Page 76 of Fearless
"Can I just," his hand flopped out of his hair, "have some time to think about it? Get used to the idea first, maybe ease myself into it? I’m not saying no, I just…don’t want to make any promises I can’t keep.”
"Y-yes!" I stammered in disbelief. "Of course!" Then more coolly, "And if you're worried about anything, or just have questions, you can ask me anything. This only works as long as I'm an open book with everybody. But you can ask Reaper and Jandro too."
Finally a heart-melting smile cracked the solemn facade. "I'm sure I'll have them. It's a starting point, I guess." He sighed. “If I’m going to do this, I have to go in with the right mindset. And I know I already got started on the wrong foot. Now I have to backtrack and start all over.” His hands scrubbed down his face with a laugh. “My brain is so fucking fried, I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore.”
“We’ll take it one day at a time,” I assured him. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?"
"'Course you will." He finally released the door-jam and reached for me. "Come here."
Warm skin pressed against me as he held me tightly. A kiss dropped to my forehead like gentle rain. For some reason, that kiss unwound everything I'd been holding back and a shuddering sigh escaped me.
"Thank you," I whispered shakily into his throat. "For being there today. For giving this a chance. For being you. Foreverything."
Another kiss, this time at the corner of my eye to catch the tear that threatened to fall.
"I'll always be here, baby girl."
Epilogue
MARIPOSA
After leaving Gunner’s house, I caught up with Reaper and Hades just as they were leaving the clubhouse.
“What’re you doing out here, sugar?” He tucked me into his side with Hades falling into a walk beside me on my other side. “I thought Jandro wasn’t going to let you out of his sight.”
“I talked him into letting me see Gunner for a minute. Alone.”
Reaper gave me a knowing look. “Things happened while you two were locked up there, huh?”
I swallowed, giving myself the conscious reminder that it didn’t bother him. He didn’t see it as cheating. I had nothing to be ashamed of, nor did I do anything wrong. I knew it well now, but sometimes old thinking patterns cropped up.
“We kissed…kind of a lot. Most of the time, he was just holding me or shielding me. But they almost forced us to—“
“Mari, you don’t need to confess every little detail to me.” He chuckled as he stroked a thumb along the back of my neck. “In fact, I’d probably prefer you didn’t. But is he going to join the fold or not? There’s no in-between. He either has you and us, or he doesn’t have you at all. That’s the deal.”
“He’s…going to think about it.”
Reaper made a disapproving sound as he stuck a cigarette in his mouth.
“Don’t,” I warned him. “This is weird to him. Hell, it was weird to me. The whole reason you didn’t tell me right away was because you thought I wouldn’t want to be shared, right?”
“But then I explained it to you,” he retorted. “Gunner knows the deal. I’ve known him half my life. He’s seen how my family worked. He should know how he feels about you. In my humble fuckin’ opinion, he needs to shit or get off the pot.”
“Just give him a little time.” Feeling impulsive, I snatched the cigarette from his hand and took a long drag before returning it back to him. “To get used to the idea.”
“Mm,” Reaper chuckled amusedly, running his tongue along the filter. “I’m never throwing this one away, knowing your lips were on it.”
“Gross, Rory.”
“I’ll give him time, only because you said to.” He ignored my use of his real name. “But I don’t have infinite amounts of patience. And as you know,” he squeezed the back of my neck with light pressure, “I have zero tolerance for anyone who hurts you.”
Hades suddenly stopped.
And like a pair of hands sprung up from the sidewalk to hold me in place, my feet stopped too.
Both of us halted with no warning at all, Reaper continued walking a few steps before noticing.
“What’s gotten into you two?”
