AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes! Jesus, Cal! Of course I think that! Of course I don’t want to walk away again! Of course it would cripple me if that was the way things ended up! But—”
He presses his finger to my lips, cutting me off. “Stop. There it is. There’s the truth. You’re exactly where I’m at with us.” He grins triumphantly. “Just takes working you up first to get to the heart of things sometimes.”
I bat his hand away. “You ass.”
“I ain’t pulling my punches with you this time, Char. I’m ready to fight until the goddamn end. We’ve already lost way too much. I ain’t down for letting us lose more.”
I can’t help smiling at that. “You’re just chocked full of romantic expression now, aren’t you?”
“Like I said, I ain’t gonna hold back this time. Maybe if I hadn’t before, things would’ve turned out different. I’m fine taking the weight of it all for a while, but at some point you’re gonna need to come on board and fight for us alongside me.”
I reach out and take his hand, the raw emotion he’s offering me affecting me so profoundly, I can’t hold back even out of characteristic self-preservation. There’s just no room for it in this moment. I have to give back to him what he’s giving to me. And what’s more, I want to, need to. “You’re not fighting alone, sweets. I’m right here with you.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes,” I confirm, giving his hand a squeeze. “I’m all in, Cal.”
He traces his finger over my lips, all soft and tender, something most people don’t know he’s even capable of. “Been waiting years to hear those words from these sweet lips.”
I grin. “Well, I’ve been waiting years for the right time to say them.”
He wraps his arm around me and pulls me against him. “Missed you. More than words can even explain, kitten.”
“Me too, Cal.” I sink into him, savoring his warmth and the sensation of him surrounding me. We stay this way for a while, just lounging with one another in comfortable silence, making the most of what’s so long been denied us.
Cal’s sleepy voice cuts through the silence, “We got about five minutes before I’m falling back asleep for another couple of hours and you’re joining me. Holding you like this has me way too comfortable. You wanna move now and I’ll make us some breakfast?”
“Breakfast? It’s after eleven. It’s more like brunch.”
“No way I’m calling it that.”
“Why not?”
“I’m a hardass, brutal biker, Charlotte. No way that word’s coming out of my mouth.”
I chuckle, stroking his arm. “I can’t believe you got me to sleep in this late.”
“I’ve got mad persuasion skills. Plus, you needed it. So did I. Ain’t been sleeping well. The last couple of nights are the first I’ve slept in a long time without nightmares bothering me.”
I shift on him. “Nightmares?”
He tenses as he realizes what he’s said in his overly-relaxed state. With a wave of his hand, he assures me, “It ain’t no big deal.”
Pulling away, I sit up and run my hand through my hair. “So, I was right?”
“About me going soft? Hell fucking no.”
“I mean about you being a little off. The trauma of the life you lead—that we lead—finally getting its claws into you.”
“It ain’t no more. That’s all that matters.”
“How is that possible?”
“Jesus,” he mutters agitatedly, clearly not wanting to have this conversation. Unfortunately, we have to. I can’t take the risk that his head’s not in the game, that he’s been compromised. With a grunt, he moves from his chilled position and props himself up in a sitting position against the headboard. He pinches the bridge of his nose, then turns to face me, giving it to me straight, “Not all that long ago, Thorns territory was hit hard. Ax freaked out, as anybody in his position would’ve. He did some brutal shit to a few of the enemy foot soldiers, shit that I had to cleanup.” He sighs heavily. “I guess, it triggered me, brought back a ton of stuff I did over the years just like that. Hell, way worse, actually. Ever since then, it opened the floodgates, all of it coming at me, inundating me, trying to drown me with it. Until the other night when I dealt with that asshole contact of yours, Lewis Pratt.”
“Wait. You dealt with him? You didn’t tell me that.”
He shrugs. “Figured it was a given after what he did to you, betraying you like that. Not to mention, the disrespectful bull he was spewing about you.”
