Wanting Shaw (Rockers' Legacy Book 5)

“That’s the thing, baby. You aren’t Vi.” I wiped away one of her tears as it spilled down her cheek. “And I’m sure as hell not Luca. You shouldn’t be comparing yourself—or us—to anyone. It’s you and me, not them. I can’t promise you it will be okay for Violet and Luca, but I can sure as hell swear on my soul that I will never hurt you.”

She was weakening. I could feel it in the way her body trembled as she fought not to melt against me. I pulled her even closer, making the temptation that much harder for her to resist, and I lowered my head to her ear. “From this day forward, you are my number one priority. I will walk across broken glass, crawl on my stomach across hot coals, just to be with you. I know I’ve messed up in the past, but that will never happen again, Dimples. I won’t allow Cannon, or anyone else, to ever come between us.” I nuzzled her ear with my nose, breathing in her sweet fragrance. “I fucking love you, Shaw.”

“Jags,” she moaned, her forehead pressing against my chest.

“Tell me you love me too, baby,” I pleaded.

“I…I do,” she choked out. “But we can’t be together. I don’t trust you with my heart.”

“Godsdamn it, Shaw,” I groaned, my hands grasping her hips hard. “I’m not going to break your heart. I swear to you.”

“Luca made those same promises,” she snapped, jerking away from me. “And if he can’t keep them, I sure as fuck am not going to believe you will.”

I raked my fingers through my hair in frustration. “Stop comparing me to him!” I growled. “Luca has always been a tantrum-prone asshole. It was why he was always getting in trouble when we were younger. I have more self-control than him. I don’t let my temper or the need to one-up people rule my life.”

“You set me up to find you with another girl,” she said with a shrug, but the anger on her face couldn’t hide the way her voice cracked or the way her chin trembled. “I got the hint loud and clear, Jagger. I won’t give you another chance to do that to me again.”

“I fucked up!” I exploded. “But I’ve learned my lesson.”

“So did I.” Her voice was as hard as her eyes had just become.

“Baby—”

“I learned never to let anyone have access to my heart. I learned that no guy is ever legit when he tells a girl he loves her.” She wrapped her arms around herself, as if she were suddenly cold. “But I also learned that the best way to get over the guy who tore your heart out of your chest is to get under another one.”

I stumbled back as if she’d physically hit me. “You hooked up with someone?” Jealousy and desperation made my voice shake with rage. “Who was it?” I just needed a name. I’d find the fucker who touched my girl and bury him.

A smirk teased at her lips. “That’s none of your business.”

I grabbed her wrist and jerked her roughly against me. My mouth slammed down on hers, kissing away her memories of the bastard who had gotten to taste what was mine. She kissed me back, her fingers thrusting into my hair and holding me to her as we devoured each other hungrily.

When we were both desperate for oxygen, I pulled back enough to growl, “His name, Dimples.”

She shoved me away from her. “I haven’t hooked up with anyone, dumbass. I wasn’t even talking about myself.”

Confused, I scrubbed my hands over my face. My jealousy faded enough for me to see clearly again without an angry red haze narrowing my field of vision. “Then who the fuck were you talking about?” I demanded.

“Vi,” she said with a casual lift of one shoulder. “I’m pretty sure she’s under Remington right now.”

“What?” Fuck. Ma was going to kill me if something happened to Vi again. I never should have let her go upstairs with that guy by herself. But I’d wanted some alone time with Shaw to talk and thought Violet would be safe with him.

“He’s got the biggest crush on her,” Shaw informed me. “And he’s a nice enough guy, I guess. He even made her smile a few times in the past couple months, which is really a small miracle if you ask me.”

Swinging around, I sprinted for the door. “Where is his room?”

“No clue,” she called after me. “I’ve never been here before.”

I glanced at her over my shoulder and saw she wasn’t following me. Muttering a curse, I jogged back and grabbed her hand before pulling her with me out of the office. Upstairs, I opened one door after another, frantically looking for my little cousin. With my luck where that girl was concerned, I wouldn’t reach her in time, and she’d probably end up pregnant or with an STD or some shit she couldn’t get rid of. Ma would kill me for sure because I’d told her I only wanted to go to this damn party so I could watch out for the girls.

Finally, I shoved a door open and found Violet sitting up on a bed with Remington right beside her. It wasn’t hard to see that they were about to kiss, and since Vi’s lips weren’t swollen, I figured I was right on time.

As the door bounced off the wall from where I’d thrown it so forcefully, Remington moved so he was blocking Violet protectively. I had to give the guy points for trying to save her. It made me relax a little, knowing she’d been safe from other dangers with him. But she obviously hadn

’t been safe from him taking advantage of her in her vulnerable state.

“Let’s go, Violet,” I told her as I stomped over to the bed. She sat there glaring up at me with her mouth gaping open in disbelief. Reaching her, I lifted her and tossed her over my shoulder. She barely weighed anything at all, but she started punching me in the back, and I couldn’t contain the groan when she landed a painful blow to my kidney.

“I don’t want to go yet!” she yelled.