My head is completely fucked up right now and I can’t put any rational thoughts together enough to function.

I thought I wanted Avalon to feel me, to see the monster in me, but the thought of her walking away makes my chest ache and my blood boil.

I’m not ready to let that happen yet. That’s exactly why I’m parked outside of Stylin’ right now, waiting in my truck for her to walk out that door.

The “Open” sign has been turned off for over twenty minutes now, and the only car in the parking lot is Avalon’s jeep. I hate the thought of her leaving the salon at night without any kind of protection.

That knowledge makes me want to sit outside every night that she works and take her home myself. Her boss is stupid for not having any kind of safety for her employees; either that or she’s a just a bitch.

Regardless . . . here I am.

Leaning my head back, I take a long drag of my cigarette and slowly release it.

A few minutes later, I look out my window and toss my cigarette out when I hear Avalon and Madison talking animatedly.

“That’s just fucking crazy, Ava, and you know it. Of course I didn’t sleep with both of them. We just . . . you know . . . had a little fun. I just wanted a small taste. For now . . .”

“You’re one feisty little whore. You know that?” Avalon comments while slowly walking to her jeep without even bothering to check her surroundings. “But hell if I don’t want to know the details. Well maybe not all of them.”

It makes me angry that she hasn’t even noticed my truck sitting in the back of the parking lot, facing them. I could be some crazed fucking maniac . . . Well, one dangerous to her at least.

This just proves to me that I have something to worry about and makes me glad that I chose to sit out here and wait.

“What can I say?” Madison says excitedly, while playfully snapping her teeth at the air like an animal. “I’m wild and those boys bring out the animal in me. No fucking shame, Sweets, none at all. You should try it sometime. Maybe Royal will let one of the boys join. Jax can eat your pussy while Royal fucks your mouth. Hot!”

Alright, I’ve had enough of this shit.

I crack my neck in annoyance and hop out of my truck, walking straight at them.

Madison is the first one to see me coming. She instinctively jumps back and screams, causing Avalon to turn around and face me.

Avalon’s eyes widen in fear for a small second before she realizes that it’s me.

“Holy fuck!” Madison screeches, while grabbing her chest. “Where the fuck did you come from?”

I growl and point behind me to my truck. “That massive fucking truck over there. That’s where.” I stop in front of Avalon and place my hand on her chin, bringing her eyes up to meet mine. “Always be aware of your surroundings. Got it,” I say firmly. “Shit! Someone could’ve hurt you.”

I release her chin and grip my hair in frustration. My heart is racing at even the thought.

“Is everything okay, Royal? Why are you so tense?” Avalon places her hand on my arm and pulls it down from my hair, while looking me in the eyes. “It’s fine. I’ve been doing it for almost two years now. No one has bothered us.”

I grab her face with both hands and roughly caress her cheeks with my thumbs. “Do you want to find out what it’s like once it’s not okay? I will fucking kill someone if something happens to you. Don’t make me do that.”

Her hands reach up to cover mine, as if to comfort me. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I’ll talk with Claudette about having someone here at night. Until then, I’ll be more careful when closing.”

The tone in her voice tells me that she cares about what I think. It’s one of the things I love about her. She fucking listens, and doesn’t just look at me as a bad boy to fuck the good out of her like most girls do.

It reminds me a lot of Olivia, which is sort of painful and breaks me down a bit. It makes me somewhat vulnerable to her. That’s why I need to be more careful with her.

Before Olivia, all the girls ever wanted out of me were a good fuck and someone to rebel against their parents with. It was fun for a while, but always left me empty, until her . . .

“Good,” I reply, satisfied with her response. “I’ll just pick you girls up from work until then.”

“You don’t have to do that,” she says gently. “Then our cars will be sitting here all the time and Claudette might freak out.”

“We’ll worry about car arrangements and shit later. That shit doesn’t matter to me. You do.”

Feeling my face heat, I turn away and press my hands against the side of the jeep.

It’s silent for a few moments, before Madison finally speaks. “I can drive your jeep home if you want to ride with this protective hottie. No worries, Sweets. I fucking like him.” She turns to me and looks me over in approval. “A whole lot.”

“I’ll follow you girls home. Get in the jeep.” I push away from the jeep and open the door for Avalon.

She keeps her eyes on me, while walking between me and the door, and then hops in. “Come here,” she whispers.

Without hesitation, I lean in close.

My heart jumps in surprise when she grabs my face and kisses me hard and deep, running her tongue across my lips for access.

Getting lost in the moment, I tangle my hands into the back of her hair and suck her tongue into my mouth, moaning as my cock hardens.

“Holy shit, that’s hot,” Madison says, while practically leaning into Avalon’s lap.

Laughing, Avalon pulls away from our kiss and elbows her friend out of her lap. “Back up, Woman. It’s called personal space.”

“Looks like you have a Blaine,” I mutter.

“Now that you mentioned it,” she says, while still elbowing Madison out of her space. “I can see the similarities.”

I run my hand over my beard and start backing up. “Alright. Let’s go.”

When we pull up outside of their little red house, I park my truck and jump out to meet the girls by the jeep.

“Thanks for following us,” Avalon says with a small smile while closing her jeep door. “And thanks for waiting outside for us at the salon. No one has ever done that before.”

“I’ll be inside,” Madison yells over to us from the door of the house. “You’re a pretty awesome guy, Royal. Tell your friends hello for me.” She winks and then disappears inside.