Delilah sits on the bed with her legs crossed with her hands behind her. Her hair is down and messy falling over her shoulders and onto her chest. The gray band T-shirt she’s wearing coming up just above her belly button. She tugs on the hem of her dark washed jeans, and sighs.

---

Surfing through the clothes I have I come across a top that reminds me of Mr. Thad and my heart stops. It’s green and white and looks like something I would wear onto a golf course. I bury it quickly, not wanting to look at it a second longer. Thoughts of police finding a body, or family filing a missing person report scare the shit out of me.

---

“So he’s taking you on a date?”

Holding up a sexy little red dress with one hand, I toss my black and white casual dress on the bed next to Delilah.

“Yeah, but I don’t know where.” I bite my cheek in thought trying to think of what dress to wear.

Delilah holds up the black and white dress. “Wear this with some tennis shoes. Some white ones.”

“Ooh, that would be cute.” I snatch the dress up and try and imagine what it would look like. It would be more comfortable on my side where Bobby accidentally shot me. It’s a little looser than the red dress for sure.

“You know, you and Zane changed everything for us.”

Sitting on the bed next to her, I loll my head back.

“How?”

“Because, if you and Zane can be together, then any of us brats can be.” She shrugs.

My brows furrow. “Why is that a problem, do you like someone?”

She gives me a bored look. “I’m just saying, now that it’s an option. It’s just. I don’t know. Weird.” She shakes her head and stands.

“Well, nobody is pushing you to go hook up with anyone D. Zane and I didn’t mean to change anything. It was just something that has been coming along for years,” I try and explain.

“I know, I just hope he’s a little more focused on finding the Lost Wolf than running off into the sunset with you.” Her sharp tone offends me. She makes it sound as if I’m some one-night stand or a floozy. I care about finding Bender just as much as she does.

“I want him to find him before the bastard finds Zane too, Delilah.”

Just before she leaves, she taps her chipped nails on the door frame, her face laced with a condescending sneer.

“I hope so.”

Grabbing my clothes off the bed, I hustle into the bathroom. The things Delilah said to me on the back of my mind the whole time.

Turning the shower on, I bite my cheek in thought.

“Of course I want Zane to be safe,” I tell myself. I start to become angry thinking about it. Why would D think I wouldn’t want the best for Zane? Who knows, she’s so strange.

The water cascades down my body, and I arch my torso to make sure no water gets into my wound on my side. It stings when I have to change the bandage, but other than that it’s not too bad. Bobby still feels bad about it. Always pulling a chair out for me, and apologizing. He didn’t mean to, I know that. I close my eyes and try to focus on my date with Zane tonight. Where in the world could he be taking me?

Wiping the water from my eyes, I find Zane’s soap. Apples.

Popping the lid, I inhale the scent. The familiar tones of an orchard drive my senses wild as I wash them through my hair. Only when I think of this particular orchard in my hair, I see fog settling around the base of the trees, and leaves turning dark before floating to the mossy ground. It’s as if someone took a picture of a haunted farm in the fall. That’s how I see Zane and apples.

Laughter through the other side of the wall breaks me from my thoughts and I turn the water off.

Drying off, I get dressed and brush my hair. I think I’ll let it air dry, give it some curl and wave tonight. Butterflies flap in my stomach and I growl in frustration. Why am I so nervous?

An hour later I’m ready and nervous.

A light knock at the door as my heart falling to the pit of my stomach.

“You ready?” Zane asks.

Stepping out of the bathroom, I hold my hands out on each side of my body and smile.

“Fuck,” he whispers, his thumb flicking his bottom lip as he eats me up.

“I didn’t know what to wear,” I confess. I was so nervous and wasn’t sure where we were going.

“It’s perfect. You’re perfect.” He closes the gap between us, his hand on the nape of my neck.

“I want you to wear my cut tonight.”

My eyes widen at his request.

“Your cut?” As in not my own, but his! When a brother wants a woman to be his and for everyone to know they give a woman their own cut conveying they’re owned. This isn’t that though.

He nods, and I swallow in response. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman wear the cut of one of the men.

Zane shimmies out of his cut and helps me into it. It’s warm and way too big for me. The heaviness of it anchoring a sense of security into my bones.

His nose caresses my earlobe from behind, his hot sticky breath on the back of my neck.

“I’ve been dreaming of this day for way too long,” he mutters, the desperation in his voice making my knees wobble.

He kisses my neck, and I can’t help but lean into him, my hand raising and cupping his cheek as he does amazing things to my body with his mouth.

My eyes flutter, and my mouth parts trying to breathe past my arousal. His simple touch and faintest of noises unravels me like a roll of silk.

---

“Let’s go, or we’re never going to make it,” he chuckles. Straightening my spine, I close my mouth and smooth my dress out. My panties are damp and need to be changed, but there’s no time for that.

Zane interlocks his fingers with mine and pulls me out of the room.

Down the hall, we pass Bobby and my mom. His arms are crossed, his eyes on the cut Zane is letting me wear. My mom smiles with doe eyes before sliding up next to Bobby. She seems to be coming around, Bobby… he’s getting there. After he accidentally shot me, I’m pretty sure Mom told him to accept it and move on though.

“You kids have fun!” Mom shouts at us as if we’re teenagers going out on the weekend.

I give a light wave, but the way Zane is tugging me behind him, that’s all I’m able to do.

In the main area, feet from the door, Baby walks out of the kitchen. Her eyes scan over me and Zane before she crosses her arms and glares.

Zane stops and wraps his arm around my waist, his palm securely on my hip. My face suddenly feels warm, and my body hums with excitement. He silently just told her I’m his. End of that.

Just outside the club, Saint and Rad whistle and catcall, I feel so stupid, yet I can’t help but blush. Everyone is making such a big deal about us. Zane flips them off and takes us to his motorcycle.

---

“Zane, I’m in a dress,” I laugh nervously.

Both hands on my hips he pulls me close.

“Just easy access for me,” he whispers, his hands sliding up my dress and teasing my panties.

Goosebumps race along my skin and my body sinks into him.

Holy shit.

Pulling his hand from my throbbing clit, he winks playfully and climbs onto his bike and starts it. Not arguing with a little finger action, I climb on after him and pull my helmet on.

Using his feet, he backs us out of the parking spot and we are on our way away from the club.

Down the road and past the highway, Zane reaches back, laying his hand on my knee.

My eyes land on his dexterous fingers, my mind wondering if he’s going to touch me. I want him to. I fucking need him to.

As if he read my mind, his fingers slide between my creamy thighs and dip beneath my underwear. His index finger swiping through my wetness.

Jesus Christ. Between his touch, and the vibration of the Harley I’m going to come on the back of this bike harder than ever. The idea that anyone could see us making my body more sensitive.

He plunges his fingers deep into my wetness, and my toes curl into my shoes, my arms wrapping around him tighter as we weave in between cars and trucks. Lights from the night dance across us as we race by, and the smell of leather and ocean taking me to a place of make-believe.

He revved the motor and arches his finger just right. I’m just about to the peak of pleasure, but not quite there. I widen my thighs more, urging and begging for more, when all of a sudden we hit a bump, and his fingers go just a little deeper. Like a firecracker, lava fills my veins, and I explode like the Fourth of July. I squeeze his shirt and press my face into his back.

I moan. I moan so loud it intensifies my orgasm and nobody can hear me out here.

He pulls his hand free and smells his fingers before sucking them. I can’t help but pant and watch with fascination. My hands trickling down the front of his hard stomach to find a large and hard cock bulging in his jeans. He’s so big, I can practically imagine his silky dick in my hands.

He turns right and begins to slow down, otherwise, I’d return the favor.

We pull into a parking lot, and that’s when I realize we are at the library. The tall building made of mostly windows sits high in the sky. The huge water fountain out front inviting us to sit on the overstuffed couches and read under the stars.

He’s taking me to the library.

We share a common love for books. To get lost in a world away from our own and to have the words of a page drown out our own misery a rush and simple feel of normalcy we both crave.

So for him to take me here is personal and intimate. It’s not the same old date and a movie. This took thought, and I love it.

In fact, I love him.

Climbing the grand stairs to the library’s front door, Zane reaches over and grasps my hand. Inside the large building, the smell of old books and ink hit me like a kid at Disneyland. The faint smell of coffee wafting low in the air.

“So, I’ve never been here,” he confesses, a crack in his hard personality refreshing.

My brows furrow, and I can’t help but smirk. “But, you read a lot. Possibly more than myself.”

“Well, there is this old bookshop near the club, I go in there and get second-hand books. It’s quiet, dusty, not many people.” He shrugs.

“Oh, this place has way more books. You’ll love it.” I squeeze his hand. Trying to reassure him. I get lots of books here for school and personal reading.

He takes a deep breath and begins to walk into the building. His eyes dart around the large area, from women talking animatedly in the corner, to a bunch of students laughing at a table over college books. Crowds bother him. They always have.

I know where to go. Taking the lead, I grab his hand and head toward the stairs, and go up a flight. I round the fantasy section and head toward the back of the building behind a bunch of bookshelves where a slew of huge pillows are thrown on the floor.

“This is my secret reading spot,” I whisper to him. “When I want to get out of the house, but read in quiet I go here.”

He nods, I can tell he’s out of his element here. He’s doing this for me. I don’t want him to do that. I want us both to enjoy tonight.

“We can go somewhere else,” I state. I’ll be happy just being with him.

“No, I want to be here.” He looks at me with determined green eyes. “I’ve always wanted to come here,” he confesses. Wow, something the big bad devil himself is scared of.

“Come on.” I tug on his arm, and round a bookcase. I begin to run my finger along the spines of books, looking for the perfect book to read. Zane rubs his chin with his thumb, his eyes squinted as he gazes amongst the books. It’s sexy watching him look for a book. He’s so focused, and on the hunt for the perfect read.

Turning, I keep looking for a book for me, getting lost in fonts and colors. I could be here for hours.

“Have you heard of this one?” Zane questions. Turning around he holds a book I’ve heard a lot about. Gone Girl.

I’ve seen the movie, but haven’t had a chance to read the book.

“If you’re looking for normalcy, that is not the book for you.” I chuckle.

He turns it over, looking over the synopsis again.

“I don’t know. It sounds dark and exciting.” His tone low, but laced with excitement.

“You know, you can read for the enjoyment of just reading. Taking a break from the world and its chaos is just as pleasing,” I begin to mumble to myself.

“Have you read it?” he asks.

“I haven’t.”

“Do you… wanna read it together?”

My eyes snap to his. Green emeralds irises dancing with shadows. An outlaw who bares guns and tattoos, who kills for a thrill of relief wants to read a book with me.

“Yeah-yeah.” I nod like an idiot.

He smirks, flipping the book in his hand again. “Maybe if we read it together, the bad parts won’t be so bad.” His cracks of insecurity draw me in. His alpha side is sexy, but seeing him need me for something does something more.

Jutting his chin, he heads back to the fort of pillows. Our secret place.

He lays down, shoving pillows under his head to prop him up.

Falling to my knees, I slide up next to him, my head on his shoulder and hand on his hard chest.

He cracks the book open and clears his throat. Holy shit, he’s reading to me. My heart pounds loudly, my body beginning to sweat. This has to be a dream.

---

“Nick Dunne…” Zane begins to read, his chest vibrating with the low rumble of his voice. His words flow without mishap, the ink bleeding off the page and painting the most imaginable picture. Him and I on a throne of pillows, him reading to me, it’s so intimate and personal. A first date I will surely remember forever. One I’d never think Zane would come up with on his own. I mean, Bobby and my mom’s first date was on a stolen boat!

I gotta say there is more to this man than meets the eye, and he’s giving me small glimpses of the man he can be only to me.

Is this too good to be true?

---

Tossing the blankets off me, I slip out of bed. My naked body clammy and sweaty from just fucking Addie every which way from Sunday. This woman is doing things to me, making me say and do shit I never thought I’d do. Rubbing my forehead, it occurs to me I’ve had no desire to kill anyone, to hurt, or vandalize another’s flesh.

I cast a glance toward her sleeping face. Her hair thrown around her in curls, her glowing skin, and plush lips.

I need a fucking drink.

Grabbing my briefs off the floor, I shove a leg into them and pull them up. My cock vibrates, still trying to recover from the earth-shattering orgasm Addie gave me a half hour ago.

Scratching my chest, I step out of the dark room.

“I was just coming to look for you.” My dad comes out of the shadows of the hall. He’s fully dressed at this hour, his eyes wide awake.

“Why?”

“Got some intel, meet us at the chapel. Maybe put some pants on so Bobby doesn’t really shoot you this time.” He scowls, eyeing me.

Grabbing my junk, I scoff and step back into my room to grab some jeans. Fuck Bobby. He had his chance, if he tries to come between me and my sunshine again. I’ll be doing the shooting.

---

The men sit at the wooden table, my grandfather at the head of the table smoking a cigarette.

I choose to stand in the back and listen. I haven’t yet earned my spot at the table.

I will though.

Grandfather Bull slams the gavel.

“So we got the heads up that another club is passing through here to deliver some goods to a club in Arizona. They offered us a price for protection as the last time they came through the Lost Wolves took their shipment.”

I grit my teeth. Ever since their president got out of prison, it seems they can’t keep to themselves.

“I think we just need to pay their fucking club a visit and end this shit,” Bobby growls. He looks half asleep, his hair everywhere, and bags under his pretty boy eyes.

“That’s stupid and risky,” my dad shuts it down fast.

“We are already a target for them, we go playing cowboy we might put our loved ones in danger,” Bull agrees. He is talking about me. If we go shooting and praying, the Lost Wolves will go directly to what they want. Me.

“I agree with Bobby on this one. We need to make a move before they do. They’re probably already fucking with us and we aren’t even aware of it,” I state. I don’t like everyone tiptoeing around me.

“Nah, they ain’t that smart,” Lip chimes in. He’s shirtless, drinking a beer. I swear he never sleeps.

“Saint, Rad, and Shadow. Head over there and see the shipment through,” Bull orders.

Unfolding my arms, I step to the table.

“Why aren’t you calling on me. Why bother my father with prospect work?”

Grandfather’s eyes hit mine, piercing green eyes stabbing into my own.

“Because, if the Lost Wolves do show up, you will be their new mission, son.”

I shake my head, not liking being coddled like a fucking bitch.

“I can handle it!” I roar. “I am the best fucking aim at the table, and he can justify that.” I point to my dad. He doesn’t disagree. He taught me everything I know, and I excelled. Let me kill every one of those fucking posers on the asphalt.

“Son,” my dad tries to rein my temper in.

“No, this is bullshit!” I defend.

“End of.” Grandpa slams the gavel, ending the meeting.

Throwing my arms out, I kick the chapel doors open and head back to my room. To my sunshine.

I need her milky skin, her soft touch to bring me down.

Pushing the door open, I jerk my jeans down and climb on top of her. My mouth on hers before she’s awake. Her arms snaking around my neck in a matter of seconds, and the lava running through my veins instantly cools. My hands grope her soft tit and pebbled nipple.

“Fuck,” I stall, my breathing labored. Her eyes now awake, she stills, looking up at me. “I love you, Addie.”

She smiles, her hand cupping my cheek. “I fucking love you too, Zane.”