Chapter Twelve
Brynn
The moment his hand touched mine, every single feeling I had for Bentley came rushing back. I felt like I couldn’t breathe when he said that we needed to talk. I have no idea what he could possibly want to talk about, but for some reason, I am nodding my head, and soon he’s dragging me through the clubhouse.
When we come to a room, he unlocks the door and pushes me through it. I still don’t know what the fuck happened outside, and my hands are shaking. I have never seen any of their feuds, or whatever it is they call them, before. They typically keep a lot of that hush hush, but today? I got to see exactly the type of men they are.
Standing as still as a statue, I wrap my arms tighter around my bag and try like hell to calm myself.
I see Bentley pace the room for a few minutes before he comes to a stop in front of me. The heat of his body is radiating off of him, and it’s like I can feel him against me. He reaches out and cups my cheek, forcing me to look up at him. My heart stops completely, and I don’t know how to breathe.
“Fucking hell,” he whispers. He closes his eyes for a second before they open again and his blue eyes are shining brightly at me. The anger I felt from him outside is gone completely, but in its place is something I can’t describe.
His eyes stare at my mouth, and he looks like he might kiss me, but when I put my hand on his, his eyes move to the ring on my finger. He curses and pulls back slightly almost like he’s been burned.
“Shit won’t be safe for you for a little while. What happened outside isn't just going to go away, and when I went up against that dick, he thought it would be fair play to go after anyone that is connected to me. When you grabbed Severye, and I stepped between you, he took that as you both being mine. I saw the way he was looking at you. It’s why Dom stood in front of you.” I suck in a breath as I try to take in everything he just said.
“Why would someone come after me?” My throat is dry, and my heart is starting to pound.
He starts to rub the bridge of his nose before he says anything else. “They think they can hurt me with you.”
I scoff at that. “Yeah, like you could give a shit about me,” I mutter, moving away from him and taking a seat on the bed.
He moves towards me and gets right in my face. “You have no fucking clue how I feel.” His eyes bore into me, and I have to lean back slightly to get out of his face. Him being this close is making me feel all sorts of messed up. I try like hell to think about Aaron and the last two years that we’ve spent together, but with Bentley this close, it’s impossible.
“Then why don’t you for once tell me something other than you don’t want to ruin me.” I don’t even know why I said it. I really don’t. I don’t want to know about his feelings now. They don’t matter. I’m with Aaron, and he’s going to be the one that I marry.
“Because if I did, then I would have to face my feelings about you.” He pulls back slightly and stands to his full height again. My eyes rake over his body and fuck does it make me squirm slightly in my seat. I still want him even though I know the type of guy he is. He doesn’t do girls like me. He doesn’t commit. He’s a damn biker that’d rather fuck the whole damn state than admit his feelings.
“Face them? You don’t know what feelings are,” I bite out. My anger is starting to get the better of me, and I can tell by the look in his eyes that he likes when I lash out at him.
Instead of waiting to see what he’s going to say, I stand up and make my way toward the door. I don’t need him or his bullshit protection or whatever it is he is trying to sell me right now. I just need to get the fuck away from him and stay a safe distance away.
As soon as my hand grabs the doorknob and I twist, his hand slams into the door, and the door doesn’t open. I try pulling for a few seconds before I whip around and level him with a glare. “I swear to God if you don’t let me out, I’ll scream rape.”
His eyebrows raise and he gives me a try me look. Just as I open my mouth to scream, his mouth comes down on mine. The shock of his mouth on mine renders me speechless and stone still. I can’t move or do anything as he shoves his tongue into my mouth. When his hand tangles into my hair, my body melts into his, and I kiss him back.
I don’t know what comes over me, but I give into him like I did the last time. Nothing else matters at this moment but the feel of his lips on mine and I want to relish in this moment for the rest of my life.
My fingers dig into his biceps, and when he finally pulls away, I’m panting and trying to catch my breath. One kiss from Bentley makes me forget the life I’ve lived since he’s been gone. One kiss will never be enough if I’m honest with myself. Part of me still craves him, and I don’t know what to do.
“I won’t let them hurt you. They will only come after you because of me, and that shit isn’t going to happen. I need to know you’re safe.” His voice is no more than a whisper and everything from outside comes back to me. Someone wants to hurt me because of him. I can’t get mixed up in his life, not when it can affect Aaron’s life too.
Swallowing around the lump in my throat, I try like hell to not cry. I won’t show him emotion. I can’t let him know that he affects me still after all this time.
“They won’t come after a plain girl like me,” I say hoarsely. “I don’t mean anything to the Wayward Saints except working in your office. I am nothing more than that.”
“You have no fucking clue what you mean to me.” His breathing is ragged, and his eyes never leave mine. “I would kill for you. I know I’ve done a shit job at showing that to you, but coming back, I didn’t expect all that shit to hit me again and seeing that,” he points down to my new shiny engagement ring. “Is the fucking icing on the cake.” He shakes his head a few times before lowering his forehead to mine.
“I wish like hell I didn’t run before. I should have stayed, but watching you move on would have been fucking torture. I don’t think I can handle seeing you with him.” He lowers his lips to my forehead, and I’m stunned speechless. I don’t know what to do or say and that isn’t something I’m really used to. I always know what to say, or how to handle a situation. But for some reason, anything that has to do with him makes me forget how to speak or even think.
“He’s here, probably waiting for you out in the bar. I won’t stop you from walking away from me right now, but just know that I will do everything in my power to protect you from those assholes that showed up today. If you see them, call one of the brothers or me. Your safety is all I care about.”
With that, he releases the door and steps away from me. He doesn’t say anything else, and I don’t know what hurts the most. Him finally saying that he has feelings for me that he’s been hiding, the kiss, or him letting me walk away right now.
Instead of trying to figure out my emotions, I just make my way out of the room and back the way we came. As soon as I come out of the hallway, I see everyone standing around the room. No one is talking, and everything is silent as I make my way toward the bar.
I see Aaron’s face, and when Dominic turns to look at me, Aaron’s head turns in my direction too. Dominic’s eyes scan over me to make sure that I’m still in one piece after Bentley all but dragged me into the room with him or maybe he thinks that we just had a dirty little time in there all alone.
Clearing all thoughts of being with Bentley, I walk over to Aaron and wrap my arm around his waist and put my head on his chest. His touch still doesn’t send electrical currents through my body like Bentley’s does. Trying not to think anymore, I close my eyes and just hold tighter to him. Maybe if I force myself not to think about Bentley, all these feelings that I pushed away will stay gone, and I can get back to planning my engagement with Aaron.
An engagement you didn’t even want. The little voice in my head reminds me.
Talking about marriage and the actual act are two very different things and I guess that I wasn’t really sure about it like I thought I was. Maybe I just agreed with Aaron because I was afraid of being alone, I was afraid that the only other person who may ever be able to deal with me would leave too if I didn’t say yes.
God, I need to get out of here and away from him, away from all of them.
“Can we go?” I ask.
Aaron looks down at my face, and he looks to Dominic before Dominic tells me that he’ll keep the office closed the rest of the day and that if I need more time to take it. I nod my head, unsure of what to even say. Do I really need more time or do I just need to stay away from Bentley? Probably both.
As we make it to the door, I hear someone yell out, “Bentley, my man! It’s so fucking good to see you.” When I look over my shoulder, my eyes land right on him and he’s staring right at us. His eyes are narrowed, and he’s got his arms crossed over his chest. Aaron doesn’t even turn around. Looking back at Bentley one last time, he’s got his back to me acting like I don’t even exist again.
“You okay?” Aaron asks as soon as we get outside. A shiver rolls up my spine causing me to look around the parking lot. When I don’t see anyone outside other than a few prospects, I let out the breath I was holding.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine after a long soak in the tub,” I murmur. Relaxing in the tub might make me forget about everything that happened today, although I doubt that. Whatever might happen between that biker and Bentley isn't something that I need to worry about. I am not his ole’ lady or anything else, and everyone knows that. He won’t come after me.
At least I hope not.
Aaron walks me to my car, opening my door for me to get in before he leans down and presses his lips to mine. The kiss doesn’t bring me to my knees or make me feel weak. Instead, it’s plain. Ordinary in a way that I never realized. “I’m right behind you.” He kisses my forehead once before he shuts my door and makes his way to his truck. As I start out of the parking lot, my head is swimming, and I need to figure out what the hell I’m doing, or everything is going to be messed up beyond repair.