Chapter Twenty

Tessa

I stare at the message I've typed out, my finger hovering over the send button. I take a deep breath and hit it.

Me: I know everything, Pit. You brought me home Friday. You got me the job with Anita. Do not ignore me this time. I want to see you.

I keep the phone in my hand and wait for the reply. After five minutes, I realise it's not coming, and that just hurts my heart some more.

I open my social media app and scroll through. I don't use it really, only to see how amazing everyone else's life is, but it's not like I have many friends. Anita forced me to add her earlier, and I have some old school nerds on there, the ones who let me hang around with them. Most were too scared of getting Steven's attention, so they often avoided me too.

I stare at a picture shared by one of the girls who'd allowed me to eat lunch at her table. The caption reads, ‘So sad to hear the news about Lee Hive who was found dead. RIP.' Lee was a good friend of Steven's, and even though I know it's almost impossible, I wonder if it's a coincidence he's now dead too.

I'm too scared to search his name, in case this somehow leads back to me, and I shut my phone off. I'm being ridiculous.

I lie down on the couch and close my eyes. I was amazed when I woke in my bed. I even texted Pit that morning, telling him I'd made it a night in the actual bedroom. I feel stupid now, knowing that he already knew, and I groan out loud. Since then, I've gone back to sleeping on the couch. There's something about being closer to the door that settles me.

I wake with a start and realise the room is in darkness. I must have fallen to sleep. I reach around for my mobile, pulling it closer to check the time. There's still no reply from Pit, and my heart sinks.

I push to sit up and the lamp turns on, making me jump. Pit is sitting in the armchair, his face stern. "You're here," I whisper.

"What exactly do you think you know?" he asks.

His voice sends shivers down my spine, and that spark of nerves builds in my stomach. "You were with me on Friday."

"Yes."

"And you know Anita. You got me the job, which means you probably know Lucas."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Redemption," he mutters.

I bite my lower lip, mulling over my next question. "Lee Hive is dead," I blurt out, and he keeps his face neutral. "Do you know about that?"

"Yes."

I inhale sharply. "But how did you know about him?"

"Your dad is also dead," he says bluntly.

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "What?"

"He paid Steven Kendal to date you, Te. He wanted you out the way. He paid him, knowing he was bullying you."

I stare open-mouthed, though not because I'm shocked at learning that new information. My dad was a pig, so it doesn't surprise me. But the fact Pit has been on a rampage . . . for me.

"Do you see now," he continues, "why I'm not good enough for you?"

"You did all that for me," I whisper.

"Because I'm fucked-up, Te. I'm not normal."

"But you did that for me," I repeat, standing and moving towards him. I notice his hands tighten their hold on the arms of the chair as he watches me cautiously. "No one's ever done that sort of thing for me." I gently place my hands on his cheeks. "Thank you." I kiss him. It's bold and so unlike me, but the urge to go to him, to show him how grateful I am, is too overwhelming to ignore. He's frozen, but as my tongue sweeps into his mouth, I feel him relax. And then his hands slide up my waist and he pulls me into his lap, kissing me back with just as much passion.

A whining sound makes us pull apart. My lips feel swollen, and my heart is beating wildly in my chest. I glance around, my eyes landing on the emaciated dog cowering beside the armchair, wrapped in a towel. "What is that?" I whisper.

"A present," he tells me, smiling.

"It's a dog. A sick-looking dog," I add, frowning.

"Yeah. He needs some TLC."

"And a bath."

I climb from his lap and drop to my knees, holding out my hand for the dog to sniff. He does so cautiously. "He was with your dad," Pit adds.

I stroke the dog's bony head. "He mistreated you too," I mutter, and the dog leans into my touch. He drags himself closer until he can rest his head in my lap, and my heart melts a little.

"Maybe you can learn to trust together," Pit suggests.

"I told you, I'm scared of big dogs," I remind him. Pit stands, reaching down to scoop the dog into his arms. The thought of him taking him away makes me stand too. "But I guess I can see how it goes," I rush to add.

Pit grins. "I wasn't taking him away. I don't know if King and Gigi will take to a new dog, and this guy needs someone to care for him. I know you can do it, Te."

"What's his name?" I ask, following Pit up the stairs.

"Whatever you want it to be."

"Hope?" I suggest, and Pit laughs.

"You can't call him that. He'll get bullied by other big dogs if you call that out in the park."

I grin as we go into the bathroom. "Lucky?"

"That's a cat's name."

"You said whatever I want," I argue. "What about Chance?"

Pit gives a nod. "Chance, it is."

He dumps the dog in the bath and turns on the shower, making sure it's pointed away while he waits for the temperature to get warmer. He shrugs out of his kutte, handing it to me, and I place it on the hook at the back of the door. "Did he say anything?" I ask, watching as his tattooed hands run through Chance's fur.

"Your dad?" I nod. "No. I didn't give him a chance. But he's still a prick. The neighbours hate him. He takes prostitutes in, and they steal from the locals. He owes money all over the place and his house was a shithole. The dog crapped everywhere, and he didn't clean it up. There was no food in for the poor thing," he tells me, taking my shampoo from the shelf and squirting it over Chance. He massages it in, taking his time.

"Do you have to leave again?" I ask, holding my breath for his answer.

"It depends," he says, rinsing the shampoo away, "on whether you want me to leave."

I turn away to grab a towel, smiling to myself. "Do you want to stay?" I ask, handing it to him.

He wraps Chance up and lifts him from the tub, passing him to me. He's lighter than I expected, and I take him back downstairs, where I set him on the kitchen floor and begin to rub him dry.

Pit joins us with the quilt cover from the spare bed. "He can sleep on this," he says, placing it in the corner of the kitchen floor. "I'll pick him a bed up when the shops open."

He goes to my fridge and pulls out a pack of ham. Kneeling beside me, he breaks pieces off and handfeeds them to Chance, who gobbles them greedily.

"Poor thing," I mutter, tickling him under the chin.

"It's a new start," says Pit. "For both of you."

"And you?" I ask.

His smile fades. "You don't know what you're getting into."

I stop drying Chance and turn to him. "Why are you fighting this?"

"Because I need you to know what you're agreeing too, Tessa." He gives the dog the rest of the ham and stands. I follow, waiting patiently while he washes his hands. Chance curls up on the quilt and closes his eyes. "He's made himself at home," says Pit with a smile.

I follow him into the living room, and he sits down, pulling me to join him on the couch. "I've never done this before," he admits. "I've never wanted to. But I can't stop thinking about you."

"Same."

"I thought space would make you realise I was no good. That maybe your feelings were down to being held captive. But you kept texting me and sharing your good days with me, and it made me realise I want to be a part of those days too."

"I want that too," I agree.

"You say that now," he says, guiding my legs to rest over his and placing his hand over my knee, "but I'll be unbearably suffocating, Te. I don't know how to be anything else. I'm jealous and possessive. A walking red flag."

"In case you didn't know, I tend to ignore red flags," I say with a small laugh.

"Which is why I'm doing the rational thinking for us both. I mean, what the fuck would we tell people when they ask how we met?"

"It's none of their business?" I suggest.

He groans, letting his head fall back against the couch so he's staring at the ceiling. "Help me out here, Tessa. Give me the reasons to walk away. I mean, fuck, I've killed people."

I mull over his words. He killed them for me. It's extreme, crazy even, but the way I feel for him outweighs everything else. My heart aches. I don't want him to walk away again. "Because I think I love you," I almost whisper. His head shoots upright, and he stares at me wide-eyed. I instantly regret it and bury my face in my hands. "Oh god, it's too soon, isn't it? Sorry. I'm rushing ahead of myself."

He tugs my hands away. "Say it again."

I swallow the lump in my throat and stare him in the eyes. I'm embarrassed, but the fire in his gaze burns brighter, so I repeat it. "I love you."

He inhales sharply as a range of emotions pass over his face. Then he surprises me by pulling me onto his lap so I'm sitting over him. "Again," he whispers, cupping my face in his hands.

"I love you."

He presses his lips to mine, his mouth slowly working wonders as he kisses me until my toes curl. When he finally pulls back slightly, he says, "I love you too."

I gasp. "You do?" He nods, and relief floods me. I kiss him again, and I feel his erection pressing against me.

"Sorry," he mutters when we break apart again.

"It's fine," I reassure him, but he looks away like he's ashamed.

"Go upstairs and get into bed. I'll check on Chance and be up shortly."

"You're staying?" I ask, smiling.

"We're never gonna be apart again," he tells me, stroking his hand down my cheek.

Pit

I wake with a start and stare into the eyes of Chance. His tongue darts out, and he licks my nose. I groan, rolling onto my back. "Tessa, why is there a dog between us?" I murmur sleepily.

Her head pops up over Chance, and she smiles. "Good morning."

"The dog?" I ask again.

She giggles, climbing over the dog and lying over me with her legs either side of mine. We'd done well last night to sleep in the same bed and not touch. She's not ready for that, and I insisted she wear full pyjamas while I remained in my jeans and T-shirt. But now, as she presses against me, I'm struggling to control my cock as it rises between us. "Tessa," I mutter in warning.

She looks up innocently. "It's just a cuddle," she says, smirking.

"You're not ready," I remind her.

"How do you know?" she argues. It's the same thing she said last night as I held her in my arms until she'd fallen to sleep.

"I just know." She sighs heavily, and I smile to myself, tracing my fingers up and down her back. "We need to go see Axel today."

"Why?"

"Because he's my President and he's the first person I need to talk to about us."

"What if he says you can't stay?"

"We'll cross that bridge," I mutter. Axel has other brothers who would jump at the chance to live life on the road, so I don't think it'll be a huge problem. But with Axel, you never know what he's thinking.

We get to the clubhouse an hour later and head straight for the office. Tessa squeezes my hand, and I give her a reassuring smile. I want her to feel comfortable here at the club, but I know it'll take time.

Axel looks up as we enter and frowns, his eyes falling to our joined hands. He chucks his pen down on the desk and leans back in his chair. "This is the part where you tell me you wanna stick around," he guesses.

"I'd like to, Pres," I say firmly.

"You'd better take a seat," he mutters, and we sit down. "Are you gonna stay at the clubhouse?"

"We haven't talked about it yet," I admit. "But eventually, I'd like that." I risk a glance at Tessa, who is staring at the ground with a frown. "But for now, we'll stay at the house."

Axel gives a stiff nod. "Any thoughts on claiming?"

It's another thing I haven't discussed with Tessa, and I inwardly kick myself for coming here so unprepared. "It's early days."

"So, you want me to pull you from long distance runs while you trial and error this?" he asks, arching a brow.

"It's not like a normal relationship," I say, rubbing my thumb over the back of Tessa's hand. "We have to take this slow to make sure it's what Tessa wants." This gets her attention, and she gives me a quizzical glance. I turn back to Axel. "This could be because I took her, or because I was her first." Tessa slips her hand from mine and folds her arms over her chest, staring back down at the ground. "We need to make sure it's for real before we talk about claiming."

Axel gives a nod. "Okay, understood. Go do what you gotta do."

I grin. "Thanks, Pres."

"I'll take you off duty for a week. Come see me again, so we can see where you're at."

Tessa pushes to her feet and walks out. I stare after her confused, and Axel smirks. "Welcome to relationships, brother, where you have to learn to read minds and watch what you say at all times."

I find her just outside, and I smile to myself. "Didn't get too far?"

She glares at me. "Is that supposed to be funny?"

I shake my head. "Nope. What's up?"

"You're doubting me," she snaps. "I tell you I love you, and you're doubting that."

"I'm not," I say gently, stroking a hand through her hair and trying to get eye contact, which she actively avoids. "We just need to be sure this is for real, Tessa. We haven't spent any proper time together. We're going on feelings that developed at a time when you were distressed and scared. We have to get to know one another again." When she doesn't reply, I sigh. "Which is why I'd like us to take the dogs and stay back at the farm."

She finally looks at me. "What?"

"Let's go back to where it all began."

"You think going back to the place where you held me captive is a way to test or prove our love?"

I groan. "I'm not trying to get proof, Tessa. I know exactly how I feel about you. But let's stay in the middle of nowhere, where no one can interrupt us, and learn about each other all over again."