Maybe all the bike wrecks had damaged our damn brains.
I looked at her again.
She drew me in so easily. I doubted she even realized the magnetic power she had over me… over my pack… over our future.
Focus. The road. Less than six thousand pounds of steel and glass protecting precious cargo.
I adjusted my grip on the steering wheel, flexing my fingers against the leather. This car, with its five-star safety rating and multiple airbags, was the only vehicle I'd consider transporting Lucy in now. Not the motorcycles we usually favored, not even Kane's beloved truck with its questionable brake lines, definitely not any of the stripped-down racers, or Xander’s tiny Triumph. Nothing but the best for her safety.
Her sunshine warming wildflowers scent filled the confined space. It mingled with Kane's cinnamon-leather tang and my own musk, creating an intoxicating combination that made my Alpha instincts roar to life.Mine. Ours. Protect. Cherish.
I swallowed hard, forcing those thoughts down. She wasn't mine. She didn’t belong to any of us. Not yet. Maybe not ever, after everything we'd put her through.
We didn’t even have small, positive moments to build a future on. If there was a foundation beneath us, it was a brittle one threatening to crumble.
Once, my life had been an endless parade of women. The pleasure clubs of Las Vegas had known me well—the cold, calculating Alpha with exacting standards and substantial tips. The exotic dancers and professional companions knew better than to expect emotional attachment. Physical release without complication or commitment. After that grew stale for me, I tried anything I could think of to stoke desire.
Nothing worked.
Then I’d seen her.
I’d felt something different, something new.
Yet I’d fought every deep-seated instinct and agreed to push her away. Because she didn’t fit our expectations. I knew not to judge a book by its cover, yet I’d done exactly that with Lucy.
Now, the memories of dark rooms, pulsing music, and assorted toys felt like artifacts from someone else's life. The mere thought of touching another woman, of inhaling any scent but Lucy's summery warmth, was viscerally repulsive. My body had made its choice, and there was no going back. The point of no return was the minute she’d stepped onto our compound’s land.
Again, I looked at her.
Those captivating evergreen eyes.
The gold flecks catching light.
The delicate curve of her jaw. The slender line of neck.
I wondered what she tasted like. If her lips would be as soft as they looked. If her skin would carry that sunshine scent even in the middle of the night. I’d hold her against me in the dark,breathing every part of her in.Would I find out what it was like to sleep next to her? Was the damage we'd done too great to overcome?
The car hit a small bump. In the mirror, I watched as Lucy shifted slightly, a wave of discomfort crossing her features. I cursed under my breath, eyes back on the road, doing my best to avoid rough pavement.
Three more miles to the compound.Don’t look at her. Stay focused.
Who could I be for Lucy?
The sex addict. The calculating stunt architect. The Alpha who watched events unfold, good or bad, and then denied involvement. The broken orphan who grew to be a broken, thrill-seeking man-child.
None of those men would win her trust. None of those personas would heal what we'd broken.
Who I had to become settled over me with surprising clarity. For Lucy, I needed to simply be myself. No pretense. No walls. No calculations before manipulations. She needed my fears, my dreams, my scars, my healing. I’d show her the Alpha beneath all the masks and hope she might find something there worth accepting.
As I steered the car closer to home, each cruel word we'd spoken to her, each moment of neglect or humiliation, each time we'd treated her as less than the miracle she was scrolled through my brain. These were all debts to be repaid if she’d let us.
When my resolve broke and my gaze went to the mirror yet again, Kane was staring right at me. The silent exchange that came next was full of vows we’d never break.
We approached the compound, the high security fence coming into view. I slowed the car, pulling up to the gate and lowering my window to punch in the code. The wroughtiron barrier slid open too slowly, making my pulse quicken. I guided the car through the entrance, my eyes finding Lucy in the rearview for the millionth time. She was staring at the building beyond, her expression unreadable, her scent becoming a complex swirl of emotions.
I hope you can think of this as home now, I thought, wishing I could project the words directly into her mind.I hope you want to stay with us.
53
