Page 33 of Wild Ride

A deafening cheer erupts, the music is turned up, and apparently, a party has begun. I am standing, shocked, still, with my lips parted and my eyes no doubt as wide as saucers.

BULLET

As the party begins to move onward and forward, I can tell that Dakota is retreating inside of her own head. I don’t know what she’s thinking about. I can assume it’s her parents’ past, but it could be Exorcist and her game earlier. It could be my announcement to the club about her being my woman.

Although I did not claim her as my old lady, at least not yet. I will, though. She’s going to be just that once she knows what it all means. Right now, she’s still lost inside of her own head, dealing with her father, her mother, and that fucker at the commune.

Once the dust settles, I’ll sit down and explain it all to her. Explain to her what it means to be an old lady and the rulesaround that. First, I’ve got to make it to where she can’t see her life without me, though.

I don’t let her out of my sight. A few of the guys come up and talk to her, and while I don’t get in the middle of the conversation, I also don’t move even half an inch from her body. I motion for the prospect to bring me a beer, then curl my fingers around the back of her neck.

Her spine stiffens at the way my muscles flex around her nape. When the prospect hands me the bottle, I curl my fingers around the cool glass and lift it to my lips, taking a pull before I turn my head and whisper against the shell of her ear.

“You good, babe?” I ask.

She doesn’t say anything immediately, but I can tell she’s thinking something, and whatever it is, I’m not sure I want to know because I don’t think I’m going to like it one single fucking bit.

“No, I don’t think I am.”

Turning to look at her, I tilt my head to the side and wait for her to tell me she’s still pissed about what she saw with Exorcist. She doesn’t, though, at least not yet. I have no doubt she’s going to talk to me about that, but this is about her parents.

“How could my mother have lied to me? Looking around here, I can’t imagine that this was such a horrible place to be.”

My lips curve up into a slight smile as my eyes search her light-brown ones. Honey, really. Her eyes are a honey color, and I wonder if they are the same shade as her mother’s because I know that Shade had green eyes.

“It’s not a horrible place to be, but maybe thirty years ago, it wasn’t the best. The club was dabbling in a little more than they do now.”

“Dabbling?”

“More drugs, more shit that they didn’t need to be involved in. I wasn’t part of it then, considering I was only twelve,” I saywith a laugh. “But I hung around, saw the shit they were doing even if I wasn’t sure what everything was.”

She chews on her bottom lip, and her eyes find mine. I squeeze the back of her neck gently, keeping my grip firm but careful not to hurt her. She nods a couple of times as if she’s thinking and making mental notes.

“I’ll never know why she left and took me away from what could have been a family.”

Flexing my fingers around the back of her neck again, I clear my throat. “The people you had in Oregon, they weren’t a family?” I ask.

Sure, I know the guy running the show is a whole fucking pervert and piece of shit, but that doesn’t mean every person involved in her life was that way. Briana seems like a good person, so I can’t imagine she’s too upset about all the people in the cult.

“They were, some more than others. But this is different.”

Humming, I dip my chin and touch my mouth to hers. I need to feel her lips against mine. I need to taste her, if only for a second. Lifting my head, I give her a small smile when I notice her eyelids are half-lidded, and she looks at me through her lashes.

Fuck.

I want her to look at me like that when she’s on her knees with my dick in her mouth.

And she will.

“The past is the past, babe. Wish I could change it for you, for Shade, but we can’t do that.”

Her chin dips, and she looks down at her lap. Releasing my grip on the back of her neck, I pinch her chin with my finger and thumb, guiding her face back up so that I can see her eyes. I need her to really hear me.

“We can focus on the future, Dakota. Onourfuture.”

Her eyes widen, her lips part, and her eyelids lower as she watches me for a moment. The music grows quieter around us, the conversations of the men around us slowly disappear, and there is just us.

Me and her.

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