Page 79

My mind roams back to when we were teens, and I swallow hard at the memory. I’d allowed myself one moment of weakness before I left and gave her her first kiss.

I’ve never forgotten it—one single taste of heaven. She tasted like peaches, and her lips were so soft and plump.

I’ve never had a long-term relationship, and I never even thought to settle down. And I know the reason is now staring right at me.

There’s never been room in my heart for anyone else but her.

“We have nothing to talk about, Haze,” she replies but steps away from the twins. I lift her with my hands on her hips and sit her on top of the bar, stepping in between her thighs. She’s only a little thing at five foot nothing, especially compared to my six foot two, but she sure is a little spitfire. The worst thing someone could do is underestimate Luella Ford.

Lowering my voice so no one else can hear, I say, “I didn’t fuck her. She took her top off and?—”

“You don’t owe me any explanations,” she replies in an emotionless tone. “You’re free to do whatever you want, Haze.”

“I know, but?—”

“You know we said we would try to be friends again, but maybe it’s better if we just have some space from each other,” she continues, her teeth raking across her lower lip.

Some things never change. She never used to let me get a word in when we were kids, either.

Gently but firmly gripping her chin, I bring those eyes to me. “Look at me. We’ve had thirteen years of space, Luella. You don’t need more.”

“Don’t tell me what I need, Haze. Because you have no fucking idea.”

Her eyes turn hooded as my thumb caresses her throat, feeling her racing pulse. “What happened back then was messed up. Aspen…” I trail off, not wanting to get into everything that went down with my sister. “I fucked up, baby. And I only recently realized just how much. We were only kids back then, but?—”

“You took your sister’s side, and I get it,” she replies, not looking away from me. “But what happened back then doesn’t answer why you were such an asshole when you saw me here, and now you’ve suddenly changed your tune. What changed for you?”

I swallow hard. She wants it all out there in the open, and if that’s what she needs, I’ll give it to her. “I was fucking shocked to see you. You’re the last person I thought I’d see at one of our biker parties. You know the women who show up are just here to fuck the men, so when I got over being so fucking surprised to see you after all these years, it hit me why you’d be here. Either you were fucking one of my brothers, or you were a club girl, and neither of those options worked for me. Then to top it off, you didn’t fucking remember me,” I explain, my hold on her tightening. “You’re my one who got away. No one has compared to you, Luella, and they never will. You’ve haunted my dreams, and the memories hurt, but it was a good pain because that was all I had of you. So I’d welcome it. But you didn’t even fucking recognize me.”

“You look different, Hayden, and I didn’t expect to ever see you again, either,” she admits, her voice gentling, losing its defensive tone. “You were a boy the last time I saw you… and now you’re a man. A big biker covered in tattoos. The you I had in my head was still that boy I used to know.”

She called me Hayden again, and I like that more than I should.

I twirl one of her curls around my finger. “I have a meeting with my record label right now, but when I get back, you and I are going to talk some more.”

“I heard you were getting a deal,” she replies in a wistful voice. “Just like you always dreamed.”

“Like we always dreamed,” I reply, tracing her lower lip with my thumb. She always had the prettiest lips—soft, plump, and juicy. “And you got your bakery like you always wanted.”

Her shoulders sag. “I had my bakery.”

“You’ll get it back, and it will be better than ever,” I promise, kissing her temple.

She doesn’t push me away, and I’m taking that as progress. I’m reluctant to leave her, even to meet with my label.

I don’t want to let her out of my sight. It’s so surreal having her right in front of me. Everything might have changed, but the urge to be near her and protect her still remains.

I only want good things to happen to Luella, and the fact that she lost her pride and joy—her bakery—because of her connection to our MC pisses me the fuck off. But it did bring her here, where she’s forced to be around me every day, which is the only silver lining. I usually stay at my own house, which is about a fifteen-minute ride from here, but if she’s here, I’m here.

Don’t think I haven’t missed Lore and Blade sniffing around. I can’t blame them—Luella is beautiful inside and out. But that doesn’t mean I won’t kick their asses. However, I’m not going to give them the chance. So that’s why I haven’t been home since the day she moved in, and I asked Prez to put her room right next to mine.

Since I claimed her, I get to call all the shots when it comes to her unless our president overrules it.

The tension between us is thick, and I know she wants me just as badly as I want her, but she’s quite simply stubborn.

And proud.

She’s not about to let go of the fact that Daisy currently has a hold on me with the baby situation, and I understand that. It would fucking kill me if she were pregnant with another man’s baby, not that it would be a deal-breaker for me, but it would hurt like hell.