“Of course not. I’m always rough with you so it didn’t cross my mind that grabbing you would make you cry. Did I leave a bruise or anything? I’m telling you, it wasn’t my intent whatsoever.”
“My arm’s fine.” She turns around to meet my gaze, no longer scrutinizing me from the mirror. “What was your intention then?”
“Never to inflict enough pain on your body to make you cry, unless it’s tears from me making you feel really good.”
She huffs, using the back of her hand to wipe away fresh tears. “It’s always about sex when it comes to you, huh?”
“You’re gonna have to clue me in here, just a bit, beautiful. I’m not good at this shit.”
“Fine, you want me to clue you in?” she retorts with a touch of wounded determination and sarcasm mixed all in together. “How’s this, you clueless biker? You hurt my heart, Odin, my arm is perfectly fine!”
Swallowing, I look her over, my tongue suddenly feeling a bit too thick in my mouth. “I hurt your heart...” My throat grows dry at the words, at their implications. Me an’ Cherry…we don’t do feelings. At least not out in the open like normal folks do. We hold it all back, pretending there’s nothing between us and then we fuck like it’s the end of the world. That’s how it’s always been and I assumed it’d be that way until we’d grown tired of one another, only we still haven’t reached that point. Not even close. If anything, I want her more now than I ever had in the past.
Another thing is I don’t want anyone else to have her, and I no longer think it’s okay to share her. She’s mine; she always was. I was just too damn dumb to see it all for what it is.
She nods. “You can’t say stuff like that; not in front of them, especially.” She means the brothers and everyone out in the bar at this very moment, but she’s wrong. I can say whatever the hell I want when I feel like it. I’m the motherfucking vice president of this chapter.
“The hell I can’t. I don’t want you with that new guy or any other fucker for that matter. And damn right I’m going to say something. You’re lucky I’ve held back for this long. Usually I would’ve set shit straight by now.”
“This…” She gestures between us; her face screwing up in heartache as she whispers on a sob, “Hurts me.” Her face drops, her gaze peering at my chest. “This...I can’t do this.”
Taking the final few steps between us, I stand right in front of her. I’m close enough, that if I lean forward, our bodies will touch. “I don’t want to hurt you,” I admitted softly, my hands coming up to gently cup her jaw on both sides. My hands wrap over her jaw and part of her neck as I hold her still, staring deeply into her eyes, wanting her to hear me.
“I can’t do this anymore.” She sniffs, a sob breaking free from her trembling lips and my stomach cramps so harshly that I nearly choke on my breath. I never imagined not having her in my life, not having her right here, being able to touch, smell or feel whenever I wanted.
“Excuse me?” I hold her in place, not ready to let go. I’m loyal and stubborn; a man like me doesn’t just throw up their hands and give right up.
“This thing between us.” Her finger points back and forth, gesturing between our bodies. “I can’t be with you anymore. I care too much, and it’s starting to hurt inside far too badly.”
“The fuck you can’t. You’ll stay in my bed becauseI fucking care too much.” Leaning down, I rest my forehead to hers, our noses barely grazing, and our mouths so damn close. I want to kiss her but refrain from moving from this spot right here.
More tears fall. “They’ll make me leave,” she whispers, a plea entwined with her admission. She doesn’t want to stop what’s between us, and there’s no way I’m letting her give in. I’ll be tenacious enough for both of us.
“I won’t let them, babe.” My lips embellish the promise with a tender press of my mouth to hers. I want her to feel the promise; not just hear me say it.
“I don’t want to lose you,” she breathes, and the answer has never been clearer in my mind.
“You’remine, Cherry.”
Her body pushes up against my frame as she nods, giving in to her heart.
“You always have been,” I say, finally realizing the pure truth of the statement. I should’ve told her before; hell, I should’ve realized it sooner myself. This all could’ve been avoided if I’d opened my eyes.
“Always.” She kisses me this time and I twist our tongues together, wanting more, never having enough when it comes to this amazing woman.
Pulling back from her mouth, our breaths mingle. Mine still tasting of the whiskey I’d downed in a fury and hers of tequila. “I’m not fucking around.” She needs to realize that I mean what I say, and I one hundred percent mean this right now. I’m making her my woman.
“I believe you, Odin, but the brothers will kick me out. I’m breaking a club rule by falling for you.”
“No, you aren’t.”
“What do you mean? Of course, I am. Everyone has a decent idea of how I feel about you. That scene back in the bar pretty much summed it up and confirmed their suspicions.”
Staring deeply into her eyes, I say the words I never thought would come from my mouth. “I’m claiming you, woman. You’re mine, Cherry. I won’t put up with this bullshit any longer, wondering if another brother’s gonna touch you. It’s driving me mad inside. I want you in my room, in my bed, every single night. I wanna wake up to your beautiful face, perfect tits and kind heart every morning. So help me, if another man touches what’s mine, I’m gonna take off their fucking hand at this point.”
Her lip trembles again, only this time a sweet smile follows it as she gazes back at me like I’m the most important thing in the world to her. She is to me. “Wait…you’re claiming me?”
“I am,” I agree with a nod, tucking a wayward hair behind her ear and smooth some of the tears away with my thumb. “I will bring it up for a vote as soon as possible. This circumstance between us is a bit different. If you were just a civilian, I’d claim you and say fuck everyone, but you’re not.”