“Pack your shit.”
“What? Why?”
“Because you’re staying with me from here on out.”
“Cash—” My protest was cut off by his lips against mine. His tongue slipped into my mouth and I groaned. His hand went through my hair, holding the back of my head, stopping me from pulling away, not that I wanted to.
No one had ever kissed me like Cash. Never made me feel things the way he did. As his other hand went to my hip, he backed me up against the wall and held me there while he ravaged my mouth.
When he pulled back, I opened my eyes and looked up at him. His smug grin told me everything. I was in trouble. All he had to do was kiss me and I would give him anything he wanted.
“Pack your shit, baby.”
“Ok,” I whispered. I went to the bedroom in the small cabin. This one was half the size of the one Sypher and Dante lived in. Only one bedroom.
Not meant for a family.
As I packed my bag, my nerves started to frazzle. I wanted to stay with Cash. I did. But at what cost? How would I hide the scars?
“Hey.” His voice behind me caused me to jump. And when his arms went around me, I stiffened. “Rosie, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, you just startled me.” I turned around and gave him my practiced smile. “All done.”
When his brows furrowed, I leaned up to kiss him and pulled him from the room. I’d have to ride my own bike to the clubhouse. Disappointment filled me as I looked at his.
“We can come back and get it tomorrow,” he whispered in my ear.
“I can ride with you?” It was a question I didn’t want to ask. One I didn’t want tohaveto ask.
“Rosie, if it were my choice, you wouldn’t have a bike. You would always be on the back of mine.”
I looked over my shoulder and gave him my real smile. The one I barely used because there was nothing that truly made me happy.
Until him.
I had to remind myself it was too soon. His old lady had recently died. I’d only known him a month. But here I was. Having veiled conversations about being an old lady and climbing on the back of his bike.
The monsters were nowhere to be found.
“I’m not getting rid of my bike. But I would like to ride with you tonight.”
He grabbed my helmet as we walked to his bike and instead of handing it to me, to put on myself, he set it on my head and lifted the visor while he clicked the strap. It felt a little like having a man open the car door for me.
I could do it myself. But it was nice to be taken care of. Val had been taking care of me since I was eleven years old and she found me on the street.
But this was different.
Cash did it because he wanted to. Not because I was a helpless child with no other option. Don’t get me wrong, Val had never done anything to make me feel like a burden. In fact, she worked her ass off to make sure none of the Nyght Nymphs felt that way.
She just couldn’t control the monsters in our heads that screamed and told us we weren’t worth having. The ones that told us everyone left us because we were too much trouble.
Cash kept the monsters away. So, when I climbed on behind him, I wrapped my arms around him and held on tight. I didn’t want to ever let go.
Pulling up in front of the clubhouse, Cash backed his bike against the wall. He helped me off, and then pulled me close, kissing me soundly. “Relax. You’ve already met the women. They’re the tough ones.”
I nodded as I stared at the front doors. I had been watching the clubhouse for weeks. But tonight would be the first time I entered.
Cash held my hand as we walked in, the sound of country music playing loudly. Balloons and streamers hung everywhere. It looked like a party store threw up and I loved all of it.
