Chapter 3

My breath caught in my chest at the intense look in his dark brown eyes, and I didn't like how much Storm still got to me after all this time. He would always have a place in my heart for everything he had done for me when I was kidnapped and for about four years afterward, but he was the last person I expected to see at the Westland Riders MC clubhouse. The man had practically avoided me like the plague for the past two years, so what in the heck was he doing here, saying crap like that? And what was up with him using a term of endearment like "baby" when talking to me?

Torn between the desire to get up and throw myself in his arms or to stay right where I was and give him the silent treatment, I pressed my lips into a flat line while I lamented the fact that he was hotter than ever.

He'd added a lot of muscle to his tall frame since the last time I'd seen him. His dark brown hair was a little longer, and my fingers itched to push back a lock that had fallen onto his forehead. His beard and mustache were cropped short and only accentuated his plush lips. And seeing the new tattoo on his neck—a black skull with red eyes, nose, and mouth—made me wonder how much other ink he'd added to his sexy body since I'd last seen him.

But just because Storm made me feel as though my panties were about to spontaneously combust didn't mean that I was going to welcome him with open arms. Not after all this time.

Getting to my feet, I planted my fists on my hips. "You came for me? What does that even mean?"

"Not sure I can be any clearer, baby." His lips curved into a cocky smile that somehow irritated me but also made him hotter. "I don't make a habit outta dropping into another club's compound without a damn good reason. You're here, so I'm here."

Butterflies swarmed in my belly at his declaration, but it would take more than some pretty words for me to forgive him for leaving me alone for so long. "If that were true, you would've been around more over the past two years. Or like…at all. Instead of breaking your promise and basically abandoning me."

"I'm so fucking sorry, Blakely." He took a couple of steps toward me but stopped when I held up my hands. "You gotta know that I wouldn't have stayed away without a damn good reason."

"Yup, I totally thought that," I conceded, shaking my head when he took that to mean he could come closer. "For maybe the first six months or so. But then I noticed you also hardly ever called, and I couldn't come up with a decent excuse for that. Except that once you got out of the military, you realized you didn't want to deal with the hassle of having me around because you wanted to get on with your life."

"I've never thought of you as a hassle." He closed the distance between us and took my hands in his. "And I missed you every damn day since I last saw you."

"Missed me? Right." I snorted while rolling my eyes. "So much that you've stayed away since my sixteenth birthday, and I haven't heard from you besides a couple of five-minute conversations in months. Those are definitely the actions of a guy who wants to be around me."

The sarcasm was thick in my voice, but Storm didn't seem to take offense. Instead, he flashed me an apologetic smile and squeezed my hands. "I get that you're upset, but—"

"Gee, thanks for being so understanding." I huffed out a laugh that held no humor. "But for the record, I'm not upset. I'm angry. There's a difference."

"And you have every reason to be pissed." Storm released one of my hands to rake his fingers through his hair. "At a lot of fucking people, me included."

"You're right. There's plenty of anger to go around," I agreed with a sigh. "But hey, at least the truck you gave me the last time you bothered to come around came in handy yesterday. I guess I owe you some gratitude for the fact that I was able to make it here when my foster parents kicked me out of their house because they can't admit that their son is a creep."

Storm dropped his arm to his side, his nostrils flaring as he fisted his hand. "Don't worry, that bastard is gonna pay for what he tried to do to you. Same with your foster parents for fucking you over."

"Stop." This time, I was the one who reached for his hands to give them a squeeze as I shook my head. "I already told Jagger that I didn't want anyone doing something stupid on my behalf. The last thing I need is for someone else to go to jail because of me."

"You are not to blame for what your dad did," he grumbled, taking advantage of our position to wrap his fingers around my wrist and tug me closer. "Not a damn part of that fiasco was on you. Those bastards deserved what they got, and your dad fucking up with how he took care of them is on him. Not you."

Logically, I knew he was right. But the little girl inside me who'd lost her only remaining parent still felt guilty that he'd been sent to prison because I had been taken. "That doesn't change the fact that I don't want anyone to get in trouble on my behalf. Not even you, Storm."

His plush lips firmed into a flat line as he narrowed his eyes at me. "I'm Gideon to you, baby."

"You were Gideon back when I could trust you to stick around." I swallowed the lump in my throat before adding, "But you proved me wrong with your disappearing act over the past couple of years. So now you're Storm."

"After we talk, you're gonna understand why I had to stay away and why I'll always be Gideon to you. But we're not having this conversation here in front of an audience."

I glanced over at the old ladies who'd been cleaning up after dinner and found them leaning against the counter, unabashedly staring at us. I heaved a deep sigh when Staci—their tail gunner's woman—winked at me. Turning to Storm, I muttered, "I guess we can go talk in my room."

"Not your room," he growled. "Just the one you used for the nights you're spending here."

"Pardon?" I asked, my brows drawing together.

"You sure you want to go upstairs with him?" Staci shook her head with a laugh. "Because I have a feeling you're going to have your hands full with this one, honey."

Storm shot her a warning look, and Angela, one of the enforcer's old ladies, elbowed her in the side. Then without any warning, he crouched down to put his shoulder in my stomach and gently lifted me off my feet.

"What are you doing?" I shrieked, clutching Storm's Iron Rogues cut while he stomped out of the kitchen to whistles from the guys hanging out by the bar.

"Which room did you give her?"

I lifted my head to glare at Jagger when he answered, "Take a left at the top of the stairs. Last room on the right. No matter how often he said we should, we never emptied Saber's room. Seemed like the right place to put his daughter until you could come and collect her. Figured you'd be fast once you heard she was here, but with Christmas being just yesterday, I thought it'd take you a couple of days to make it down here."

My brows drew together as I wondered why my dad's VP thought that Storm wanted anything to do with me, let alone that he'd come running when he heard I was at their clubhouse. I hoped Storm had a good explanation for what was happening because nothing had made sense since he strode into the kitchen.

As soon as he set me on my feet—after kicking the door shut behind us so we'd have privacy—I planted my hands at my hips and scowled up at him. "That was not okay, Storm. You can't just show up in my life after two years and act as though you belong there."

"You might not have seen me, but I never left your life, baby," he swore, sincerity shining from his dark eyes.

"Why did you avoid me so much, then? I understood when I was younger because you were in the military, but you've been out for two years, and I've barely seen you."

I squeezed my eyes shut when my voice cracked at the end, but they popped back open when he scooped me into his arms again and set me on the chair in the corner of the room. Then he blew me away when he explained, "Because I didn't want to end up next to your dad in jail, where he'd kill me for doing all the dirty things that come to mind when I look at you."

When Bryan had said something similar, it'd been creepy. But hearing those words coming out of Storm's mouth—something I had fantasized about many times—had me pressing my thighs together to ease the sudden ache in my core.