Red Ink (Mad Jackals Brotherhood MC Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

She rolls onto her side and reaches out to touch his shoulder but he flinches away from her like her touch burned. She feels an answering stab in her heart, at the sight of him pulling away from her, both emotionally and physically.
     
    “I will, Mia.” He sounds frustrated, angry an as a defensive reflex Mia shuffles back slightly on the bed, getting away from him. He grabs hold of her wrist, stopping her and turns towards her, his voice changes, becoming warmer, softer as if he’s realized he shouldn’t have lost his temper with her. “I will. But you have to give me some time. I’ve been on my own for a long while. Having someone to take into account – it’s not something I’m used to. I haven’t had much practice.” He gives her a yearning look, willing her with his eyes to understand.
     
    Mia smiles at him quickly, hating the fact that she knows so little about what he’s been through but hating any tension between them even more. “I understand. Take all the time you need. When you’re ready to talk, I’ll be ready to listen.”
     
    Ray reaches out and strokes her cheekbone with his thumb. “Thank you.”
     
    She leans into his touch, grateful for the truce between them, at least for now. But she doesn’t forget the angry way that he’d answered her, the way something violent had flashed in his eyes. He’d never looked at her that way before, never been aggressive or frightened her. But out of sheer intuition she knew that whatever was in his past, whatever he’d done, that fierceness she’d seen in his face was a part of it. It was something he carried within him now. And all she wanted to do was help him. All she wanted to do was to take away the pain, the anger, the fear she saw dancing in his eyes, that had given him the hard expression that had no place on his handsome face.
     
    “You know I just want to help. Whatever has happened, it’s in the past now.” She leans over and kisses him softly, feeling him relax next to her. But when she pulls away from him, there’s a look in his eyes that tells her that she’s mistaken. Whatever has happened, it’s definitely not in the past, whatever it was, he hadn’t left it behind.
     

 
    Chapter Six
     
    As could only be expected, Cassie had loved Ray. She’d thought he was charming, funny and – to put it in her own words – hotter than Carnival in Rio. They’d hit it off right away in a way that Cassie never had with Eli. Mia had sat back and watched them joke and laugh, watched Ray ask questions about Cassie’s work and show a genuine interest in getting to know her friend better. Her heart warmed at seeing two of the people she cared about most in the world in the same place actually getting along. So this is what it’s supposed to be like, she’d thought to herself.
    They’d had a great night, only marred by the creep who had tried to flirt with Mia when she’d gone to get another round of beers from the bar. Ray had overreacted when the guy had squared up to him, punching him in the face and breaking his nose. They were lucky the guy was a known troublemaker and that was the only reason Jacob hadn’t thrown them out.
     
    Cassie had dragged Mia to the ladies’ room when she’d seen how pale her friend had turned at the sight of the other guy’s blood on Ray’s hand.
     
    “He’s never been violent, Cass. I’ve never seen him like that. It sort of rattled me, I guess.” Mia concentrated on washing her hands in the ice-cold water, hoping the simple task would stop her from seeing the expression on Ray’s face just before he threw the punch.
     
    “What are you talking about, girl? That was seriously hot! Most girls would kill for a guy to show that kind of interest in them!” Cassie had looked at Mia as if she were crazy to be worrying.
     
    “But don’t you think it was a little…” Mia shook her head, trying to figure out what it was that she was trying to say, what it was that had caught her off guard. “I