"I could get used to this. With you here, I'm not cold."Jagger laughed. The two of them were lying on her couch, watching reruns of The Big Bang Theory. He had laid down first and opened his arms for her. With only a little bit of hesitation, she had fallen into those arms and pulled a blanket over them. For over an hour, she had snuggled so tightly against him that he didn't know where he ended and she began. If asked, he might even say that this would be a defining moment of his life."That's all I am to you? A heater?" He put his hand over his heart. "You wound me."Moving her head to the side so that she could look at him, the grin that came over her face was contagious. "Speaking of wounding you, when did you take that picture to put on my phone?"He cracked up in earnest now, laughing so hard she could feel his abdominal muscles contract. "I was wondering when you would see that. You didn't have a picture of me on there so Layne took one of me for you.""Why were you T
Bianca awoke to sunlight streaming in from the blinds they had forgotten to close the night before and a heavy arm resting across her stomach, holding her closely. Entwining her fingers with Jagger's, she gave his hand a light squeeze. Not enough to wake him up, just enough to let him know she was there. He answered by tightening his arm around her and burying his head deeper into her hair. She could feel the scrape of an unshaven face on her neck. It was intimate and the epitome of all things that happened in relationships. A small smile worked its way across her face and she sighed happily.She had slept through the night for the first time since the gunfire outside the apartment, feeling safe with him there. It wasn't that she felt like someone was going to break in and maim her at all times, but there was an uneasiness about being a female living alone. With him, she could let her guard down. Gone was the fatigue that normally dragged her down and the low-lying hum of wariness th
"Bianca, you in here?" Meredith asked as she knocked on the door."Yeah," she grinned from her spot on the couch. "Studying as always."Meredith watched as Bianca lifted the book so that the cover showed. Having a seat next to her, Meredith got comfortable. "I hope you don't mind that Tyler brought me.""Not at all. Like we talked about earlier, I just don't have that many girlfriends so it's always kind of weird for me if you want to hang out."Glancing up, Bianca looked at the other woman closely. Meredith looked more melancholy than usual, not the perky individual that Bianca was used to. "Are you okay?" she asked gently, setting her book aside.Tears popped to Meredith's eyes and Bianca blinked in surprise. Just what the hell was going on that would make this vivacious person cry? It wasn't long before tears streamed down Meredith's cheeks in earnest. "Hey, I'm not good with other people, much less when they cry."At those words, Meredith giggled. "I know. Emotions m
"Why are you lookin' at me like that?"Bianca shook her head and looked away. She had been staring at Layne, she realized. Taking a drink of her Margarita and dipping a chip in their queso, she looked back at him. "You probably think I'm crazy, but I feel like I know you from somewhere else besides the club."From where he sat on the other side of the table Tyler smirked, as did Jagger. "Go ahead, assholes, laugh it up." Layne took a drink from his beer bottle and ran a hand through his hair. Reaching over to the side of the table, he grabbed a toothpick and put it in his mouth, chewing on the end."What's so funny?" Meredith asked. She had also gotten the feeling that she knew Layne from somewhere, but didn't know where. "Yeah, why are you guys acting like it's some secret?"Layne cleared his throat and lifted his eyebrows. "You might remember a few years ago—it was all the rage for members of the service to ask celebrities to their balls?""Oh yeah," Meredith smiled.
"It's colder than a well-digger's ass out here." Jagger shivered as he pulled his bandana up around his mouth and breathed heavily into it."No shit." Layne stomped his feet to try to get some warmth into his body. "This weather makes my damn leg hurt," he grumbled."Well you'd never know it by lookin' at you. You're a fighter."Layne had heard that his whole life, and while he agreed, it sometimes just annoyed him. "I'm not special at all. Some of my friends didn't make it back from over there.""You think that's why you joined up with us?" Jagger asked, pulling a cigarette from his pack. He held it in his hand, appearing to contemplate whether he really wanted to light it or not. That would require him to move his bandana over and might make him more cold."Don't know," Layne shrugged. "Maybe I just have a death wish and I never really knew it."That, Jagger could understand. From a young age he had been force-fed Christianity and God. He knew without a doubt that was why
Bianca gazed around the room, looking for Jagger. She had seen other members of Heaven Hill walk in a while ago but had yet to see him. Being that Jagger should have been with Layne, she was nervous. Layne had given her a look as he walked through, and it made her uneasy. Had something happened to Jagger and they were scared to tell her? The house lights of the club went down, and she looked around quickly. It was unusual for that to happen unless they were about to have someone on stage. The last girl had gone on a few minutes before, and it would be a few more minutes before the next one came on. Dominic, the head bouncer, nodded at her, letting her know it was okay. She watched as Sparkles came out on stage."How's it goin', everybody?" she asked.The crowd was loud and just a little bit rowdy so they gave her a loud ovation, clapping roughly for her. "Good to hear. We got a bit of a surprise for y'all tonight. Normally we advertise this little hottie's shows weeks in adva
"You want to come home with me?" Jagger asked, his lips next to her ear.They had been wrapped up in one another for a long time, she wasn't sure how long really."Sounds good to me." She stretched her arms up, encircling them around his neck, and pulled him down, kissing him softly on the lips."Do I need to follow you back to your apartment to get your clothes?"She shook her head. "Nah, I did laundry today so all my clothes are in my car."He squeezed her around the waist tightly, her feet coming off the floor briefly before setting her down again. "Good, I'll follow you to the clubhouse then.""I need to tip out and stuff. You can go before me," she offered, reaching down to pull her underwear back up around her waist."No." His eyes hardened. "Is that asshole here tonight?"Bianca didn't know who had tipped him off to Money Bags, but she really wished they hadn't. "He's not causing me that much of an issue, but he is here.""Any issue is enough for me to be worri
Jagger quietly let himself into his dorm, surprised to find Bianca still awake."What are you doin' still up?" he asked, shutting the door behind him.She sat in the chair facing his bed, a textbook in her lap. Grinning, she answered, "You forget that I'm a complete night owl. Usually I don't go to bed until 2 a.m. It's the nature of having the job I do.""When you actually get into a full-time teaching position, it's gonna be rough on you," he laughed, taking his cut and shirt off."Don't I know it? How'd your meeting go?""Good," he nodded, not elaborating on anything. It was best to just leave things open ended. Bianca watched as he continued taking his clothes off and then pulled the covers of the bed back. "Are we going to bed?" she asked, her eyebrow raised."I don't know about you, but I'm tired." She stood up and divested herself of her clothes too, leaving her naked. "Can I have a shirt?""You know where they are." He pointed to his dresser and watched as s