“Deal.” I head toward Au, glad to see her mood has lifted once more.
“Kruger?”
“Yeah?” I glance over at her.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being a stubborn asshole. I might not like being pushed, but sometimes I need it.”
I reach over and slide my hand over her thigh, resting it there with a grin when, instead of pushing it away, she covers my hand with her own.
The rest of the drive to Au is done in silence, but it’s not an uncomfortable silence, and neither of us feels compelled to fill it.
When I pull up outside AU, the new pane of glass makes it look like there was never an issue. I jump out first and grab the door for Delphi and help her out. We walk over to Au hand in hand, where I type in the code and wait for it to beep before letting us in.
She moves into the room, glancing around. “It’s bigger than it looks from the outside. Can’t say I really noticed that before.”
“Figured you were preoccupied.”
“This is true,” she agrees, dragging her hand across the display cases that are empty of inventory right now. Most of it is in storage, as far as I know, which is just as well after the break-in.
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m not sure. It feels right, standing here. Like this place is mine, which is ridiculous, I know. I still need to read all the fine print on the contract, but I don’t really know how to explain it other than that it feels like coming home. I just don’t understand why.”
“Maybe it’s not the building so much as the town. Raven Falls has a charm to it that’s hard to say goodbye to.”
“Yeah,” she murmurs, walking farther into the shop.
“I’m guessing that’s the same reason you’re holding back?”
“The last time I made this place my home, I was run out of it. The thought of starting over here again, knowing that’s one of the possible outcomes, terrifies me,” she admits.
“That’s not going to happen, Delphi.”
“You can’t guarantee that.”
“Life doesn’t come with guarantees. But in this, I can offer you a promise that nobody, club or brother included, will run you out of town. Not while I still have breath left in my body.”
She turns and stomps toward me. “And what if you don’t? What happens if shit goes down, and I have to mourn another man alone and pick up the shattered pieces of my life again? How long until there’s nothing left to pick up? Until all the fragments turn into dust and just float away?”
I close the distance between us, slide my hands around her hips, and lift her onto the counter. She spreads her legs instinctively, allowing me to step between them.
“I’m not going anywhere. You think I’d leave you when I finally have you close to me?”
“Everyone leaves, Kruger.”
“Not me. I’m here to stay. All you have to do is say yes.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Yes, you do. Don’t play dumb now, Delphi. I want you, not just in my bed or as a temporary fuck until I get bored. You’re it for me. You always have been. It was you who didn’t know.”
“Didn’t know what?” she whispers.
“That you were always supposed to be mine.”
