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“It’s club business, Maggie, I can’t talk to you about it.”
I knew that from living with Snake. I knew women weren’t given the privilege of knowing the club secrets, but I thought this was different. “Is it about Snake?”
He didn’t answer, just stared into my eyes, and I nodded. “So it is. Then I should get to know what’s going on.”
“You can’t know,” he bit out. “The less you know, the safer you’ll be.”
He turned and moved back into his room, grabbing the door with his hand, and I knew he was going to close it. I slapped my palm against it, and his head turned quickly, surprise evident in his expression. “That doesn’t make any sense, Gunner. Wouldn’t the more I know make me safer?”
He shook his head. “Not this time.”
He took a step back, and I stepped forward, more determined than before. When something sharp poked the bottom of my bare foot, I jumped back and lifted my foot. “Ouch.”
His eyes shot down. “Dammit.” He grabbed me by the waist and lifted me over the broken glass until we got to his bed where he sat me down. I pulled my foot up and saw the tiny piece of glass.
He squatted down in front of me, concern marring his features. “Let me see.”
I pulled the tiny piece of glass from my foot and wiped away the small speck of blood, happy the glass had only nicked me and hadn’t dug in. “It’s nothing, see.” I pointed at my foot. “I got it.”
He pulled it from my fingers and cursed before standing up and throwing it to the floor. He shoved his hand through his hair again and faced me. “You shouldn’t be in here, shouldn’t see this. And you sure as hell shouldn’t have gotten hurt because of it.”
“I’m not hurt.”
“You could’ve been. You shouldn’t be here.”
“I want to help you.”
“You can’t fucking help me!” he shouted.
I should’ve been scared when he yelled. I’d never heard him yell, certainly never at me, and I should’ve felt fear, but I didn’t. Instead, I felt strong, so I raised my voice. “I can’t if you won’t let me.”
He jerked back and something washed over me, something that made me happy when I realized I’d surprised him. It made me feel stronger when he narrowed his eyes and spoke up. “You wanna help me?”
“Yes.” I said.
He leaned down and put his palms down on the bed on either side of me. “You wanna make me feel better?”
I looked into his eyes, but I didn’t see anger. I didn’t recognize what I was seeing, but my belly fluttered when his eyes dropped to my lips. “Yeah.”
He put his face closer to mine, and whispered, “You are not ready for what I need, Maggie.”
My breath was coming in short pants the closer he got, and I knew he was trying to prove that I couldn’t handle him. That I wasn’t ready to give him what he needed.
But he was wrong.
“Try me,” I whispered.
I sounded braver than I felt, especially when I watched his face change, but I wasn’t backing down. It was scary, but it felt right, and something low in my belly told me I wanted his hands on me.
He was breathing hard with his lips so close to mine that I could almost taste them, and I realized I wanted that. Wanted that more than I could ever remember wanting something. As if he woke up, he jerked and started pulling back, but Becs had told me to be brave and let him know what I wanted. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his before he could move farther away. He lifted his hand and put it on the back of my head, pushing his lips tight against mine. His tongue demanded entrance, and I willingly gave it, but then he jerked back suddenly.
His hand was still wrapped in my hair and holding my head, his eyes locked on mine. “Baby, I can’t control myself with you right now.”
“Then don’t.” I whispered.
“You don’t know what you’re asking for.”
“Then show me.” I pushed up onto my knees and grabbed his shirt with my hands, tugging him closer. “This is different. I actually feel.”