Page 19 of Work It Out
Jake heard Rayah’s voice, quieter now if not precisely soft. She was giving someone hell. Then came a deep voice that stiffened Jake’s spine.
Granny’s boytoy.
“I’m sorry, Ray-Ray. I shouldn’t have messed with you like that. It was a dick move.”
Jake seethed. Classic. Hurting her didn’t get him what he wanted, so turn on the charm and apologize. The jump to thinking of Blaine as abusive was unfair, considering he’d spent all of ten minutes with the guy, and Rayah sounded pissed, not scared. Still, he’d learned the hard way not to ignore his instincts, and something about the guy rubbed him wrong.
His inner caveman was happy to point out what that something might be the moment he rounded the corner and saw Rayah in Blaine’s arms. After Sedona, he didn’t like anyone crowding his crotchety nurse like that, let alone a big pretty boy with an obvious crush. Ridiculous, but he wasn’t into lying to himself anymore.
That caveman went raging beast when he realized she was trying, without success, to get away from him. If there was one thing he wouldn’t stand for, it was a guy who didn’t take no for an answer. Even if it meant getting his ass handed to him by a meathead in a ’roid rage.
He opened his mouth to tell Blaine to get his hands off her when the guy’s ice-blue eyes shot up and pinned him in place. Without looking away from Jake, he asked Rayah something that made no sense. “Where have you been staying since Jake took your cabin?”
Jake met that icy glare with his own. “Since I what?”
Rayah finally jerked her arm free and stepped away from Blaine. She was such a tiny thing. He’d known that, but standing next to that guy, she looked so delicate it made his blood boil. As he closed in on them, Jake looked her over for any sign of injury. It was easy enough. She wore skintight leggings and a purple sports bra, a flannel shirt tied low around her curvy hips. Her lovely skin sported pinkish blotches on her biceps, and her cheekbones were tinted with embarrassment, but no actual damage. God knew he’d seen plenty of that.
A muscle jumped in Blaine’s cheek as Jake huddled Rayah behind his back.
“Couple things,” Jake said evenly. “First, you put your hands on her without her permission again, and I’ll cut them off.”
Blaine scoffed. “You gonna kick my ass, little man?”
“Didn’t say anything about kicking your ass,” Jake clarified. “I also didn’t say how or when I’d liberate your bear paws.” He glared at those massive hands, the thought of them hurting her like the buzz of a thousand stinging bees—loud and agonizing even as it galvanized his will. “You might be bigger, but when it comes to abusive assholes, I promise, I can be a lot meaner.”
“Abusive—” The color rose in Blaine’s face, and those paws clenched into enormous fists. “Watch your mouth, Newman. I don’t hurt women. Ever. And I’d take a bullet for that one,” he stabbed a finger in Rayah’s direction, “with a smile on my face.”
“So you were holding her against her will for her health?”
Rayah stepped out from behind him and tried to wiggle between them, one hand on each man’s chest. That small hand had no chance of shoving him back, but her touch and her lemony scent calmed him.
“All right, guys. Let’s take a breath and talk this out.” She frowned at each of them in turn. “Pretend you know how to act civilized.”
Blaine laughed and stepped back. “Now, sugar, you know I can be civilized.” One eyelid closed in a slow, probably-meant-to-be-sexy wink. “When I want to.”
“Sugar?” Jake might’ve thought he’d spoken the question if it hadn’t been shrieked in an octave he couldn’t reach. Rayah stood hands-on-hips and glaring holes in Blaine. “What’s wrong with you today? First, you’re messing with me about snakes. Now, you’re being all touchy-feely and weird. Did you try the sushi at Frankie’s again?”
He shook his head, his dumbass man-bun twitching in the wind. “Nothing’s wrong with me.” His gaze hardened again as it shifted back to Jake. “And I didn’t hurt her.”
“You telling me she screams ‘ow’ for kicks?”
“She screams ‘ow’ when she makes poor decisions.”
“I punched him in the gut.” Rayah tossed a petulant scowl at Blaine. “But he deserved it. He said there was a rattlesnake in my office.” She shuddered. “Snakes aren’t a joking matter.”
“Especially when you’ve been sleeping there, right?” Blaine crossed tree trunk arms over his chest.
Jake’s stomach dropped. “That’s what you meant when you said I took her cabin? I actually put her out of her home?”
“Without notice.” Blaine failed to hide the glee in his voice at Jake’s horror.
The lingerie. It’d been hers.
Nausea roiled through him as he realized another woman had been harmed because he’d had his head wedged up his own ass. Granted, he’d initially felt like he was knocking on death’s door, but he should’ve put it together by now.
“I should’ve moved out a long time ago.” Rayah rubbed her temple. “The cabin isn’t my home. It’s a rental that hasn’t been needed until now. I slept in my office for a couple nights while I decided what to do. That’s all.”
“You slept in your office because you’re a headstrong pain in my backside,” Blaine corrected. “We’ve all been worried about you, but Samuel said a few nights on those mats ought to work the stubborn out of your system. Finding a rattler in your office just speeds things along.”
