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“I don’t know.”
“I’ll remove him from the party if you want me to. I’ll do anything to be with you again.”
I believed him and I wanted to say, okay, but… “Thank you for the dance and the talk.” I squeezed his hand.
“Lemme give you my number.” He stood tall, still blocking Jake.
“I already have it.”
His brows shot up in surprise.
“Liv texted it to me years ago. When you gave it to her after you became a biker.” I swallowed thickly. The draw to him was more intense than I remembered. If I didn’t have a full life thousands of miles away, I’d let him carry me away.
“Damn, and you never called or texted.”
“Didn’t see the point.” I studied his tattoos. “Thought you’d changed and not for the better.”
“Yeah, I went wild. But I’m still me, just with ink.” He flashed a heart-stopping smile.
“I sense that’s true.”
“And that’s a good thing, I hope.”
I wished it wasn’t. But there I was, desperate to tear off his shirt and pull down his Wranglers to search his body for the ink he’d gotten while we were apart. I wanted to memorize every inch of him all over again and beg him to forgive me for destroying us.
It was crazy how all the years apart hadn’t done a damn thing. We were right where we left off at the airport, neither wanting to let go.
But I’d been a stubborn fool. I’d honestly thought I knew what I’d wanted. And now, I saw Cade had always been the only man I ever loved.
“You know it’s a good thing.” I exhaled a nervous breath. “When I get home, I’ll figure stuff out. I’m not making you any promises, though.”
“Too late for that, baby. You’ve already given me hope and this time, I won’t let you go again.” He licked his bottom lip and my lady bits tingled, knowing what it was like to have his hot mouth on every inch of me.
“I need to go. Everyone is staring.”
“When are you going back to California?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Okay, I’ll be waiting for your call.” He released me and I returned to my seat.
Tension blew in like a thick fog and more whispers eddied around me. No doubt, Cade and I were the topic of discussion, like many times before.
Suddenly, I felt unsure and worried. Not about Cade. It was Jake and the fury radiating off him that unsettled me.
“I can’t fucking wait to get home to civilization,” he whispered and gripped my knee.
I smiled as if all was well, sensing Cade’s eyes locked on me. My parents’ anniversary wouldn’t be ruined because of my boyfriend.
“Me too,” I replied softly. We had a lot to talk about once we got home…
13
Cade
Bikers almost never stopped in Burntwood. If they had needed food or fuel, they could get both right off the freeway and avoid town. But if they ventured in, I’d get a call, like today, to alert me of their presence. Everyone knew I’d joined the Hells Bells MC and had changed in a territorial sort of way. So when Rocky had dismantled the club, and I returned home, I’d become the unofficial protector of our community.
My family and I had always had a powerful presence in the southern part of South Dakota because of our top-grade Angus. Folks trusted us to do what was right, and I hadn’t let them down once. When a farmer needed a hand, I’d been there for them.
