Page 71 of Rebel

Chapter Thirty-Four

Rebel

The sight of Nikki naked as the day she was born, her beautiful curves marred by hideous red welts, sent a rage through my body I’d never felt before. It was black and it was ugly, and it twisted in my gut until the edges of my vision blurred. Shooting Thrash was no less than that motherfucker deserved but it wasn’t enough that he was dead. Killing him quickly had been necessary to get Nikki out of danger, but whoever was left of the Blood Fangs wouldn’t be as lucky.

I hadn’t slept in three goddamn nights even though I finally had her back where I wanted her. In my bed. In my arms. No, sleep wouldn’t come easy because every fucking time I closed my eyes, her tan skin streaked with ugly red welts was all I saw.

Livvy was staying with Diesel and Ellie, enjoying an extended sleepover until Nikki was feeling better. Who knew when the fuck that would be, but she had me. Every night I curled my body around hers, tried to drift off with my face buried in her hair. The first night she didn’t sleep either, she tried but after a few minutes she jackknifed up, panting and sweating as tears streamed down her eyes.

The second night she slept a little longer but still woke up in the middle of her nightmare. I held her tighter and whispered soothing words in her ear while I stroked her hair. I had no fucking clue if it worked, which only made me more determined to complete my mission.

Tonight Nikki slept peacefully. Her breaths came in slow and deep, and I took my chance to slip away. I untangled our bodies and inched to the edge of the bed until my feet were on the floor. Inhaling and exhaling deeply, I got to my feet and dressed quickly. I only had a few hours to get away and do what needed to get done before I had to get back here for Nikki.

“You don’t have to stay.” Nikki’s voice was sharp and crisp, which made it clear that she still hadn’t been sleeping.

I turned with a frown aimed at her. “What?”

She sat up, the sheet pooled around her waist to show off her gorgeous tits and hard nipples through the white tank top she wore. “You heard me.”

“I’m here, Nikki. I’vebeenhere every fucking night. What is this?”

She sighed. “You sneak out of bed after you think I’m asleep. I appreciate the comfort of falling asleep, or at leasttryingto fall asleep in your arms, but if you need to be somewhere else I don’t mind. I don’t want you to feel like you need to be walking on eggshells around me, or that you have to be protecting me at every moment.”

My jaw clenched at her words. I went back to the bed and dropped down on my knees, gathering her hands in mine. “I meant it when I said that I loved you, Nikki.”

“What’s going on Logan? I know something’s bothering you.”

I took her chin between my fingers and turned her face to me. “I feel guilty about what happened to you, Nikki. It was my job to protect you, to keep you safe and I failed. I fuckin’ failed.”It would take a long time to forgive myself, I knew that. “I’m so fuckin’ sorry for that, Nikki.”

“I shouldn’t have left like that.” She placed her hand on top of mine, her voice soft and gentle. “It wasn’t your fault. I waited until you were in the shower to leave. I should have left a note, but I was going to get an Uber to the clubhouse and then call you.”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter.”

She gave a weak smile. “Yes, it does. I know you were just looking out for me, but what with the threats from the Blood Fangs, in that moment it seemed like everyone was trying to control me. I just wanted to feel like I had a say in what happened to me.”

“I’d never want to control you. You and Livvy bring out all my caveman protective instincts, maybe I’m gonna have to rein them in if we have a chance?” The return of her smile was a reminder that there was still something between us and I wasn’t gonna piss that away. “We won’t be able to move forward as long as there’s a threat from the Blood Fangs. I want you Nikki, I want to be free to love you, and the only way I can do that is to get rid of these fuckers.”

She gasped and pulled her hands back to cover her mouth. “Logan, you’re not going after them, are you?”

I nodded. “Damn right I am, it’s the only way.” I took her hands back and kissed her knuckles. “It’s just the VP and a few other patched members left. Once I’ve dealt with them, I’m never leaving your bed again. I fuckin’ promise.” I held my breath and waited for her reaction.

“This is crazy, Logan. You know that, right?” A small smile touched her full lips, the split on the bottom was still healing.

I shrugged. “Whatever it takes, babe.”

“Is it weird that I’m touched that you’re getting rid of them for me?” She shook her head in disbelief, cheeks darkened with embarrassment.

“They have to pay for what they did to you Nikki. I can’t let any of them live knowing they put those marks on your body or threatened my little girl.” Fuck, my anger was still too big to handle.

“Logan.” She said my name on a heavy sigh and leaned forward to wrap her arms around me, her soft tits pressed against my chest. When she pulled back, she wore a small smile and cradled my face in her delicate hands. “I’m alive because of you. You saved my life.”

“I didn’t,” I insisted.

“You did, don’t argue with me.” She smiled again and this time it was a little fuller, a little brighter. “Do what you have to do to come back to me, Logan. Just don’t do anything that will take you away from me and Livvy, yeah?”

“You want me to come back?” I sent her a teasing smile.

“Yeah, I do. So please come back to me. To us.” She pressed her lips to mine, softly. Her lips were sweet and full, and I wanted more.

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