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I spent the rest of the night listening to her breathing.
“Come on, Screw, you basically claimed that bitch last night in front of the whole club,” my brother interrupts my thoughts, and I try to shake his words off.
“Ain’t like that.” We place the box in the middle of the room, and instead of heading back out for another one, he sits his ass on the edge of the counter by the door.
“Well, it looked like that to me, and it sure as shit looked like it to those brothers from Utah,” he points out, arms folded and refusing to let me get out of this without an explanation.
“They were being disrespectful.” I get angry just thinking about what that asshole said, and don’t even get me started on how I feel when I imagine what they were thinking.
“About the girl who you got living in your cabin–the same girl who's sleeping in your bed. Screw, if you want her, just claim her. Prez is over the fact you took her, and she’s clearly into you. What’s holding ya back?” He talks like it’s just that simple, and I look back at him like he’s lost his head.
“You’re a good person, Screw, you deserve to be happy.” It ain’t often my brother gets deep, but on this, he doesn't know what he’s talking about. I ain’t a good person, and he’d be agreeing with me if he knew the truth.
“I’m trying to do what’s right for her,” I admit, leaving out the part that it’s causing me physical pain to not touch her and that I want nothing more than to fucking claim her and keep her forever. That way I could personally assure no one ever hurt her again.
“You ever think that ‘something right,’ might be you, bro?” he asks, trying to be smart again.
“Not even for a second,” I assure him, marching outside to get some fucking air. I press my back against the wall and pull out a smoke, watching Storm pull up on his bike in front of me. The brave fucker snarls at me as he gets off and heads inside. Maddy’s car pulls up just after him, and when she, Alex, and Lydia climb out, I immediately flick my smoke at the sidewalk and march toward them.
“What the fuck is she doing here?” I grab Lydia by her arm, not giving a shit that the box she’s carrying falls out of her hands and lands on the street.
“Whoa, chill,” Storm rushes back out of the office. “She’s been helping the girls sort through some paperwork. I said she could come help out with setting up the office for a few hours.”
“You fucking crazy?” I turn my attention to the Prospect, keeping a firm hand on Lydia.
I swear to God, if making her safe wasn't my absolute priority right now, I’d knock that boy's head right off his fucking shoulders.
“And when did you start making fucking decisions,” I swipe at him.
“She’s safe. I escorted them here myself. You and Squealer are here. Nyx and Tac are next door. Mads has been keeping track of Verretti and his men. There’s nothing to suggest they suspect she’s here.”
“It’s true. Verretti has an investigator chasing up a lead on one of the other bidders that were there that night. The one who just lost out to the buyer.” Maddy steps in.
“I would never have let her leave the compound if I didn't think it was completely safe, '' she adds reassuringly. When I look back at Lydia and realize how scared she looks, I immediately release her from my grip.
“I’m taking her back,” I turn to face Storm before taking Lydia’s hand in mine. I close my eyes and take a fucking breath when her fingers curl around my hand in response. I don’t bother looking back to see the looks on their faces as I stride us over to my bike. If they wanna take me putting her on my saddle as me claiming her, let ‘em.
I climb onto my saddle and use my arm to guide her on behind me.
“Hold on to my waist, tightly,” I instruct her before kick-starting the engine and getting her the hell out of here.
When we arrive back at my cabin, she doesn’t hesitate to follow me inside, but she’s still got that worried look on her pretty face. I don’t know where to put myself. I wanna wrap her up in my arms and tell her she’s safe, but at the same time, I can’t shake off the feeling that she’s not. With dumb jackasses like Storm making dumb decisions like the one he just did, I don't want to risk letting her out of my sight.
“You really think they’ll come for me?” she eventually plucks up the courage to ask, slowly closing the space between us and making it harder for me to breathe. “Screw?” both her hands reach out for mine, and she squeezes them tight.
“I’d never let anyone take you,” I promise because it’s the truth. I’d die and rise from hell before I ever let her be hurt again.
“Why did it have to be me?” she sighs sadly, her pretty bright eyes filling with tears. I slip my hand out of hers and let my thumb swipe over her cheek. Since she’s been here, she has more color to her complexion, and it really fucking suits her.
“I was trained for a purpose. One that I didn’t fulfill.” She looks down, like she’s ashamed, and I instantly force her head back up.
“No one had the right to put a price on that, Lydia.” My eyes delve deep into hers to make sure she understands what I’m telling her. I don’t know what horrors have been brainwashed into her, but that one has to be the fucking worst of them.
“I don’t know how to be out here. I don’t know how to live without rules,” she confesses. “I only feel secure when I’m with you.” Her words feel like a car crash that I’m forced to watch happen. I never meant for it to come to this.
“I’m sorry if I scared you,” I force the words past my lips, feeling my throat start to clam. I don’t want to go silent on her.
“You could never scare me,” she whispers, her lips moving closer, becoming more and more desirable. I’m weak because I let it happen. I let her soft, delicate lips touch mine, smoothing over my mouth, and when they part, I lose all restraint and slide my tongue between them. My hands are shaking as I pull her closer to my body. And I’m fully aware I shouldn’t be letting this happen, but it feels too damn good to stop.
