Slay (Storm MC 4)

“It’s time to leave then.” Without waiting for my response, he directed his attention to Madison and said, “We have to go.”

She nodded although she did seem disappointed. Looking at me, she said, “Thank you for coming. It was so good to meet you. And we’ll definitely have to do the girls night out thing at your bar soon.”

“I’d love that,” I said, as Donovan stood, dragging me up with him.

He quickly said his goodbyes to everyone, and we left.

“I really like your sister,” I said as he drove us back to my place.

“Yeah, she’s special.”

“Scott seems quite moody, or is it just because of his girlfriend problems?”

“He is a moody bastard. For a long time, he wouldn’t have anything to do with me, but over the last few months we’ve been working together on something and it’s brought us closer. I don’t think we’re going to suddenly be great friends or anything, but he has changed a lot.”

“That’s nice. What’s Harlow like?”

He gave me a smile. Interesting, he must like her. “She’s the perfect woman for Scott. Kind, caring, and she has a beautiful soul. I have a lot of time for Harlow.”

“Well, I hope they can sort their stuff out because she sounds amazing.”

“Did you have a good time today?” he asked.

“I did. Everyone was so welcoming and I was stunned when J and Nash offered to lend me staff for the bar so I could go to their Christmas party.”

“So you’ll come to the party?”

“Of course,” I answered.

“Good,” he murmured.

I turned to look at him. “Did you think I wouldn’t?”

He kept staring ahead, watching where he was driving. Giving me a quick glance, he said, “I wasn’t sure if today might have overwhelmed you. Madison can be pretty full on, as can the guys when they all get together.”

“No, I loved it,” I said, softly. “Coming from the shitty family I did, I craved that kind of get together because we never did that kind of thing. And even when they were arguing, you could still see the affection they had for each other.”

“Yeah, I never had that growing up either.” His voice said everything his words didn’t. Donovan craved family as much as I did.

I reached across and ran my hand over his shoulders. “I think you and Madison are lucky to have each other now.”

He gave me a quick smile before placing his hand on my leg and tracing a pattern. His touch was gentle and soft. We remained silent for a while before he finally said, “I’m lucky to have you, sweetheart. I’ve never felt this kind of connection before.”

I stilled, unsure of what to say. I was fairly sure I knew what he meant, but I struggled to believe it. His fiancé had meant a lot to him, so I wasn’t convinced he actually meant he felt more with me. Before I could question him, his phone rang and he gave me an apologetic look before answering it.

I’d question him another time.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Blade

I leant back in my chair, distracted from my work.

Layla.

It had been four days since the barbeque at Madison’s house. Four days since I’d admitted to her I felt more for her than I’d ever felt for another woman. Four days since she’d pulled away from me a little. Nothing too noticeable, but I felt it. It was in the way she didn’t say everything she was feeling, in the way she didn’t touch me quite as much as she had before, and in the way she fucked me. Up until four days ago, she’d abandoned herself during sex. She’d shut her mind off and gone with it. Now, I could almost hear her mind ticking over. It caused her to hold back, to not give herself to me completely.

I need to fix that.