Page 73 of StoryTeller's Tale

I’m a scary motherfucker, I’ve perfected that persona. It keeps me safe on the road. But this woman challenges me at every turn and will never back down. It’s her spirit I absolutely love about her.

Love.

The emotion slams into me as memories flash past my eyes, so fast, one image rolls into the next. I thought Fi was it for me. I thought we’d have forever, but it wasn’t just an illusion, it was something I was forcing myself to feel. I’d felt obligated to act a role in that relationship.

For the first time, I wonder whether Fi had known I wasn’t giving my all even though I’d said the right words to her. Words I now know rightly belong to someone else.

I’d had months to get to know Fi before I told her I loved her. I’ve only known Sheri a short time, but what I feel is one hundred percent sure. And though telling her might risk ridicule, it might just be enough to keep both her and my child by my side.

Laying my soul bare isn’t something I want to do lightly. This woman doesn’t know it, but she’s got the power to destroy me. And there’s no guarantee, or even hope, that my sentiment might be returned.

I’m still holding her close, breathing in that perfume that’s all hers, my nomad bones telling me that I’m home, and wherever she is, is where I’ll want to be for the rest of my life. I no longer have to be out on the road, travelling in search of something that’s always out of my reach. Because here, all down to a book that I found, I’ve got everything I’ll ever want in my arms.

“I’ve one last argument,” I tell her, my voice deepening with all the emotion I feel. In case she backs away, I tighten my arms around her. “I’ve never felt this way before, Sheri, even though I once thought I had everything I wanted within my grasp. But it’s you I’ve always been waiting for. It’s you that I want. More than that, it’s you that I love.”

I risk easing my grip and pulling away, catching her gaze to ensure she can see the intensity in my eyes.

“I love you.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE

SHERI

He loves me?

My first reaction is to scoff, to deny it, to say that emotion doesn’t happen so fast. That love at first sight, or so darn close to it, is a myth that doesn’t exist in real life. But I know that impulse to reject his declaration is tempered by my past, by the thought I’ve never come first in anyone’s eyes.

It might be wishful thinking, but instead of instinctively pushing him away, I swallow back my immediate repudiation, and take a moment to drink in the expression in his eyes. It’s like he’s baring his soul to me, his dilated pupils like windows letting me see right down to the man inside.

It makes me hesitate, makes me wonder if for just once in my life, someone can put me first.

I don’t deny his words, but I test them. “Is it just because of the baby?”

Still not unlocking his eyes from mine, he cups my face so gently as he softly replies, “I came for you before I knew about that.”

“You came because you thought I was in danger.” And he’d been right. At my reminder, a shadow crosses his eyes.

“I came because I could no longer stay away. The knowledge that Knuckles had been seen anywhere near you was the kick up the backside that brought me to my senses. I’m going to do everything I can to make you safe, darlin’.” His eyes darken. “And I’ll succeed, even if I lose my life.”

I developed feelings for StoryTeller the first time I met him, though it was a bit of hero worship at the time. While sometimes I feel mortified that I let him inside my body in such horrific circumstances, I know it was my attraction to him that had turned me sufficiently on.

I’m worried that it’s because I spend my free time reading books which romanticise bikers, that my judgment might be flawed and I’ve allowed myself to fall for him too fast. But if he’s really putting down what I think he’s offering, how can I walk away from him? Even if I’m dubious about how he lives his life.

“How would this work?”

Immediately, he’s on my wavelength. “First, we get rid of Knuckles, then, unless you really want to stay in Texas, I take you back to Arizona with me.” He pauses and shakes his head as if amused at himself. “We’ll find a house we both like and where we can raise Junior.” He moves one of his hands and caresses my stomach, the words and his action making me melt.

“Is what you do for the club dangerous?”

He sighs heavily and leans his forehead against mine. “I can’t tell you it’s not, but I’m also not a risk taker. Can’t tell you we do everything legal because we do not. But we don’t go out of our way to make waves and bring in plenty of money doing work you’d approve off.”

I pull out of his arms, and this time, he lets me move away.

I like Jake, more than like him. I’m fascinated by his way of life. But I’ve always been a cautious person. Going with him would be a leap of faith. What have I got to stay here for? I’ve no job, and no family to speak of. And, truth be told, I want to keep this baby. It might not have been planned, but it’s part of us both.

“Say you’ll be my ol’ lady.”

I take a breath, shake my head at the magnitude of the decision I’m making, then jump off the edge of that cliff with just a simple, “Alright.”

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