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“Hey…” Puck pulled me to his chest, cradling me there. I didn’t like it when he was nice like this. It was weird. Not that he wasn’t nice in general. But this intimate kindness made him feel like…a boyfriend.

I was an easy fuck for him. Definitely not a girlfriend. And giving myself those ideas made me no better than bitches like Nadine.

But his arms and chest were warm and safe. I let that warmth envelop me for several deep breaths before I pulled away. “You gonna hide me in your office?”

Puck grinned and shook his head. “No, follow me.”

I did, through the side door behind his office, where he turned up a staircase I’d never noticed. Never had a reason to go back that far.

He unlocked the door at the top of the stairs and flicked on the light.

I stood in the doorway, shocked by the clean, urban space.

The walls were an unfinished block on two sides and pretty, dark brick on the other.

A small kitchenette dominated the back corner and large windows took up the exterior walls.

Puck moved across the studio apartment, opened a large cabinet style wardrobe, and pulled out sheets and blankets. The domestic task should look out of place on him but didn’t. For such a big man, he moved smoothly and effortlessly.

Thinking about that kept me from thinking about everything else.

I was homeless. David had let her kick me out. And other than the small amount I had in the bank and what I’d shoved into my pockets, I was broke.

The room pitched then. I turned away from him, closed my eyes tightly, and gripped the door he’d left open to keep from tumbling down the stairs. I didn’t want to panic in front of him, break down, sob and beg like Mom would do when she didn’t go her way.

I was nothing like her. Reminding myself of that, I found the strength to clear my throat.

“Are you sure your landlord will be okay with me staying up here?” I worried. Because I knew how expensive rent could be—and this was downtown.

“Yup.” He stopped at the edge of the bed, dropping the blanket and top sheet on a chair. “It’s my building, Kenna.”

I turned and blinked. He wasn’t that much older than me. Owning a house before thirty was huge. But this… “The whole thing?”

He snorted. “Yeah. It was gutted when I bought it, only thing livable was this apartment. I stayed here while I finished the shop…then bought the house.”

When I’d met Puck, he was already in the house, with his little family. Maybe things would have been different if I’d met the version of the big guy that lived up here.

“So, this where you bring your women?”

“No.” He bent over the bed, making quick work of the fitted sheet. “That’s what the rooms at the clubhouse are for.”

I snorted a little laugh, centering myself in the knowledge that if Puck could do this—be an adult and own something that was his—so could I.

Knowing this wasn’t some bachelor crash pad made the idea of sleeping here easier. “I can be out of here in a few days, maybe a few weeks. I’ll see if Ky or Val will lend me—”

“Fuck no.” He spun around, disgust on his face. But softened when I flinched. “You don’t need to borrow money from them. There’s no time limit here. However long you need, whatever you need, consider it yours.”

Then he took a steadying breath and shoved his fingers through his hair. “Nobody should have to feel like you did tonight.”

I rubbed my lips together to keep them from trembling. He’d seen me cry enough tonight, and when I finally let this go, it was going to be a flood. Because this hurt ran deep, deeper than anything my mom had done.

Because I could blame her shit on the drugs. But not this, not from David.

“I can finish the bed, Puck.” When he reached for the other sheet, I grabbed his arm. The muscle there was warm and strong. “I can’t thank you enough for this.”

“Then don’t.” He put the sheet back on the chair. “There’s bottled waters and sodas downstairs. I’ll come by in the morning and take you to get your truck.”

Despite the tremble in my lips, I gave him a weak smile. No one had ever done something quite like this for me. “Thanks.”

When he seemed to look for reasons to stay, uncomfortable with my obvious emotion, I sighed. “I just need some time to myself. I appreciate this but…”

He gave me a knowing glance, softened a little, and sat on the edge of the bed.

“At first, my ex, would go months without using. She’d bake, clean the house, go to MC parties, make me forget the other shit.

Then I’d come in one night, strangers sprawled out on my sofa, drugs all over the kitchen table, and her fucked up out of her mind.

The worst part was when I finally realized that was who she really was. ”

I went to him, standing between his legs and wrapping my arms around his neck.

“This is the first time David has seen that bitch for what she is.” He rubbed his big hands up my side and back down, soothing me with the rhythmic motion.

Even now, after everything, when the tips of his fingers brushed across the sides of my breasts and my ass, I tingled.

“You had a family, a kid, and were trying to make things work for him. David doesn’t have that excuse. He’s just a horny old man.”

The rumble of his laugh vibrated against me and for the first time since I’d walked in the door at David’s house, I smiled a little. “Listen, we can’t help it. If the pussy is good enough we forget who we are. I currently don’t even remember how to spell my name.”

I smacked him in the shoulder and he nuzzled my neck, dropping a few soft kisses there, then walked me back a few steps and stood. “Want me to stay?”

That was a hard question to answer. A large part of me did, but I’d spent too much time fighting my battles alone and I needed to process. Lying to him would be easy, but I owed him the truth. Especially after he’d opened that little window up into the life of Puck.

“No. I’m not going to do anything stupid. But I want to be mad, punch the pillow, cry, and not have to worry about making it awkward for you.”

“It wouldn’t be—”

I stretched on my tiptoes, and he leaned down, as if pulled by a tether I couldn’t see, letting me kiss him on the cheek. “You have been kinder to me tonight than I deserve. I’ll be fine. I promise.”

When he pulled me into a hug, it took everything I had not to lose it or push him away. That tenderness was something I hadn’t expected from anyone. That it came from him meant a lot. And scared me even more.

I was getting too used to him holding me, helping me.

The only person I could rely on was me. David had proved that—it just took him longer than most.

“Good night, Adam.” I used his name, because at that moment it felt right. “Thank you.”

He gave my hand a squeeze and let himself out, locking the door as he went. I stood in the same spot until I heard his bike leave. Then I shut out the lights, curled onto the middle of the queen size bed, and let the pain flow.

David had sat there, letting her accuse me of those things. Because he’d believed the worst of me. That I’d be anything like my mom broke me. The tears came hot, heavy, and my chest burned as I sobbed.

I fell asleep, thinking of Puck’s kindness instead of David’s betrayal. How the emotions had changed and shifted. From lust to something different.