Gunner didn’t respond. He didn’t need to. The fact that he was even talking about Dawn like this spoke volumes. He’d never given a damn about a woman beyond a night in his bed. But Dawn had gotten under his skin. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. Couldn’t stop wanting her. And he sure as hell wasn’t about to let Jesse, or anyone else, mess with her.
Beast let out a slow breath, his sharp gaze locked onto Gunner. “Just be careful, Gunner. Women like her have a way of changing a man.”
Gunner leaned back in his chair, rolling Beast’s words around in his head. He wasn’t a man who scared easy—he’d faced down rival clubs, taken bullets, and buried more brothers than he cared to count.
But the thought of Dawn having that kind of pull on him should’ve scared him. It didn’t. Instead, his mind drifted, unbidden, to images he had no business entertaining. Not just Dawn in his bed, tangled in his sheets, her bare skin pressed against his, but something more. Something deeper.
He pictured them in a home, maybe a place of their own. Waking up to the warmth of her curled against him, her sleepy voice murmuring his name first thing in the morning. Cooking breakfast together, her stealing a piece of bacon off his plate with a teasing grin. Ending the day with her wrapped in his arms, the world shut out, knowing she was his and his alone.
The thought should’ve felt foreign, unnatural even, but it didn’t. It settled in his chest, solid and real, like it had been there all along, just waiting for him to see it.
Gunner smirked. “Maybe I don’t mind changing.”
Beast chuckled, shaking his head. “Yeah, we’ll see.”
But Gunner already knew Dawn wasn’t just some passing thing. She was something more and he wasn’t letting her go.
Chapter Seven
Gunner had been lookingforward to spending another evening with Dawn since the moment he walked out of her apartment the night before. Hell, if he was being honest, he hadn’t wanted to leave in the first place.
He’d spent the whole damn day thinking about her—the way she laughed, the way she looked at him when she let her guard slip, the warmth of her body when she leaned in just a little too close. It had been a long time since a woman had taken up this much space in his head. Maybe no woman ever had.
Even Beast had noticed. During the MC meeting earlier, Gunner had caught him shooting pointed looks his way, clearly unimpressed with how distracted he was. He could practically hear the lecture coming, about priorities, about staying focused, about how the club always came first.
And Gunner got it. The Iron Sentinels had been his life for years. He’d given them everything—his time, his blood, his loyalty. He’d ride and die for the club, no question. But for the first time in a long while, maybe ever, he was paying attention to something else. Someone else. He wasn’t about to apologize for that.
If Beast had a problem with it, he’d deal with it. But Gunner figured he’d earned the right to have something for himself. To want something for himself. And right now, that something was waiting for him. Or at least, he hoped she was.
He was halfway to her place when his phone buzzed with a message.
Dawn:Hey, can you pick up a few things for dinner? Red bell peppers, a bottle of white wine, and fresh basil. Oh, and if they have fresh Parmesan, grab that too. Thanks!
Gunner smirked at his phone before changing lanes toward the nearest grocery store. The request wasn’t a hassle—he liked the idea of contributing, of showing up at her door with something she needed. It made him feel like he was already a part of her life in a way neither of them had fully acknowledged yet.
He parked, made quick work of grabbing the ingredients, and was back on the road within minutes. The moment he stepped into her apartment, the rich aroma of garlic and tomatoes filled his senses.
