23. Meredith

23

MEREDITH

A s I'm watching out the window to see if I can spot either one of the guys still on campus, I finally see Grizzly sitting on his bike, staring in the direction of my building. I can tell he's still amped up over what happened, and I know I have to get them both out of here. I breathe a sigh of relief as the professor dismisses class and I make a beeline for where Grizzly's sitting on his motorcycle.

"You and Trap need to get out of here before you make a scene and get people asking questions. I've already been grilled by Addy about your little display earlier," I tell him, stepping close so he can hear me even though I'm almost whispering.

"I can't help it. I can't help how I'm feeling. That idiot couldn't seem to take a hint, and kept invading your personal space. I wasn't going to let that keep happening, darlin'," he says as he leans closer to me, speaking just as softly as me.

"I want you both to go back to the clubhouse. I don't want you to come back here and make trouble for me. I don't want to end up getting expelled because of you two," I say as I start to back away.

"I already told Trap we were leaving, I'm just waiting for you to get your sexy ass on the back of my bike because you're coming back with us," he says, patting the seat behind him.

My heart pounds as I realize what he wants. A ride on his motorcycle has been on my mind ever since the night they saved me from being auctioned off.

"If I go with you, will you stay away from campus for a while and stop making trouble for me?" I ask him.

"Get your ass on the bike, Meredith. This isn't up for debate," he growls.

My pussy clenches at his bossiness and I quickly throw my leg over the bike and grab onto him. He takes off down the road, Trap following close behind us. I can feel Grizzly's heart hammering in his chest, and I wonder what's got him so angry. I explained the situation, so I'm not sure why he's still upset about it. I know I have to get to the bottom of it—Harlow will know something is going on if she sees him like this.

Grizzly barely slows down for the corners and I grip him tighter as I lean with the bike, feeling his hard muscles under my hands. I don't know what it's going to take to get him to calm down, but I know I have to try. I'm sure that once we get to the clubhouse and he talks to the boys, he'll calm down and things will be okay. Then, I'll be able to go back to campus and continue concentrating on my education. I'm going to have to lay down boundaries and keep them from invading the campus, but I'm not sure how I'm going to accomplish that. They don't seem to be the type to honor boundaries, or at least not when it comes to me.

"Slow down, Grizzly! You're being a menace to society right now," I yell over the roar of his bike.

I'm actually a bit scared about how fast he's going, but I'm not going to tell him that. He'd feel bad for scaring me, and that's the last thing I need with how he's feeling already. He slows down a bit at my request, and we manage to make it to the clubhouse in one piece. Trap pulls his bike next to Grizzly's and jumps off, coming to give me a hand off of Grizzly's bike.

I run inside and look for Harlow. I want to make sure she's not here, so she doesn't see her dad in the state he's in.

I run upstairs to make sure Harlow isn't in the nursery with the twins, but they're not here. They've all gone somewhere, and I sigh in relief. I run back downstairs and outside where Grizzly is still standing ranting and raving to the guys about what happened on campus. I watch as Dart and Trap try to do their best to comfort him, but nothing they're doing is working. Dart comes over to me and stands beside me.

"It sounds like it's been a rough day for the both of you. We need to get him upstairs before he makes too big of a scene and the rest of the guys start noticing," he whispers in my ear. "Whatever happened on that campus has scared him badly, and I think you're the only thing that's going to be able to calm him."

The gravity of what Dart is telling me hits me like a ton of bricks. I can't be the only person who can calm him down. I'm not at the club enough to be the kind of anchor he needs. A knot forms in my stomach, but I know what I have to do. I just hope I can figure out how.

I approach Grizzly and gently take his hand. "Come on, we're making too much noise out here," I say, pulling him toward the stairs.

He comes willingly, and soon we're sitting on the edge of his bed. Trap and Dart have followed us upstairs, and upon seeing that Grizzly is already starting to breathe easier, they meet my eyes with grateful looks. Trap winks at me as he closes the door behind him, leaving Grizzly and me alone.