Payback's A Bitch (Awkward Love 6)

Out of nowhere, she’s swept my feet from beneath me, tackled me to the ground bending one arm behind my back so hard that I’m doing my best not to squeal like a girl.

“Seven years martial arts,” she whispers in my ear. I wince when she bites down on the lobe. “Now you wanna tell me how much I need rescuing?” she taunts.

I break out of her hold and roll over, so she’s straddling me. She narrows her eyes as I place my hands on her ass and smirk up at her.

“There’s nothing sexier than a chick with balls,” I tease her.

She rolls her eyes as she firmly removes my hands and stands up. I accept her hand when she extends it to me, then I get to my feet.

“Okay. You’ve got skills,” I agree. “But what if he’d have followed you inside and caught you off guard.” I pause. “Or worse. What if he had a gun?”

She frowns at me, a flicker of fear passing through her eyes.

“Fine. Thank you so much for swooping in to save me.” She raises her eyebrows at me. “Did that satisfy your ego there, tiger?”

“Not quite,” I call out after her.

She laughs and walks inside, slamming the door behind her—just in case I had any ideas of following her. I shake my head and grin. Wow. I had no idea she was so tough. It’s kind of turning me on just thinking about how quickly she had me pinned like that.

I knew the moment I met Darcy that she was one of those chicks. You know the type I’m talking about. The kind who think they can get themselves out of any situation because they’re independent and strong.

Sure, being able to protect yourself is fine. The thing is, that’s not going to help if the guy, pinning you against the wall, has a hundred pounds on you. Especially when you’ve got it in your head that you’re invincible. I know she would’ve dropped that wiry little creep, in two seconds flat, but next time she might not be so lucky. And eventually, she’s going to find herself in a situation where there’s nobody around to rescue her. I turn around when I hear a noise, then I look a little closer at the bushes beneath the living room window.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

I laugh, because, Darcy was right. He’s fucking hiding there, waiting for me to leave.

“Hey,” I yell out.

His eyes widen when I start to jog towards him. He stands up, losing his balance and toppling backward, straight back into the bushes. He falls on his ass, just in time for me to reach down to grab a handful of his shirt and haul him to his feet. I give him the nastiest glare I can muster up, then I shove him backward.

“Did I not tell you to get lost?” I growl, curling my lip.

“Yes … I uh, I was ….”

He stumbles through a few words, before giving up completely.

“You were what?” I repeat. “Crouching behind the bushes, waiting for me to leave so you could have another go?”

“I’m sorry,” he mumbles. “I was but I changed my mind. I promise.”

“Because you saw her flatten me?” I hide my smirk. Maybe she can look after herself. “Just get the fuck out of here. Now.

He nods and races off, taking cover in a car that’s parked a few houses down. I wait for him to drive off, but he doesn’t. He’s just sitting there, doing God knows what, other than pissing me the hell off. What do I have to do to get through to this dick?

When I start walking toward his car, he finally speeds off. I frown, not convinced he’s really gotten the message. Which means I’m going to have to make him get it. Darcy might irritate the fuck out of me, but that doesn’t mean I want to see her get hurt.

I jog over to my car, jump in and buckle up, then I reverse out of the driveway. I slam my foot down on the accelerator, just in time to see him turn left into traffic. I follow him, keeping back enough that he’s not going to figure out I’m behind him.

After around twenty minutes of congested, stop start LA traffic, he turns into a leafy suburban street on the outskirts of the city. I slow down and watch as he slowly pulls into the driveway. I shake my head because this guy is an even bigger cock than I first thought.

I might be jumping to conclusions, but the children’s shoes littering the front porch are making me strongly suspect this dude is married. That and also the heavily pregnant chick he’s now kissing at the front door.

This is going to be fun.

I get out of the car, lift my fingers to my mouth and whistle.