Page 55 of Emmy's Ride

Like that morning.

I had woken up to the slow drag of his fingers over my bare skin, his lips at my throat, his voice a low rasp against my ear. "Mornin’, baby."

Sleep had barely left my body before he was inside me, stretching me, filling me, owning me.

It had been slow, torturously so, a stark contrast to the desperate, punishing way he had taken me the night before. This was different. This was worship. Bracing himself over me, his muscles flexed as he rocked into me, his weight pinning me down, holding me exactly where he wanted me.

And I had let him because in those moments, when he was inside me, above me, around me, I could pretend that none of the bad existed. That Luke wasn’t missing. That danger wasn’t lurking outside the compound walls. That Austin wasn’t the man Ishouldn’twant.

But no matter how good he made me feel, no matter how fiercely he held me, reality was still there, waiting.

I sighed again, rubbing at my temples as I sat at the desk in the room Austin had given me. I had turned it into a makeshift office, my laptop open, a notebook beside it, and a steaming cup of coffee within reach. I needed the caffeine. Sleep had been a joke lately.

With a deep breath, I refocused. It was time for my session with Noah.

The screen flickered, and then Noah’s face appeared,… and I nearly dropped my coffee.

He looked… different.

The bruises had faded, but that wasn’t what struck me. His entire demeanor had changed. His shoulders were back, his chin lifted, and—God help me—there was a slight smile on his face. Not a smirk, not some bitter ghost of an expression, but a real, genuine smile.

The beaten-down boy I had been working with for months, the one who had once struggled to meet my eyes, looked me straight in the face.

“Hey, Doc,” Noah greeted, his voice stronger than I’d ever heard it.

I hesitated, studying him. “Noah, you seem… different today.”

His smile widened. “Guess I feel different.”

I tilted my head, keeping my voice gentle. “Tell me more about that?”

He shrugged, but it wasn’t the defensive motion I was used to. “Things are just… better now.”

My fingers tightened around my pen. “Better how?”

Noah hesitated for a second, then huffed out a quiet laugh. “Well, you know, since Austin paid my old man a visit.”

My heart stopped.

“What?” I asked, fighting to appear calm.

He leaned forward. “You didn’t know? Yeah. He, uh… handled it.” His tone was casual, but his eyes gleamed with something more. “Let’s just say my dad won’t be laying a hand on me ever again.”

My grip on my pen nearly snapped it in half.

“And,” Noah continued, as if just remembering. “I go to the garage after school. The guys are teaching me shit. Real stuff.How to fix bikes, do body work. It’s…” His voice turned softer. “It’s kinda cool.”

I swallowed hard. I had so many questions. But I already knew the answer to the most important one.

Austin.

He’d done this.

By the time I ended the session, I was majorly pissed, my hands shaking as I slammed my laptop shut.

I stormed out of the room, my fury fueling every step as I made my way down the halls of the clubhouse.

When I reached the war room, I didn’t stop to knock and threw the door open.

---