by Jayne Blue
With each mile, I felt a little of the tension drain from Brenna. She kept her grip around me but softened. I pushed it as much as I thought Brenna could take. As much as she wanted the wind and freedom, she wasn’t used to riding like I was. Once we left Green Bluff behind, instinct took over. Once again, I felt a little of Scotty’s ghost guiding me. When we were kids and wanted to disappear, there was a special place we used to go.
I took the exit to Timber Cove. Two and a half hours seemed to pass like minutes. I knew a little stretch of beach no one ever goes to. It was quiet out here, desolate. Almost like another planet with sand-swept dunes and the ocean crashing in at high tide. I slowed to a stop and parked the bike.
Brenna was a little stiff as she climbed off. I took her hand after she peeled off the helmet and set it aside. She’d been crying. I pulled her to me and felt her fall to pieces.
“Come on,” I said. “There’s a little clearing just over that rise. It’s the most gorgeous sunset you’ll ever see. Scotty and I used to come here.”
She blinked hard as she looked up at me. “You did?”
“Yeah. Usually after your old man did his worst. Scotty knew he’d never find him here.” There was a darker truth I couldn’t bring myself to tell her. Scotty used to fantasize about burying Tim out here. No one would ever find him here either.
Her breath caught as we came over the rise. The blue expanse of the ocean stretched for miles. A breeze picked up, bending the tall grass. We picked a spot and sat side by side.
“How did you know?” she asked. “You just came out of nowhere.”
Adrenaline still coursed through me. She still had a faint red mark on her upper arm where Tim had grabbed her.
“Susan’s next-door neighbor called me,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. Dark thoughts still swirled in my mind. There was a monster inside of me. One that would snuff out anyone or anything that would try to touch Brenna.
“She dropped the restraining order,” Brenna said. Her own tone was flat. It felt less like she was telling me than trying to process it herself.
“I figured,” I said. “Brenna, your mom needs help. It’s more than just you or I can provide. I can try to get it for her. I’m going to keep tabs on what goes on at her house. This time, it worked. But if she leaves with him …”
“If my father really wants to hurt her, he’ll always find a way. I know, Gunn. God help me, I know.”
I turned to her. I was careful how I touched her, but I had to touch her. I needed to convince myself that she was here. She was whole. That I got there in time. I needn’t have worried. The second I lifted my hand, Brenna folded into my arms.
“Never again,” I said, kissing the top of her head, burying my face in her soft hair. “He doesn’t come near you. He doesn’t touch you. I’ll kill him if he tries. I can’t pretend I won’t.”
She sighed against me. “I know. He’s never done that before. He’s never even come close. He’s gotten bolder. My mother let him get bolder.”
“She’s not thinking straight,” I said. “That’s the power that kind of asshole has over her. It was the same with my mom. Until she finally got smart and disappeared.”
Brenna let out a choked sob. “But had to leave you behind to do it, Gunn. God. I’m so sorry that happened to you.”
“I’m sorry about all of it. You came from a war zone. So did I. But we’re here. We survived. You don’t need them. I hope your mother can see a path away from it. If she doesn’t though, you’re not getting sucked back into it. I won’t let it happen. I promised …”
“Stop!” she sobbed, tearing away from me. “Don’t say you promised Scotty. I just can’t right now. I can’t think about him. I can’t think about everything I’ve lost. Because you’re right. I can’t go back to that house. Maybe ever. I don’t know how he did it, but he took the last thing away from us. He got my mother to sign over the trusteeship. Tim controls the money Scotty left us. He’ll make good on his threats. I have nothing, Gunn. No home. No money. I mean ... I have like a thousand in my own bank account.”
She started to pace and tear a hand through her hair. The magnitude of what happened today slammed into her.
“You don’t have nothing,” I said.
“I have to start over,” she said. “I will. I was so stupid to rely on her. God, I can’t even blame her. I can’t do anything but feel sorry for her.”
“You don’t have nothing,” I said again. When I went to her, this time she let me put my arms around her. “I told you I would take care of you. Your school ... whatever you need.”
She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I can’t,” she said. “I have to find a way to dig out of this hole myself. Otherwise I’m just like her.”
I went to stone. “I’m nothing like your father.”
“That’s not what I mean. I mean ... I have to be independent. I can’t ever let something like this happen again. I’ll just get a job. Take out a loan if I have to. I may have to put off my senior year until I figure it all out. God, Christine begged me to go with her to Prague just this morning. Her father could have arranged it.”
I let go of her. I couldn’t believe I was about to say it, but it just came out. “Maybe you should. Maybe getting far away from Green Bluff is the best thing for you.” I hated the words. Just the thought of her being so far away tore at me. But one thing hadn’t changed. There was still turmoil with the club. What right did I have to offer her a place in my world when I didn’t know if it was about to burn?
“Is that what you want?” she asked.
“No. But I want what’s best for you.”
“And I think it’s up to me to decide that. I know what you’re doing. I know you. You’re still trying to protect me, even from you. Gunn ... I’m not afraid. I’m not afraid of you. I’m not afraid of my father. I’m not afraid of your club.”
“I am!” I shouted. “Dammit, Brenna. This has been killing me. But people around me have gotten hurt. Scotty was just the first. Someone came after my shop. I could have been there. You could have been there. I’m trying to do the right thing. Fuck! I know you want to stand on your own two feet. That doesn’t mean you can’t accept help. If it’s money, I have it. I know it’s hard, but maybe you need a fresh start. At least until things die down around here. Until I know it’s safe.”
She dropped her hands to her sides. “Gunn ... look me in the eyes and tell me the truth. You can’t ever promise me that. I know the club now too. It’s in you. These are good men. But there will always be some kind of danger just around the corner. Scotty knew that too.”
She was right. “So go,” I said. “Go with your friend to Prague.”
Her soft smile gutted me. She came to me and put a light hand on my cheek. God help me. God help her. The truth slammed into me. I loved her. I was in love with her. I wasn’t afraid to tell her.
“I love you, dammit.”
“I know.” She smiled.
“Fuck.”
“I know.”
“So what?” I asked. “What the hell do we do about it?”
She went up on her tiptoes and tugged gently on my ears until she’d angled my head just how she needed. I kissed her slow and deep. Brenna molded against me. That simmering heat flamed inside me. I needed her. I wanted her. I knew I might destroy her.
The kiss became urgent. I explored Brenna’s mouth with my tongue. Brenna’s nipples went hard. I felt them pressed against my chest. I knew I should be strong. I knew I should make her take that trip to Prague or go somewhere far away. Green Bluff had brought her nothing but heartache and loss. She could do better, maybe. She could be free.
God help me though, I wanted her too damn bad. She wanted me just as much. We sank to the ground together into the hot sand. Later, I might take my time with her. But something else was happening between us. A catharsis.
Brenna wriggled out of her jeans and pulled at mine. I had time to get them down just low enough for her to close her fingers aro
und my rigid cock. My whole body throbbed for hers. I worked my fingers between her legs. Her jeans caged them together, tangled just below her knees. That didn’t stop me.
I rolled until I hovered over her; my palms sank into the sand. Gasping, Brenna gripped my ass and drew me down.
“Are you sure?” I managed to ask. God, I was selfish. I wanted her to go but I wanted to keep her just the same. I wanted to claim her again. Take the choice away from her. I knew that made me no better than her old man.
She nodded and brought her lips back to mine. Fuck. I could feel her heat rising. Her juices flowed, coating my balls. Then I couldn’t hold back a single second longer. I found just enough space to guide myself into her. She was so hot. So wet. So ready. She felt like home.
“Gunn!” she cried out, digging her nails into my back. She drew blood. I was glad. I wanted her to mark me just like I was about to mark her.
She was mine. Forever. No matter what else happened between us. No matter where she ended up. She’d always be mine and I meant to drive that point home.
Her slick pussy gripped me hard. I planned to take it slow with her later, but for now, my need burned way too strong. So did hers. I felt her come almost as soon as I slid into her. She bucked beneath me, wild and raw. She screamed my name. It was good. It was perfect. No one could hear.
Pressure built inside me. There was no going back. My hips ground into her and I seized up. “Yes!” she cried. “Please!”
I poured my seed inside of her. It was reckless. Careless. But neither of us could stop if the world depended on it. At that moment, ours did.
She was mine. Even if I was damned for it. Even if I had to let her go.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Brenna
It was so easy to lose myself in Gunn and that’s what scared me. He was nothing like my father. But I’d watched my mother lose herself in him little by little, year after year. Now she couldn’t see the truth. She couldn’t see herself.
For two weeks, I’d tried to call her. Nothing went through. My father either had control of her phone or she’d blocked my number on her own. It hurt. It gutted me. But there was nothing I could do for now.
I’d been staying at the clubhouse. It wasn’t ideal, but Gunn and I decided it was the best solution for the time being. Mo gave me a job waiting tables. It took some haggling. I said I’d do it just for room and board. Sly wanted to put me on the payroll. In the end, we agreed I’d work for tips. It ended up being a more than fair arrangement as the patrons of the Wolf Den tipped generously.
Gunn hated it. He didn’t say so, but he watched me like a hawk when I was working the floor.
“Get used to it,” Scarlett said one evening after one drunk customer got a little too close to me. Gunn appeared seemingly out of nowhere and showed him to the door. “It’ll die down in a little while, once word gets out your Gunn’s old lady.”
I laughed. “Am I? That seems like such a strange thing to call it.”
Scarlett sat at the end of the bar. Ford helped me stack a drink tray for one of my tables. “Honey.” Scarlett leaned over. “I haven’t known Gunn as long as you have. But I’ve known him since he patched into this club. You are it for him. I know it when I see it.”
A warm glow spread through me. I wanted to tell her Gunn was it for me too. He was. But it was overwhelming. This was overwhelming. Since I met him, my life had flipped on its side.
“You’re doing great,” Scarlett said.
“Oh, thanks. It took me a couple of nights to get the hang of it but Rita was really awesome letting me shadow her.”
Scarlett rested her chin on her palms. “I don’t mean the bar, Brenna. Though you’re a natural at that too. I mean all this.” She gestured around the room. “Trust me. I remember what it was like to let the club into your life. It was the same way for me and I had just as many reasons to want to run from it. I lost my brother too.”
A faraway expression came over her face. My heart did a little flip-flop. I’d heard rumors about Scarlett. Her brother had been killed by a rival club. Gunn told me the members hadn’t wanted to trust Scarlett when she first started dating Sly, but he wouldn’t elaborate. Whatever happened, they fully embraced her now. But I had no idea we shared the same pain. Now she and Sly were ready to take the next step. Their wedding was three days away.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said.
“It took me a long time to separate my feelings about it from the club. But it’s worth it. Sly is worth it. These men are all worth it. It’s just ... you have to be sure, Brenna. You take on one, you take it all. You know what I mean?”
The noise in the bar seemed to dim as I considered her words. I knew what she meant. She was watching me. They were all watching me. As much as Gunn would fight to protect me, they would all fight to protect him. She was saying I was the one with the most power to hurt him if I wasn’t sure what I wanted.
“Thanks,” I said, lifting my drink tray off the bar. “I mean, for all of it. You’ve all been so great.” I wanted to say more, but voices raised in the back. I knew my table wouldn’t stay patient for long.
Scarlett tipped the neck of her beer bottle at me and gave me a wink. Ford had been watching the whole thing from behind the bar. The two of them passed a knowing glance as I turned and headed out to the main floor.
Three days later, the Wolf Den shut down in preparation for the weekend festivities of Sly and Scarlett. I knew Scarlett wanted simple, but Mo and Ava took over. It was like a royal wedding, of sorts. The club president didn’t get married every day.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked Gunn. I stood in front of the full-length mirror on the back of the bathroom door. Mo had set me up in Gunn’s apartment over the bar, though she’d changed a few things to make the place more feminine. She put fresh flowers on the bedside table. All traces of Gunn’s crash pad “accessories” vanished the first night I slept here.
“You look amazing,” he said. Ava and I went dress shopping last weekend. I wore a simple, black silk sheath with thin straps. Among her many other talents, Ava had a flair for hair. She’d managed to organize my wild, dark locks into a chic French twist with delicate tendril curls near my ears.
“You don’t look half bad yourself.” I watched in the mirror as Gunn came closer. He slid his arms around my waist and I leaned into him, loving his strong, solid wall of muscle. He kissed my neck, sending a shock of pleasure straight down my spine.
“Not sure I’m going to let you leave this room looking as hot as you do, Brenna.”
“I was thinking the same about you.” I turned into Gunn’s arms. In them, I felt safe and warm. His hands cupped my ass and he gave me a little squeeze that had me revving for him. But it was time to head downstairs. Sly had spared no expense. Some of the club members would form a motorcycle escort, but the groomsmen and their dates would ride in two stretch limos.
“Stand back, let me get a good look at you.”
Gunn was sexy as hell in and out of his denim and his leather cut. Today though was something special. Sly had mandated all three of his groomsmen match him in traditional highlander wear. Gunn wore a green-and-black tartan kilt. I couldn’t resist. I reached for him.
“Gunn, are you serious!” A heated blush flamed my cheeks as my fingers found nothing but Gunn’s manhood beneath the plaid.
He gave me a devilish wink and shrugged. “Come on. We’re going to be late.” He led me by the hand.
“You’re lucky he’s letting you ride in the limo. I can’t imagine your Harley over bumpy roads would be too comfortable in that.”
Gunn turned, making a wolfish snap at me with his teeth. I squealed as we headed downstairs. The rest of the wedding party was down there. Sly with Dex as his best man stood tall and straight in their matching kilts. The twinkle in Ava’s eyes by the bar told me Dex had chosen the same undergarments. Angel held the door open. He wore a kilt too. I shook my head.
“Wow,” Angel said. “You look incredible,
Brenna. You too, Ava.”
Angel was the only groomsman without a date to the wedding. I had a feeling he was holding out for one of Scarlett’s bridesmaids. Ava was serving as her matron of honor. Scarlett had two cousins from the east coast she’d flown in to stand up with her. I knew Angel had his eye on one of them.
“Better hope there’s no strong wind up on the bluff today, boys,” I teased as we headed out to the limos. Dex and Sly erupted in deep laughter. Ava shook her head and swatted Dex’s behind.
A thrill of excitement ran through me as we slid into the cars and headed away from the Wolf Den. We’d be back later tonight. Sly was holding a private reception that would probably run to all hours of the night. He and Scarlett were planning to slip out early and catch a flight to Belize. Gunn told me he’d rented a private island for them for the week. It sounded like heaven.
“Come here, beautiful,” Gunn said as I took my seat beside him. I leaned against his shoulder, finding the space where I fit.
Ava and Dex only had eyes for each other the whole way. I knew their own love story had been fraught with heartache and separation over the years. But she’d waited for him and believed in him while he spent over a decade in prison. I knew she was thinking about her own wedding day too.
The whole day felt like a dream. The sun shone bright but there should be enough shade near the bluff to keep us all cool. As the limo started a slow climb up to the highest point, I leaned down to see better out of the window.
“Ava, it’s amazing!”
It was. She’d arranged for the construction of a little gazebo overlooking the Great Wolf River. Twinkling white lights decorated it. There were two rows of gilded gold chairs with a white carpet rolled between them.
The limos parked and we stepped out. Gunn caught my hand and brought it to his lips. “I’ll see you right after,” he said. “Mo wants you to sit beside her.”
