Page 5

Chapter

Five

MAXIM

T he sight of Luna crying makes my heart clench. I’ve never quite felt that before.

“Woah, there,” I say, steadying her. “Are you ok? Why are you crying? And why aren’t you in my room?”

“I’m sorry,” she sobs, burying her head in her hands. Seeing her look so sad and scared fucking hurts. Luna’s been fucked over by some man. She was forced to live her life in captivity. And now, she’s at my clubhouse surrounded by bikers because I don’t know what else to do with her. I don’t know how else to help her.

“It’s ok,” I say, even though I don’t know why I’m telling her this. “Luna, why are you crying?”

“I shouldn’t have left your room. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t give a fuck about that. Just tell me why you’re crying?”

“She’s crying because of Jasper,” Rose explains.

Every fiber in my body tenses. I saw the way Jasper had looked at Luna. I told her to keep her distance from him, and I told him not to mess with her.

It seems that lesson didn’t get through to his head.

All my men are staring at me, many of them with confused looks and some with amused expressions. And then there’s Jasper, who’s staring back at me defiantly.

“Come on, Luna,” I say gently. “Let’s get you back to my room. You can explain to me what happened.” I try to grab her arm, but she rips away from me so fast that she ends up stumbling back and falling to the floor.

Some of my men laugh.

“Shut it,” I growl, making them all stop. They respect me because I treat them with respect. But they also know not to piss me off.

Luna cries harder. At this moment, she seems so young. What was I even doing thinking of her as cute? She’s practically a little girl in a woman’s body. My focus is on protecting her. I shouldn’t even be thinking about anything else.

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” I remind her, holding out my hand. “Just let me get you back upstairs. Let me help you, Luna.”

Her sobs quiet, and she wipes at her eyes. Her skirt has ridden up around her thighs, and I know my men can see it. I can practically hear some of them salivating. I know Sal probably has a fucking erection, that asshole.

I don’t let my body respond to Luna’s. I’m not salivating for her body. I just want to see her happy and safe.

“Luna,” I say gently. “Come on. Take my hand. Let me help you.”

Slowly, she places her hand in mine, and I pull her to stand.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

A smile appears on her lips. “No.”

“Let’s get you upstairs, and we can talk.”

Jasper stands up so fast that Tracy falls right off his lap. “We can talk about things here, Maxim.”

I place my hand on Luna’s back, pulling her in closer. She doesn’t pull away, which is a good sign. “What the fuck are you talking about? Why is Luna crying? Who made her upset?”

“You already know it was me. Rose told you.”

“She did. I just wanted to hear you say it. What did you say to Luna?”

“She tried to blame Jasper for her own actions,” Tracy explains. “She tried to kiss him, and he pushed her away. She didn’t take kindly to it and threw a temper tantrum.”

I don’t know Luna well enough to know her moods. She’s been locked up her entire life. Chances are, she doesn’t know how to control her emotions.

But I doubt Luna tried to kiss Jasper. It just doesn’t make sense to me.

“Did you try to kiss him?” I ask her.

“No! He came into your room and grabbed my face. It hurt.”

A swell of anger courses through me as I march over to Jasper. “I told you to stay away from her!”

“You believe her? Over me?”

“Frankly, yes. I’ve seen the way you look at her. I don’t exactly trust you around Luna. Did you grab her face?”

“Only to push her away when she tried to kiss me.”

None of this feels right. I know it in my gut.

But since it’s a game of he said, she said, I can’t exactly kick Jasper out of the Knights. He’s a good member. Always been loyal.

And Luna won’t stay here forever.

“Just stay away from her,” I growl. “If anything like this happens again, I’m blaming you.”

“You’re just going to take her word over mine?”

“Luna’s innocent. She’s young. I doubt she just tried to kiss you of her own accord. So, if she says you tried anything with her again, I’ll believe her. And you’ll be in trouble.” I turn to the entire group of men. “If any of you try anything with Luna, you will be in trouble. Just leave her alone. Is that understood?”

They all nod, even Sal.

Except for Jasper.

“Are we clear?” I ask him.

A mixture of micro-expressions crosses his face within the span of a few seconds. “Fine. No more problems from me.”

“Good.” I walk back over to Luna. “Come on. Let’s get you back upstairs.”

Luna clings to my arm as we walk. I hate to admit that I like her hands on my arm. But I shouldn’t like it because Luna is off-limits. She’s just a girl I’m trying to protect.

Nothing more.

Rose follows us into my room. “Jasper isn’t innocent. You know that.”

“Oh, trust me, I do. I know Luna didn’t try to kiss him.”

Luna’s entire face lights up. “You believe me?”

“I believe you. Was that why you were crying?”

“Jasper was being mean. He was telling me that what I said was a lie. But I’m not a liar. God always told me to never lie, to never keep anything from him. I just don’t want you to be upset with me.”

“Why would I be upset with you?”

“Because you told me not to let anyone other than Rose or Colin into the room, but I opened the door for Jasper. That’s when he got in and grabbed me.”

“Are you ok? Are you hurt?”

She touches her jaw and shakes her head. “No. Not anymore.”

“Good. That’s something, at least. And know, I’m not upset with you for letting Jasper into the room, but I have to ask: why? Why would you let him in?”

“Because he said he wanted to talk. I didn’t open the door all the way for him. He pushed it open and came in himself.”

Motherfucker. I run my hand down my face. If what Luna’s saying is true, then Jasper went against my orders. Luna didn’t technically let him in the room at all.

I can tell she’s not lying. Her face is too open and honest for her to lie.

“I’m sorry,” she says again.

“Luna, you don’t have to apologize. It wasn’t your fault. If anyone has to apologize, it’s me. I left you alone here.”

“Oh.”

“What is it?”

“God never apologized to me for anything. It was me who was always supposed to say sorry.”

“What did he make you apologize for?” Rose asks.

“For being asleep when he wanted to talk. Or not wearing what he wanted me to wear. Things like that.”

It scares me how nonchalant Luna talks about this. It’s because she doesn’t see the wrong in it, and how could she? She doesn’t know anything else.

“Those were things you never should’ve apologized for,” Rose says.

“Really?” She looks at me as she asks it.

“Really,” I tell her. “God messed with you, Luna. Whoever he is, he’s not a good man.”

“What’s a good man supposed to be like?”

“Well, a good man will protect you. He won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do. He’ll make you happy.”

“Like you?”

I cough, my face turning red. Rose gives me a knowing look, but I ignore her. “Yes. I suppose I am a good man to you, Luna.”

“I don’t know anything about you.”

I glance at Rose, who leaves the room to give us some space, though not before she says, “If anyone tries anything with me when I get back down there, I’m kicking some nuts.”

“Nuts?” Luna asks. “Why would she kick nuts? You eat nuts.”

“Um, she means a man’s balls.”

“Oh! I know what those are.” She bounces on her feet, and it’s pretty damn cute; I’ll give her that. “Rose told me to knee a man in the balls if he ever tries to hurt me. I didn’t get the chance to do it to Jasper.”

“And it’s probably better you didn’t. Who knows what he would’ve done?” I hate knowing I’ll have to deal with Jasper. The men like him. If he leaves the Knights, it could spell chaos for the MC.

“What do you mean?” she asks, sitting on the bed. I try not to think too hard about Luna on my bed.

“That doesn’t matter. You said you don’t know anything about me. What do you want to know?”

“What’s your favorite color? Mine is pink.” She frowns. “At least, I think it is. That’s the color God told me is my favorite.”

Fuck, this poor woman. “Well, maybe you can discover your favorite color now.”

“It just makes me so frustrated. I don’t even know what I like. I don’t know how to feel.” She tugs on her hair and winces.

“Hey, don’t do that.”

She immediately drops her hands. “I’m sorry. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do.”

I look at her for a long moment before sitting down next to her. “Luna, that’s not why I said that. I didn’t want you hurting yourself. But you don’t have to listen to me if you don’t want to. I’m not going to force you to do anything. You’re never in trouble with me.”

“But with God?—”

“Fuck God. He was an asshole who kidnapped you and held you in a lighthouse all your life. What he thinks doesn’t matter. What matters is what you want. Of course, you also have to respect other people’s boundaries too. But …” I laugh, shaking my head. “Listen to me talk about boundaries. Fuck. I sound like a fucking therapist.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No. It’s just not normally how I speak. But with you … I don’t know. I find myself acting in a way I don’t normally.”

“How do you act normally?”

“Normally, I don’t sit around and talk about my feelings, but here I am, doing exactly that.”

She pauses for a moment, then gives me such a large smile I can feel my heart fucking melt. My heart has never fucking melted before. “I’m glad you are. I know I don’t know you, and you don’t know me, but I feel like I can trust you.”

“I’m glad. And you can trust me, Luna. I’ll keep you safe. And you can be honest with me about how you feel. I get it. This is all new for you. Whatever you’re feeling, tell me.”

“Thank you. God never gave that to me. I was feeling scared and sad before, but now, I feel … kind of happy? I’m still not fully sure.”

“And that’s ok.” I nudge her shoulder with mine. “And my favorite color is green, by the way.”

“Green. Like trees. Like grass. It’s a beautiful color. You’re beautiful.” She says it without any shame because why would she? She’s never been taught to feel embarrassed for saying something like that.

And honestly? I’m grateful. Because now I know that Luna finds me beautiful, and that’s doing strange fucking things to me.

LUNA

Maxim lets me sleep in his bed while he takes the floor.

“We can share,” I offer.

“I think it’s better this way.”

I don’t understand how, but I don’t question it. Maxim is so much smarter than me. I feel like I’m sprinting to catch up and will never be able to.

His bed is so soft that it puts me to sleep. When I lived in the lighthouse, I would toss and turn until the sound of the waves outside would lull me to sleep. Here? There are no waves. Only the sound of Maxim breathing. I use that to help me fall asleep.

When I wake up, Maxim isn’t there. Does that mean I should stay in the room, or can I go downstairs?

I don’t want to see Jasper again, but I do want to see Maxim, so I force myself to be brave and leave the bedroom. The sound of male voices travels up to me, and I hesitate. Then I hear Jasper’s distinct laugh, and my throat clenches. He humiliated me yesterday, which is something I’ve only ever felt before when God would tell me I was wrong for asking a question.

I don’t want to be reminded of that feeling ever again.

In the main common room, all the men hang around a long table, eating food. But Maxim isn’t with them.

“You can sit by me,” Colin offers, giving me a trusting smile. I’m about to, but when I see Jasper seated across from him, I know I can’t do that.

“No, thank you.”

“Here, sweetie,” Rose says, handing me a plate of food. “Eat up. You must be starving. When’s the last time you’ve eaten?”

“Not since yesterday morning.”

“Eat up, honey. You can sit at the bar with me. Away from these boys.”

All the men boo and holler and laugh.

Rose laughs along with them as she sits down at the bar. “So, how was your first night here?”

“Enlightening.”

“How so?”

“I never knew a bed could be so comfortable. And Maxim’s favorite color is green.”

“Huh.” She lifts a cup to my lips. “Never would’ve guessed that. I’d have guessed black.”

“Why black?”

“Because men typically like black. They’re kind of basic like that.”

“Basic?”

“Boring. Blank. Hell, I don’t know. Basic.”

That’s one thing I’m learning: I need to pick up words quickly, or I’m going to fall behind.

“Where’s Maxim?”

“Working on his bike outside.”

“Can I see him?”

“Honey, it’s a free country. You can go see him all you want.”

With God, my life wasn’t my own, but here, it can be.

I quickly eat the toast and eggs on my plate before hurrying outside. Thank goodness for my shoes. It’s so much easier to get around with them.

I spy Maxim by his bike. He’s underneath it. “Oh my god!” I run over to him. “Are you ok? Are you hurt?”

He pushes himself out from under the bike. “Why are you asking me if I’m hurt?”

“Your bike was on top of you!”

“Oh. That. I was just working on it. I’m fine. Not hurt at all.”

It’s then I notice he’s shirtless. I’ve never seen a man shirtless before. Granted, before yesterday, I’d never seen a man in person at all before, let alone a shirtless one.

I know nothing about shirtless men’s bodies and how they’re supposed to look, but what I do know is that I like the look of Maxim’s chest. It’s so much bigger than mine. It has ridges where I don’t. He doesn’t have breasts, I notice. I guess God wouldn’t like him, then. God was always obsessed with my breasts.

He’s so different yet similar.

I have the urge to touch him, but I hold back.

Maxim stands up and wipes his hands on a rag, then slings it over his shoulder. “I was just working on my bike.”

“What does that mean?”

“Sometimes it needs tweaking and fixing to run smoothly. That’s all.”

“That’s fascinating. I never knew these things even existed until yesterday.”

“Well, now, you know.” His smile is warm in the soft sun, and I can’t resist the urge any longer.

I touch him.

My fingers trace down his chest. Maxim inhales sharply and backs away. I drop my hand, feeling like I’ve suddenly done something wrong.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“No. No, you don’t need to apologize.”

“Why did you react that way?”

“Normally, people don’t touch other people without asking first. I was caught off guard.”

“So … what I did was bad?” I wring my hands together, feeling heat in my cheeks. Shame fills me. “I’m so sorry.”

“Luna, it’s ok. I’m not mad. It wasn’t unpleasant. I just didn’t expect it.”

“None of the men here do that? Touch each other?”

“Don’t let them hear you say that. They’ll get offended.” He turns back to his bike, resting his hands on it. His big, strong hands that I want to feel on my body.

“Why offended?”

“They’ll think it’s gay. And the men in there pride themselves on not being gay.”

“What’s being gay?”

He lets out a rough breath and rubs the back of his neck. “I sometimes forget how much you don’t know. When someone is gay, it means they like someone of the same sex. So, two men in love or two women in love with each other.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“No,” he says, leaning against his bike. This new position makes me notice his chest more, which makes me want to touch him again. “But some of the men in there seem to think so.”

“Why don’t you?”

“Because I don’t hate on other people for who they love. Frankly, I have more in life to worry about. I believe in letting people be. If I had my way, I’d run the Knights with a carefree attitude.”

“But you can’t?”

“No. Too many people to worry about. Too many way things could go wrong. But it is what it is.”

“So, your men don’t touch each other?”

“No. At least, not that I know of. But they do touch women.”

I place my fingers on my jaw. “The way Jasper touched me?”

“Fuck no. No one should be touched like that.”

“But the way I touched you … that was ok?”

He’s silent for a moment as he stares at me. Gosh, I could get lost in his eyes. They’re just like my ocean—blue and endless. “It was ok,” he finally says, his voice gruff.

“Can I do it again?”

“All right.” He stands up straight.

My fingers shake as I place them on his chest. He sucks in another breath, but this time, he doesn’t back away. Instead, he holds still as I trail my fingers down his skin. “What are these?”

“My muscles? They form when you work out. Lift weights. Do crunches. That kind of stuff.”

“I don’t have any. But maybe I would like to have them someday.”

“Hey, we all have to have goals in life.” My fingers reach the top of his pants and stop there. Maxim curls his fingers around mine. My skin zings. “That’s enough for today,” he says.

“Why?”

“Just trust me.” There’s a darkness to his eyes that makes me feel … things. Not bad things. Sort of good things. But also uncomfortable things. Things that make my stomach flutter and my face flush and heat go straight through my body. I don’t want it to go away.

And then someone behind me speaks: “There she is!”

Maxim’s eyes darken and narrow. “Jack.”

I spin around to see who this Jack is. He’s in clothes that are completely different from Maxim’s. A long shirt and pants. Shoes that look cleaner than Maxim’s scuffed boots. Despite this, I like the way Maxim dresses.

Or maybe that’s just because I like Maxim to begin with.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Maxim demands.

“I’m here for what I paid for.” His eyes settle on me. “My prize. My … statue.”

I gasp and back away, bumping into Maxim, who catches me. “What is he talking about?”

“Don’t worry about him,” Maxim tells me. “Jack, you’re not getting Luna. So, if I were you, I’d leave this instant.”

He spreads his arms out wide. “Or what? You gonna shoot me.”

“I wouldn’t in front of Luna. But I’m thinking about it. So, go.”

“I don’t think so.” He saunters over to us. Maxim is so tense that I can feel it moving into my own body. “I paid good money for her, so I want her.”

“How did you even know about her in the first place? Who told you about her?”

Jack shrugs. “Does that matter?”

“Of course, it fucking matters.”

I gasp. “Did God send you?”

“God?” The way Jack smirks and licks his lips as he looks at me sets me on edge. It’s so different from Maxim’s kind smile. “No, God didn’t send me, baby. I’m here for you. You see, you’re mine. So, why don’t you walk away from this loser and come with me.”

Maxim grabs my arm. “She’s not going anywhere with you.”

“Do I have a choice?” I ask.

“Yeah, does she?” Jack taunts.

Slowly, Maxim lets my arm go, except I don’t want him to. “Of course, you have a choice,” he says to me. “But you don’t want to go with this man, Luna. He tried to buy you. I’m not fully sure what he wants with you, but I know it can’t be good. When it comes to men like him, it’s never good.”

“How so?”

“I don’t want to frighten you.”

A flash of anger courses through me. “I know I don’t know a lot, Maxim, but don’t treat me like a child. Tell me.”

“I worry he’ll want to rape you. Force you to have sex with him when you don’t want to.”

“Hey, who ever said anything about rape?” Jack asks.

Maxim glowers at him. “What else do you want Luna for?”

Jack is quiet for a moment before he grins in a way I don’t like. There’s something sinister behind it. “Fine. Guilty. I want her for myself. An untouched woman like her?” He lets out a low whistle. “What’s better than that?”

“He’ll hurt you, Luna. Don’t go with him.”

“She’s mine,” Jack growls. “I paid for her.”

“You’re not getting her.”

I step closer to Maxim, feeling his body heat behind me. His bare skin touches the backs of my bare arms. “Maxim is right. I don’t trust you, whoever you are. So, leave.”

“Or what? What are you going to do to me?”

“She’ll knee you in the balls,” Rose says, approaching us. “You don’t want to mess with her. You don’t want to mess with Maxim. And you most certainly don’t want to mess with me.”

Jack eyes Rose over. “Who are you?”

“Rose. I work here. Leave.”

“You heard the woman,” Maxim says. “Go, Jack. Before I do shoot you.”

Jack doesn’t say a word as he saunters closer to me. “I’ll be back for you, baby.” He skims his fingers down my arm. Maxim grabs his hand and jerks it back.

“Ok, ok. I get it. Stop.”

Maxim lets him go. “Just fucking leave, Jack.”

With one last look at me, Jack walks over to a car and gets in.

“Who was that?” I ask.

“He’s the reason I found you. I think he knows who your God really is.”

“Then we need to ask him.”

“No. He won’t give that information out willingly. But I’ll figure it out. For you, Luna.”

For me . No one has ever done anything just for me before. I don’t know what love feels like, but I’ve read about it, and for the first time in my life, I can see myself having those feelings.