I open my mouth to question my dad, but Lyra’s, “Daddy!” echoes, and I look at her sharply, my heart pounding as she runs my way, every brother and woman all grinning from ear to ear at her endearment for me.
“Fuck,” I choke just before Lyra throws herself at me, and I catch her, but instead of spinning her like I normally would, I hold her tight and whisper, “Hi baby girl…”
This is the second time now I’ve felt lost without her around, without Hol, and I fucking mean it, it will be the last time.
“I overheard a conversation with Hol and Ly earlier,” Dad admits as Lyra lays her head on my shoulder, holding me tightly, “Ly was scared Hol would be upset if she called you daddy and Hol, fuck son, she encouraged her.”
“Oh yeah, you definitely haven’t lost her,” Ace mutters from beside me, and I kiss my daughter's head, holding her tightly to me while a plan forms in my head, one where I will kidnap my girl and tie her to the bed, making our family whole again.
“Dad,” I say softly, “I need you to watch my kids for an hour,” and Ace mutters, “Uh-oh,” realizing I’m taking his advice but I ignore him.
I need to go see my girl, whom I haven’t seen since that day at school, and I need to bring her home where she belongs.
***
I climb off my bike three hours later, stars shining above, eyes fixed on Matty’s bungalow and yes, I said Matty’s. He transferred the lease without her knowing this afternoon, while I watched the kids play before dinner with the whole club, the old ladies taking over the cooking.
No one wants food poisoning from the clubwhores that were down to cook tonight. Don’t get me wrong, some really do try, but others are better off cleaning.
Hol’s car is parked up. Matty’s not around—he’s meeting up with a hookup, like the man whore he is now that his stalker has been arrested, making this easy for me, for us.
I walk to the front door and not surprised as it opens and finally, I see my girl. Her eyes shine as they meet mine, and I don’t think. I walk right up to her, wrap my arms around her waist, and lift her up, needing to feel her body pressed against mine, to have her arms wrapped around me.
She doesn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around my head as she brings her legs up and wraps them around my waist and my tension eases.
“Fuck, darling,” I choke, finally feeling at home.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers and I hold her tighter and press my face into her neck, breathing her in for a few minutes before I give her the choice.
“Come home, baby,” I plead after a few seconds of us just holding each other, and I tense when she shakes her head.
Fuck, I’m going to have to tie her up…
“Darling—”
She cuts me off and whispers, “I just need time.” I squeeze her tighter, fucking hating that term, but it doesn’t deter her. “I'm not saying we're over. I'm just saying I need a little space to get my head around everything that has happened since we got together. What happened four days ago—it was a lot, Alex. I know I shouldn’t feel guilty. I know I shouldn’t pull away from you, from Caleb but I-I… All I’m asking for is some time.”
Fuck, when she says it like that, how can I say no?
How can I kidnap her when she’s only asking for this one thing?
Kidnap her, do it, tie her to our bed and worship her until she stays,the devil on my shoulder encourages, and is there an angel on the other side going against the little devil? Like fuck is there because there never has been…
“Please, Alex,” she rasps as she squeezes her hold on me, feeling my emotions, and I sigh.
Fuck’s sake.
“Okay,” I grumble, and she pulls back so we make eye contact and raise a brow.
Her hair is in its usual bun, and the urge to yank it down and kiss her burns inside, but I squash the feeling, knowing she needs this.
Fuck, she did kill Cheryl, and even though I would rather have her lean on me, as Matty explained, she’s had eight years of depending on herself.
“Okay?” she confirms with a raised brow.
I have the urge to walk to my bike with her in my arms, because, let's face it, her skepticism is well earned, but honestly…
“Yeah, okay,” I sigh, not happy about it. “Now, don’t get me wrong, darling. If you had said we were over, I would have hauled you over my shoulder, taken you home, and tied you to the bed. But I can understand you needing some time after what you walked in on, with the shit that has happened to your job, your home, and then what you did to save me. I fucking get it. I don’t like it, but I get it. You have your independence, and it’ll take more than a few months to get you to rely on me.”
