Page 29 of Secrets

"Yeah, and you're not anymore. You think I don't know how you just go through the motions with me? That I can't tell a real orgasm from whatever show you put on for me? You still have some attraction to me and what I do because I can get you wet, but you don't give yourself to me. Not fully."

"You don't get it, and I'm not sure I can even explain it to you. If sex is the biggest issue between us in your eyes, I give you permission to go and take Dove to the room."

"Can you try and explain it to me? I'm really trying here, baby, because I've missed you. I understand why you couldn't see me when you were locked up, but you're not in there anymore. We can pick up right where we left off."

Pulling her hand from his, she crosses her arms under her chest. "That's what you don't understand. We can't just pick up where we left off. There's nonormalfor me to jump into anymore."

"There can be if you try. I just need you to try, too. Please, Hannah. I love you."

"Part of me still loves you, Rocky. A part deep down, and that's the reason I'm still here. But I can't just be the person I was before I went away because that woman doesn't exist anymore."

The look in his eyes shows true pain, and she wishes she felt guilt. Sadness. Anything. The only things she feels since getting sentenced to prison are numb and anger.

"What do you need me to do? What can I do to make this better?"

"Just stop... stop trying to make me the person I was before I went away. That person's gone."

"Baby, I know prison isn't fun-"

"You still don't get it!" she cries and stands. "What I went through and what you went through are not the same. And I lost more than just two years. What I need for you to do is realizethat. That's how you can start to make this less painful for the both of us."

Walking away, she catches eyes with Lex, the new woman of the club. Something tells Hannah Lex has an idea about what she feels. There's a kindred spirit bond between them, and she walks over and sits next to her.

"Can I join you? Please? I'll beg if I have to," Hannah says.

"Well, you kind of already did, so it would be super awkward for me to say no now. You'd have to get back up and walk over to the man who clearly adores you but pisses you the hell off. And I'm just not that mean spirited. Today, anyway."

For the first time since she ran over that Kingsmen, Hannah smiles. "Thanks. That's very considerate of you. So, what's your story?"

"Well, it's pretty simple, really. Came from Griffin's Beach. The end," Lex says, waving her hands like she's ending a children's show story.

Narrowing her eyes, she shakes her head. "No, I can tell we have something in common. My gut tells me it's disdain for the club, but I'm not sure how right I am on that one. Am I close?"

Leaning back, Lex crosses her arms under her chest. "Oh, that? Yeah, you're pretty spot on. It's not necessarily the club, though, as much as the Griffin's Beach charter."

"So why stay? I mean, if I had a way out, I'd fucking bolt."

Pointing a thumb over her shoulder, she directs Hannah to the man she knows as Colt. Lex's husband. "See that sexy beast of a man standing at the bar?"

"Yeah. Man-bun isn't really my type, but I can see the attraction. He's got muscles."

"Fucking rocks my world. And I'm not exaggerating. When you have someone who makes your toes curl as you see Jesus, you don't walk away unless you have to."

Rocky used to make her feel that way. "So, you just up and came to a new charter?"

"Yeah, pretty much. And it's not the whole charter back home I'm hiding away from. Mostly just the President, VP, and Sergeant at Arms."

"So, the highest ranked people in the club?"

"Yep, pretty much," she says again. "I should probably mention the VP is my father, and the Sergeant at Arms is my father-in-law. No relation to the President, though."

Tilting her head, Hannah finds herself forgetting about all of her troubles for the first time in years. This is intriguing. "What happened?"

"Oh, how much time do you have?" Lex asks and laughs. "The issue with the President is the simplest one. He took me for granted. There were issues with Colt and me, and he saw them, but he never thought to do anything about it. In fact, the only reason he realized I was backing away from the club was when he needed me, and I wasn't there. Fuck that."

"And your father?"

She groans and leans forward to rest her elbows on the table. "That one goes back many, many years. I'm a daughter of the club. Daughter of an Original Ten, to be exact."

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