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“It will keep,” he said.
“No, it won’t,” she insisted. “The officers that questioned me told me that they might not be able to lock up Nate because he had a solid alibi.”
Owen nodded, “I’m sure that he does, but sooner or later, he’ll slip up and they’ll be able to put him away. Right now, you don’t need to worry about Nate or where he is. You’re here with me and I’ll keep you safe, Tilly,” he offered. Hearing him make her that promise made her heart melt just a little bit more.
“Thank you, Owen,” she whispered.
“I’ll have Maverick grab you some clothes and bring them over tonight. You okay with that?” She wasn’t good with a stranger picking out her undergarments, but what choice did she have? “Don’t worry—I’ll just have him grab the basics and when you can safely look at a phone or computer screen again in about a week, you can do your own shopping and have everything delivered here.” The problem was, that she didn’t have a job to pay for any of the things she would need, and she hated taking handouts.
“We could just run by my apartment and grab my things,” she offered.
“No,” he breathed, “your place is probably being watched and we could lead danger right back here and then, we’d both be out of a home. You just have to be a little bit patient with me, Tilly. I’ll make sure to get you home just as soon as I can.” She worried that he would be true to his word and have to go home soon. She was just getting used to the idea of being at his place with him—alone.
“No rush,” she said around a yawn. Tilly slipped between the sheets as he held them open for her and then, Owen tucked her in.
“I’ll be back in an hour to wake you,” he said, “sleep well, Tilly.” He shut off the lights and walked out of the room, leaving the door open. “Just yell if you need me,” he shouted back over his shoulder. Tilly settled into the cozy, warm bed and moaned at just how good it felt to be in a real bed and not a hospital bed. That thing was the most uncomfortable bed she had ever spent the night in, but Owen’s spare bed certainly made up for one bad night’s sleep.
Tilly closed her eyes and before she knew it, she drifted to sleep, letting the darkness consume her. Owen would be back in soon enough to wake her, and she planned on sleeping every available minute before he got back.
Owen
It had been two weeks since he had brought Tilly home with him and he had to admit, he liked having her in his space. She was finally feeling better—stronger each day, and when he told her about Mace wanting to meet her, she insisted on joining him at the club tonight. He liked the idea of taking her with him because he wasn’t going to go anywhere without her. He had made up an excuse last week when he skipped going to the club for church and he was prepared to do it again if it meant staying with her and keeping her safe.
“You’re sure that it’s okay for me to go with you to the bar?” she asked. “I haven’t been there since the night of my accident.” He hated that she called what Nate had done to her an “Accident”. There was nothing accidental about what that asshole had done to her.
“It wasn’t an accident,” he grumbled.
“I know that but I’m not really sure what else to call it,” she admitted. “I’m still just trying to come to terms with it all so cut me some slack.” He loved how feisty she could be. Sometimes, he wasn’t sure how he had kept his hands and all his other body parts to himself. It had been two full weeks since she had moved into his place and all he wanted to do was move her into his bedroom and make her his—not that she was ready for any of that from him.
“Sorry, and yeah, it’s fine that you come with me to church,” he said.
“Church?” she asked. The MC world was new to her, and he liked telling her about the world that he loved so much.
“Yeah—it’s our weekly meeting at the club. Our Prez, Mace, likes to keep us all updated and church is a great way to do it. We’re patching in two new guys, Gunner and Jagger, from our sister club. They seem like good guys, and we need members. We lost a few guys last year and the club just hasn’t been the same.”
“How did you lose them?” she asked. “Did they die in a gang fight with another club or something?” He couldn’t help his laugh, even when she screwed up her face to show that she didn’t like him laughing at her.
“Sorry, honey,” he mumbled. “No, we don’t have gang fights with other clubs. They left the club to go to another one or moved to another town or state. No deadly gang fights or anything that dramatic.”
“Oh—good,” she whispered. “I’d feel bad if you had to fight with other clubs and stuff like that,” she said.
“So, you’d miss me if I died in a gang fight with another MC then?” he asked.
“Um, maybe a little bit,” she said, pinching her thumb and finger together to give him a visual. “I might not have said it since you brought me here, but I really appreciate you taking care of me out of the hospital and giving me a safe place to stay while I try to figure out what Nate is up to.” She had thanked him just about every day that she was at his place, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. She was still having issues with her memory and the doctor told him not to discourage her.
“That’s good to know,” he leaned into whisper. Every time he got too close to her, pushing Tilly from her comfort zone, she’d back away from him. But this time, she leaned into him. That was a good sign and one that he planned on exploring but now wasn’t the time. He couldn’t be late for this meeting since Tilly was the reason why they were having it. Mace wanted to patch in the new members and then talk about Tilly’s attack at the bar. They were going to have to boost security around the place and Owen was all for helping with that. If he had to go into the bar for church, he would want to bring Tilly with him, and keeping her safe was his top priority. It’s why he had beefed up security around his place since moving her in with him. Maverick had given him a hand with that task, and he had to admit, having his older brother around more was starting to become something that he could get used to. In some strange way, Tilly had brought them closer together when Owen was sure that the sexy red head might end up tearing them apart. As soon as Owen brought Tilly home with him, Mav backed off from pursuing her. If his brother found out that he still hadn’t made Tilly his, he might give him some shit, but Mav seemed to know Owen’s intentions toward his new ward.
“We need to get going,” he said, backing away from Tilly. She was still leaning into his body, her eyes closed, and it was taking all his restraint not to kiss her. Did she want him to kiss her? That was something that he needed to figure out later too, but right now, they had to get to the bar.
“Let me just grab my jacket, and I’m ready,” she said. She ran back to her bedroom and was by his side, ready to leave, in minutes. She looked damn near perfect in her jeans and sweater. She had done her makeup and hair, not that any of that mattered to him. Honestly, Owen liked her when she pulled her long red hair back into a slick ponytail and wore no makeup. But he had to admit, her bright red lipstick was really turning him on, and he worried that some of the guys at the club might feel the same way. There was no way that he’d ever let any of them get close enough to make a move on Tilly, but fighting off his buddies all night wasn’t his idea of a good time.
“You look beautiful, Tilly,” he almost whispered. He wasn’t sure how she’d take his compliment, but the words were out of his mouth before he could even stop them.
“Really?” she squeaked looking her body up and down. “I still feel a bit groggy, so getting dressed up was a bit of a chore. I feel like I did the bare minimum.” If this was her bare minimum, he wasn’t sure that he’d be able to handle her best.
“Well, you look great. Listen, just stick by me tonight and you’ll be fine.” She snuggled into his side, and he was sure that he wasn’t going to be able to keep his hands to himself much longer.
“Will do,” she breathed.
