I’VE BEEN LYING AWAKE FOR the last hour, running my fingers over Royal’s sweaty, tattooed chest, and watching him sleep.
It’s cold down here, yet he’s completely drenched, looking as if he’s battling something inside his head. I hate seeing him looking so pained, even in his sleep, and a part of me wants to wake him up and save him from whatever is haunting him.
Last night when we arrived at his house, he immediately brought me downstairs¸ undressed us both, and pulled me into his bed and into his arms, holding me tightly against him as he buried his face into my neck.
He held me close, not moving or talking the whole night, and I have a feeling that he just needed someone to hold onto. I was happy to be that for him, because the thought of it being anyone else kills me.
It may be wrong of me, but I don’t want anyone else touching this beautiful, pained man but me. I want to pull him close, caress his flawless face, and let him know that he’s not evil and that I think he’s just as good or even better than most people I know.
I jump and let out a surprised scream as Royal grabs my wrist, stopping my hand from rubbing him. “Crap . . . I thought you were sleeping.”
He looks down at my wrist in his hand and loosens his grip, gently rubbing his thumb over it. “Sorry,” he whispers. “Did I hurt you?”
I shake my head and pull my wrist out of his grip so that I can touch his still slightly bruised face. “No . . . you just scared me. Sorry if I woke you up.”
He lets out a small breath and looks me in the eyes as I continue to rub his face, showing him that I care. Being able to touch him this way sends my heart soaring and I never want to stop. I want to sit here all day and freely touch this man.
“I needed to wake up anyways,” he says in a husky voice. “I should get you home before work.”
I pull my hand away from his face and watch him as he tiredly sits up and stretches. “I don’t work until one today. I just planned to stop by and visit my uncle on his day off, but I’m in no rush.”
Royal closes his eyes and shakes his head, as if trying to shake his sleepiness off. “You guys close? What does your uncle do?”
“Yeah . . . we’re close,” I admit. “He’s the closest person I have to a parent.”
Answering this next part makes me nervous. I still have no idea if it was Royal’s bar that my uncle got called to that day, and I’m nervous that he’ll want to stay away from me once he knows my uncle works with the law.
“He’s a cop,” I say with a forced smile. “He moved us here about two years ago when he got word that they were looking to fill some positions.”
His eyes are unreadable as he stands up and starts getting dressed while looking at the wall. “What’s his name?” He questions tightly, while still looking straight ahead.
“Officer Knight,” I reply, while hopping to my feet and grabbing for my dress to slip it on.
He stops in the middle of doing his belt and runs a hand through his hair before turning to me. “And does he know about me?”
I shake my head. “Not exactly. He just happens to know that I jumped onto the back of some guy’s bike a couple weeks ago.” I laugh at the thought of Madison and her big ass mouth. “Madison told him that while shamelessly flirting with him.”
“I’ll come with you.” He reaches for a red flannel and pulls it on over his white shirt. “I’ll take you by your house to change first. Let’s go.”
Before I can respond he’s walking out the bedroom door. A few seconds later, I hear the bathroom sink turn on and the sound of him brushing his teeth.
“Oh shit . . . this might not be good.” I grab my shoes and sit on the edge of the bed, quickly slipping them on. When I look up toward the door, Royal is gripping the doorframe, watching me.
“Your uncle needs to know who you’re going to be spending time with.” He exhales and releases the door. “Especially when it’s me.”
Standing, I meet him at the door and walk up the stairs as he grabs my waist and guides me up them.
My insides are going crazy at the thought of them two meeting, but it’s not because I’m ashamed of Royal. I’m far from it. Him wanting to meet my uncle fills me with warmth, knowing that I mean enough to him for him to even bother.
It’s the fact that I’m worried Royal has possibly had a run in with Mark in the past and there’s a chance that things might turn out ugly. The last thing I need is Mark telling me to stay away from Royal. That’s the last thing I want to deal with.
When we get outside, I’m a little surprised to see him walking us toward his motorcycle instead of his truck. This dress is not easy to work with, although I did somehow manage to make it work last night.
Sensing my hesitation, he picks me up and swings my leg over his bike, while holding it up for me. “I’ll take care of you,” he says firmly. “Don’t worry. Never fucking worry when you’re with me.”
Facing me, he throws his leg over his bike and grips my thighs, pulling me up to straddle his strong lap. His eyes meet mine, before he captures my lips with his and gently bites the bottom one, growling as he pulls away. “Hold on, Darlin’.”
He grabs his helmet and gently slides it over my head, before throwing his leg back over the bike and turning to face the front, starting the engine.
Burying my face into his back, I wrap my arms around his waist and hold on tight, ready for the ride.
I’M SO DAMN NERVOUS BY the time we arrive outside of my uncle’s house that I can barely even think straight. I’m a bundle of nerves, as Royal grips my hips and helps me to my feet, being sure not to hurt me.
Mark has always given me a hard time about guys that I’ve dated or messed around with in the past, and that was before he even became a cop. He’s always looked out for me the best he could.
His protectiveness is going to come out full force now, especially if he’s had to deal with Royal and his bar in the past, which I know there’s no way he hasn’t. Face it . . . they’re wild. People get hurt and things get broken, especially with Blaine around.
After pulling my helmet off, Royal grabs my face with one hand and presses his lips against mine, as if it’s such a normal thing to do now. “Loosen up,” he breathes against my lips. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
“I hope so. Let’s just hope that he’s in a good mood today,” I say as he grabs my hand and walks me to the door, reaching out to ring the bell before I can.
It takes a few minutes, before Mark swings the door open while tiredly running his hand over his face. “Shit, it’s early, kid. Don’t you . . .”
His words trail off as he finally opens his eyes enough to see Royal standing beside me. He lets out a small huff and then looks down at Royal holding my hand. “Well damn, you’re full of surprises for being so damn early in the morning.” He steps aside and motions for us to come in. “I definitely need some fucking coffee now.”
I swallow hard, walking inside and following Mark to the kitchen as he pours himself a coffee and mumbles a string of curse words to himself.
“Anyone?” He questions while pointing at the cupboard where he keeps his mugs.
“No,” Royal responds, surprising me. “I’m good, Mark.”
I swing my head around to look at Royal, surprised as hell to hear him call my uncle by his first name. “You two know each other?”
“Yeah,” Mark says tiredly. “I see a little more of him than I should, and my day off is not supposed to be one of them.”
“Well it is now,” Royal says firmly, while opening the fridge and pulling out a beer. “Do you mind,” he asks, holding it up.
“Whatever, man. Go ahead.” Mark watches me over his mug as he takes a sip of his coffee. “So Royal is this ‘Harley guy’ that Madison mentioned the other day, huh? Fuck if that doesn’t surprise me.”
I shake my head and go from looking at Royal leaning against the counter as comfortable as can be, and then to Mark who is looking as if he’s just ready to fall over from lack of sleep.
“I’m taking it you guys know each other well?”
Royal tilts his beer back and nods his head toward Mark’s arm. “Where do you think he gets all of his ink from?”
A small laugh escapes me as I picture Mark going to the bar on his days off to drink with Royal’s crazy friends and get tatted. “I guess we’re alike when it comes to that.”
Mark pulls his mug away with a surprised look. “No shit! And you couldn’t even tell me that you got a tattoo? Anything else I should know?”
“Two,” Royal adds. He raises a brow at me and takes another swig of beer, giving me a confident look. “And more to come. Soon.”
“Well you chose the right tattooist. I’ll give you that.” Setting his mug down, Mark walks toward the kitchen door, stopping before walking out. “We need to have a chat,” he says stiffly.
I get ready to walk, but he shakes his head at me. “Not you.”
Royal sets his empty beer down and follows my uncle out of the kitchen, leaving me to wonder what the hell they could be talking about.
I spend the next ten minutes walking around the kitchen, poking my head out the door every few minutes to see if I can hear them talking, but nothing.
I hate the feeling. It makes my stomach twist with uneasiness. I want to know what they’re talking about so fucking badly.
A few minutes later, Royal and Mark return to the kitchen, looking tense; especially Royal.
“Everything good?” I question. “Do I need to separate you boys?”
“Things are fine,” Mark says. “Let’s hope it stays that way too. I’d hate to have to put my cuffs to use.”
Royal’s jaw clenches as he leans over the counter and grips it. “You haven’t had to yet,” he says sternly, before turning to me. “Want a ride back to your house or are you staying here? I got an appointment to take care of soon.”
I look over at Mark to see him yawning again, while reaching to pour more coffee. “Going home. This guy can barely function right now.”
Mark sets his mug in the sink and walks over to me, grabbing my shoulder. He looks like he wants to say something, but is fighting hard to hold it back.
Letting out a frustrated breath, he releases my shoulder. “I’ll check in with you soon. If you need anything, let me know. I don’t care what time of the day it is.”
He turns to Royal and runs both of his hands through his hair tensely. “Keep her safe, dammit. I mean it.”
Royal grabs my hand and pulls me to him, as if to show Mark that he will. “You know I fucking will. Don’t ever fucking question that.” He looks Mark over, before turning away and tightening his grip on my hand. “Let’s go.”
He doesn’t say anything the whole ride back to my house and his body seems tighter than it did before visiting my uncle’s house.
“What did my uncle say to you?” I question, while handing him his helmet. “Did he tell you to stay away from me?”
He grits his teeth and his grip on the handle tightens. “No.”
“And if he did?” I question, needing to know if he’d listen like others have in the past.
He grips his hair, before running a hand through it to smooth it back and out of his face. “Fuck no. I’m the only one that can keep me away from you.”
My heart sinks from his words. Even the thought of him leaving me alone makes my chest hurt. “Do you want to?”
Standing up, he grabs me by the back of my neck and pulls me to him. His heated eyes roam over my face, sending chills down my spine, before they stop on my eyes. “Not today.”
Before I know it, he releases his grip on my neck and revs his engine, sliding his helmet on.
He looks back at me one more time, but doesn’t say a word, before driving off, leaving me to wonder what he meant by not today.
Please don’t let it be tomorrow either . . .