Chapter 11

"I'm sorry about your mom," I utter the words I've no right to even say. It's because of me she didn't make it. I didn't get to her in time. I didn't do enough to save her.

Bruiser's hand stills where he'd been stroking along my bare spine. "She would have liked you." The way his voice breaks, but what he says surprises me.

Lifting my head off his chest, I'm struggling with my emotions. Everything feels like it's closing in on me. "You don't have to say that." I pull away as much as he allows, which isn't much, and ask the one thing I can't wrap my mind around. "Why are you here right now?"

Was it just about the sex? Did he actually mean what he said to me? Or is it because he blames me and now wants to hurt me?

What we did . . . what we shared . . . it was honestly the best thing I've ever experienced in my life. Hands down. I don't think I've ever come as hard as I did when he was inside me. My body is still humming with the afterglow.

"Told you early. I'll tell you again," he says, shifting, pulling me back down, and adjusting us until he's on his side propped up and I'm lying on my back. "What makes you think you can deny protection you know you need?"

"I'm fine without protection. I don't need your club to watch my back," I inform him. Suddenly a bit nervous at the way his gaze narrows. "And who's to say the threat is real?" I manage to ask.

"Oh, Princess, I assure you that the threat is real. I know for a fact. I followed your brother to the meet he had with Johnathan. Heard it for myself what he said. If your brother didn't do as he was ordered, which he's not, the bastard was coming for you."Tension rolls off Bruiser in waves as his gaze bores into me. "I'm telling you, Gwyneth, this bastard isn't someone you want to trifle with. More than that, he's not someone you want to allow to get his hands on you."

"Why did he want women from your club in the first place?" This was something that wasn't completely disclosed to me.

"Willow, my VP's ol' lady, was sold years ago. She was still a kid at the time by her mom and stepdad. Long story short, her granddad intervened to protect her. We found this all out when Malice and her first got together," he explains, lets out a breath, and shakes his head. "A lot of shit went down around that time, and though we'd started to look into the fucker, it was put on the back burner while we handled other . . . issues."

"Like what?" The question is out before I fully process what he's saying.

I stare into his eyes for a long moment before he moves, falling back to the mattress once more and pulling me into his side. Only then did he speak once again.

"I can't tell you details, so don't ask that of me, but what I'll tell you is because of one situation, we lost a friend to the club who happens to be the mother to Gunner's daughter. Things went down in the club that none of us could stop, but we damn sure fought against it. The women who my brothers claimed as ol' ladies, they've been through hell. More than that, they've come out the other side of it stronger. They're some of the best people I've ever met."

"I know Avery and Willow. I remember what happened to Quinn. I was on scene that night," I whisper, remembering the fire that took someone I'd seen as a friend. "I usually go to the coffee shop daily to get my fix. Avery's coffee is top-notch. Nowhere else makes coffee like she does."

"That's ‘cause she knows what she's doing." Bruiser smirks. "All of us at the clubhouse are damn spoiled when it comes to the coffee. Hammer made sure she taught them and keeps us in stock of the coffee she buys for the coffee shop."

"That's nice of her." It would be nice to do that at the station, but if we did, it'd be gone as soon as we got it.

"Yeah, Avery looks out for all of us." There's no missing the affection in his tone.

Sliding my fingers up his torso, I bite the inside of my mouth to keep my thoughts to myself. There's so much I want to know, only it's not my place, and I don't deserve it.

"Gwyneth." Bruiser's tone shifts, and he draws me up his body, one arm wrapped around my waist. The fingers of the other tangle in my messy hair. He holds me in place, eyes serious. "I shouldn't have left you alone. I was in a bad spot with just finding out about my mom. Losing her, and I'll be honest, baby, I blamed you."There's no hiding my flinch. He sees it and flattens his palm against the middle of my back. "I shouldn't have done that. It's not your fault."

"I could have done more." Tears blur my vision, and my breath hitches.

"Princess, there was nothing you could have done differently. I know this, just as you do." Pulling me downward until our foreheads touch, he whispers words that I didn't expect to hear from him. "We both need to put it behind us. Hammer told me earlier, before I came here, more or less reminded me that my mom would kick my ass for the way I treated you, and he's right."

"But . . ."

"No buts, Gwyneth," he says, brushing his lips against mine. "Now, here's what's going to happen . . ." Shifting us until I'm straddling him, his cock presses inside me, drawing a gasp from my lips. "We're going to spend the rest of today and tonight fuckin'. I'm also gonna make sure you eat something. You're gonna stop blaming yourself. Accept the club's protection. Dagger's moving back into the other room, we're gonna get back to how it started out, and you're going back to work. You help people, baby, and that's what you need to remember. You can't save them all."

"I know that." I gasp, his cock moving slowly inside me as he rolls his hips.That doesn't mean it doesn't bother me when I lose someone, especially when it's like Lissa. I never knew her, but she's Bruiser's mom. I try not to think of it, though, not with him inside me. His thick shaft hits just the right spot.

Bruiser jerks up, releases my hair, both hands moving to my rear where he palms either side of my ass. "Now, ride me, Princess."

Gripping his shoulders and digging my nails in, I comply. I ride him, rotate my hips, and take him fully inside me with each downward movement. It feels amazing. Utterly blissfully.

In this moment, it's only him and me. The outside world doesn't exist. I love every minute of it. Never do I want it to end. Bruiser allows me to take my time, to ride him as I want. At least for a little while. Then he gets down to business, flips me to my back, and takes me the way I need him to.

Talk about mind-blowing, it's exactly what he does. He blows my mind and leaves me boneless, totally spent.