Ignoring Weasel had been one of the hardest things Renee had ever done. She had loved him for so long. She’d developed a crush on him when she was younger but knew that there was no way in hell anything would happen. It couldn’t. They were worlds apart, and she knew that. There was no way either of them could be together. Vengeance would pitch a fit, and Weasel had all those club whores that loved him.

But the way he looked at her right now, standing in the doorway, made her feel something … deeper.

“Vengeance called,” she said, not knowing what to say, the words falling out of her like they meant something more. She finished doing the few dishes that were there, needing to keep busy, and grabbed a cloth to dry her hands. “He said the club has a meeting tomorrow. You’ve got to be there. You weren’t answering your cell phone.”

She tucked some hair behind her ear. Only a small table separated them.

His muscles seemed harder, as if he’d been working out.

A distant memory came forward of another time.

She had been about fifteen, and underneath the clubhouse was a gym for some of the members to blow off steam. Weasel had been there, and she’d stood inside the door, leaning against the wall, watching as he attacked a punching bag. It had been well worn and falling apart, but that hadn’t stopped him from attacking it.

His back had been covered in his sweat, and the veins in his arms seemed to bulge much like they did now.

She smiled, recalling what he’d said to her.

“Sometimes you need to hit something just to make you feel better.”

After she had left, there had been one too many times that she’d hit something.

“I see you’re still killing the punching bag,” she said.

“Sometimes you need to hit something.”

That was all he said.

“I know you hit that because of me.” She wouldn’t look away. This time she forced herself to stare right into his eyes as she talked. “When I left, I knew it was the biggest mistake I had ever made. I regretted it all the time. Hated every single second of it but I thought I was in love. I thought I was doing the right thing, Weasel.”

“How could you be doing the right thing if every second you fucking hated it? I called you, Renee. I called you every single day for over a year. I begged you to come back.”

Tears filled her eyes as she remembered all of those messages. Sometimes when he called she’d be sat staring at his name on her cell phone, tempted to accept him. Instead, she’d waited for it to go to voicemail and then listen to him.

“I was afraid,” she said.

“What were you afraid of?”

“Being laughed at. Being told that there was no way I could come back. The things I said to Vengeance, to you, to the club. Only when I was away and able to really see what I’d done and said, I was an awful person. Don’t you see that?”

“We all do bad things.”

She dropped her arms and sighed. “That’s not a good enough excuse in my book to say and do the stuff I did. Vengeance is my brother, and you were my best friend.”

“Fuck being your friend.” Weasel stepped toward her, rounding the table so that he stood right in front of her, nearly toe to toe. “You think I give a fuck about being your friend?”

She frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“I was your friend, Renee. I watched you grow and saw what a beautiful woman you’ve become, and then I watched as you started to withdraw. I know that was my fault. I saw you, and I didn’t do fuck all to stop it.”

“What are you saying?”

“I wanted you. You were younger than me. I didn’t want to take the chance of a great life away from you. The club is not for everyone. I saw some of the old ladies succumb to drink and drugs because they couldn’t handle it. They had to be put down because they couldn’t handle the life. When you’re part of it, there’s no turning back. There’s no ratting us out. It’s us or them. You’re a smart girl, and even though your brother is part of the club. I didn’t want any of this for you.”

Tears fell down her cheeks as he stroked her cheek.

“I didn’t want me for you. But then I saw you with that fucking prick in town. I’ve never known jealousy before but with you, I could fucking taste it. I lost count of the number of times I nearly killed that motherfucker. I saw what he was doing, polluting your mind against the club. Vengeance didn’t know what to do. There were so many times I could have stopped it because you and me both know one thing, don’t we?”

Again, she was confused.

The look in his eyes, the tenderness, it was all too much. Could she hope that he at least cared? That it hadn’t just been here with these feelings all along?

He sighed. “You really don’t have a fucking clue to how I feel, do you?”

“What are you saying, Weasel? Forgive me for being a little slow on this but just say what you’re talking about.” Her entire body was tense, and she didn’t know what to say or do, what to hope.

“How about I show you?”

Before she had chance to complain, he held onto her face, tilted her head back, and slammed his lips down on hers. At first she froze, not sure what to do.

Weasel was kissing her.

The man she had wanted all her life was finally kissing her. It was a dream come true, and she didn’t have a clue what to do. She wanted to jump for joy and to scream how happy she was.

Then she grabbed his arms as he pulled back.

“You’re not kissing me back,” he said, licking his lips.

“You kissed me.”

“I know.”

“Kiss me again.” She cupped the back of his head, and he slammed his lips down on hers. Nothing else mattered to her anymore. It was just her and Weasel. Vengeance would have a fit if he found out, but she’d worry about that another time.

Right now, she just wanted his lips, his kiss, and maybe one day, his love.