Page 22 of Reaper & the Lioness (Lone Star Mavericks MC #1)
She laughed and shook her head.
“You’re addictive, my sweet Lioness. I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind since I first laid eyes on your headshot. And now that I have you here in my bed, I don’t know that I’ll be able to let you go.”
She grinned. “If being your captive involves sex like that every day, I’ll happily stay.”
Then, confusion crossed her face. Her eyes narrowed as she sat up. She tilted her head. “Wait. What do you mean by my headshot?”
Shit. In my post-fuck haze, where the blood still hadn’t returned to my brain, I’d said too much. But at this point, I was a little glad. I had grown tired of talking around what I’d learned about her.
“Do you remember how I said I knew everything about you?” I sat up to face her. “Before the club works with anyone, Linc does some digging.”
“Like a background check?”
I ran a calloused finger across her jaw, noting the growing tension in her shoulders.
“Yes. Just with a bit of light hacking to get the information we won’t find in your standard background check.”
A stoic mask slipped across her expression, and the air shifted around us. I recognized the rare panic in her eyes.
“How much do you know?”
“I know you are a fearless, fierce survivor. A woman who takes no shit. Allows no harm. And holds predators accountable for their actions—even when others don’t. Especially when the authorities won’t.”
I leveled my gaze at her, hoping to show admiration for all she’d done. I sensed her fear and trepidation as she processed my words.
She stood and pulled my T-shirt over her naked body. “That doesn’t answer my question,” she said as she began pacing the room. “What exactly do you know?”
I sighed and rubbed my hand on the back of my neck. This wasn’t going well. I stood and walked to her, wrapping my arms around her trembling shoulders.
“Come on. Let me make you a drink, and I’ll tell you what I know. And you can fill in whatever blanks you’re comfortable with. Or you can choose not to tell me anything. You don’t have to confirm or deny anything you don’t want to.”
Eva released a shaky breath, and I kissed her forehead before slipping on a pair of gray sweatpants.
She followed me into the living room and lifted Hawk into her lap on the couch.
I moved to my small liquor bar and poured a generous amount of expensive bourbon into two crystal glasses. I sat beside her and handed her the glass. She took a long sip before leveling a gaze at me.
“What do you know? What did you find out about me?”
I brushed my fingers against her arm, needing to find some way to comfort her.
“I’ve read your high school records. I know about the boy you beat up as a freshman and why you were suspended your sophomore year. And Linc got hold of your sealed record.”
Her jaw dropped. “How?”
I shrugged. “He’s really good at what he does. We were all impressed. And it sounded like that pastor deserved it.”
She only nodded as she processed the news.
“I also know a bit about the situation in college. With the frat president.”
Eva gasped in disbelief. “There shouldn’t even be a record of that. I wasn’t arrested.”
I smirked. “The cops sought you out that night. It was in their notes that you had a solid alibi. What you might not know is the type of records your college kept. Unofficial but still on their servers. The frat tried to have you expelled, but there wasn’t enough evidence.”
Eva raised her brows. “I didn’t even know that.”
“The last thing we found is … circumstantial at best.” I paused, taking another sip.
“You had a stalker about three years ago. And after several calls to the police, he was killed. But you had an alibi, and your name was only referenced in the police report as a person of interest because of the restraining order.”
Eva’s eyes widened. Shock and vulnerability flickered across her face, and she swallowed hard. “What are you saying?”
My hand moved to cup her cheek. “My fierce Lioness, I’m saying if you did anything, it doesn’t change my perception of you. If anything, it makes me admire you more.”
She pulled away. “How can you say that? What if I was the one who slit his throat? You would be okay with that?”
I couldn’t help but smile as she confirmed what I suspected to be true. The police had never released details of the murder. No public reports shared he’d been killed by a blade.
My eyes darkened as an untamed protectiveness radiated from within my chest. “Hell, Eva. I wish I could’ve been there to help you take that bastard down myself.”
“Most people would run screaming if they knew everything I’ve done. My career would be over. No one would trust me.” She shook her head, stroking Hawk’s head as she stared at the ceiling and steeled herself with a deep breath.
“I’m not most people. I’ve got my own dark past. I would never judge you for what you’ve had to do to protect yourself. To protect others.”
Eva searched my face for any sign of judgment. Finding none, she allowed herself to relax. “I never thought anyone would understand, let alone accept it.”
My lips quirked into a half smile. “Justice isn’t always served by the law. Sometimes, it has to come from our own hands. What you’ve done? That was justice.”
Eva’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I’ve spent so long hiding from my past, hiding who I am. And here you are, knowing it all, and still looking at me like … like …”
“Like you’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever met?”
She smiled and leaned in for a kiss, the storm in her eyes beginning to clear. “So, that’s it? I’ve beaten the shit out of a handful of men and maybe even murdered one, and it’s all fine?”
I laughed. “It’s more than fine. But don’t ever comment on the details of the murder. The media never reported how he was killed. If you’re going to commit a felony, you need to work on keeping the details to a minimum so you don’t get caught.”
Eva shook her head in disbelief. “I never thought anyone would put it together. No one has ever asked me about it.”
“It’s unlikely that anyone ever will. But you should never speak of it to anyone but me.
Even Thane and Linc were unsure if it had really been you.
You don’t need to confirm it. If your stalker ever comes up, you can pretend to have forgotten his name.
Always give people the bare minimum and then stop talking. Don’t be afraid of the silence.”
I stood and walked to the kitchen to stir our dinner, bits of vegetables beginning to burn to the bottom of the cast iron pan.
Eva let out a small laugh. “I give the same advice when I coach people to speak to the media during a crisis. Stick to the message, answer the reporter’s question, and then shut the hell up.”
A different sort of tension filled the kitchen as we ate our slightly overcooked stir-fry. Eva sat on a countertop stool, and I stood across from her on the other side.
“You’re staring, Roman. See something you like?”
“Always. But it’s different tonight.”
“How?”
“Because now I know what sounds you make when you come.” I watched her throat work as she swallowed. Her fork clattered against the plate.
She moved around the counter, pressing into my chest. Bourbon and spices exploded across my tongue as she kissed me, all teeth and desperation.
I lifted Eva and carried her down the hallway. Her legs locked around my hips as her fingernails carved half-moons into my shoulders.
This time, we were less frenzied, the sex slower but no less steamy. I savored the way she arched into me and the soft gasps and moans that escaped her lips.
Afterward, she fell fast asleep, curling against my body like she belonged there. Moonlight shone across her bare back as she lay beside me. My fingers traced the script and blade tattooed along her ribcage.
“She wasn’t looking for a knight. She was looking for a sword.”
The ink suited her. Fierce and unapologetic. A warrior of a woman.
Eva’s eyelashes fluttered, a soft sigh escaping as she nuzzled closer.
I pressed my lips to her temple, her scent of grapefruit and vanilla filling my senses.
Eva’s warmth seeped into my skin, and I contemplated our connection.
It was more than attraction. More than lust. I’d experienced both but never felt this way about a woman.
The realization hit me like a .45 round, sudden and with devastating impact: I’d burn the whole damn world before letting anyone hurt her again. The intensity should have scared me, but instead, it seemed right. Inevitable.
My heart raced as another thought struck me. I couldn’t imagine my life without her now. The idea of waking up to an empty bed, of not hearing her laughter or feeling her touch, left an ache in my chest.
This fiery woman had stormed into my life and changed everything.
Hope bloomed in my chest for the first time in years—a desire for a future that included more than just the club, my construction company, and my solitary existence.
As Eva shifted in her sleep, pressing herself closer to me, I tightened my arm around her.
Whatever came next, whatever challenges we faced, one thing remained certain: I would do anything to keep her safe.
To keep her by my side. Because somehow, in the span of a few weeks, Eva had become my whole world.