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On a night like tonight, the bar should have been filled with the sound of bikers laughing and drinking, but it was surprisingly quiet.
The smell of beer, combined with the musky scent of cologne, was unmistakable as I entered the room and saw my brothers and a few other guys from our crew seated around a huge table. They had taken several tables from the surrounding room and pushed them together in the centre.
Brax, Dimitri and Hunter sat on the same side of the table, their hands resting on the table as they faced the door. All three of them looked up simultaneously and I felt my feet rooted to the ground by their intense gaze.
The room was filled with the palpable sense of relief.
I had been dreaming of the moment I would be reunited with them for almost a week, and all I wanted was to be alone and savour the moment. I felt so weak and pathetic for needing any man, and I realized my carefully erected walls around my heart had been decimated. After everything I had been through, all I could think of doing was finding a place away from everyone else.
Only one problem.
Everyone still thought I was only dating Dimitri. He had concocted a plan of a false relationship to help me make Hunter jealous. They didn’t know all three of them had been in my bed. Now here we were, surrounded by all the guys that would beat them into a pulp for touching me, and I could see the promise of what they wanted to do in their eyes.
Everyone at the table rose, and their chairs scraped across the floor as they cursed under their breath.
“Hey guys,” I said to no one in particular, flinching as they all came in my direction at once.
Erik stepped in front of me, blocking the others and creating a barrier between us. The sound of my own sigh of relief echoed through the room. I was determined to never let anyone see me falter, never letting my weakness show. The fact that my brother could tell, without me having to say a word, that I needed protection from physical contact, touched me more than he would ever understand.
“Hellcat’s been through a lot in the last couple of weeks—” he started to explain, but I interrupted him.
I touched his shoulder. “It’s okay Prez, I’ve got this.”
“If you’re sure,” he agreed, allowing some of the softer side of him that only some of us knew to seep into his eyes.
“I’m sure.” I wasn’t fucking sure.
He stepped to the side.
I could feel his presence near me as I addressed the group.
“I really appreciate you all being here to welcome me home, but right now, all I want to do is go upstairs, have an extremely hot shower and crawl into my own bed.”
As I turned to leave, my brother gently brushed my wrist. “I’ll send Doc up to your room when he gets here.”
I gave a slight nod of acknowledgement and carefully meandered toward the stairs.
ChapterEleven
HUNTER
As I watchedHarleigh leave the room, I felt a weight settle on me, and I sank back into the chair.
Every inch of me wanted to go with her as I watched her ascend the stairs.
The only people in the room who knew what she meant to me were probably wanting to do the same thing. Dimitri was the only one who could leave the room without feeling the eyes of others on him.
But he didn’t.
Boy, did she have him trained.
Even though some days I wished he’d disappear, the dumbass was good for her. I deserved to be forced to share, for all the times I had pushed her away and made her feel rejected. Watching in agony as she spent her time with other men. I heard the sadness in her voice when I had to deny her advances, and I knew I had no other choice.
Until Dimitri, she had kept her heart locked up tight, never daring to open up to anyone. Dirk was supposed to be a brief indulgence. Everyone knew it wouldn’t go anywhere, so they didn’t worry about him. She solidified a wall around her emotions, refusing to let them grow for anyone but her family.
But I couldn’t help but wonder if I had mustered up the courage to date her, would all of this have been prevented?
Once Harleigh disappeared up the stairs, Erik headed for the office behind the bar. I got up out of my chair and informed Dimitri, “I’ll be back.”
