Hurricane Hearts (Storm MC Reloaded 1)

He’d hate me.

He’d leave me alone and I’d be able to get back to my life.

He’d also break in more ways than he already had when I left him. And that wasn’t something I could do to him.

“I’m not. I’m just—”

“You are. And I want to know why.”

I needed to divert this conversation because as much as he thought he wanted to know this, he didn’t. In an effort to do that, I blurted, “Why did you join Storm?”

He was silent for a beat. Thoughtful. Like he was weighing up whether to go down this path with me. Finally, he settled back against the couch and downed the rest of his beer before saying, “I had to take my mind off you somehow.”

Not what I was expecting, his admission totally stole all my thoughts. Gone. Whoosh.

God.

Why did I ask that question?

I needed another drink.

I poured it in silence, hyperaware of his eyes on me. It would be a miracle if we made it through tonight without having a huge fight or having sex. I felt both brewing.

After another gulp of whisky, I found his eyes again and said, “I get that, but I don’t believe you joined an MC club simply because of me.” For the life of me, I didn’t know why I continued this conversation, but I was like a moth to a flame with it. With him. When he stole all my thoughts, he also stole all my sense.

“I didn’t join it because of you, Birdie, but I was a fucking wreck after you left, and the club was a good place to help me forget.” He paused for a moment. “Not that I ever forgot. No one forgets you.”

I slowly drank some more whisky. The mood between us had shifted. Darker. An edge had crept into Winter’s voice. One I didn’t know and was unsure of.

“I think we’re done here,” I said, standing. I’d get an Uber home and forget tonight ever happened.

Before I knew what was happening, Winter stood and came my way. Grasping my hand, he stopped me, and with more of that darker, edgier side, he growled, “We’re not even close to done here.”

8

WINTER

I’d let Birdie go each day this week when she’d told me no, but I’d be fucked if I let her go tonight. Not after learning she’d cancelled that date of hers. She could lie to my face about her feelings for me, but ditching that dickhead tonight was a sign that even she couldn’t ignore.

Grabbing her hand, I held it firmly enough to signal my intention, and said, “We’re not even close to done here.”

She sucked in a breath as her eyes widened. “Winter,” she started but stalled before more words found their way out.

I placed a finger to her lips, silencing those words. “Talk to me, Angel. You never had trouble doing that before.” Hell, Birdie was a talker; I’d sat through thousands of conversations with her, half the time wondering why we were discussing a particular topic. She questioned everything, from whether we’d end up together in our afterlife, to what I thought would have happened to a couple in a movie if they’d chosen a different path, to why yoghurt container sizes weren’t rounded up to the closest even number. But I’d always listened because she held my attention in ways no one else ever had.

Silence lingered between us while I waited for her response. The turmoil in her eyes showed me the battle going on in her head. Whatever held her back had a firm grip.

Finally, the words spilled from her. “There’s stuff you don’t know that happened before we broke up. Stuff that you—”

“That was five years ago. Whatever it was has no bearing on today.”

A pained expression filled her face. “But it does.”

“You told me you didn’t cheat on me and I believe you. That’s my only hard limit. I don’t give a fuck what else happened that you think would stop us from being together. Life’s too short and most of the stuff everyone gets hung up on doesn’t mean shit when all is said and done. I just want to be with you. End of story.” Afghanistan had left too much of a mark on me to worry about half the things I used to. Fuck, people were losing their lives in wars they never asked for while we were over here getting hung up on petty shit. I’d come home determined to let it all go and just focus on loving Birdie every second of every day. Living without her for the past five years had been hell; there wasn’t anything that would keep me from her now.

She swallowed hard and closed her eyes for a moment. When she reopened them, she grasped my shirt with both hands. “Do you really think two people can love each other forever regardless of all the baggage they accumulate over the years?”

“Yes, if they work at it and if they’re committed to letting shit go that’s not worth holding onto. And, baby, when two people love each other the way we did, there’s not fucking much worth holding onto.”