There was no way she could move in that moment. The world was spinning, and she closed her eyes.
“I can’t give you up, Lacey,” he said, whispering the words against her ear.
She forced herself to open her eyes and turn her head to look at him. “What are you trying to say?”
“I don’t care what it takes. I’m not going to let you get away from me. I want you in my life. I don’t want to give you up.” He cupped her cheek. She smelled her scent on his fingers yet didn’t pull away. Staring into his eyes, she saw the depth of his need. This was about a hell of a lot more than sex. She didn’t know what had changed inside him in the last few hours, but she saw the evidence of it staring down at her.
“What’s your real name?” she asked.
“What?”
“You know my name. Tell me yours.”
His thumb ran over her lips, but he didn’t pull away. She licked her lips, touching his thumb as she did.
“It’s Adam.”
“Your name is Adam.”
“Yeah.”
She smiled up at him. “It will do for now.” He released her hands, and she pressed her palm to his face. “I’m not going anywhere. There’s nowhere for me to go.”
The club had taken it all away from her. The club’s money, their plans had gone down the moment The Skulls decided to take out the Savage Brothers. She didn’t have anything. Dalton had always taken care of her.
The sadness came over her, and she started to wiggle out from under him.
“Baby, what’s the matter?” he asked.
“I need some space. Can you get out?” She started to push at his pelvis to get him away from her. Whizz pulled out of her, and she winced at the pain.
“Lacey, honey, are you okay?”
She wasn’t okay, not in the least. Scrambling to her feet, she stumbled through the bedroom until she landed into the bathroom. Closing the door, she flicked the lock as she stepped into the shower.
His cum was leaking out of her pussy down the inside of her thighs. Closing the shower door, she turned the water on gasping as she was sprayed with cold water. Pushing hair out of her face, she pressed her forehead to the glass.
You’re selfish.
It’s all about what you want.
Those men died because of you.
Lacey sank to the floor of the shower as the tears filled her eyes, running down her face. Dalton’s voice played through her mind, and she couldn’t get it to stop. She’d failed him and the club.
“Lacey, what’s going on?” Whizz asked.
She didn’t answer him. No words would come out of her mouth. She stared at the drain, watching the water cascade down. The water was like her life. Everything was being lost, going down some kind of drain. Her family had been killed leaving her alone. She’d had the ability to carry children ripped from her. Her failed attempt at suicide had almost killed her best friend, Dalton. Why couldn’t she do anything right? The first time she connected with a man had caused her only real family to be killed.
“Lacey, fucking answer me.”
The sound of the door shaking under his weight filled her senses.
You’re in love with the man who helped murder them.
What are you doing here?
“Stop!” She shouted the word for Whizz to stop. The guilt ate away at her, making it hard for her to bring focus to her world. Dalton, Danny, the other Savage Brothers, had all died because of her. She was in love with the man who helped make it happen.
The knowledge of her feelings scared her.
She heard Whizz bang against the door. It only took three full body hits for the lock to snap, and the door to spring open. Lacey didn’t move, staying underneath the now scalding hot water.
Keeping her head down between her thighs, she shook her head.
“Leave me alone.”
“I’m not going to be leaving you.”
“You killed them. You helped to kill the only family I had left.” She didn’t look up at him. She couldn’t.
He opened the shower stall, climbing in. The door closed, and then he sat beside her.
“It’s my fault.”
“I’ve told you about this, Lacey. What happened to your club, to Dalton, wasn’t your fault. They were going to stay alive until they took matters into their own hands. Storming the town hall and taking down those civilians while almost killing us cemented their fate. They were going to die.”
“No.” She shook her head.
“Yes. It’s time for you to stop blaming yourself. The only thing you did was come and protect Butch. You came to me, and it saved your life. I lured you away, Lacey. You’re not the one to blame.”
“But if I’d not come to you they’d be alive.”
His arm moved over her back. Whizz didn’t make a sound as he held her for several seconds.
“Do you really think we wouldn’t have killed them? We would have hunted your club down until we killed every last one of them. It didn’t matter if you came to see me or not, Lacey. They were going to die for what they did.”
“I’m alive.”
“You saved yourself by coming to me, which I’m happy about. I can handle a lot but not your death.” His arms surrounded her with warmth. She’d been cold for so long that she didn’t think it was possible to ever be warm again.
Lacey said nothing else but accepted his touch. What else could she do?
****
Sunshine flitted around the kitchen, putting ingredients away. Alex took a sip of his expensive scotch as he watched her. She was twenty-five years old with her whole life ahead of her. Whizz had given him a background check on her when he hired her. He didn’t want the deal he made with her parents to be known to The Skulls. Alex was a selfish bastard and wanted her to himself. She’d lived in Fort Wills all of her life, only leaving to go to college, but she had come back like so many people did. Alex had left Fort Wills when his family didn’t want the influence of the town. Over the years Tiny had found him, and slowly he worked his way back here. His sister, Patricia, had come back to be with the man she loved. Had she really loved Tiny? Alex didn’t know the truth.
He wasn’t an idiot. His sister and Tiny hadn’t had the perfect marriage. She hadn’t wanted anything to do with the club. Many times he’d had to listen to her complain about the club and about Tiny. He’d reminded her that she was the one who’d wanted to marry Tiny.
Taking another sip of his drink, he stared down the length of Sunshine’s back, wishing he knew what she looked like naked.