Chapter Nineteen

Skye continued to vibrate long after the Harley shut off in front of the apartment complex. Dio sat, waiting for her to climb off the seat. He couldn't tell her to move because it felt damn good having her body warming his backside.

"Will you come inside with me?" Her breasts pressed against his back.

He swallowed hard. "I can't."

"Can't or won't?"

He let go of the handlebars. "Can't—because you're Maverick's daughter. Won't— because you're Maverick's daughter."

"Who my dad is has never mattered to you before."

"You were a child before," he muttered.

As if all her wishes and dreams had come true, she slid against his back and got off the Harley with more energy than he'd ever have in his life. He couldn't keep denying the truth. She wasn't a child.

She was a woman.

A beautiful, tempting, enticing, loving woman. But he wouldn't do anything to break his loyalty to his MC brother and Brooke.

Instead of stepping up on the sidewalk, she moved beside him until she could see his face. He took off his helmet, knowing he wouldn't leave while she stood outside where anything could happen to her. He wanted her safely tucked inside her apartment, considering it was close to two o'clock in the morning.

Skye unlatched her helmet and slipped it off her head. She shook her hair loose, sending the strands falling to her shoulders. His gut tightened. He'd get down on his knees and worship her for the rest of his life if he could. She had no idea how important she was to him.

It went beyond the sick shit that consumed his head lately. She had always been special to him. Nothing and nobody could take that away from him.

"Remember when I ran away from home?" she asked.

He dipped his chin. "You ran to my house."

"Not to your house." She tipped her head from side to side. "To you."

His eye twitched. She'd always sought him out.

"The last several years..." She exhaled. "I've missed you."

"I've always been here, princess," he murmured.

She inhaled deeply. "But I was busy with school and classes—"

"I'm prouder than hell with what you've accomplished." He grabbed her hand, holding it in his. "You set goals and went after what you wanted. That's more than most people ever achieve because they fear the unknown."

"There's a distance between us now." She moved closer and hooked her helmet on the handlebar before facing him again. "I know you can feel it. "

He exhaled loudly. "Yeah, I can."

Hell if he could do anything about it, though. He hated it, but he was necessary. She trusted him, but he couldn't trust himself with her.

"You've never lied to me before."

"I never will."

"If that's true..." She lowered her gaze to his chest and then met his gaze. "Let's be honest with each other."

His chest squeezed, knowing he couldn't protect her from the truth.

"Would you ever love me the way you love the other women you're with?" She let go of him and put her hands out to the sides. "If I asked you to take me up to my bedroom and have sex with me, would you? Could you?"

"Skye." He held her gaze.

He'd walk through fire to give her what she wanted but not that. He couldn't do that to her or Maverick.

She hugged her middle but stepped closer to him. "I'm not a child."

"I know—"

"Then, nothing can stop you from kissing me back." She leaned forward and put her lips on his mouth.

The soft warmth took him by surprise. But it was her tongue, coaxing him to part his lips, that crippled him. He couldn't deny her entrance.

As she slid her tongue past his lips, exploring little by little, he got his first taste of her. His cock pulsed, enlarging. The blood powering his brain now controlled his dick .

She slid her hands up the sides of his neck and cradled his jaw in her hands, kissing him deeper.

It wasn't the kiss of an innocent.

She tilted her head, sucking on his tongue, caressing him as if she wanted to suck his cock. Unable to do a damn thing, he let her kiss him.

Skye took his lack of stopping her as a sign to keep going. Her hand landed on the front of his jeans.

His body craved her touch. He needed to stop her. He wanted her to continue. His thoughts warred with his body.

She stepped on his boot and swung her other leg over the gas tank, sliding down in front of him and wrapping her legs around his waist. The feminine heat of her surrounded him. His cock beat against his denim, wanting out to play. To dominate. To possess. To own.

She wrapped her arms around his head, deepening the kiss. He grabbed her hips with all intentions to pull her off his body. He moaned, digging his hands into the swell of her body and pulling her closer.

Skye squirmed, threading her fingers in his hair, opening her mouth wider, taking more, and then sucking on his tongue, drawing him into her mouth.

His pulse roared in his ears. He had Skye in his hands and knew that he would never be able to let her go. Afraid she'd go away in a flash, he held her like a man drowning, and she was the only one who could save him.

It wasn't his life he feared losing. It was Skye.

He ripped his mouth off her. "Get off."

She panted, staring at him. "Wh-what? "

Her swollen lips glistened from their kiss. His cock pounded underneath her. Only the clothes separating them stopped him from shoving his dick in her tight pussy. He'd lost sight that they were out in the open. Anyone could see them, and anything could happen.

He'd let his guard down.

He picked her up and set her off the bike with a strength he wasn't feeling. His hands shook when he grabbed Skye's helmet and thrust it toward her. She backed up, shaking her head, denying what he was doing.

Arousal still shined in her eyes. She might be unable to think and understand what was happening, but everything was crystal clear in his head for the first time in a long time.

"Put it on, princess. We're going for a ride." He nodded, assuring her it was okay to take the helmet.

She climbed up behind him with total trust and without question and wrapped her arms around his waist. He throttled the Harley with no doubts or regrets.

He rode the route he'd taken many times.

He wasn't sure if he'd live beyond the visit or if he'd lose those closest to him. But if he stood a chance of having a future with Skye, he needed to follow the bylaws.

Winding up the driveway, he stopped in front of Maverick and Brooke's house. He shut off the bike and stared in front of him. The drapes were closed but there was a light on deeper in the house. Like him, Maverick was still up after dealing with the lockdown at the clubhouse.

He patted Skye's leg. "Hop off."

Behind him, Skye slid to the side, rubbing against him, until she stood beside the motorcycle. "You're not leaving me here, are you?"

"No." He got off the Harley, linked his hand with hers, and escorted her to the door.

"I don't understand—"

"You will." He walked her up to the house.

The door opened before he could knock. Maverick stood at the house's entrance, bare-chested and barefooted, taking in his daughter and then swinging his gaze to Dio in question.

"I need to talk to you." He met Maverick's gaze.

Skye's dad stepped back. Dio stayed outside, holding tight to Skye's hand.

"It's better we talk out here." He let go of Skye. "Alone."

Maverick motioned for him to come inside the house. "I'm not getting redressed. Come in and say what you have to say, and then get out. Brooke needs to work in a few hours and..." He looked at Skye. "My daughter should be at her apartment, safe and sound. It's the middle of the fucking night."

There was something more important than sleep. Right now, Skye wasn't safe with him. He couldn't walk away, and if he stayed, something would happen.

Brooke stayed at the entrance of the hallway. Dio nodded at her and then faced Maverick.

Skye stood silently beside him, not going to her dad or her Aunt Brooke. He knew her well enough to know she wouldn't leave his side. She'd always picked him.

He removed the pistol tucked underneath his belt at the low of his back and set it on the floor at Maverick's feet. While bent over, he lifted the denim material on his right leg over his boot and took his other pistol out of the holster, putting it beside the other weapon.

Unarmed, he stood and met Maverick's gaze. He wouldn't fight back. That was his promise. He came here with nothing, wanting everything. The choice was Maverick's if he wanted to let him live or kill him.

He turned to Skye. Her brows were pulled together in confusion.

"If I die—" he whispered. "Know that I've always loved you."

"What are you doing?" she whispered back, grabbing his arms.

"I'm doing the only thing I've wanted to do for a while now." He hooked her neck bringing her forward. "You've put me through hell. I never got a chance to kiss you back, and right now, it's the only thing I want to do, princess."

Maverick cleared his throat.

"Brother? I'm asking." He never looked away from Skye. "You've trusted me with Skye's life since she was little. I'm begging you to let me have her. You have my word that I will never hurt her."

Tears welled in Skye's eyes. He cupped her face, using his thumbs to catch the tears. His girl never cried. She was tough, strong, stubborn, and he was breaking her .

"Maverick?" His voice came out rough and deep. "Do what you gotta do but I'm not walking away from her."

He pulled Skye to him, claiming her lips. The sweet, warm sanctuary of her mouth engulfed him. It was his turn to taste her. He drew her tongue into play, getting a moan from her.

He fisted her hair, knowing he'd made his point to everyone in the room, including Skye. Pulling back, he peppered her lips with kisses and pressed his forehead against hers.

He worked his lips, wanting to place them on her again. "Trust me?"

She nodded. Her hands tightened on his arms. He turned around, facing Maverick. The emotions in his MC brother's gaze spoke volumes.

"I will be with her, with or without your permission. I swear on the patch, I will love her," he said.

In the hallway, Brooke sniffled. He refused to look away from Maverick. Whatever he needed to do, he'd do it.

It took everything in him not to take advantage of what Skye offered him when she'd crawled into his bed. He'd done everything in his power to keep his distance.

But his heart was involved.

He followed the bylaws.

Swearing on his life—whatever happened next, he wasn't going to walk out of the house without Skye.