He stalks off toward the meeting room, and I head to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. While it brews, I try Everly's phone twice with no answer and Lexa's once, which goes straight to voicemail.
Giving up, I text Everly to call me or at least talk to Kyle, and I fill two mugs before heading to the meeting room for morning Church. There is still a lot to discuss about last night and Bear is making plans to keep the Devils out of town, but I know I won't hear most of it.
My brain is too focused on Lexa and the pained expression on her face when she pulled away from me.
My stomach twists, and my guts clench. I never meant to hurt her, and I'll do anything to take that pain away, even if that means giving her space. Even if that means crushing my own damn heart.
I'm at the meeting room door when my cell buzzes in my back pocket. I hand a prospect one of the mugs and direct him to take it to Bear before I duck back into the hallway and answer.
"Everly. Everything alright, honey?"
"Fine." Her voice is still sleepy and has an edge, but nowhere near the sharpness, I expect. "Let me talk to Lexa. I need to fill her in about a client for today."
I tilt my head, so I can hear her better. "Isn't she still at the house with you?"
"No," Everly says slowly. "At least I didn't see her. Let me look again." Everly calls Lexa's name a couple of times before the stairs creak through the phone. There is a knock I assume is Lexa's bedroom door, then Everly gasps. "Her stuff is gone."
"Gone?" I repeat. I put my mug on a table near the bar and walk toward the front doors. "Try calling her cell."
I knew she was upset last night, but I figured giving her a little time and space would calm things down. After what happened at Hawk's, I never expected she'd go out on her own.
I'm at the front door when my name breaks the silence of the front lobby. I turn to find Bear standing near the stairs, his face wrinkled in concern.
"Church is starting," he says. When I don't respond, he adds, "Is something wrong with Everly? The baby?"
"No. I slide my cell in my pocket and brace for Bear's backlash. "It's Lexa. She left this morning, and Everly doesn't know where she went."
Bear stands in silence for a long second. As our prez, he can order me into the meeting room. He can tell me to forget Lexa. He has the power to pit my love for my club family against a woman I shouldn't be with but can't live without.
I've already made up my mind. I'm walking out the front door when he tells me to go. Kyle can fill me in later.
I'm on my bike and headed home when it hits me. I'm chasing after a woman—something I have never done before. And my heart is pounding, and fear is wrecking my body, all while knowing even if I find her there's a huge chance she won't forgive me.
But I can't stop trying. I may be a glutton for punishment. Or maybe I want Lexa to tell me to my face we are wrong together. Whatever it is, I can't let her leave without seeing her one last time.
I can't let her leave without telling her the truth.
I love her. No matter how wrong it is. I've never wanted a woman more. Never felt the mix of anger and sadness and fear I do right now.
Even if she says no, I have to tell her the trust. I love her.
Chapter 10
Lexa
I shouldn't have left without leaving a note. Or at least a phone call. Everly will be worried.
I've checked myself in at the same hotel I stayed at my first night in town, and I'm in the process of calling every physical therapist I know, hoping one will jump at the chance to take my place as Everly's fill in.
I feel like shit leaving her high and dry, which is why I've been on the phone nonstop between canceling my appointments for the week and searching for my replacement.
That's why I missed the three calls that came in from her cell phone number.
Crap. What am I going to say? Sorry I bailed on you, but after sleeping with your father, my guilty conscience got the better of me? Or I could go with the generic, this just didn't work out excuse. I've even considered not calling at all and leaving town with my tail tucked between my legs. But I owe Everly too much to just disappear.
I have to find a way to suck up my own fears and confess everything to Everly.
The mini bar is fully stocked, thank God. I take one Wild Turkey mini bottle, then decide two would be better and down them both before I dial Everly's number.
"Lexa." Gunner's voice booms from the speakers after the first ring. "Where the hell are you?"
It's not anger in his voice I hear, but fear. I choke on my words before I can spit them out. "I'm safe. In a hotel in town."
"The one by the bar?" he asks.
"Yes."
"Good. I'm on my way."
"No," I demand, but it's too late. He's already hung up the phone.
I'm still staring down at my cell when it rings again, and Everly's number pops up on the screen.
"Tell me he's not really coming here?" I say, my voice shaking.
Everly laughs. "I couldn't stop him if I laid down in front of his bike and refused to move."
"That bad, huh?" I realize I'm shaking now, so I sit down on the floor and search at the bar for another shot of something.
"That bad," Everly answers.
"Everly. I am so sorry I didn't tell you. Everything happened so fast, and by the time I realized Gunner was your father--"
"It's okay," she interrupts me.
"But it's not. I should have said something when I realized who he was. I should have ended it then."
"What would that have done, other than break my father's heart?"
I want to ball myself up on the bed and dissolve into a puddle of tears, but I fight the feeling. "I know what it's like to have someone come between you and a loved one. I don't ever want to be that person to you."
Everly pauses before her voice shifts from soft to stern. "Do you love him?"
"What?" I'm not sure how to answer.
Her voice gets louder. "You know what I'm asking, Lexa. Do you or don't you love my father?"
"I…" I stumble. "I think I could. But I'm not ready to say that I do."
"But you could?"
I've asked myself the same question so many times, and I haven't found the answer yet. God, Gunner is amazing. Not only is he the sexist man I've ever met, but he makes me feel like so much more than I really am. Beautiful and strong and...alive.
"I like the person I am with him. I'd like to be that person more often. He makes me feel special. Something I haven't had in a very long time."
"You know he's already in love with you, right?"
I sigh. They must have talked while they were waiting for my call. I'm not sure how much he told Everly, but if he's told her he's in love with me, I'm sure he held nothing back.
"He has told me." I know where this conversation is going. Everly wants to see if I'm going to hurt her father. "And I want to love him back. Everly, I really want to love him too. But I can't do that if loving him is going to hurt you."
Everly doesn't make a sound for so long, I call her name into the phone to make sure she's still connected.
"Loving him means becoming part of his club family. You can't take that connection away from him."
"I know that," I answer. "And I would need your help to learn my way around the rules."
"And it means you'll be the youngest grandmother in the club." Everly's voice is so flat I miss that she's joking until she snorts into the phone. "I mean, this little one is going to call you Nana, or Meme, or some grandma name like that."
I laugh. My heart lightens, and I suck back the tears from the back of my throat. "I'll go with Lexa if that works for you."
"We'll see," she says. "Once I'm back at the clinic, we'll have to work out some arrangement for you. Maybe I can take over the club, and you have run the practice in town. Kyle doesn't want me back full time until this little bean is at least in kindergarten."
"We can work out the details later," I add. "There
is still plenty of time."
"Good," Everly says right before someone knocks on my room door.
"Everly," I begin, but she stops me and tells me she heard the noise, and she's getting off.
"Thanks for understanding," I tell her before she tells me to go easy on her old man and hangs up.
I glance in the vanity mirror before heading for the door. I'm a mess. Red nose and cheeks and eyes, and I'm sniffing like crazy, but I don't want to waste another second on cleaning up. If Gunner truly loves me, he won't mind if I looked like I've been crying.
I open the door and find him running one hand over his hair while tapping his foot anxiously on the ground. He's as big as ever and just as tough-looking, but underneath it, all see the scared little boy that pulls on my heart.
"Can I come in?"
"Sure," I say, opening the door wider for him to enter.
"Before you say anything." He stops short at the bed and turns toward me. "I just want you to know--"
I swallow the rest of his sentence as I cover his mouth with mine, and I pull him down with my arms around his thick neck.
He seems stunned at first, but soon pulls me into his arms and lifts me off the ground, so my legs have to wrap around his waist to keep from pulling us both over.
There's a moan forming in the back of my throat, and I hold it off as long as possible. I want to savor this moment for as long as I can make it last.
Gunner slides one hand up my back until my neck fits in his palm. He holds me there, pushing deeper into my mouth until I'm not sure I will ever breathe again, and I don't care if I don't.
Wrapped in his arms is the only thing I will ever need. Now and forever. I'm not unsure anymore. When Gunner holds me, his body pressed to mine, his mouth devouring my lips and his strong arms holding me above the ground, I know exactly how I feel about him.
Once he loosens his hold enough, I pull away from him slightly so I can look up into his eyes, and he can look into mine. I nuzzle my nose along the bridge of his, and I smile.
"I love you, Micheal." I honestly do.
Gunner
Lexa is molded to my back. She's warm and solid with her arms around my waist and their thighs clutching my legs. She had never been on a bike before I gave her a ride to the clinic on mine.
The way she trusted me when I told her I'd get her home safely is intoxicating.
It was easy for me to tell her I love her—years of holding back until I found the perfect match had worn down my walls. I knew the second I saw her in the bar she was the one. The rest, for me, fell into place.
I'm all too aware it isn't the same for Lexa. Her wounds are fresh, and her ability to trust is scared. But, she holds onto me like I'm the one thing that can keep her balanced and safe, which is enough for me. One of these days she'll slip. She's become so comfortable with us that she'll wake up one morning and not remember she's holding back from me. She'll tell me she loves me then.
I had no issues waiting to hear it because what she can't say aloud, her body screams with the way she's holding me. But hearing her say my name and that she loves me has opened a door in my heart, I never thought even existed.
We round the last turn before home, and I cut the corner close just so I can feel her legs squeeze mine and her arms lock around my sides. Her breasts press into my back, and I'm hard.
Fuck, the things I'd like to do to Lexa once I get her home. No more hiding. No more keeping secrets. I can have her without guilt—all of her, all over my house.
We pull into the driveway, and I take the bike all the way up to the front door.
She's behind me, struggling with the helmet, so I turn and help her release the chin strap and pull it off her head. She's disheveled with hair in her face, and her skin slick with a sheen of perspiration. She's perfection, and I can't stop myself from leaning over and kissing her cheek.
"Maybe we should call Everly and make sure she got home okay," she says.
I can't take my eyes off of Lexa. I'm almost afraid if I do, she'll disappear. "She would have texted if Kyle didn't pick her up."
"Oh," Lexa mouths.
I help her off the bike and follow. Her jeans are riding low on her hips, and a sliver of her thong is peeping over the top. I smile to myself, knowing I'll have a finger hooked under the lace and that little pink scrap of fabric off her in the next few minutes.
"Should you call the club? Didn't you have a meeting or something?"
"Quit stalling," I tell her, reaching around her when we are at the front door. I turn the key and push it open. "No one needs to know where we are or what we're doing."
I press my hand in her back and lead her forward. As I shut the door with my foot, she turns and loops her arms around my neck.
"That's right. No more hiding. It might take me a little while to get used to it."
I grin. "It won't take as long as you think. I plan on giving you plenty of practice."
Her eyes go wide before she schools them back and narrows them on mine. "Practice makes perfect."
I couldn't agree more. I drop a kiss to her lips, but I'm hungry for much more. I slide one arm under her knees and lift her up until she's cradled into my chest, and I make for the stairs. "Then, you're going to be a freaking masterpiece by the time I finish with you."
And I mean it. I'm not going to let Lexa rest until she's mastered being loved by me. In public and in private. In time, she'll even be able to admit she feels the same. Until then, I'll take her body telling me what her words can't.
She loves me, and that's all I need.
Epilogue
Lexa
"She's nine centimeters. Hurry."
Kyle is screaming over the cell phone, so loud Gunner has to hold it away from his ear.
"Take a breath, boy. There is still plenty to do before the babies come. I hope you're not stressing Everly out."
I tap Gunner on the shoulder to get his attention. I'm driving his truck so he can fully concentrate on his freaked out son-in-law.
"Be nice," I warn through a smile.
Kyle says something about his brother-in-law, and best friend, Luke, is on the way to the hospital, and my chest eases. I've been worried about both Kyle and Everly since Gunner's phone rang half an hour ago. It's still way before dawn, and we were in bed, though not sleeping.
"Good," Gunner says. "We're only a few minutes away. Tell Everly I love her."
The phone clicks off, and Gunner settles back in his seat and closes his eyes.
"He's worried. It's cute," I say, giving Gunner's shoulder a rub. "Don't be too hard on him."
He opens one eye and watches me. "If he's this worked up about the birth, how will he handle two babies for the next eighteen years?"
"They won't be babies that long." I laugh. "And he'll get the hang of it. You did, after all."
Gunner groans. "I only had one and an entire club to raise her."
"You say that like you had it easy."
Gunner is really excited. I can tell by the way he talked to Kyle, but late nights at the club with Bear followed by even later nights with me has worn him out. We thought we still had time before the twins arrived, even with the doctor shortening Everly's due date due to their size. Gunner has so many things he still wants to finish before they come. Helping Kyle paint the nursery and set up the cribs for one.
"Everly is going to be fine. She's been a trooper through all of this. She's the strongest woman I know," I add when Gunner goes quiet on me.
Gunner turns his head. "I know another woman who is just as strong."
I roll my eyes.
Over the last four months, this is how our relationship has gone. We started out with so much turmoil, it was nice to have things calm down after we began dating openly.
Everly's grown comfortable with the idea of her father and me together, and just last week, she told me in passing how happy she was I'd still be around after she returned to work.
Everything has played out so well, I'm having a hard
time not waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"Lexa." I'm jolted from the thought and look over to find Gunner staring at me. "Where did you just go?"
"Nowhere," I answer, focusing back on the road. "Just thinking about how fun the babies will be when Everly lets us babysit."
Gunner lets out another exasperated groan, but I know better. He can't wait to get his hands on his two grandchildren. For months he's talked about them, shopped for them, and even set up a savings account for their college education before they left the womb. They aren't even here yet, and they already have him wrapped around their little fingers.
His phone chirps, and he looks down at it. "Good. Luke is there with Kyle's sister, Cass."
"Then we have time. Do you want to stop at a shop and pick up flowers or balloons?"
"No," he almost shouts at me before he catches my widened eyes, and he grins. "Bear and the boys will take care of that. I just want to get to Everly."
I completely understand. I want to get to Everly too. We pull into the hospital parking lot, and I drop Gunner off at the door before I park the truck. I didn't want to tell him with the rush to get to Everly, but since we left the house for the hospital, I've been feeling light-headed.
It's nerves, I know. And as soon as I see Everly, it will pass.
I find Everly's room by the noise. Kyle and Gunner are both making commands of the hospital staff, and Luke is yelling over them to calm down. The woman sitting in the corner of the room must be Cass. She has her chair close to Everly's bed and is talking to her softly.
I slide in on the other side of the bed and hold Everly's hand.
"It might be better if they both aren't in here," I say, laying my forehead on Everly's.
She glances up at me. "No one is brave enough to tell either of them to leave except Luke, but he can't even be heard over them. The poor nurse was so flustered when Dad walked in and started making demands, she left."
"Sounds like Gunner," I say, patting her hand. "He wasn't there when you were born, and now he's trying to take over the twin's birth from poor Kyle."
Gunner: Tempest Elite MC Book #3 Page 8