Chapter Two

Gina

When I first came to Grim Road, I thought I’d found a paradise. It hadn’t taken long for Hammer to make me realize how wrong I’d been. I thought he loved me or I’d never have come here with him. I still don’t know why he wanted me at the compound. There were women here who would let him do whatever he wanted to them. Well, within reason. I’d heard the women discussing some of the guys and knew they all believed they had protection if anyone got too rough.

Now, I knew the girls were right. I’d also found out Hammer was the exception rather than the norm. It took me a long while -- and constant reassurance by Lemon -- to get to a place where I felt comfortable with the guys here. I still wasn’t comfortable with everyone. It was hard to look them in the face after Hammer had basically whored me out to them all.

I knew the guys wouldn’t hurt me now. When Hammer had me under his control, he had me convinced his brothers in this MC would make me wish I was dead if I ever went against him. Grim Road’s compound was hidden in a wildlife reserve. I had no idea how they’d managed that, but I was smart enough to know if this place was a secret, they wouldn’t let me leave alive.

Lemon had told me I could go if I wanted and she’d make sure I had a place to live but I was reluctant to leave Grim Road. Yes, I’d been terrorized for a year and a half, but I truly understood the difference between Hammer and the other guys in Grim I’d met. When Hammer took me, I had nothing. No one. I’d been living on the street. At Grim Road, now that they realized I hadn’t been here willingly, I had someone looking after me. Several someones. Falcon hadn’t been the only one to take me on a bike ride, but he was the one who was still around. He was the one who always came around to check on me or make me get out of the house into the fresh air.

And I liked the way he smiled at me.

“I know it’s late, but do you want to go on a ride?” He still held my hand and I found I didn’t want him to let go just yet. I had to smile. The guy didn’t act like a badass biker or military guy. He acted like a teenager with a crush. It was one of the things I liked most about him.

“Um, we could just sit here.”

He gave me a puzzled look, then glanced down at our entwined fingers like he was just noticing. I thought he might pull away, but he didn’t. His fingers closed even tighter around my hand and he smiled. “We can sit here as long as you want.”

That was the thing about Falcon. He and Lemon bickered back and forth like competitive siblings, but with me, Falcon was always so patient. He was around me all the time. Not a day went by I didn’t either see him or talk to him. We’d had sex. You know. Before. When Hammer had given his OK for the guys to have me if they wanted me. I’d fucked him the same as I had a lot of his brothers. Since he found out I hadn’t been as willing as he’d thought, Falcon had never once touched me in a sexual way. He’d protected my personal space and always made sure I knew I could depend on him if I needed anything. All of our interactions were as platonic as it got and that gave me the courage to enjoy our time together. Falcon was with me because he wanted to be. Not because he thought I’d fuck him, or for any other self-serving reason. He just liked being with me.

“Want to watch a movie?” He jerked his head at the TV. “I got all kinds of streaming services we can log into.”

I squeezed his hand briefly before tugging away. “You don’t have to stay with me, you know.”

“Yeah. I know.” He grinned before standing and reaching for me to pull me to my feet. “Now. I gave you your chance to pick a movie. It’s my turn. Go make me some popcorn and I’ll pick the movie.”

I couldn’t help the surprised giggle that escaped my mouth. Falcon winked at me before going to the living room to find his movie. Falcon and I ate a lot of popcorn. Popping a batch wasn’t difficult and didn’t take much time. I popped two batches. His with salt. Mine with popcorn butter and kettle corn seasoning. I brought us both sodas.

As always, Falcon sat on one end of the couch, one ankle crossed over the opposite knee and his arm over the back of the seat next to him. He sat first, not to claim a spot on my furniture, but to give me the choice to sit on the opposite end or next to him. Usually, I’d start on the side away from him. By the end of whatever we were watching at the time, I’d be sitting next to him. That was as far as I’d been brave enough to go.

Tonight, I sat next to him. I leaned against him and he let his fingers play along my shoulder. He didn’t pull me against him or try to wrap his arm around me. He just let me know his hand was there.

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and letting his scent fill me. The heat from his body filled me with warmth and I wanted to curl up in his lap and have his arms wrapped tightly around me, just for the sensation. The closeness. I craved that closeness, was starved for it. But other than a few of the women, I didn’t like being touched. I wasn’t a hugger. The only person I had any desire to have wrap their arms around me was Falcon.

We sat in silence, eating popcorn and watching The Fifth Element . And yes. It was my favorite movie which Falcon knew.

“Thank you.” My words were barely above a whisper, but I knew Falcon would hear me. He always heard me.

“For what, honey?”

“For sitting up with me. For watching out for me. I know you’re keeping a closer eye on me than I should be comfortable with, but you make me feel safe. I never thought I’d have that in my life. So, yeah, I know you waking me up from my nightmares isn’t a coincidence. I just don’t care. Thank you, Falcon. For all of it.”

Falcon grunted before leaning down to brush a kiss on the top of my head. We sat in silence for a while before he said, “So… You’re saying you don’t mind that I was stalking you. Right?”

I couldn’t help the laughter bubbling up from inside me. I turned my face into his chest, clinging to his shirt as I shook with silent laughter.

“Don’t see nothin’ so funny ‘bout that,” he grumbled, but I noticed how he threaded his fingers through my hair and massaged my scalp lightly. “Just wanted to make sure we were, you know, on the same page.”

“Yes, Falcon. We’re on the same page. I’m not mad that you were stalking me.” I smiled up at him, an invitation I hadn’t really meant to make, but now that I’d offered, I wasn’t backing down.

The relaxed grin on Falcon’s face faded slightly. He held my gaze, looking for something. “If you don’t want me to kiss you, Gina, tell me now.” I swallowed, but my focus fell onto his lips. Mine parted and I sucked in a ragged breath.

“Good.” Slowly, Falcon moved closer to brush his lips with mine. They were warm and firm. Commanding yet not overwhelming or rough. He licked the seam of my lips lightly but didn’t push even when I opened my mouth.

The kiss didn’t last long. Seconds. But when he pulled back to look down at me, I felt like I was high. My head spun and my entire being was focused on where our lips had touched. I whimpered and almost chased him, needing to get his lips back on mine. Falcon’s fingers gently brushing my cheek stopped me.

“Thank you for the kiss, Gina.”

“I liked it.” I ducked my head, embarrassed.

“I didn’t scare you?”

My reflex was to answer with an immediate “no.” But I wanted to be honest with Falcon. While everyone in Grim Road had been good to me, Falcon had gone above and beyond. And I genuinely liked the guy, not to mention that I wasn’t too proud to admit I was sexually attracted to him. I probably shouldn’t be. I was sure a psychiatrist would have a field day with me, but I was attracted to him. Not to anyone else I’d interacted with. Only Falcon.

I stared up at him, my lips still tingling from his kiss. “No.”

He gave me a quizzical look. “You thought about your answer. Are you sure? Last thing I want is for you to ever be scared of me, Gina.”

“That’s why I thought about what you asked. I’m scared of everything. But I’m not scared of you, Falcon. Not at all.”

I thought he might kiss me again -- wanted him to kiss me again -- but I also wasn’t as honest with myself as I tried to be with him. Even though I wanted his kiss again, I was also still emotionally tapped from the nightmare that woke me up initially. Instead, he kissed my forehead and urged me closer to him before putting his arm back on the couch and letting his fingers rest on my shoulder again.

I took a breath. Then another. The longer I sat there with Falcon, the more I relaxed. I hadn’t realized how tense I’d become. Probably because that was my default setting since Hammer had brought me here. Even knowing I was safe, sometimes I just couldn’t get over that feeling of wondering if someone was going to walk through the door of my house and want something from me I wasn’t willing to give. Should I have left after Hammer died a few months ago? Probably. But I was glad I’d stayed. My story wasn’t a pretty happy ever after, but I thought I could be happy. I just needed to get past what had happened and let myself realize that part was over. The people here were good people. I’d just managed to stumble onto a bad apple.

We sat on the couch and neither of us moved. It was like an uneasy truce between us. As long as neither of us moved, everything would be OK. I could pretend Falcon was mine and he could pretend our past had been different. Both fantasies were fiction. It was a depressing thought.

Little by little, I relaxed. I had my head on his shoulder. Occasionally, Falcon would nuzzle my head. We didn’t talk. We didn’t move. We simply watched the movie. Our popcorn sat on the coffee table along with our drinks, untouched. I had the odd thought that I’d wasted the popcorn I’d made earlier, but it was more something that caught my attention and tugged at me, keeping me from dozing off when I started to drift. Not that it helped.

The next thing I remember was being laid carefully in my bed. Someone pulled up the covers and tucked me in. Then I opened my eyes just as Falcon kissed my forehead while he stroked a few stray curls from my face.

“Sleep well, baby. If anyone deserves a good night’s rest, you do.”

“Falcon?” I gazed up at him, my eyes blurry as I tried to keep them open when they were so heavy.

“I’m here, honey. Ain’t goin’ nowhere.” His voice was husky but gentle and soft. He reached out to turn off the bedside lamp and the room was enveloped in darkness.

“You can stay if you don’t want to go home so late,” I managed. I was so tired my words were slurring.

“I’m stayin’,” he said, still stroking my hair in soothing movements of his hand. “I’ll be here if you need me. You’re not alone, Gina. I’m your protector. Always remember that.”

I blinked up at him, sleep already starting to claim me again. “Do you promise?”

“On my life, baby. Anyone who ever tries to hurt you again, I’ll kill ‘em myself. No matter who it is. Even me.”

His words should have unsettled me. There was so much to unwrap in that simple declaration. Instead, my entire body relaxed, almost like when alcohol starts to hit after you’ve already done a couple more shots than you probably should have. I nodded my head and smiled up at him. “OK.” It was the last thing I remember before sleep took me.