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But back then, I did wonder. The two of them did everything together, so why not this?

“I didn’t want to move,” I continue. “I didn’t want to leave you, but…”

I take her hand and rest it on my thigh, caressing her knuckles with my thumb. “We moved and got her into rehab. But over the years, things never got any better. She was in and out of rehab and would go missing. I love my sister, but she made our lives harder. And then Mom died, and it was all on me.”

“I didn’t know your mom had passed. I’m so sorry,” she whispers, looking down at our hands. “How is Aspen now?”

“She’s in and out of rehab,” I admit, swallowing hard. “She comes and stays at my house sometimes. She was there a few weeks ago but disappeared again.”

Luella stays silent, processing.

The thing is, back then, Aspen blamed Luella for anything and everything. She suddenly had a real chip on her shoulder about her friend and told me Luella was the one who got her addicted, and that if it weren’t for Luella, things would be different.

I know now that it was all lies. I don’t know why, but she had become Aspen’s scapegoat to take any responsibility for her getting in with the wrong crowd.

It was easier for me back then to let go of Luella and have a fresh start with my mother and sister in the hope that things would get better.

They didn’t.

And I lost the girl I love in the process.

“Trying to help her consumed me for a long time,” I confess, leaning forward and resting my elbows on my thighs. “If I’m being honest, it still does. But I never forgot you, baby girl. Never.”

“That might be true, but you also didn’t do anything about it, did you, Haze? Instead, you’ve been here fucking anything that walks and living your best life. You never wanted me. If you did, you would have come and got me.” She takes a deep, shaky breath. “I’m sorry about Aspen and your mom. I’m sorry your sister still hurts you with her choices. Trust me, I never thought that she’d…” she trails off, and although I want to correct her, I let her speak.

I did want her—more than anything.

“But if it were up to me, Haze, I would have been there for you through all of that.”

“I know,” I rasp, moving off the chair and sitting next to her on the bed. And I know she must have been on her own. Her parents were useless, and she was an only child. I left her alone to figure life out at only sixteen and looking back, that kills me. It’s why I made sure she got her bakery. I had to know that at least one of her dreams had come true.

I tried to make it up to her.

“Why do you think I stayed away, Luella? I was a mess. I’m still a fucking mess…” With a deep sigh, I cup her cheek and lift her chin so she has no choice but to look at me. “You deserved better. You had your bakery, and you had a good, safe life. But the second you walked into this clubhouse, into my world, all that changed. You’re mine. You’ve always been mine, and nothing is ever going to change that.”

Before she can stop me, I lean forward to press a soft kiss to her mouth. When she doesn’t push me away, I deepen the kiss, groaning when I get my first taste of her in thirteen fucking years.

I was the first person to kiss Luella, and now I’m going to be the last.

Her hands hold onto my shoulders as she kisses me back, her tongue dancing with mine. She tastes just like I remember, like fucking sweet peaches.

For the first time in a long time, I feel a sense of hope.

Maybe there is a happy ending for a man like me.

I’ve had plenty of women—lust comes easy when you wear a patch—but none of them have ever felt like this. This is something else entirely, something I could spend my whole life chasing and never find again.

Sex has always been a distraction for me, but Luella is so much more than just that. She’s fucking everything. There’s a pull to this woman, a tether, something deeper than just history connecting us.

And it terrifies me.

I’m not the boy she once knew. She needs to get to know the man I want to be for her. I need to stop fucking up and just take what’s always been mine.

Luella straddles me, not breaking our kiss, and my hands cup the globes of her ass. I’ve been wanting to do that for so fucking long. I adjust her so she can feel my hard cock sliding against her pussy, the material of our clothing doing nothing to hide the heat. She slowly starts to ride me, and I feel like a teenager all over again.

“Fuck,” I grit out, pulling down her top and admiring her tits in her black lace bra.

She pushes into my touch, seeking more, so I slide the cups down and suck on her sweet pink nipples until she’s squirming.