Page 52 of Double the Redemption

“Well, considering I haven’t been with anyone since you got here, that’d be incorrect,” he bit out. Did he really have such a terrible reputation? Guilt and discomfort welled. He stepped into her space, but not enough to make her feel crowded. Still, her eyes widened, her shoulders tensed, and she tightened her grip on the water bottle. “Since the moment I saw you, I haven’t wanted anyone else, Naomi. No one else has made me look at them twice. Even if I tried.”

Wrong thing to say because it made her eyes shutter. Damn it. He was not good at this.

“So you tried, and because it didn’t work, you’re back to me to help you get past it.” She shook her head. “You know what? I don’t need to get into this anymore. I’ve had a very long couple of days. Thank you for the pizza and for spending time with Asher, but I’m done for tonight. You can see yourself out.” She set the water bottle on the counter and turned away.

He grabbed her wrist, and she spun around, face flushing with fury.

“Look, I’m not going to deny I’m an idiot and an asshole. I’m both a lot more than I am a nice guy, really. Do you know how much it’s thrown me off, this attraction to you? This need to see you? To be near you in case you need me? Or if Asher needs me? Seeing you smile and relax around everyone? Or when you’re working on the paperwork for the shop, and you bite your lip, and I can see that smart brain of yours working? It’s all I’ve been thinking about since you got here.”

A flicker of something flashes in her eyes. “And, what? You’re too much of a coward to face it, so you tried to sleep with a guaranteed option?”

“I didn’t sleep with any of them. If any of them approached, I wanted nothing to do with them. Whenever they touched my arm or hand, it felt wrong. I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t pissed off about it. But you can ask Ice if you don’t believe me.”

“Yes, because I’m going to ask another man whether you did or didn’t sleep with a woman.”

Her sarcasm was thick, but he ignored it. “They’d all take great pleasure in throwing my ass under the bus if they got the chance. And Ice is as honest as they come. He and Rogue are a lot alike in that way. But none of that matters, Naomi. Do you know when I realized that we really needed to explore this? Last night, seeing how terrified you were of me, it killed me. I didn’t sleep. All I wanted was to make you and Asher feel safe again. Knowing it was my fault? I never want to fucking feel that way again.”

“Watch it. I’ve let the last few slide.” She gave a pointed look toward where Asher was still engrossed in his show.

He nodded. Yeah, he was going to have to remember to watch himself, but for them, he would. “I don’t want to ever make you feel the way I did again, Naomi. You or Asher. And I’ll spend the next however many months proving it.”

“Have you ever considered that I might not want anything to do with this? That it’s not all about how you feel or about trying to absolve your conscience?”

“Of course I have, but I don’t believe in denying or ignoring what’s in front of us either. Tell me the truth, Naomi. Do you actually not feel anything for me?”

“That’s not⁠—”

“Naomi.”

Her mouth moved but no sound emerged. Then she looked away, and her face flushed. Maybe he was an asshole, but it made him feel a hell of a lot better. He could work with that.

Carefully, worried he might spook her, he hauled her into him by the wrist. She stiffened but didn’t pull away. He kept his grip loose so she wouldn’t feel trapped, and wanted to groan at the feel of her against him. She fit perfectly against his body, as if she were made for him.

He looked down into her blue eyes. They were wide, lashes fluttering, and pupils dilated. She swallowed hard. It was a dagger to the chest, but he had to move past it. He had to make her realize she was safest with him. Then he saw the briefest glint of pleasure and desire. She might not like it, but she wanted him.

He could work with that.

“This, baby, this is exactly what I’m talking about,” he murmured. “Do you feel how perfectly we fit? How right you feel in my arms, looking up at me with those baby-blue eyes? All I want is for us to explore this—this chemistry between us. And I’m going to screw it up along the way. I know I am because I’m an idiot on a good day, but you never have to worry I won’t try for you, baby. I want to give you everything.”

“Ink …”

He smiled. “I love it when you say my road name.”

And I’ll love it even more when you’re screaming it when I’m buried deep inside you.

She rolled her eyes, but it was the first real moment he felt he might be able to fix this. Somehow. Someway. He just needed her to give him a shot.

She sighed heavily. “I get the feeling people say it to you a lot, but not in a nice way. More like, you’re annoying, and I’m done with it.”

He chuckled and shrugged.

“Ink, you’re asking a lot of me one day after everything that’s happened. I need … I need to think. I need time and space. I need to process everything.”

He opened his mouth to protest but snapped it shut when she put a hand up to stop him then pressed back against his grip, forcing him to release her.

“The logical side of me knows I’m probably making a mountain out of nothing in this whole situation, but the emotional side says I’m an idiot for staying here, for keeping Asher in a place that could prove dangerous for him. I need to work through that. And while I’ve let you in, listened, and see what you’re trying to say, it’s not enough to change my mind. I don’t trust you enough, and I don’t trust your club either. I can forgive you all for it if it were just me, but not when you put my son in danger, even if unintentionally.

“I’ll be honest with you, Ink, yeah, I did have a crush on you. Probably still do, but it’s buried so deep under the mistrust and hurt that I don’t know that it’ll ever come back. Chemistry is a biological response, not always conscious, and right now, I can logically rationalize that I’m still in fight-or-flight mode. That will take time to get over. So, for now, I’m sorry if I hurt you, but I need to put a pin in this conversation. Maybe I’ll feel something for you again as the days go on, but right now, that’s not happening.”