“Shae,” I said. She jumped a little and turned her eyes to me, that glimmer of longing there that I wanted to see.
“Hey,” she squeaked out before she cleared her throat. “Let me wash up and we can talk.”
I nodded, unable to find the words to speak anything else. She headed into the office and I leaned against the counter, waiting.
She came back out, her hands clean as she ushered me to a table and two chairs by the far wall. I let her lead the way, watching as her ass moved in those overalls. That ass I had my hands on last night after dreaming about doing just that for a year.
Focus, I internally screamed at myself.
Before I’d even sat down, she asked me, “Why are you really back?”
“Hitting me with the tough questions first, I see.”
“Well?”
I sighed, and rested my forearms on the table. “I didn’t want to run anymore.”
“Okay so you were running and you didn’t take me with you, but now you’re back all of a sudden, why?”
I hadn’t wanted her to know, because if she did, she would have tracked me down and helped me.
“There are people after me for breaking my vow to the Outlaws.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me because I’m a woman?”
I shot up, and that’s when I saw it. The hurt. The hurt I had created in her. Fuck.
“No, Shae, you know I don’t buy into that men are tough and women aren’t made for fuckin’ shit most bikersdo. You know you’re tougher than me in any battle, any day of the week.”
“Then why?” she asked, her voice becoming tight, and her patience wearing thin.
“Because I didn’t want you to give up your life for me, to go on the road and never look back. I couldn’t ask that of you.”
“You said that last night but you never gave me a choice, did you? Why didn’t you trust that I had your back, Dempsey?”
I didn’t want to answer. I didn’t want her to know just how much I adored her, how much I wanted her to be happy.
“Why?” she screamed at me.
“Because I love you, Shae, fuck!”
“That’s not love. Leaving behind the woman you supposedly love? If you loved me, you would show me every fucking day. You would have me by your side, taking on any shit you have because that’s what love is.”
She stood up and made a move to leave.
“Love is protecting those you care about,” I said as she pushed past me. “It’s about making sure they aren’t in danger, and that’s what I did. Did I do it the wrong way? Maybe, but there isn’t a soul that wouldn’t agree that what I did was right.”
“Prove it then.”
Her voice was weaker than before, almost like she was broken.
“What?”
I got up and wheeled around to see her looking at me, a single tear running down her cheek.
“Prove you love me.”
I closed the distance between us, pulling her against my body. Her whimper broke me as I wiped the tear from her cheek with my thumb. My lips moved to hers, my tongue flicking over her bottom lip, opening and claiming her mouth in a sweet kiss that turned carnal when I felt her hands come up to my shoulders. She wrapped her arms around my neck and let me pull her up on the table, pushing her back so she was laying back. I undid her overalls and pulled them down her legs, freeing her from the damn tough material. Her panties were soaked, and I growled in appreciation over the fact that I could still elicit this reaction from just a damn kiss. I hovered over her, kissing her hard before trailing my lips down her body, lifting her singlet up to bare her tummy before I bit the skin of her hip.
