Hurricane Hearts (Storm MC Reloaded 1)

I slowly inched my hand up her leg, waiting for her to signal what she wanted. The way her neck arched as she dropped her head back gave me the answer I was looking for, but still, I waited for her words. I fucking wanted to hear her say she wanted me. I needed that.

She didn’t give me her words. But she did place her hand on mine, trying to push it further up her leg.

When I refused her wish, she met my gaze questioningly. But still she said nothing.

“Birdie, tell me what you want.”

I saw the hesitation in her eyes. The torment of making this choice that she clearly wanted. But I had no idea why she fought it so damn much. I had to get to the bottom of that before she’d give herself to me, because as much as I could entice her physically, I wanted a lot fucking more than her simply in my bed.

Curling her hand around the back of my neck, she said, “I want you to fuck me, but that’s all I want. One night and then we’re done for good.”

She was full of shit, and no way was I giving her that. I’d rather not know her touch again than to only have it once. Dropping my hands from her, I took a step back. “I’m not interested in a one-and-done fuck, Angel.” Jerking my chin towards her car, I said, “Go home.”

Surprise filled her features again, but she acted fast in an attempt to cover it. Gripping the strap of her bag, she said, “Your choice, Winter.”

As she cut across the yard to her car, I called out, “I’m a patient man, Birdie. You know that. We are far from done here.”

Serving in the military taught me the kind of patience not many people understood or knew. It also taught me the kind of meticulous attention to detail that rewa

rded a person in their endeavour to succeed with a goal.

I would figure her out.

I would help her find her way back to me.

I would succeed in putting us back together.

Birdie had no idea what she was in for.

7

BIRDIE

By the end of work on Friday, after a week of resisting Winter’s persuasive ways, my brain was a mess of confusion. I’d had to work hard to stay focused on my clients during the week. Bloody Winter was front and centre in all my thoughts, and no matter what I did to remove him, I failed.

“Birdie, are you free tonight to go over our budget projections for the next quarter?” Cleo asked as she entered our office at the back of the studio. We’d gone into business together when I’d returned to Sydney a few months ago, and bought this studio. I ran the Pilates side of it while Cleo managed the physiotherapy side of it. The previous owner had run the business into the ground with bad management and a team that didn’t care much about their clients, so we were putting in the hard yards to bring it up to where we needed it to be. An extremely tight budget meant we had to be careful with every dollar, so Cleo liked to run projections regularly to ensure we stayed on track.

I glanced up at her from the computer where I’d been typing out client notes for the past hour. Leaning back in my chair, I shook my head. “I have a date with Patrick. Can we do it tomorrow night?”

She pulled up the chair next to me, her face lit with interest. “Yes, tomorrow night is good for me, but I need to know more about this date. For some reason, I thought you weren’t really into him.”

My shoulders slumped as I thought about what she’d said. If this conversation was with anyone but Cleo, I’d continue the denial. Continue telling myself I was all about Patrick when really I wasn’t. “I honestly thought I was. Until Winter showed up. And now I realise how bored I am with Patrick.” I dropped my head back and stared up at the ceiling. “Gah, why does this have to be so hard?” I looked back at her. “Why can’t I just find a guy who isn’t Winter that I’m really into? That’s not too much to ask for, is it?”

“I’m telling you, Winter is your guy. Take a chance and tell him what happened.”

“I’m not going to do that. It will hurt him too much and I refuse to hurt him more than I already have.”

She nodded slowly as understanding and sadness both filled her eyes. “I get it, Birdie. I do. But I feel like it’s such a waste. You guys loved each other like I’ve never seen any other couple love each other.” Squeezing my hand, she added, “Whatever you do, though, I’m always here for you.”

“And I love you for that,” I said as the front door to the studio opened.

Cleo pulled a face. “Shit, I forgot to lock it.”

I stood. “I’ll go see who it is. You finish up whatever you need to. Mark will kick my butt if you’re late again tonight.”

“No he won’t,” she called out as I walked away. “He loves you nearly as much as he loves me.”

I heard what she said, but my brain barely registered her words because my eyes had landed on Winter who sauntered my way like he owned the place.