“Jesus, I’m pissed as all f**k and still she’s cute,” he groused like he wasn’t talking to me but actually complaining to the Son of God.
“Jesus works on Sunday, Hop. You want a direct line, time to haul your biker ass to church,” I shared.
“You want me to let you go so you can burn this out, you better stop bein’ cute, lady. You keep bein’ cute, I’ll kiss you in the goddamn forecourt and I won’t give a f**k who sees.”
I snapped my mouth shut.
“That’s what I thought,” he muttered.
“Are you going to let me go so I can burn this out?” I prompted.
“You gonna hide from me?” he asked.
“I haven’t decided,” I returned.
“This may help you make your decision. You hide, Lanie, you waste my time havin’ to look for you, you’ll be providing payback for that time. I’ll get payback and, in the end, you’ll like it, I promise you, but before that, I’ll make you beg to give it to me and you beggin’, baby, is gonna last a long f**kin’ time.”
Oh my God.
How could I be that angry and still have a mini-orgasm in the forecourt of a garage?
“You aren’t letting me go,” I pointed out.
“You gonna be at your house when this meet’s done?”
I glared at him then bit off, “Yes.”
His eyes dropped to my mouth and he murmured, “Fuck, I wanna kiss you.”
Another mini-orgasm.
God, he was killing me.
“Hop—”
His eyes came back to mine. “You mean the world to me, Lanie. No one but my brothers knows the shit I did for the Club. No one. I didn’t trust a goddamn soul with that and that includes Mitzi. I trusted you because I care about you and I wanted you to have that part of me because I want you to have all of me. So while you’re burnin’ out your drama, think about that and also think about the fact that I feel it like a f**kin’ knife in my gut right now havin’ to let you go and walk away without bein’ free to take your mouth to say good-bye.”
I stopped breathing.
Hop let me go.
“Think about all that, baby,” he said gently and finished, “I’ll be at your place in a couple of hours.”
Then he walked away and I watched him go.
He disappeared behind the door to the Compound and it took a while before I remembered where I was and that I had to get out of there.
So I turned and walked fast to my car.
* * *
Three hours later…
I was working in the kitchen when I heard the Harley pipes.
They stopped behind my house.
I washed my hands to clean off the dough for the homemade rolls I was making but stood behind the island and faced the sliding glass doors.
Hop’s eyes locked on me when he was in the courtyard and he didn’t tear them away as he walked in and slid the door closed.
When he came to a stop and crossed his arms on his chest, I was the first one to speak.
“You mean the world to me, too.”
The room infused instantly with sheer beauty.
“Get over here,” he growled.
I felt those three words in three very good places but I didn’t move.
“I’m dramatic,” I reminded him.
“Get over here, Lanie.”
“I go over the top.”
“Over. Here.”
“I create scenes.”
“Lanie. Now.”
“You have to get used to that. It’s part of who I am.”
Hop didn’t speak.
“I don’t like that you did what you did but I do like that you’re a man who’d fight for what he believes in in order to make it real.”
His eyes closed and his head dropped as his arms uncrossed and he rested his hands on his hips.
“Honey,” I called and his head came up. “You have a monster too.”
“I did. My woman just slayed it.”
It was my turn to close my eyes and drop my head because that felt so good, I couldn’t let anything in but the feeling.
“Lady,” he called and I lifted my head.
“I’m worried about Benito,” I announced.
“I know you are,” he replied.
“We disagree with how to deal with that.”
“Give it time, babe, you’ll trust me, understand my brand of protection, and that will not be an issue.”
We both fell silent.
Then I gave in, “Okay.”
I watched how my capitulation affected him as he let the emotions wash over his face. Softness, warmth, then the darkness of passion.
He stopped at the passion and ordered, “Now get over here.”
“Are you going to give me a rug burn?” I asked.
“No. But you’re gonna become acquainted with the seat of your couch and not because your ass is gonna be in it but because your face is gonna be in it. Your ass is gonna be over the back of it which is how you’re gonna take me.”
Another mini-orgasm.
“I think you just gave me a mini-orgasm,” I shared.
“If you get your ass over here, I’ll give you one that is not mini.”
Oh wow.
There it was again.
“That’s four,” I admitted then stupidly went on. “I had two in the forecourt, FYI.”
“Lanie, you bein’ cute is only makin’ me want to f**k you harder.”
“Is that bad?”
Hop lost patience.
“Lady. Get. Over. Here.”
I got over there.
The minute I was in reaching distance, Hop crushed me in his arms and slammed his mouth down on mine.
Not long after, I got acquainted with the seat of my couch in a way I never expected I would.
It was fabulous.
Chapter Thirteen
Perfect
One week, two days later…
I had my head in the fridge, trying to figure out what to have for dinner and thinking maybe we should do takeout, when I heard the sliding glass door open.
“Hey honey, you want a beer?” I asked as I heard the door slide shut.
“Bourbon,” Hop answered.
I pulled my head out of the fridge and turned to him to see he had a face like thunder. He was also opening the doors over my pantry where I kept my hard liquor.
“Is everything okay?” I asked, moving to the island.
Hop uncapped my Jack Daniels then threw back a healthy slug straight from the bottle.
I made a mental note to buy another for company and leave that one all to Hop.
He dropped the bottle and sliced his eyes to me. “Get this shit, Shy is doin’ Tabby.”