“Onix,” I mutter, “Damn woman.” I dive swimming towards where I sense her, but she tries to swim away.I have warned her not to trytorun away from me and swimming is the same as running. My hand wraps around her ankle pulling her towards me, my other hand moves up her body until I have it wrapped around her waist. When her body is flush to mine, I kick up to the surface.
“You are going to make me old before my years.” I grunt.
“I have never asked you,” I see her surprised look, “do you get old, and how old do you get?” I shake my head at her question.
“I age the same as you, I’m more difficult to die but I can die just like everyone else.” I see her bite her bottom lip, “Okay, spill it.”
“Well seeing as we are talking about it, how do women that are with you have children?”Ather question I frown, what is she asking me.
“What do you mean?”
“Well is it human, or pups?” I’m sure the surprise on my face must be comical because my mouth is open in surprise. She thinks thatwomenwould give birth to pups, and then I can’t help myself.I throw back my head and roar with laughter.
“Yeah, yeah I know. Dakota had the same reaction, but I thought I would just confirm.” At her disgruntled look I try to stop the laughter but the thought of that happening has me grinning broadly.
“You are nuts.” I say lowering my head to kiss her.
“Wait, if you start kissing me then we don’t talk.” I raise a brow, she wants to talk? The thought doesn’t really please me as talking is never good.
“We can talk after.” I murmur,lowering my mouth,I am about to kiss her neck, but she pulls my head back with both her hands.
“Talk first.”Shestates with a scowl, which has me grunting.
“Okay,” I brace myself because I’m pretty sure I know what she wants to talk about.
“When I came looking for Linda, I had no idea what I would find, I have a life back home. I have a job that I worked hard to get, an apartment that I have called home for a while.”Mystomach tightens at her statement, this is what I didn’t want to hear, she is going to tell me that she is going back home.
I knew this would happen, but I couldn’t decide on what I would do if that happened. “My whole life has been one of fighting for what is right, of fighting for those that can’t help themselves. I haven’t told you this, but I think you should know.” I want to tell her that it is fine that she doesn’t have to go into detail when I see the sadness in her eyes.
“From an early age Ilearnedthat life wasn’t fair, that life isn’t always what it should be. The man that sired me and my sister.” I notice that she doesn’t call him father. “He was supposed to protect us, to be the one that is there against all outside evil,but that wasn’t the case with him. Instead he was abusive, he beat my mother and us and then he started molesting Linda.” A tear streaks down her cheek and I promise myself that no matter what happens I will go find the man and make him pay for all the pain he has made her suffer.
“My mom went through hell to trytoget rid of him, we had to hide so he wouldn’t find us. That is why Linda was the way she was, I always felt guilty.”
“No Onix, it wasn’t your fault.” I state as I pull her tight against me and start making our way back to shore.
“I know that, but I also know that Linda put herself in my place so he wouldn’t hurt me.” I sit down on the shore just where the water starts to recede, Onix between my legs facing the water. “Do you know how traumatic it was when he was prosecuted? Not just because of talking about everything that had been happening to us but also because of afterwards.” She leans her head back against my chest, my arms slide around her body keeping her safe in my embrace.
“Somehow the kids at school found out, they unknowingly bullied us. That is why Linda got mixed up with the wrong crowd, they were rejects like us, they understood some of our pain. She never let me befriend any of them, keeping me safe from that side but she got dragged into the web of drugs at an early age.” She sighs and, in that sigh, I hear a decade of pain. “I asked her once, why she turned to drugs when mom and I were there, she said that the drugs just numbed the pain and that she didn’t have to face any of it with them.”
“I’m sorry.” I murmur as I kiss the back of her head.
“I had to tell you that part of my life so thatwayyou know what makes me tick, I am someone that needs to be able to help those that can’t help themselves. I have the means to stop some of those assholes that think just because they can that they will get away with hurting women and children.” I feel like there is a vice squeezing my heart.
I understand her need to help, her need to try and make things better because that is what we try to do here every day. We fight for what we conceive to be right, we do not accept drugs in ourtownand we try to stop the trafficking that is done by The Hades MC, therefore I understand her better than she might think I do.
“I promised myself that I would never let any man do to me what he did to my mother, to his daughters.” She turns her head looking back at me. “I think that is why I am so bad at taking orders, I understand that they could have potentially hurt us, but I have faith in you, but mainly Iwon'tstand down when there is a man threatening me, I can’t, or I will not be true to my promise.” I nod, I understand her conviction and I know that I struggle with her strong will, her stubbornness but I realize that it helps her fight the demons that have plagued her all her life.
“Hawk, you have changed my life in the little time that we have been together, you have brought the rebel heart that I once was back to me, you have shown me what tenderness is even in the midst of a war of turmoil. You have stood by me through one of the worst times of my life and you were understanding and caring.” She starts to shuffle until she has turned to the side and can see me more clearly.
“Being here with you, with everyone that I have met has changed the way I see things. Has made me realize that I haven’t been living but merely existing. I know that I can be hard work sometimes, I can be argumentative and stubborn but one thing that I can also be is faithful to those that are true to me.” She looks at me and I can see a solemn look in her eyes, with everything she has said I’m not sure what she will do.
“Hawk, I need to go back.”Everythingaround me seems to stop, how the fuck am I going to make this work if she isn’t here. I can’t live here if she isn’t here and I can’t live in a city without my pack. “but I want you to come with me, only until I sort all the things out there. I need to give notice at work, and I need to pack my furniture and get my car.” At first her words don’t make sense but then the realization that she wants to come and live here has a grin spread across my face.
“I can’t let you go by yourself; it would drive me crazy so yes you vixen I will go back with you only until you have sorted everything out.” I lean forward taking her lips in a blistering kiss. “You did that on purpose didn’t you?” I murmur against her lips when I raise my head.
“Did what?”Sheasks innocently.
“You are going to have me on my toes all the time, aren’t you?” I growl playfully, after getting to know this woman these last couple of weeks I have come to realize that there is nothing more important than pleasing her. I always wondered about my mate, but I would never in a million years been able to guess at the fire that my woman has running within her veins. She has the soul of a fighter, a fighter of good. Onix will fit in here like she was born to this life.