Instead of untying him I sat down on the lounger across from him. “Well now. See, I was going to help you out, man. But you threatening my Emmie like that just got you a few more minutes.”

Emmie stuck her tongue out at him as she dropped down beside of me and cuddled close. “See. Told you he would be on my side.” Her stomach pressed against my side, and she laid her head on my chest. “Better treat me better mister.”

“Ah, fuck. Come on Emmie!” He twisted on the lounger, but his shirt was tied in a knot that I had taught Emmie myself so I knew he wasn’t getting loose anytime soon. “Alright, I’m sorry. I should have known better than to invite Ax over with Brie…Gabriella,” he amended when she gave him a killing glare. “Baby, please. I’ll fix it. I swear… If you love me you will untie me, Em!”

“You know I love you, Nikolas Armstrong,” she told him, but went back to cuddling close to me. “Too bad you haven’t shown me you love me today.”

Nik went still on the lounger. Emmie had gotten a direct hit on him and shit was about to get real. I closed my eyes, savoring my time with Em before Nik took her away. A minute later, a large shadow landed over us and I opened my eyes to look up at Nik. His arms were still tied behind his back but somehow he had gotten free of the lounger. Without a word he turned and I untied him.

As soon as his hands were free, he lifted Emmie into his arms. His blue eyes were darker than I had ever seen them. Anger and hurt seemed to pour from him. “I think we need to have a long talk, Ember.”

“Nik…I was just kidding.” Emmie clutched at his shoulders as he turned on his heel and stalked into the house with her still in his arms. “Nik!”

“Shut up, Em,” he snapped and kept on walking.

I knew that he wouldn’t hurt her, but I had to follow them inside. He hadn’t gone far. I stopped outside of the living room where Nik had put her on the long end of the sectional and stood glaring down at her. His hands raked through his hair, making him look slightly demented.

“Do I not show you how much I love you every day, Em?” He demanded.

Emmie sighed. “Of course you do. Look, I’m sorry. It was just a joke.”

“Well don’t fucking joke around about that! I love you, baby. You are my everything. If you don’t believe me, then tell me now so that I can fix it.” He fell to his knees in front of her. “Tell me, Em.”

“I know that you love me. It took me a little while, but I really believe you. I’m sorry I said that, Nik.” I heard the tears in her voice now and had to restrain my urge to pound my friend in the face. Emmie should never cry. Never! “I was being a bitch and I’m sorry. I get a little evil like that when I think of you and Gabriella in the same room.”

“Em, I told you nothing happened. She lied to you. Gabriella is nothing to me. Nothing! It was always you and she used that to hurt you.” Nik pulled her into his arms and kissed her tenderly. “Please believe me, baby.”

“I…I… believe you.”

I turned away, feeling as if I was intruding. Nik and Emmie had come a long way over the summer. Sometimes Em had moments when she second guessed Nik’s feelings but they worked through their problems. Nik had his hands full with her insecurities, but he never lost his patience when it came to showing Em what she meant to him.

I kind of wanted what they had, insecurities and all.

Layla

I left Lana and Lucy in front of the television with a large cheese pizza. Lana was still stuck between pouting and glaring off into space. I hoped that she and Drake would be able to sort it out before I got home. Sure, Lana was over reacting a little about Drake buying her things, but her life had been full of the men our mother had paraded before her, all trying to win her over with expensive things so they could get closer to Lydia…

Or the really perverted ones trying to get closer to her!

Been there done that. It was why my mother had thrown me out when I was sixteen. One of her boyfriends had taken a sick liking to me, and one night he had tried to climb into bed with me. When I had woken up to a naked forty year old man beside of me, I had freaked out. I screamed until everyone in the house was up. My mother had taken one look at the picture—me, only in my night gown, her boyfriend naked and in my bed—and went ballistic. She pulled me up out of my bed and dragged me out of the house. I wasn’t sure what had happened to the boyfriend, but I did know that Lydia had considered the whole thing my fault. She was insecure about her age, hated that she was getting older and losing the fresh young looks that she had always relied on to help find sugar daddies—and rock stars—to pay her bills for her. It hadn’t mattered to her that I was only sixteen. All she had cared about was that I was prettier than she was and therefore competition.

If she hadn’t died when she had I was sure she would have ended up tossing Lana out too. Lana, who was so much more beautiful than I was, would have been serious trouble for Lydia’s self-esteem.

At seven there was a knock on the front door, and my heart moved to my throat. It was crazy that I was nervous. It wasn’t like this was my first date or anything. I have had boyfriends in the past and even thought I was in love a time or two, but this was different. Jesse was different.

When I opened the door, the sight before me took my breath away. Dressed in jeans, a shirt that stretched across that massive chest and biker boots, he was my version of sexy multiplied by ten. Screw the date! I wanted to haul him into the closest bed and devour him whole.

His eyes changed colors as soon as he saw me, going dark and animalistic as he trailed his gaze from the top of my head to my toes. I had left my hair down, with the ends just slightly curled to add some body. My makeup wasn’t all that special except I had paid extra attention to my eye makeup, giving them that smoky with cool grays and metallic blues. His eyes paused momentarily on my chest, obviously liking the way my top clung to my breast. The skinny jeans I had on were a pair of Lana’s, and they hugged my hips tight. The boots that Drake had bought her finished my look, and I could almost see the fantasies Jesse was having in his eyes—imagining me with nothing but those boots on.

He rubbed a hand over his mouth, taking his time as his eyes made the return trip back up to my face. “Killing me here, baby.”

I grinned, loving that I was affecting him so much. “I can change.”

“No.” He shook his head and grasped my hand. “I like that you are killing me.” He tugged me out the door and I called a “good night” to the girls before shutting the door behind us.