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“No, you weren’t,” he said, taking the bottle of sriracha and dousing the doughy bread.
“Yeah, I definitely wasn’t. Knee jerk reaction.” Full of pizza and two beers, I was relaxed and happy. “No, I’m not working the day after the party. Why?”
He chewed and then swallowed before answering. “Stay the night with me. At my place.”
“Your place?”
“Not the clubhouse,” he clarified.
I paused. “You sure?”
He nodded.
“Rachel, Allison, and Freddy…they all said you’re not the same person. That you went into the hospital one man and came out another. What do they mean by that?”
He took a drink of his beer before he answered. “You might’ve noticed that the Blue Angels are paired off. Most of the Waco boys, I mean.”
I nodded.
“I didn’t get it. I didn’t understand what made men like Colt, Reap, and Zip wanna settle down with one woman. I thought they were insane.” He paused and looked down at the beer bottle in his hands. “I almost died. That’s not the way I thought I’d go, Doc. I thought I’d be out on the streets, dying protecting those I love from bad shit, or worst case I’d die on the bike. It never occurred to me I could die in a fucking hospital bed like an old man. It made me think about things. Really think about them. What I wanted. What I was missing. And more than anything, it showed me that none of us are really in control of how it all ends.”
“So, you only want me because I saved your life?”
“Woman,” he sighed, “I want you because for the first time in my godforsaken life, you made me realize what the hell I was missing. I’ve never invited a woman to my home. I’ve never wanted one inmybed.”
I’d never planned on meeting a man like Boxer. I’d never planned on this turning into something more than a casual, physical thing.
But I couldn’t walk away.
I’d lived a safe and boring life, scripted by society. A life that was recognized as virtuous and worthy. But to whom, and for what?
Boxer was raw. Real. And he was offering me something I’d never experienced before: a life full of adventure and excitement. And I knew he would do anything to protect me.
Sometimes, there weren’t enough words to express how I was feeling, so I settled for what was in my heart.
I smiled softly. “Yeah, Boxer. I’d love to stay the night with you.”
Chapter 17
“Linden,”Boxer whispered, nudging me.
“Hmm?” I muttered into the pillow. I cracked an eye open, but it was night, and I couldn’t see in front of me.
“I’ve got to go,” he said. “Club business.”
“What time is it?”
“Three in the morning.”
“I’ll walk you out.” I searched in the dark for a T-shirt and found one on the floor. I padded to the living room, covering my yawning mouth with my hand. Boxer was already dressed and ready to go.
“I’ll call you later,” he said, taking me into his arms and kissing me. Then he was gone.
I locked up after him and then trudged my way back to bed. I flopped down and pulled the covers over me, but I couldn’t seem to get comfortable. The scent of him was on my sheets; I grabbed his pillow and brought it to my nose.
I inhaled deeply, hugged the pillow to my chest, and fell back to sleep.
The next time I woke, it was past dawn. I stumbled into the shower to wake myself up, and then I made myself a cappuccino.
