Revive (Storm MC 3)

Our lips joined in a slow, gentle kiss. A kiss that stirred long buried desires. Life had thrown a lot of fucking curve balls, and hadn’t turned out the way I’d planned. And although I’d never have the one thing I’d always truly desired, I knew that having Velvet would help me deal with the loss of that dream. Fuck knew, it was time to finally deal with that; ten years was long enough to hold onto that heartache.

Chapter 24

Brave ~ Sara Bareilles

Velvet

Mine.

That’s what I was thinking as I watched Nash walk to his bike. He was mine. He’d given himself to me last night, making me happier than I could ever remember.

I watched him leave, and then went inside, out of the cold wind. Mondays were my least favourite day of the week¸ and today was no exception. The only shining part of the day was that I woke up to Nash loving. And afterward, he’d made me toast and coffee. We hadn’t made plans to see each other tonight because it looked like he might be busy with Kick. So, I had a long day of study, work and no more Nash loving ahead of me. Yeah, Monday could kiss my ass.

Bella rubbed herself against my legs, happy to see me. I picked her up and pet her. “Sorry, baby, I’ve been neglecting you lately, haven’t I?”

She purred at my touch.

“Nash has kinda been taking up all my time. You’d understand if you were a woman,” I said as I placed her back on the ground and fed her.

Once she was happy, I made my way into the study, ready to tackle the mountain of work I had to get through today. However, just as I was about to take a seat, there was a knock at my front door so I headed back out there to see who it was.

James stood on my verandah, a contemptuous look on his face.

/> “What do you want now?” I asked, joining him on the verandah rather than letting him inside. Surprisingly, the old feelings of inadequacy I usually felt around James did not surface.

“May I come in?”

“No, James, Say what you need to say and then you can go. There’s no need to go inside for that.”

His brow arched. “As you prefer. I’ve come to tell you that I’m withdrawing my offer.”

I scoffed. “Nash came to see you, didn’t he?”

Annoyance covered his features. “You need to tell your lapdog that if any of what we discussed surfaces, his club won’t know what hit it.”

I cocked my head to the side. “First of all, Nash isn’t anyone’s lapdog. I have no control over anything he does. And second, I’m guessing that whatever dirt he has on you must be huge for you to come here today. Which means that if any of it were to get out, you wouldn’t have the power to hurt him or his club.” God, it felt so damn good to say this to him. My heart was beating with excitement to finally have the courage to take him on. And to feel no fear.

He scowled. “I’m deadly serious, Velvet, when I say that you don’t want to take me on. And you don’t want to talk to anyone about me, us or our marriage. You thought you got screwed in our divorce? You’d be fucking decimated over this if you pursued it.” The vein in his neck pulsed and his nostrils flared as he spat out his threat.

“See, that’s what you never understood, James. You already fucking decimated me. You ripped me to pieces and left me ruined. Back then I had no-one to help me; I had to face all my monsters by myself. And I did. It took me years, but I put myself back together, stronger than before you found me. So, knock yourself out because I know I have what it takes to survive. And this time around, I have someone who cares about me to back me up.”

His eyes narrowed on me. “This biker really has you, doesn’t he?”

I had no idea where he was going with this now. “Yes, he does, if you must know.”

“You know his past? That he was in jail for years for beating a man up?”

“James, I know Nash. I know his heart. And yes, I’m aware of his past. But let me tell you, Nash has a reason for everything he does. And his reasons aren’t dirty like your reasons. I’ll take a flawed man who does things out of love or honour over a man who does stuff for his own personal gain.”

He glared at me. The cold wind whipped around us, biting me with its iciness. This was the end of us; finally. I could feel it in my bones and the weight I’d been carrying for years lifted.

The last words he delivered failed to hit me in the way he intended. “I have no idea what I ever saw in you, Velvet.”

I smiled as I tasted freedom. “That’s because you never opened your eyes, James.”

He blinked; confused. I turned and opened my front door to go back inside. But he had one last thing to ask. “You won’t talk about us, will you?”

I gave him my attention one last time. “It’s good to see you beg, asshole. But I’m the bigger person, and no, I have no intention of ever talking about us. I won’t waste my breath on you.” With that, I walked away, letting the door slam behind me. Adrenaline was pumping through me. I could hardly contain my happiness, and felt the need to talk to Nash. He didn’t answer his phone though so I sent him a text.