“Baby, you’ve felt unsafe most of your life, it’s just you’ve had to shove that emotion aside because you had shit to do.”
God, I hated how he got right to the heart of me. It was annoying as hell.
“Thorne—”
“I’m gonna make it so you sleep easy, Dimples.”
“Stop interrupting me!” I snapped.
He grinned. “I apologize. What did you want to say?”
I dropped my head back and stared at the ceiling. “I don’t remember.”
“Liar.”
I met his eyes and frowned again. “None of this is healthy, Sundance.”
He crossed his arms and leaned against my desk. “Break that down for me.”
“How would you suggest I do that?”
“I get that we’ve had a few bumps, Wyatt, but I think, now that we’ve worked out our miscommunications, we’re on solid ground.”
“Is that what you think?”
“Tell me where I’m wrong.”
“Unfortunately, Mr. Graves, I don’t have time to do that. I have work to do.”
“I’ll come by your place tonight and we can talk.”
I stepped out from behind my desk. “I’m busy tonight.”
“Look at me when you lie to me, Dimples.”
“I’d rather not,” I muttered.
He chuckled. “I’ll pick up Chinese.”
“Sunny—”
“There’s my girl.”
Hearing the relief in his tone, I met his eyes and melted when he smiled gently.
“Stop,” I whispered, looking away again.
“We’ll talk tonight,” he said.
I swallowed, meeting his eyes again. “I can’t be in a relationship with someone who isn’t willing to share information with me, Sundance. My whole world has been built around finding, then burying or spinning secrets, giving me an incredibly lucrative career. Being with someone who can’t, or isn’t willing to, share everything with me isn’t going to work.”
“I’ll bring Chinese and you can ask me anything you want.”
“Will you answer me, though?”
He sighed. “Yeah, baby, I’ll answer.”
I almost asked if he’d answer honestly, but I knew he’d never lie to me. Omit information, outright refuse to tell me things, yes, but never lie. “I’ll come to you.”
“I want you to be comfortable, Wyatt. Will you feel comfortable on my turf?”
No, probably not.
I studied his face, wanting to kiss him so bad my stomach hurt. “If you come to me, will you leave if I ask you to?”
“Yeah.” He stroked my cheek. “Whatever you want.”
I closed my eyes and nodded. “Okay.”
“Gonna kiss you now.”
“Place of business,” I reminded him.
“Right,” he said. “I’m gonna kiss you later.”
“We’ll see.”
“I’m gonna earn your trust, Wyatt. I promise.”
“We’ll see,” I repeated.
“Six,” he said, and with one more panty-dropping smile, he left me.
I stood, frozen to the spot for several seconds before Calvin rushed into my office. “Who was that?” he demanded, breathlessly.
“Someone who was hoping to be a client,” I lied.
He gave me a look of disbelief, but because he wanted to keep his job, he said nothing.
“Do you need me to get him intake paperwork?”
“No, I told him we couldn’t help him,” I said, sitting behind my desk again.
“Oh, I could help him,” Calvin countered. “That there’s one hell of a gorgeous daddy.”
“Calvino,” I warned, raising an eyebrow at my assistant.
He dropped his head back with a dramatic sigh, then walked out of my office.
“Insubordination will get you nowhere,” I called.
He grinned at me over his shoulder and I rolled my eyes.
“Did I just see Thorne Graves leave?” Ripley asked, peeking her head into my office.
“If I say yes, will you walk away?”
“No way in hell,” she said, closing the door and sitting in the chair Sundance had just vacated.
I frowned.
Why were none of my staff afraid of the giant biker? Or me, for that matter.
“Are we taking him on?” Ripley asked.
“No,” I said, logging back into my computer.
“Are you getting back together with him?”
I pointed to my door. “Out!”
“That’s a yes,” she retorted, and rose to her feet.
“Out,” I said again, and Ripley walked out, giving me a sassy grin before closing my door.
I focused back on my screen and tried to get some work done.
* * *
Sundance
I left Wyatt, hope flooding my heart. Finally, I had a chance to make things right. I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage the information-giving aspect of all of this, but I was gonna have to figure it out because Wyatt would expect nothing less. I’d had it easy with Morgan. She’d been part of the life, so she wasn’t a big question asker. I probably told her more than others in my club told their old ladies, but it was still a hell of a lot less than what Wyatt was demanding.
For now, however, I needed information of my own, and that took me to Colorado Springs and Smiley’s bar. Backing into a parking space in the front, I headed inside and waited for my eyes to adjust to the dim light.
“Sundance!” Smiley called. “What are you doin’ here in the middle o’ the day?”
I glanced around the space and seeing the faces were all friendly, I closed the distance between us. “Need to talk to Ruby.”
“I don’t want trouble.”
“No trouble, brother, just have a question for her.”
“She’s in the break room.” He nodded over his shoulder. “In the back.”
Smiley buzzed me in, and I walked down to the back of the building, having to bend slightly to step into the break room.
“Shit,” Ruby hissed, and pushed up from her seat.
“Not here to hassle you, sweetheart,” I assured her. “Just need a little information.”
“Yeah, well, information gets me this,” she snapped, pointing to her black eye. “And a few more injuries that can be hidden with clothing.
I frowned. “Did Sonja do that?”
“No.”
My blood ran cold. “Did Snowcone do that?”
She dropped her head and I knew. I fuckin’ knew my brother had hurt her. “It won’t happen again.”
She met my eyes again and relaxed. “I can’t help you, Sundance.”
“But you know what Sonja’s planning.”
“Not entirely,” she admitted. “But I can guess.”
“Do you agree with it?”
Ruby rolled her eyes. “Sonja’s certifiable, what do you think?”
“Okay, if you’re not onboard, why are you helping her?”
“I’m not. I’m just trying not to get dead.”
“If I can keep you safe, would you—”
She raised her hand and shook her head. “Don’t even finish that sentence, Sundance. It’s not gonna happen.”
“You gotta reel her in, Rube.”
“I don’t have to do shit.”
“You get caught in this, it’ll be worse,” I warned.
“I’m well aware of what I’m up against,” she said. “But I gotta watch out for myself. I appreciate you makin’ sure your man doesn’t come around, and I’ll return the favor if I can. I just won’t make promises I can’t keep, like spying on Sonja.”
“Tell me this,” I hedged. “How long’s Snowcone been in league with Sonja.”
“Oh, he’s not,” she said. “He’s fuckin’ Misty.”
“Jesus,” I hissed. “Zilla’s sister?”
“Yeah. That’s been goin’ on for almost a year now.”
Shit started to come into focus for the first time in a
while. He’d used my distraction with chemo to make a play and it wouldn’t stand.
“I appreciate the info, sweetheart. You watch your back.”
“I fully intend to,” she said, and I walked out of the bar and climbed onto my bike, calling Orion before starting the engine.
“Hey, Pops,” he said.
“Lock Letti down.”
“Shit, okay. Can you talk?”
“No. Meet me at the cabin tonight. Get Rocky, Moses, and Wrath there, too. After ten. No one else.”
“Right.”
He hung up and I headed back to the club.
Wyatt
AT FIVE O’CLOCK exactly, I shut down my laptop and made my way out of my office. I’d sent Calvin home early and Ripley was off-site at a client meeting, so I was able to get out unscathed. Or at the very least, out without having to dodge a million questions.
I rushed into my condo at five-twenty and cleaned up a bit in the form of more deodorant and teeth-brushing, then changed into a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt. Granted, it was a tight, V-neck T-shirt, but it was nothing special. I wasn’t looking for sex tonight and didn’t want Sundance to get any ideas.
I started to wipe down my kitchen counters in an effort to kill time and ended up doing a deep clean of the stovetop. This meant, of course, that when Sundance arrived, I was a sweaty mess. I tried to warn him as he walked through my door, but I was pushed up against my foyer wall and kissed for all I was worth, so the words were forgotten.
“Hey,” he said against my lips.
“Hi.”
“You okay?”
“Yep.”
He stroked my cheek. “Are you hungry?”
“Not really.”
“You still up to talkin’?”
I nodded. “If you’re still up to sharing.”
“Yeah, Dimples, I told you I would.”
“Well, you also told me you wouldn’t break me, so…”
He sighed, taking my hand and pulling me into my kitchen where he set the food on the counter and faced me.
“Let’s get this out and done, okay?”
I raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything, considering I was still kind of mad at him.
“I’m sorry I cut you.” Sundance cupped my face. “I will do my best never to hurt you again. I can’t promise it won’t happen, because, as you said, I’m self-aware enough to realize when I’m being an asshole, but I will try. I love you, Wyatt, and I’m gonna work my ass off to prove that to you, but if you can’t forgive me and move on, this won’t work, so you need to figure that out and then let me know.”
I frowned, staring up at him, trying to decide how far I wanted to push him.
“So?” he pressed.
“Oh, you want to know now?” I sassed.
He grinned. “Jesus, you’re fun.”
“I thought that was gonna go another way,” I admitted. “I thought you were going to say I was a pain in the ass.”
“Yeah, I’m picking up on that.” He laughed. “You gonna figure this out with me?”
“Do you promise not to keep things from me?”
He stroked my cheek. “As much as I can, Wyatt, yes.”
I sighed. “Fine.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. I haven’t been able to sleep in a month, my eating habits are complete shit, and I cry all the time. Well, more than normal, anyway.”
“Gonna fix that.”
“You better or you’re going to be with a woman who weighs twice your size because all I want to eat are Wavy Lay’s and chocolate. I’m not as picky about the chocolate, but the Wavy Lay’s can only be Wavy Lay’s. No Ruffles, no Pringles—”
“Yeah, I’m moppin’ up what you’re spillin’,” he said, his shoulders shaking as he tried not to laugh out loud. “I’ll make sure you’re stocked.”
“No, don’t,” I countered. “Weren’t you listening?”
“Yeah, Dimples, I was, and I’m tellin’ you I love you and I don’t care how much weight you gain.”
“Challenge accepted,” I retorted.
He grinned, leaning down to kiss me gently. “You seriously not sleepin’?”
I shook my head. “I lost the love of my life, of course, I’m not sleeping.”
“Is that love of your life me?”
“No, it’s Aero, but I’ll settle for you.”
With a growl, he lifted me off my feet and dropped me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, smacking my butt as he walked me down the hall to my bedroom.
“What the hell are you doing?” I squeaked.
He didn’t answer. Just dropped me on my mattress and leaned over me, kissing me again. “You gonna let me feast on your pussy?”
I squirmed under him. “The food’ll get cold.”
“I’ll be quick.”
I rolled my eyes. “When have you ever been quick?”
He met my eyes. “You wanna eat or fuck?”
“Fuck.” I shook my head. “No, eat.”
“Your choice, baby.”
“Fuck,” I said, waffling. He grinned, leaning down to kiss me again, but I laid my hand over his mouth. “No, wait.”
He kissed my fingers and sighed. “You need to talk first.”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Okay, Dimples, let’s do that before my dick explodes.”
I let out a quiet snort. “So melodramatic.”
“Finally got you to smile, though,” he pointed out, pushing up from the bed and holding his hand out to me. I took it and he pulled me against him, kissing me again. “Fuckin’ missed you, baby.”
I gripped his cut. “I missed you too.”
“Let’s get shit settled, then, because I’m not livin’ another day without you in my life.”
Sundance guided me onto a barstool, moving around the island and commandeering my kitchen while I sat and watched.
“You need to start askin’ questions, baby, or I’m gonna take you back to your bedroom and finish what I started,” he warned, setting the Chinese in the microwave.
“Why is Sonja messing with the club?”
“Because she’s a cunt.”
“Specifically,” I pressed.
“I don’t know. I can speculate, but that’s all it would be. She wants to be an old lady, and no one was willin’ to give her more than the occasional dick, so she went lookin’ for someone who’d give her more.”
“Did you give her the ‘occasional dick’?”
“No.”
“Why not? She’s pretty enough,” I said.
“She’s been around for a while, since before Morgan died. It was always established I was off-limits, and she never tried for more,” he said, opening a bottle of wine he pulled off my rack. “Wine?”
“Yes, please,” I said. “Glasses are above the dishwasher.”
“I remember,” he said, grabbing a glass and pouring a liberal amount of wine into it.
“Why didn’t she try for more?” I asked as he slid the glass to me.
“If she’d tried while Morgan was alive, she’d be missin’ an arm, and after she died, don’t know, don’t care.”
I took a sip of wine and swallowed. “Do you miss your wife?”
He leaned over the counter and met my eyes. “Every minute of every day, but the pain isn’t what it used to be.”
“How so?”
“I fell in love with someone who filled the void.”
“Am I that person?” I joked.
“Did you just mess with me, Dimples?”
I smiled. “Did I do it right?”
He grinned. “You sure did, baby.”
“So, answer the question now.”
“Morgan and I had somethin’ amazin’,” he said. “We also had three kids who I love more than life, and we were a team, so I really thought I’d lose my mind when she died. If it weren’t for them, I probably woulda climbed into her grave with her, but they kept me going. I can’t really explain it, but when I met you, the pain of her loss sud
denly loosened around my heart, but once I was inside of you, it was gone. It took ten years to drop that anchor, baby, and it’s because of you that I could.”
“Wow,” I whispered just as the microwave dinged.
He pulled the food out and grabbed plates, while I sipped wine and thought of more questions.
“How is Sonja messing with the club?”
“We’re still figuring that out,” he said. “But she obviously knew about you and thought she might be able to do it through our relationship, so this leads me to believe we have a mole.”
“Snowcone.”
“That’s where the evidence is pointing.”
He slid a plate and chopsticks toward me, then grabbed a beer and sat beside me.
“Can I help?”
He smiled gently. “Love you for askin’, baby, but I seriously don’t want this touchin’ you. I’ll probably have someone on you, but I’ll keep it low-key.”
“Have you ever killed anyone?”
He studied me. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to.”
“I want to know.”
“Yes.”
“Who?” I asked.
“Not tellin’ you that.”
“Really?”
“Yep. You don’t need that burden, baby, believe me.”
“If I really wanted to know, would you tell me?”
“No.” He took my hand and gave it a squeeze. “And I think you understand why.”
“Plausible deniability.”
“Yeah.”
“Did they deserve it?” I whispered.
“They killed my wife, Wyatt, what do you think?”
I squeezed his hand back and we focused on our food for a few minutes as I formulated more questions.
“How long have you been part of your club?”
“Since I was eighteen.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Did they recruit you?” I asked, then took a bite of food.
He grinned. “Clubs don’t typically recruit members.”
“Oh.”
“Morgan’s dad used to be prez. I met her in high school and the rest is history.”
“What did your parents think?”
“I was a foster kid,” he said. “And my foster mom wasn’t big on carin’ what I did.”
I frowned. “Was she horrible?”
“No, baby, she was realistic. I was twice the size of my foster dad, who left her my sophomore year of high school, and she needed the money. She kept me warm and fed, and I will forever be in her debt for that, but when I met Morgan, my priorities changed.”
Primal Need (Primal Howlers MC Book 2) Page 12