“I tried to warn you I’d cause trouble.”
“You didn’t cause trouble.” Steer did with his big fucking mouth. But I handled it. I trust it’s done and won’t happen again.
When she finally goes limp in my arms, I set her down.
She turns and faces me. “I can’t do this again, Grayson.”
“Do what?”
Serena tilts her head, and fuck, she’s more than I deserve. Is it too much that after so many years of ugliness I want to wake up to beauty and grace every morning? I want to take care of her. Have her look after me. Every day. Why doesn’t that seem to be in the cards?
“I can only imagine what Steer said to you,” she whispers.
“Trust me, he won’t say it again.”
She shakes her head. “What’d Murphy tell you?” A slight sneer curls her lip.
“That you’re a good girl, and I should be nice to you.”
Her expression softens. “That asshole.” She huffs a sad laugh. “He always made it hard to hate him.”
“He said my club didn’t treat you well. And I’m sorry.”
Her blue eyes widen. “Why? You weren’t even here.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“All the really bad things happened Downstate, anyway.” She glances over her shoulder. “They might as well have been two different clubs the way Sway ran things.”
I growl at the mention of Sway. There’s one motherfucker I’d like to choke.
“You saw my ink. You knew this was my club,” I say. “Why’d you come here that first night?”
Her body trembles, and she wraps her arms around herself. “To see you,” she whispers.
“Why?”
She shrugs.
“Tell me.”
“I’ve told you.” A note of exasperation colors her explanation. “I wanted to see you outside of work. I could get in trouble for dating a patient. But I knew no one would ever talk about what went on at the clubhouse.”
“Why risk it, though?” My heart’s racing. I just tried to choke out one of my brothers for disrespecting her. I need her to say it.
She narrows her eyes. “I liked you.”
“Why? You got a daddy fetish?”
She lifts her chin, tilting her head to the side. “Yeah. That’s probably it.”
Damn, Serena’s defiant streak runs deep and I fucking love it.
I snort and she laughs, then pokes me in the chest. “It’s not funny.” She drops her head. “I like you, Grayson. A lot.”
Like. It’s been years, but what I think I’m starting to feel for this woman goes way beyond like.
I’ll do anything to protect her. Even go after one of my brothers.
I might not have been looking for a relationship so soon after obtaining my freedom, but I think I’ve found exactly what I need. Everything about us feels so right.
I just hope it doesn’t end wrong.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Serena
The cat’s finally escaped the bag.
Grinder knows my past. Maybe not the specifics. That I allowed myself to be used and discarded by his brothers for far too long before I came to my senses.
After Z took over Downstate, Shadow paid me one last visit to vent his frustration. It took him almost killing me to finally get it through my head that bikers are bad news.
Grayson has never been anything but gentle with me.
Shadow was nice in the beginning, too, but never gentle. There were so many red flags I missed completely or straight-up ignored.
What Gray and I have is different. Real. Instinctively, I know they’re nothing alike. I’ve always known it.
He reaches out and touches my cheek. “I like you too, Serena. Obviously.” One corner of his mouth hitches to the side. “Never gone after a brother before.”
“You’re not mad at me?” I whisper.
“Mad? At you? No. Why?”
“That I didn’t tell you myself.”
He tilts his head and lifts one shoulder in a playful way. “A heads-up mighta been nice.” His expression turns serious. “But I’m not mad.”
Can he really mean that? “It doesn’t…bother you?”
He stares long and hard at the clubhouse, then at my face. “No, buttercup. Whatever happened before isn’t my business.”
Maybe that’s his way of telling me to never ask about his past.
No one’s ever chased after me before. Bullied and threatened, sure. Chased out of fear of losing me? Never.
It means a lot to me that Grinder did, even if I didn’t make it farther than the parking lot.
“Are you mine now?” he asks.
“Yes.” But I can’t stop worrying about how much of the conversation between Steer and Grinder everyone overheard. “You’re not worried your brothers will think you’re settling for a club whore?”
Anger flashes through his eyes. “Don’t ever talk about my woman like that again.” He takes a few breaths. “You said you were mine. Were you lying?”
“You’re sure you want me to be?”
“That’s not the question.” He gently grips my chin and forces me to look at him. His rough thumb brushes over my cheek. “Don’t be difficult.”
“Yes.”
“Yes, what?” he insists.
Why is it so hard to say? Bikers always claim their women. Not the other way around. “I’m yours.”