying not even to think of that.
    “You fight me, Kitten, then I’l take you and them on at the same time. I don’t give a fuck and I always win. Always.” He wasn’t wrong. He always won. He’d once been a professional surfer, the best. He’d moved on to become a professional snowboarder and he was the best at that too.
    Now he was a PI and, from what I could tel by the respect he got from the tough guys around him, he was pretty damn good at that too.
    I decided it was high time to give up and battle on when Mace and I were not in bed and Mace’s body was not on mine.
    My eyes slid away from his face.
    “Please get off me,” I asked, softly, quietly, politely.
    “Kitten,” he cal ed and my eyes slid back. “Something else you should know.”
    “What?”
    “This is a