Chapter Five

Stormy

I already had a good buzz going when Steele handed me another beer. I’d avoided staring at Bullet for three minutes and twenty-two seconds. I knew because I’d watched the secondhand on the clock tick. And it’s how long it took for Steele to get me another beer.

In those three minutes, Bullet had left the chapel, and so had Scarlett. The beer and barbecue I’d consumed soured my stomach. I hated this feeling. I hated that she’d had her hands on him, but when I’d casually touched his arm, he’d jerked away from me.

“I need to pee,” Lili said.

“Me, too.” Levi scooted her chair back. “Come on, Lilibug, let’s go. I have a bathroom in my room, so there’s never a line.”

Lili followed Levi out of the chapel.

“Thanks for today,” Steele said.

“I should be thanking you. I would’ve been alone all day. She was a great helper getting my room set up.”

Steele leaned back in his chair. “She likes you. ”

I laughed. “All she knows about me is that I love ballet too and can put her hair in a bun.”

Steele chuckled. “She wasn’t happy about the braids. About as happy as she is playing soccer. If she hasn’t made it clear, she hates it.”

“She told me.”

“Her mom’s boyfriend coaches her team. Another fucking play to replace me. She can try, but I won’t give her a reason to push me out of Lili’s life. I pay the fucking mortgage, and she fucks her boyfriend on our bed.”

“Ouch.”

His jaw clenched, and his mouth formed a hard line. “I’ve done a shit job of keeping Lili out of the divorce. I don’t talk shit on Heather. Heather has no problem talking shit on me.”

And throughout the day, I’d heard it all from Lili.

“I don’t see how you can keep her out of it. The marriage might be over—”

“Not might. It’s a hard fuck no, never again.” He sighed and took a big swig of his beer. “I’m done with relationships.” He smiled. “Which is why it’s easy to yank Bullet’s chain. Not that I haven’t enjoyed your company today, but the MC has unwritten rules about making a play on a brother’s property.”

“I’m not property.”

He laughed. “What’s the story between you two?

I glanced around the room again. Bullet still hadn’t come back.

“We have a complicated history. ”

Steele tipped his beer in agreement. “I could tell. We’re going to need shots to go with our beers.” He hollered to Cruz behind the bar and held up two fingers. “Two lemon drops.”

“Not for me.” I waved my hand at Cruz. “I’m good.”

“I can’t wait to hear the story. Are we talking recent history or ancient history?”

I smiled at him. “I’m afraid we’re a closed book.” It was a book that was never written, the pages left blank because our story was only in my head.

Lili ran back into the chapel but detoured to Romeo before coming back to the table. “Can Romeo give me a ride on his motorcycle?”

“Sorry. You know the rules.”

“I won’t tell my mom.” Her lip quivered, and her eyes pleaded with her dad.

“It’s late, Lilibug. It’s time we get you to bed. I have to take you back to your mom’s early.”

Her lip puffed out in a pout as she stomped back to Romeo.

“Once the divorce is final and visitation is set, that’s the first fucking rule that’ll be broken. I have to borrow the hearse to pick her up because Heather doesn’t want her on a motorcycle.”

“You pick her up in a hearse?”

“Nah,” he said with a smile. “The hearse belongs to the MC. It’s just a flatbed truck that hauls dead bikes on runs.”

“I’ll be right back.” I scooted my chair out and headed toward the restroom. Two people waited in line. But I needed to pee .

Levi came down the hall with Bristol.

“Just go use my room,” Levi said. “No one is in there.”

“I don’t know which room it is,” I said.

“I’ll show her.” Bristol held up a joint between her fingers. “Thanks.”

“I’ll see you in a minute,” Levi said and walked away.

“Are you buying a joint from a pregnant girl?”

Bristol smiled. “No, I buy weed from her boyfriend. I need to talk to Scarlett. I think she’s with Skye and Kodiak.”

Why did hearing Scarlett’s name make my stomach clench? Yet, I didn’t feel the same insecurity with Bristol, and Bullet had fucked her last night.

“I thought she was with Bullet.” I hope my voice didn’t reveal the flare of jealousy surging through me. “He was with her a few minutes ago.”

“Oh, maybe all four of them are together.” She wagged her brows. “I can imagine the fun they’re having.”

How could she not care that he just fucked around indiscriminately? “I couldn’t do it,” I said.

“Do what?”

“Doesn’t it bother you that you were with him all day, and now, he’s with her?”

“Stormy, he’s never going to be faithful to one woman.” She smiled. “And I wasn’t with him all day.”

My brows pinched. “I assumed he was with you.” Since he wasn’t, add in a third woman in—what—twelve hours? “I couldn’t do it,” I repeated. “I couldn’t share. ”

“Bullet’s never going to settle down. He doesn’t want kids. He plays hard. He doesn’t hide who he is, and he doesn’t judge who I am. I know what we have. He’s always going to be there for me.”

Unless he was in bed with someone else. Then I supposed she’d just join in, too. I guess that was better than Emerson. He’d lied to get me into bed, but it was all a seduction because he was never going to be mine. I was another possession, a toy he didn’t want anyone else to play with.

Bullet shared his toys, and he let all his toys share him.

“I told him he was an ass for leaving you alone here at the MC.” Bristol lowered her voice. “Stormy, I don’t know what happened between you and Bullet that night.”

“Nothing happened.” Everything happened. Without knowing it, he’d saved me. Somehow, he’d left me with scars. Without a touch, in a few moments where he was a pinprick of light in the dark. And now, the idea of what I imagined him to be haunted me.

“I haven’t seen Bullet since this morning. He wasn’t with me today. He shut down Indulgence until he takes care of your situation. But I didn’t want to talk in front of Levi. I don’t know how much Bullet has told everyone about you.”

“He’s been gone all day, so I don’t think he’s told them anything yet. I assumed he was with you since you came in together.”

“Nope. I don’t know where he was.” We walked down the hall. “He’s probably outside at the oil drum. That’s where he was when I got here. They stand around and talk.” She pointed to a door. “Bathroom is in there. I’ll see you later?”

I nodded. Before I could step away, Bristol knocked once and opened Kodiak’s door. “Never mind, he’s in here.”

I froze as the door opened just far enough for me to see into the room. My heart slammed painfully against my ribs. A blistering heat boiled low in my belly, rising like a wave of lava, burning and suffocating. Yet, an icy chill shivered along my spine.

Bullet’s gray eyes were nearly black as they narrowed on me. Time seemed to stop, but I couldn’t turn away. As if I’d been garroted, I struggled to breathe. A strange sort of fear coiling within me.

Another girl, Skye, was bent over the edge of the bed. Kodiak finished snorting a line of something off her skin, then slammed his palm against her back, forcing her chest into the mattress, and he railed into her from behind.

My gaze remained rooted to Bullet.

I didn’t know this man, but inside I ached. He was brutally beautiful. Raw and untamed. He was everything I never should have wanted. His touch wasn’t gentle as his hand fisted in Scarlett’s hair. He forced her head down until she gagged on his cock.

A torrent of emotions choked my throat. I could feel the power in his presence and the thrust of his hips as he fucked her mouth.

My vision blurred, narrowing to a single point of staring into his eyes. He was all I could see, snared into a turbulent storm of some sick desire that had me wanting to be the woman on her knees .

Four months ago, he’d imprinted his soul onto mine. Because knowing who he was, I was breathless, and my heart rabbited within my chest.

Tendons stretched his neck. His mouth whispered my name, or maybe he was telling me to get out, but he held me prisoner with his eyes. But even that faded to black as he growled, his lips pulled into a sneer, and muscles in his forearms flexed. Scarlett moaned as he filled her mouth with cum.

I took a step back and then another. What was only seconds felt like an eternity, and then Bristol swung the door closed, breaking the connection. I spun on my heels, crossed the hall, and fled into Levi’s room. I rushed into the bathroom, closed, and locked the door. My chest ached with the pressure and pounding of my heart.

A torrent of heat burned through my veins. My nipples hardened and my breasts grew heavy. A savage need clawed up my throat and escaped my mouth as a desperate moan. I slid my hand into the front of my jeans and slid my finger along my soaked slit.

The graze of my clit sent shards of painful pleasure through me. With an uncontrolled need, I jerked open the snap of my jeans, cut the silence with the whir of the zipper, and shoved my jeans to my thighs.

I gnashed my teeth into my lower lip as I pushed two fingers inside me. With brutal, hard thrusts, I tortured my pussy the way he would. I fucked my hand, knowing I’d never quench the thirst I had for him. He was poison, and I’d barely survived a sip.

I rested my forehead against the door, sank my fingers deep, and pressed my palm hard against my clit. A spark exploded into a molten release. I trembled as guilt and disgust bloomed low in my belly.

I was a fucking hypocrite. Feigning to be disgusted by the debasement of the women in Bullet’s life, but yet, I wanted to be them. I just wanted to be the only one.

After I peed, I stayed in the bathroom for a few minutes, splashed cool water on my face, and then tried to make my escape. I couldn’t face Bullet. But I had nowhere to hide.

Bikers and their babes loitered in the hall. My breaths grew ragged with the pounding of my heart as I walked past Kodiak’s closed bedroom door. I could hide in my room with the door locked. Not that Bullet or anyone else would enter. Bullet already had a bed for the night.

He wouldn’t bring Skye into our room. At least I hoped he wouldn’t.

Steele’s bedroom door was open.

“Stormy?”

I turned before I could slip into my room.

He approached and leaned his shoulder against the doorjamb to his room. “She’s sort of waiting for you,” he whispered and nodded to the little girl sitting up in bed. “Would you mind?”

Would I mind avoiding having to see Bullet for a few minutes more? No. I’d be grateful. “Sure,” I said and crossed the hall .

Steele rested his hand on my arm. “Are you okay?”

The soft tone of his voice had tears swimming in my eyes. I blinked hard and lowered my head. Why was I crying? Maybe it was just that no one had asked me that in a long time. I wasn’t okay, but it wasn’t Steele’s problem, and I couldn’t thrust my burdens on anyone else.

“It’s been a long day, and I’m tired.”

Steele checked the hall, pulled me into his room, and closed the door. “You don’t know me, and you got no reason to trust me, but for the first time in weeks, my little girl was happy today. Because of you. That fucking means something to me. I want to be your friend, Stormy, nothing more.” He dipped his head so he could see my eyes.

I smiled. “Thanks.”

“I can’t be in here with you. Not alone, and not with the door closed. People will make assumptions about us, and neither one of us needs that shit. I’ve got Heather looking for any reason to make my life hell. And you’ve got your issues with Bullet. You don’t need to say anything, just stay in here for as long as you need.”

“’Night, Lilibug.” He opened the door, and with a soft smile, stepped out and closed the door behind him.

Lili had a book about a ballerina in her lap. “Will you read to me?”

I sat on the edge of the mattress. She scooted over to make room for me, then she snuggled down in the small bed, the same size as the one in my room. She pillowed her hands beneath her cheek and yawned. “Do you think you could help me with my pirouette? Ms. Baird won’t let me do my solo if my toes aren’t pointed.” She ripped the blanket to the side and showed me her feet. “Look at those.”

I chuckled, tossed the blanket back over her feet, and opened the book. “Your toes need trained.”

A few pages into the story, she fell asleep. I switched off the lamp but couldn’t bring myself to leave the room. Bullet was either going to sleep in another bed with Scarlett, or he’d come back to our room and climb into bed with me. I couldn’t live with either of those options, so I curled in next to Lili and closed my eyes.

Bullet

Coffee and a cigarette might improve my mood. But I doubted it. If anything, this morning was worse than last night. My head ached from the whiskey on top of weed. I’d slept in Blade’s room to give her space, but that hadn’t been necessary.

She’d found another place to sleep. Our bed hadn’t been slept in. The knife in my gut felt like shit. One night in the MC, and she’d crawled into bed with a Heller. And it wasn’t me. I glanced at the closed door across the hall. They were still in bed together.

She wouldn’t have fucked him with his kid in the room. Unless the kid was asleep on the floor. He could’ve fucked her quietly. I wouldn’t. I’d pound the fuck out of that fit body. I’d rail into her until I’d fucked the breath from her. I’d have her ride my face as hard as I rode my bike.

But Steele was a relationship guy. He’d call it making love and whisper in her ear how good it felt to be inside her. He’d hold her hand, and I’d collar her throat, control her breath, keep her on the edge of orgasm, and then make her come again and again until she’d soaked the bed with her juices.

Christ, my dick stretched against my groin. I adjusted, suffering the steady throb because coming down Scarlett’s throat hadn’t slaked the tension coiling in my gut. Guilt and regret gnawed at my conscience.

I’d fucked up last night. Maybe it was because of the way Stormy had looked at me. Maybe because I’d been in that fucking room with Scarlett when I shouldn’t have been with anyone when Stormy was the one I wanted.

I growled and made my way into the chapel. We had a meeting this morning, and I needed to get my shit together. I rolled my shoulders. I’d never had guilt, not when it came to my girls because I’d never fucked one of them while thinking of someone else.

As the coffee brewed, I sat in a chair, lit a cigarette, and extended my legs.

The door swung open. Early morning sun followed the man inside. He jerked off his sunglasses, crossed the room, and slumped into the chair across from me.

Truth collided with the assumptions I’d had from last night. Where the fuck had Steele been if not in his room with Stormy ?

“Want coffee?” He stood, went behind the bar, and filled two mugs.

“Where have you been?” I sounded a bit accusatory, but he’d done what I hadn’t. He’d had her smiling and laughing.

Steele returned to the seat and set the mug of coffee in front of me. “In the trailer at the jobsite. I thought I’d finally get to sleep in a bed again, but your girl made besties with my kid.” He yawned and stretched. This morning, he had his hair tied back in a ponytail.

“She’s not my girl.”

“You’re full of shit.” Steele sat back in the chair and took a sip of coffee. “You’re all about her. She’s just not one of your whores.”

I’d gone to war against Steele’s former club, but like the Hellers, the Crawlers had gotten in too deep with drugs. Good friends were dead, others were serving time. We wondered how we’d gone from a brotherhood to being bitches for the cartels.

I owed my life to Vega, Kodiak, and Steele. I made a promise. Made them my brothers. And I couldn’t sit here and lie to Steele. “Did she talk to you? About who she is…or how she knows me?”

“Bullet, I owe you big.” He leaned his forearms on the table. “I wouldn’t fuck you over by fucking her. She said you were a closed book, whatever the fuck that meant. Because I can read her like a neon fucking sign.”

“What did the sign say?”

“The same shit you’re denying. She couldn’t keep her eyes off you, but she didn’t say anything about her situation. Listen, this isn’t me getting involved. Your situation with Stormy doesn’t have anything to do with me. I’m just trying to keep Heather off my back because I want more time with my daughter. I’m not saying Heather doesn’t have her reasons for being a bitch, but I let all that shit go when I walked away from the Crawlers.”

It had to be tough being separated from his kid. Another reason not to want one.

“This was the first weekend since Heather and I split that Lili wasn’t asking when she was going home. Look, if you don’t want Stormy, I do. As a friend. I’m not interested in getting her into bed. Bullet, when I want to get my dick wet, I’ll climb onto Jinx.”

I released a heavy exhale. “Stormy is going to be here for a few weeks.”

“Good,” he said and took another sip of coffee. “Because your girl knows ballet dancing and how to do girl hair, so if she wants to spend the night sleeping with my cyclone of a kid, hey, I’ll ride out to the jobsite and sleep on a dusty cot. Last night, she wasn’t in the room for Lili. She didn’t say shit, but if I had to guess, she was in my room after you disappeared with Scarlett.”

I didn’t want to be reminded.

“Daddy.” Lili came into the chapel, rubbing her eyes.

“Mornin’, Lilibug. You about ready to go back to your mom’s?”

“Stormy is going to help me train my toes.”

I glanced down at her bare feet. “What’s wrong with your toes?”

“They don’t point. ”

“Another day. Stormy has stuff to do with Bullet. Go get your things and say goodbye to Stormy.” Steele swallowed the last of his coffee. “Can I use the hearse again to take her home?”

I nodded and watched the hallway, waiting for Stormy to join us.

“After the way she looked last night, I’m guessing you’re going to have to go to her.” He chuckled. “Not your typical female.”

No, she wasn’t. I wanted to go talk to her, but not until Steele left. Contrary to what came out of her mouth, Stormy and I had unfinished business.

The door popped open. Rogue strode into the chapel and headed to the coffeepot. “Blade and the guys should be here in a few minutes.”

I pushed away from the table. That would give me time to talk to Stormy. After I poured her a mug of coffee, I passed Steele and Lili in the hall. She skipped along in her worn ballet slippers, holding her dad’s hand.

I paused at the door to our room. Would she be inside or still in Steele’s bed? After a soft knock, I opened the door. Stormy sat on the bed, staring out the open window. She glanced at me.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” She turned back to stare out the window again.

“We need to talk.” I closed the door, stepped into the room, set the cup of coffee on the dresser, and then leaned against it.

She clasped her hands in her lap. “I don’t want to fight, and we don’t seem to be good at communicating. ”

I chuckled. “I think we both have some blame in that.” I’d wondered what I’d say, what I’d do, if I ever found her. Never had I considered I’d find her in bed with Bristol. I growled and rolled my shoulders.

We stewed in the silence growing thick and heavy between us, both wondering what the other was thinking. My thoughts were clear. I didn’t want her with Steele, yet, there wasn’t a scenario where I ended up with her.

She might’ve been dancing at the Landing Strip, but she didn’t belong there any more than she belonged in the MC. It didn’t take a genius to see the girl was cut from cashmere, not cotton.

I sat next to her on the bed. “I’m out of my comfort zone with you, Stormy.” Nervous energy crawled along my spine, my gut clenched, and I spoke my truth. “Got two types of females in my life. Old ladies of my MC brothers and whores.”

Her head snapped up, and a slow smile curled her lips. That was the first one she’d had for me. I felt the impact in my gut, then my groin. But that seemed to be my M.O. around Stormy. I wanted to protect her, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to fuck her either.

“You don’t fall into either of those categories.”

“I don’t understand all of this.” She waved her hand toward the door. “The bikes, girls, and guns.”

“I’m not sure I can explain it to you. For me, family isn’t blood. It’s choice. And I choose my brothers in the MC every fucking time.” I pivoted on the bed, facing her directly. “In a few minutes, we’re going to meet with the board. They need to know everything. If you got questions about that night, about all this shit, don’t be afraid to ask.”

“I’m not hiding anything.” I thought she’d say more. It seemed as if she wanted to. Her pulse fluttered beneath the smooth skin of her delicate neck. Her throat moved with a nervous swallow. “I’m sorry about last night.”

What did she have to apologize for? She hadn’t tried to block thoughts of me by fucking Steele. She hadn’t used him the way I’d used Scarlett.

She fidgeted with the edge of her T-shirt. “I’ve made so many bad decisions. I’m not judging you. I’m really not.” Her voice grew quieter. “I’m a horrible judge of character.” She took a deep breath. “I left my family to be with Emerson. He had all the power in the relationship, all the control. Sex comes with consequences. For me, they were life changing.”

Maybe that was why I stayed exclusive to my whores. “I don’t want to say things we don’t mean. I know you don’t trust me. Maybe because of Bristol, maybe because sex is just recreation for me. I get it. We aren’t the same, but you and me are in this together.”

“That’s not what I meant,” she rushed to say. “Even when I want to trust, I can’t because I can’t trust myself. I don’t trust men, especially those who want something from me.”

“You mean those who want to fuck you.”

She nodded. “You have your…girls. Don’t call Bristol a whore. She doesn’t deserve the label. Scarlett might.” She mumbled under her breath.

My lips twitched, and she rolled her eyes. She spoke her own language with those eyes. Exasperation, annoyance, fear, longing .

“Stormy, we need to be able to be in the same room together. I don’t want you to fear me.” I wasn’t good with words. I spoke bluntly. Fuck trying to finesse the truth. “I’m not going to force you to do anything. I just want to make things right for you.”

“I know I’m making things harder.”

I cocked a brow, and her lips twitched.

“Say it,” I said. “I’m not going to deny it.” She was making things hard, specifically my dick. I respected her boundaries. “You have reasons to be careful with who you trust.”

“There’s a spider right there.” She pointed to the corner of the window. “Its web is beautiful. Sunlight glints like gold off the silken threads. The pattern is so perfect. Before the foolish moth realizes the danger, the moth is trapped in the deadly beauty.” She bowed her head. “I’m not sure which one of us is the spider, and which one of us is the moth. Sometimes, I think I might be both.”

“I’m not the spider. I’m not looking to hurt you or take anything from you. Stormy, your ex is a loose end.” Loose ends could unravel everything we’d done to protect the club. “Neither one of us is safe until he’s dead.”

“You make it sound so clear. Like it’s black and white. I don’t want to be the reason…the reason you have to kill him.”

“Nothing is ever black and white. We all live in the gray.” I cupped her cheek and lifted her face. Her breath quickened. Fuck, but she had to be feeling this, too. Her lips slightly parted, and a soft breath fluttered over her lips. “Since that night, I’ve had you with me. I’ve got you under my skin, brown eyes. I can’t let you go unless I know you’re safe. Maybe not even then.”

“This is what I’m afraid of. I built this image of you in my head, but that’s not who you are.” She scooted off the bed and put distance between us. “Not that I’d want you to be any different. Not for me. I’m not like Bristol or Scarlett.”

I stood and crowded into her space. “I think I’ve made it clear that you’re nothing like them. But I’m not going to lie to you. Watching you with Steele pissed me off.”

She countered my steps, her eyes widened, and she sucked in a sharp inhale.

“You’re afraid of Barras, but are you afraid of me?”

“No…I…I’m not afraid of you.”

“Your lips are lying to me. If it’s not fear, what is it?” I encroached, one step at a time until I’d backed her against the door. “You’re trembling.”

“Bullet.” My name was a plea on her lips. “I’m not afraid of who you are. I’m afraid of what you are.”

“And what am I?”

“Bristol’s biker-boyfriend-pimp. And you’re something to Scarlett. I’m not going to pretend last night didn’t happen.”

“You’re just going to pretend I don’t affect you the way you affect me.” She pressed her hand to my sternum, but rather than pushing me away, her fingers curled into a fist. I covered her hand and unfolded her fingers against my chest. “Do you want to know what you do to me?”

My heart slammed against my ribs. The soft scent of her perfume lingered on her skin. I breathed her in, scenting her pheromones like a predator on the prowl.

“Something happened that night, something to both of us. I haven’t stopped thinking about you.”

Her palm pressed into the curvature of my chest. Her face canted, mine lowered. I braced one hand on the door, the other snaked over her hip.

“Life-threatening situations form trauma bonds that can be confusing,” she said.

“I’m not confused.”

Seeing her again only proved that there had been a cosmic fucking shift, the tides had turned, fucking horoscope shit. Only pressure coiled in my gut, my heart hammered in my chest, and I had a barrage of emotions choking me.

I brushed her bangs from her eyes. “Don’t push me away because I’m not the man you imagined.”

“I have to.” Her breath was sweet, but her words were bitter. Tears hovered on the edge of her lashes. “Don’t trap me here, Bullet. Don’t make me want… Don’t make me want you.”

She spoke the thoughts crawling through my head. “I fucking want every part of you.”

I slid my hand along her jaw and onto her neck. She clutched my wrist. Was it a plea to hold me there or a warning to stop? Those long lashes lowered over her eyes. A rush of adrenaline slipped through my veins, boiling my blood, surging heat low in my gut and into my dick.

I was fucking drawn to her, needing to breathe her in, addicted and feening for my next hit. Her pink tongue touched the bow of her upper lip. I couldn’t tear my gaze from her face. I memorized the arch of her brow, and the defined edge of her jaw.

“Bullet,” she whispered. Her chest rose and fell with fluttering breaths.

I leaned into her, dusting my lips along the heated flesh below her ear. Her fingers curled into my cut. “Fuck, Stormy, tell me you feel it, too.”

“I do, but I don’t want to.” Her arms curled into my chest as she sagged into me. “I’ve only slept with one man, Bullet. I can’t be casual. Not about sex.”

I banded my arms around her and held her close. Another fucking first. I wanted to hold her, wanted to calm her fears, and feel the warmth of her body next to me, and under me.

“I wouldn’t be able to share you, and you already belong to your girls.” She inched away, tipped her head back, and our gazes held. “But we can be friends.”

What we had wasn’t friendly. It was carnal and desperate. I curved my hand around her neck. I wanted to say more, to confess last night was a mistake, but the words stuck in my throat. The last thing I wanted was to continue to remind her of Bristol and Scarlett. “I can’t help feeling possessive of you.”

“But I can’t feel possessive of you.” She swallowed hard. “You want me to admit I feel something? I do. I feel fractured and ready to shatter into a million broken pieces from just the way you look at me.”

“And how do I look at you?”

Her eyes watered. “You wanted to know my fear. I’m afraid I look at you the same way, like I can’t breathe without you. But I’m not programmed for someone like you. Bullet, I’m not strong—not strong enough to resist you, but us together would break me.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.” And I wouldn’t make promises I couldn’t keep. I couldn’t promise her fidelity or a future. “I live in the moment. I’m not looking for forever. Doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you.” I leaned into her. “And I’m not the only one. You’re not riding on the back of another bike or spending the night in another room.”

“I slept with Lili.”

“In Steele’s bed. Not happening.” I reached for the doorknob and turned the handle. “Just because I'm not fucking you doesn’t mean I’m going to share you.”

She cocked a brow and smiled. “Then I’m definitely not one of your girls.”