Page 23 of Fire Me Up (Front Range Motorcycle Collective #2)

Gael

F uck. Why had the crew given away all of my secrets? I’d fully planned to come up with some better excuse when I showed up in Denver, maybe a lie about Denver Fire being shorthanded, but instead it had all just spilled out in one awkward ramble.

He nodded. “Can we come back and get my ride later? I brought my work truck.”

I nodded, eyeing him as we climbed inside my truck.

“Gael. I’m so sorry. I miss you so much.”His voice was quiet, tender, and it broke my heart.

I started the engine, buying myself a moment to breathe.

I pulled away from the curb, catching a glimpse of Martinez giving me a thumbs-up from the bay door.

For two weeks, my crew had listened to me talk about Dylan, had watched me check my phone a thousand times a day, had told me to move on, that he must be an asshole if he couldn’t see how much he was hurting me.

We drove in silence for several minutes, the space between us charged with everything unsaid.

“Where are we going?” Dylan finally asked, his voice small in the quiet of the cab.

“My place.” I glanced at him. “Unless you’d rather go somewhere else?”

“No, your place is good.” He stared out the window, hands fidgeting in his lap. “I just—fuck, Gael, I don’t know what I’m doing here.”

I gripped the steering wheel tighter. “You came to see me.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t expect He gestured vaguely between us. “That. In the shower. Not that I’m complaining.”

A small smile tugged at my lips. “Me neither. Nothing is better than having you inside me.”

More silence, but less heavy this time. The truck rumbled beneath us as we hit the highway, heading toward my apartment on the outskirts of Colorado Springs. Dylan shifted in his seat, turning toward me.

“What the fuck is with the tattoo? Is that like, for me? Is there some new biker guy in your life? Didn’t you want to have all kinds of experiences with different guys?

” The questions tumbled out faster and faster, like a dam breaking.

“Why would you even want me when I was such a fucking asshole and just ditched you?

Ghosted you like some coward? I was just supposed to be casual and fun and give you confidence, not

“Dylan,” I tried to interrupt, but he barreled on.

”—make you get a fucking tattoo. I saw it, Gael.

I fucking saw it. Why would you do that?

We barely know each other. I’m nobody. I’m just the guy who couldn’t handle how much he wanted you, who ran because he was scared shitless that you’d figure out how fucking broken he is, how too much he is, how

“Dylan!” I said louder, reaching across the center console to grab his hand. “Take a breath, please.”

He inhaled sharply, his hand trembling in mine. “I can’t fucking calm down, Gael. I can’t. You don’t understand what it’s like in my head right now.”

I spotted the turn for my apartment complex and signaled, pulling into the parking lot. I found my usual spot and cut the engine, turning to face him fully. His eyes were wild, pupils blown wide with panic or desire or both.

“I need you to tell me something. Did you come to see me because you needed a quick fuck?”

Dylan’s sharp intake of breath pretty much answered my question. “What? No.”

“So why not call? Why not come to see me sooner?”

“Like I would have had the courage to do that,” he muttered.

“You’re an idiot,” I said, the words coming out gentle despite their harshness.

Dylan blinked. “What?”

“You’re an idiot,” I repeated, bringing his hand up to my lips, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. “If you think I’d let anyone but you inside me. If you think I’d get another man’s bike tattooed on my body. If you think I give a shit about dancing with Niko or anyone else.”

“But

“I’m in love with you,” I said, the words I’d been holding back for weeks finally breaking free.

“I’ve been in love with you since... fuck, I don’t know.

Since you built that fucking cat mansion in your shop.

Since you danced with me. Since you showed up with a sidecar.

Since you made me feel like being myself—all of myself—was exactly what you wanted. ”

Dylan stared at me, his lips parted in shock. I swallowed hard and continued.

“Aiden and Cash said to give you time, to let you come to me when you were ready. And it was the hardest fucking thing I’ve done in a long time, Dylan.

” I brushed my thumb across his palm. “I was a little afraid you didn’t love me back, but now I’m starting to have some suspicions that Cash and Aiden had the right plan. ”

Dylan frowned. “Cash had a plan? Like he talked to you?”

I laughed, the tension easing from my shoulders. “A little. Mostly Aiden translated. But yeah. Aiden thought I’d make you jealous and you’d flip out and come claim me. Cash didn’t approve of that plan, he wanted me to give you space to sort out your feelings.”

“Oh,” he whispered.

“Yeah. I was very much hoping you’d claim me that night. Dancing with Niko was so fucking awkward.”

“What?”

“I mean, he doesn’t move with me like you do. No one moves with me like you do. No one fits me like you do.”

Dylan closed his eyes, leaning into my touch. “Gael.”

“And for the record, nothing happened with Niko. I danced with him for all of two minutes before I realized you’d disappeared.

Then I went looking for you.” I sighed. “By the time I realized you’d left, it was too late, and you weren’t answering my texts.

I’m not sure if it was the right thing, but I thought you needed space, that you might need time when you’re spinning out like that. ”

“I did, I think,” Dylan said. “The way I feel about you…”

“It’s okay. Everything is okay,” I said. “It was only a week, and I… knew.”

“I’m sorry,” Dylan whispered. “I don’t understand how you can be so certain when I feel so lost.”

“Because I know what’s in here.” I held a hand over his chest, feeling the frantic pace of his heartbeat. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re scared of, but I know you have a good heart. And you came here, didn’t you? So I guess I was right.”

His eyes opened, dark and full of something that made my breath catch. “Maybe.”

We stared at each other in the dim light of the truck cab, the air between us charged with possibility. I wanted to drag him inside, to strip him bare and show him with my body what I’d just told him with words. But I needed to be sure he understood, that he believed me.

“I’m in love with you, Dylan Kim,” I said again, firmer this time.

“Completely and stupidly in love with you. And I don’t know why that scares you, but I think it’s important enough to share.

My tattoos are only for people who have a piece of my heart.

You know that. And you have a pretty fucking big piece of it.

You’re my person. You settle me, make me see joy, and completely fucking frustrate me. And I love you.”

A small, vulnerable smile crept across his face. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” I leaned in, brushing my lips against his. “Now let’s go inside, and you can explain to me exactly why you’ve been behaving like such a dumbass.”

“I don’t have an explanation,” Dylan whispered. “I’m just… scared. Of how intense things feel with you. Of how we connect.”

“Okay. Let’s make you less scared.”

“How can you be so confident?” he asked.

I chuckled. “My sisters think my hero complex is founded in unhinged optimism, and maybe they’re right. But I don’t know. I’m pretty sure this is going to work out just fine… providing you pull your head out of your ass and go back to fucking me like I need.”

He groaned, leaning back against his seat as he shot me a look that was all heat and raw want. The same look he’d had on his face when he’d walked into the firehouse shower. I fucking loved that look.