by Jayne Blue
“I’m still sorry about everything that happened with him.”
“And I’m still gonna tell you not to be. If there’s any blame, it’s mine for not acting when you wanted me to. I owed you that. That and a hell of a lot more. Now let’s not be so fucking morose. You coming over for dinner? Amy’s been riding my ass about it for weeks. She’s worried you’re turning into a hermit. And the kids keep asking about their Uncle Brax.”
“Ha. Well, I wouldn’t want to disappoint any of them.”
“Good. And she says you have to bring a date.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Shit. Don’t tell me.”
Colt laughed. “Oh, yeah. It was a straight-up threat. Bring someone or she’s going to fix you up.”
“I’m good, thanks. Sam can be my date. Or Amy can work on him. I’m off the market. For good.”
“You got something you want to tell me?”
“Nope. Bachelor biker. Dyed in the wool.”
Colt shook his head and slapped me. “Well, now that we’ve got the security firm real estate issue figured out, you can stop using it as an excuse. I love you, man, but you’re an idiot for letting that girl get away.”
“Don’t start. Seriously.”
“I am fucking serious. She’s the one, Brax. I’ve known you a long time. I trust you with my life. So I’m going to do you a favor you did for me a few years ago. You and the rest of the guys saved me from making the biggest mistake of my life not so long ago. You got behind me when I needed you. You took Amy in as one of our own.”
“Amy’s different. She was already family.”
“Yeah, well, so is Nicole.”
It hit me like an anvil in the gut. Colt considered Nicole family because he knew I loved her. And I still fucking did. I thought the shock of everything that happened would hit her the hardest after the dust settled. Maybe it had, but it had hit me just as bad. But she was safe. She was clear of my choices and her brother’s.
“And you think you’re doing yourself and her a favor by living alone.” Fucking Colt. Maybe he had telepathy with more than just his natural-born brother. “You’re not. I know you’re miserable. I can only imagine that she is too. So fucking do something about it.”
“It’s too late. And I will not be the reason she gets hurt.”
“It’s time, Brax. Look around. We’re not in the darkness anymore. You hang on to it like we are and I get why. You’ve shouldered so much more than the rest of us. I know that. But I’m making you a promise. You don’t have to anymore. And you deserve her. Do you hear what I’m saying, man? You deserve to have someone like her in your life. You’re not this monster you like to believe you are. She sees you. You hear me? She sees you. And God help her, she loves you anyway.”
The first thing he said felt like an anvil. This felt like a flaming fucking dart straight through the heart. I couldn’t breathe. Colt stepped forward and put an arm around me. “You’re a fucking wreck without her, my brother. Consider this an intervention. Now go do something about it before it really is too late.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Nicole
“You sure this doesn’t look like I’m trying too hard?”
I pulled the bodice of the dress up for about the millionth time. Melinda stood behind me, admiring her handiwork. In the end, I had gone with something from her closet. A simple black, strapless sheath dress. Except my tits were at least a cup size bigger than hers were.
“Well, shit,” she said. “Now I’ll never be able to pull that dress off again. You look better in it than me, you bitch. And you’re like a hundred years older than me.”
“I am not. I’m only ten years older than you.”
“Ancient. Ugh. Just don’t shed any of your gray hairs on it,” she teased. She leaned over and grabbed the black clutch purse that matched the dress. “Just take pictures. Lots and lots of selfies. Do you know what those are, old lady, or do you need me to explain it?”
I flipped a finger at her. “You know what that means or do you need me to explain it?”
We stood in the middle of my apartment. Melinda had been staying with me to save rent money before she left. Everything she owned was packed into boxes along my back wall. In two days, I’d drive her to the airport.
“You’re stunning. Now go and make everyone at the gym jealous. I still can’t believe that’s where they’re having this shindig. It’s lame. Boys sweat in that place.”
“It’s nostalgic,” I said.
“Yeah. Well, I bet you’re kicking yourself for turning down their invitation to have you help plan it. You’re way classier.”
“Thanks, but not by much.”
Melinda gave me a quick, careful hug, mindful of the updo she’d made me wear. She said it was perfect. I thought it made me look like the Snow Queen from a Disney movie. But it also made me feel like I had a little sister looking out for me. So I’d suffered through the hair spray and bobby pins just for her.
“Off you go, Cinderella,” she said as I gave her a final spin. Then I headed out the door.
Turns out, Mel was dead-ass right. The gym was lame. God. They’d decorated it in pink crepe paper and had an enormous paper mache float in the middle. Someone had donned the school mascot costume. A blue wildcat. He pretty much assaulted every woman in the place with a groping hug. I managed to sidestep mine when I saw Principal Miller. He’d long since retired, but he recognized me and I made a beeline for him and away from the wildcat.
“Look at you!” Principal Miller said. He was maybe five foot two back in his day and had clearly shrunk. With my heels, he stood a full head shorter than me. When he leaned in for a hug, it put his head right at my chest. I was beginning to think ditching the wildcat would have been the lesser of two evils. But Miller was half blind. He tried to focus on me through his coke bottle glasses.
“Miss Ridley. You haven’t changed a bit. You going to lead us in the school fight song later? I hear the band is playing.”
“Sorry, forgot my pompoms this time. But I’ll be happy to politely clap.”
“Well, good. Good. You know, you were always one of my favorites. Always had a smile on your face and a kind word. You here with your husband?”
“Ah, no. It’s just me, I’m afraid.”
“No one’s snagged you yet? You know, Mrs. Miller passed away a few years ago. Maybe I’ve still got a shot?”
And . . . we’d crossed over into awkward. I made a few polite comments then found an opening to extract myself from Miller’s clutches. I made my way to the punch bowl and hoped the football team spiked this one just like they did at prom senior year.
I poured myself a cup and ran smack into Derek Moyer, captain of the football team. I hadn’t seen him since graduation. His eyes went wide when he recognized me. Oh God. This boy had caused me so much drama back in the day. Now I couldn’t even remember feeling anything at all. His head alone had gained probably ten pounds. And he’d shrunk. He lunged forward and pawed at me, pulling me into a bear hug that crushed my lungs.
“Sweet Jesus. Nic. Look at you! You’re the one I was hoping to run into more than anyone. Fuck me!”
“Mmm,” I said, sipping my punch. “I think I’d rather not.”
Derek looked me up and down and licked his lips. I threw up in my mouth a little bit. I took a big gulp of the punch. My eyes started to water.
“Jager!” Derek beamed. Jesus.
“You haven’t changed a bit, Derek.”
The DJ struck up a slow song and my life flashed before my eyes as Derek staggered forward again. I think he’d put more Jägermeister in his gullet than the punch bowl. I was doomed.
Until a shadow fell over Derek’s face and his eyes went up. And up.
I turned around and my heart fell straight down to my toes. Brax walked toward me, scanning the crowd. A path cleared for him. Hushed whispers. No one remembered him. They wouldn’t. He never looked like this to them. Hell, they never looked at him at all.
But I did.
He stood tall and straight, his hair pulled back into a club. He wore a black, tailored suit. It made him look even more dangerous somehow. People in this town understood the leather cut he wore. The Great Wolves patch commanded respect and fear no matter who wore it. But now, immaculate in his Armani, all eyes went to the man. He walked with predatory grace, his blue eyes flashing. He owned the room. Then he stopped as those fierce eyes of his found mine. God, I wanted to go to him.
And I wanted to fucking murder him.
Hot tears sprang to my eyes as his step faltered for a fraction of a second. He swallowed hard and his jaw went tight. He was afraid. Of me. And what I might do. The truth was, I didn’t know what to do.
He was here and there could only be one reason.
He was here for me.
He stood inches from me. I craned my neck to meet his eyes. “Should we dance?” he said after a long silence.
“I don’t think so.” Derek was drunker than I thought. He staggered forward and tried to get his arm around my shoulders. I easily sidestepped him and held out my hand to Brax. Electricity shot through my veins when his skin touched mine.
I wanted to be angry with him. I wanted him to kiss me. In the end, we danced.
“You’re beautiful,” he said as he pulled me close to him and slid his hand around my waist. His feet were nimble as he spun me around the gym floor. God, when I’d been eighteen, I’d fantasized about this. Brax. It had always been Brax. Except now, it was so much different. He wasn’t some dream I’d created. He was real. He was flawed. And I still wanted him to be mine.
We drew stares and I didn’t care. A few people finally figured out who he was. His arms were steady and strong as he brought me into a low dip. Then the song ended and we got whistles and catcalls. Oh yes, my Brax knew how to make an impression.
“We need to talk,” he said as the DJ switched to hip hop.
I nodded. “I know just the place.”
Brax cocked his head and gave me a sly smile that heated my core. As the dance floor filled with flailing arms and sweaty bodies, we walked out of the gym together and crossed the parking lot to the football stadium.
It was pitch dark now, the klieg lights were dim, just like they’d been that night when we were eighteen. Brax picked the lock to the fence. He’d done that before too. I slipped off my heels and walked with him barefoot under the bleachers.
“I can’t believe you came here,” I said.
He took my hand in his. “I can’t believe I did either. I went to your apartment. Melinda was still there. She told me this is where I could find you.”
“And you went home and changed?”
He smiled, that devastating, sultry flash of teeth. “Don’t you like it?”
“You’re gorgeous and you already know that.”
“So are you. God. I can’t even come close to you.”
“Yes, you can.” My breath hitched as I took a step forward. My heart beat like hummingbird wings.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I know I hurt you. But God. Nicole. I was so afraid of losing you. That I could be the cause of losing you. It would kill me. You have to know that. It would end me.”
“I know.”
“But not having you in my life is killing me even faster. And I want to stand here and tell you that everything is going to be all right. That my shit isn’t going to land on you and that it won’t get dangerous from time to time. But I’m selfish, it turns out. I want you anyway. You’re mine. At least, if you still want to be.”
Time stopped. I couldn’t breathe. He said all the things I wanted him to say two months ago and forever. I could say I love him. I did. And he could hurt me again. So deeply. But as all those things raced through my mind, I finally took a breath and answered him.
“What took you so long?”
Brax lifted me in his arms and kissed me slow and deep. “I love you,” he whispered over and over.
His hands were everywhere. Tearing through my hair. Melinda’s bobby pins pinged out like little drops of rain. My hair spilled over his shoulders as he lifted me off the ground. And it was just like it was fifteen years ago, only so much better.
His kisses were hot and urgent, but more skilled. He knew where to touch me to make my body sing. I fumbled with his belt. I couldn’t stand not having him inside of me. The entire student body could have come out and sang the fight song just then and I wouldn’t have cared. I needed him. My sex throbbed as Brax pulled my skirt up over my hips. He let out a sultry growl when he found me bare beneath the dress. I mumbled something about panty lines that made him laugh. Then he grew serious again.
“Are you sure?” he whispered as he slid down nearly to his knees, kissing me. Worshipping.
“God, yes. Hurry!”
Later, we would go slow. For now, my need crashed through me. He turned me, pressing his body against mine as I leaned against his chest. I braced my hands against the metal girders. He ran his hand along my back, gently pushing me down so he had me angled just right. Then he entered me. Hard as a rock and filling me to my deepest core. He was hot and urgent. I was too. I coated him with my juices as he plunged inside of me. I wanted more. I wanted it all. Forever and ever.
“Brax!” I gasped as I felt my need rising. So fast. So hot. My body was tuned to his. Trained for his. He slid his hand around and worked me, urging me on. I bit my lip to keep from crying out. If someone walked by, they’d spot us. The thrill of it made me drunker than the spiked punch.
“Let go, baby,” he said. And I did. I squeezed my hands against the metal beams and went up on my tiptoes as my orgasm tore through me. Brax worked me, wringing every last wave of pleasure out of me before he gave in to his own.
And when he did, I saw stars.
Yes. Oh yes. All of it. All of him. He bucked and shuddered and whispered my name.
Then my Brax folded himself against me. I turned as he gathered me in his arms.
“I love you.” He said it over and over. We’d been so stupid. The both of us. Afraid. Guarded. But we were stronger together than we were apart. I knew that now and so did he. It wouldn’t be easy. I could get hurt. So could he. But I couldn’t imagine trying to live my life without him. So I took the biggest risk of all and said so.
“Brax,” I said, as we did our best to reassemble our clothes. Not that we wanted to, but the thought of going back into the gym was out of the question. We’d be found out in a heartbeat. He took my hand and led me back into the parking lot. His Harley was parked at an angle near the concession stand.
“What is it, baby?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“And I don’t want to be alone anymore.”
“You won’t. I swear to God. I’m done being an idiot.”
“So am I.”
“I want to make it official.”
“We’ll go to The Den right now. They’re worse than a bunch of gossipy old ladies. They kinda want to know how everything worked out.”
This got a genuine belly laugh out of me. “Well, then let’s really give them something to talk about.”
“What do you mean?”
“Marry me.”
Brax froze. He squeezed my hand and slowly turned toward me. His eyes were wide and glistened. “Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack. I think we’ve both lived through enough in our lives to know when something is real and when it isn’t. What do you say?”
His smile lit up the sky brighter than those klieg lights. He circled his arms around my waist and lifted me off the ground. “Isn’t that supposed to be my line?”
“Well, if it means that much to you, go ahead. I’ll pretend I didn’t say anything.”
He kissed me, then his face fell. “Well, I mean, now I don’t know. What if you drool in your sleep or something?”
“Brax!” I tried to hit him in the chest but my blows were as ineffectual as T-Rex arms.
“Okay, then. My answer’s yes.”<
br />
“I forgot the question.”
He hurled me over his shoulder caveman style and swatted me on the ass. My squealing laughter rang across the parking lot. We were now in full view of about a dozen former classmates who’d come out for a smoke. They pointed and waved. I gave them a weak wave back as Brax deposited me on the back of his bike. He handed me a helmet then put on his own.
Fifteen years ago, I’d been afraid to take the ride with him. And every day since, in one way or another, I’d asked myself what if. What if I’d gone with him back then? What if I’d never met him under the bleachers that first time? What if all the things he was afraid of came true? But most of all, what if I’d never walked back into his life again?
Today, tonight, and forever, I knew I was willing to take the ride.
I loved him in leather. I loved him in Armani. I loved him every way in between. I wrapped my arms around his waist. Brax revved the engine and we tore out of the high school parking lot toward a future we could face together.
THE END
A Message from Jayne Blue
Thank you so much for taking the ride with Brax and Nicole. This story tore me to pieces along the way and I had a hard time saying goodbye. Er . . . that and I’ll never look at ice cream sundaes the same way again. J But, there’s a lot more of those heartthrob, Great Wolves outlaws where Brax came from. For my next story, we’re heading back to the Grand City charter to catch up with Stone. He’s gone lone wolf after the events in Sawyer and I can’t leave him hanging! I’ve got a little sneak peek below. Keep reading.
I’ve also got big news to share. For those of you wondering about Colt’s brother Jase, I’ve got something very special planned for Officer Reddick. Doesn’t mean he won’t go through hell to get his happy ending though. Jase kicks off a brand new series featuring hunky, sexy as sin real heroes. The Tortured Heroes novels feature all my favorite real men in (and out of) uniform. Jase’s book is called Vice. Click here to stay up to date on Jase and the Tortured Heroes series.