Chapter 6

6

Aurora – Two Weeks Later

I giggle, running after Autumn, who refuses to get dressed, into the small living room.

"Get your cute little butt back here, sweetheart," I say as I slip on the old hardwood floor.

She laughs hard, her naked butt wiggling as she rounds the coffee table Theo bought last week.

The man won't stop buying me things. I've told him I don't need anything and want to try to do it myself, but he won't listen.

He bought a new pull-out couch yesterday while I was at work, too. It was then that I regretted giving him my spare key, which was a big move for me.

I know I sound ungrateful, but I don't want to rely on him; I can't. It's bad enough he's made me fall for him.

How he treats Autumn, and looks at me, makes me feel all sorts of feelings for him. I've fallen, and I've fallen hard.

I just hope I'm not making a mistake, especially knowing he has friends within the brotherhood. Don't get me wrong, I've heard nothing but great things about the Devil's MC, especially from Autumn's babysitter who lives upstairs, but she's a clear patch chaser, and I can't really trust what she says about them; her credentials are good in childcare, and she is cheap, but when you boast about a club so much and get dreamy-eyed, you know she wants that patch.

I know the town has also claimed they are good men, but I thought the same about the Huntsman, who I grew up around, and well, look what happened….

Autumn giggles as I crawl around the table, trying to get to her, knowing Theo will be here any minute to take us out. The front door opens, and I freeze, knowing I'm busted, my head slowly looking up toward the door.

Theo crosses his arms over his muscular chest, his black, V-neck t-shirt pulling across it, and raises a brow at me.

"It's not what it looks like," I blurt, exasperated.

He nods, smirking. "Uh huh, because, to me, it looks like she's running circles around you."

He grins as Autumn squeals at the sight of him, running her naked butt toward him, making him laugh and catch her, picking her up. He throws her in the air, making her giggle, before hugging her tightly.

I huff, blowing my hair out of my face, and sit on my heels, stating, "Okay, it's exactly what it looks like."

The feeling hits me again, a feeling Emily has been trying to help me overcome.

You're a bad mother; you should have given her up months ago, a voice whispers in the back of my head, and my tears build again. You can't even get her dressed in time, it continues.

It always sounds like him every time.

Theo chuckles, and I look his way to see him kissing Autumn's cheeks, and then her forehead, chin, and neck. This makes her laugh, and my heart melts, the voice disappearing.

This is what Theo does to me, he erases my past.

"It's understandable she's running rings around you…." I suck in a breath at his words, before giggling when he states, "She's adorable and is going to rule the world…aren't you, my Princess?"

Autumn nods, and I grin. "Looks like she's going to run rings around you, too…."

He hums, agreeing, "That, my Firecracker, is true, and when she's a teenager, I'm going to have to put a tracker on her."

I laugh, but my stomach tightens with his words.

He's looking at being here, with us …when she's a teenager….

His gaze lands on me before they widen, confusing me until he growls, "Fuck, Rory…. I've not seen you with your hair down before, it…fuck me…."

I feel my cheeks go hot as his eyes take in my long, curly, red hair, and I'm happy I hadn't had a chance to put it up, seeing his reaction. I've not left it down since I was taken. He would always use it as a way to control me, control my body to his will.

I shudder in revolution, hating that the memories still haunt me, hating he still haunts me.

"Fuck!" Autumn says loudly, bringing me back to now. My eyes widen, and Theo's head snaps her way.

"No, Autumn," he says sternly, and she grins, saying, "Fuck," again, making his eyes widen further, and he stresses, "No, Autumn, bad word…." He looks my way in horror as she keeps repeating him. "Fuck, Autumn—I mean no, crap…."

I bite my bottom lip as she copies, "Crap," and he looks like a deer in headlights.

My laughter bubbles over, and she repeats the words over and over happily, all while he looks like he wants the floor to swallow him whole.

Theo's mouth drops open, and he snaps, "Rory, it's not fucking funny, we need to get her to stop?—"

"Fucking," she repeats, and I fall over, dying of laughter as Theo groans, "Goddammit," but soon regrets it when she repeats him.

My laughter gets louder, my stomach hurts, and tears spring to my eyes. I know I should help him, but he keeps digging himself into a deeper hole.

I warned him she'd copy him, but he didn't believe me. She admires him, even loves him.

"Alright, you laughing hyena," Theo huffs, making me laugh louder. He sighs, shaking his head. "I'm going to get little miss dressed."

Without another word, he carries Autumn to her bedroom, cursing to himself, making me laugh louder again. making it difficult for me to breathe, but it doesn't stop my heart from skipping a beat at how amazing he is.

One month into dating, he's getting her dressed.

This man seems too good to be true.

Two hours later, we're strolling through town, his arm around my waist, Autumn sitting on his shoulders, playing with his hair.

I feel content, a feeling I haven't felt since before….

After he got Autumn dressed, he spent twenty minutes chasing me around the living room before he tickled me until I couldn't breathe from laughing at his mistake, all while Autumn giggled and tried to get involved.

God, he owns my heart.

He makes me happy, makes me want a future with him, but I don't know how to get the feeling of uncleanness out of my system. I spent a year being abused and used, and I'm scared that, if I allow him to touch me, then I'll taint him as well.

I'd spread my dirt on him, my filth….

I still can't understand why he wants me, even after a month of doting on me and my daughter. I've seen the women in town when we're together; their eyes eat him up, and a part of me wants to scream and shout at them, tell them he's mine. But then the other part thinks he'd probably be happier with one of them—my insecurities and past taking over.

I've been speaking to my counselor to get everything off my chest to ensure I don't push this amazing man away. She's encouraged me to open up to him, but I'm just not ready yet.

What if he's disgusted by me?

What if he wants nothing to do with Autumn?

Theo squeezes me to him and rasps, "Talk to me, my Firecracker. What's on your mind?"

I look up at him and smile. He's at least a foot taller than me, but instead of feeling towered over, I feel safe—at home.

Another woman walks past, her eyes eating him up, and I snort. "I was wondering why you're with me when you could have your pick of women…."

I smirk as he looks at a woman who is biting her lip, furrowing his brows. He shakes his head, looking away, not at all interested, causing her to huff and stomp away as we continue walking.

"Because you make my heart skip a beat," he admits, his thumb rubbing over my hip. I suck in a breath. "Because as soon as I locked eyes with you, I knew you were my forever." He stops us, pulling my body close to him as Autumn leans her cheek on his head, tired after time at the play barn. "Because your little girl has wormed her way into my heart, making me want to be her father." My eyes tear up, my heart pounding. "Because when I'm not with you, I feel like I can't breathe; because you surround me, and because I am falling madly in love with you…. That's why am with you, Rory. You have become everything to me, you and Autumn. You've made me a better man, a man I'm proud of who I'm becoming. You've made me want the whole picture-perfect life, with the white picket fence, and dozens of kids…."

I chuckle on a sob, then rise to my tiptoes, gently caressing his lips with mine, making him smile. I whisper, "If you think I'm pushing a dozen kids out, you have another think coming."

He grins and negotiates, "Three, you know, for Autumn to boss around."

I giggle, kissing his lips hard. His left-hand grips my waist, his right holding Autumn.

Pulling back, I look into his eyes and admit, "I'm falling for you, too, and it's scary."

He nods, cupping my cheek. "I know, Firecracker, but we can be scared together, because I'm not letting you go—either of you."

A few tears fall, and he wipes them away. His dark eyes look at me so softly that my body relaxes against him, giving him some of my weight.

This man makes me feel so safe and so content. When he's near, he's all I can see, and it's scary, but I think it's a fear I'm willing to fight against because I know I'm in love with him.

He's it for me.

Leaning forward, he gently rubs his nose along mine, and whispers, "We'll get through this fear together, Rory, I promise…."

I nod, making him smile as he presses his lips against mine again. I melt, automatically opening my mouth as he presses his tongue against the seams of my lips.

Our tongues massage together, caressing, sending tingles down my body, and I grip his t-shirt, keeping his body pressed against mine as he deepens the kiss.

The feel of him against me, the feel of his lips, I never want to lose it. I never want him to let me go.

Autumn giggles, making us smile and break apart. Theo gently rubs his thumb along my jaw and rasps, "Having a milkshake thrown at my face was the best thing to ever happen to me."

I giggle, gripping his t-shirt again, before giving him a quick peck. I turn my body halfway, keeping myself pressed against him as we continue to walk through town.

We're like a family, a family I have secretly always wanted for Autumn, and my fear is still there under the surface. Fear that he'll hurt me, hurt her; my past still clouding my view of the future, but that doesn't stop my heart from falling hard and fast.

I just hope when he finally finds out the truth of my trauma, of how Autumn came to be, he won't look at me differently.

I hope he doesn't break me, because I know I won't get back up if he does.