Page 27 of Lore
“I do. I want you to know how much it means to me,” she admits, taking the jacket from my hands.
“It’s gorgeous,” she says, her brow furrowing. “Whose is it?”
“Yours,” I reply, kissing the top of her head. “I bought it for you yesterday. I’ve been wanting to take you for a ride since you got here, but I had to get these first.” I help her into the jacket that fits like a glove, then give her the new helmet I bought her. “I heard you telling Suit that you’ve never been on a ride before.”
“Thanks, Lore,” she says, her tone gentling. Her doe eyes stare up at me, and I know in this moment that I’d give her anything she asked for. “That’s really sweet of you. I’ve always wanted to ride on a motorcycle.”
“I love being the one to give you all of your firsts,” I say, closely watching her reaction.
I can see the moment she puts up her wall, shutting down.
I know I hurt her, but she has to forgive me sometime, right?
She climbs on behind me, and I show her where to put her feet. And then her breasts are pressed up against my back, and I put my hand on her leg, revving the engine, closing my eyes, and taking a deep breath.
A moment of peace washes over me.
Yeah, this is exactly where I’m meant to be.
ATIANA
His hand is on the back of my calf in a possessive hold, one that I like a little too much. My hands are around his stomach, and I feel his abs through the material of his T-shirt. His soft leather cut is pressed against me. I’m having the best time ever. I can’t stop smiling and taking in every sight along the way. My hair is blowing back behind me, and I regret not putting it into a braid, because my ponytail is going to be extremely tangled after this. We stop at the beach, and he gets off the bike before helping me down by taking my hand. He used to be so affectionate back then, he’d always be kissing my fingers, my lips, my neck. He wouldn’t care where we were.
I was so fucking in love with him.
We sit down on one of the benches overlooking the crystal-clear water. “It’s so beautiful here.”
He rests his arm behind me. “Could you see yourself living here with the kids? I don’t want you to go back. I want to be with my son.”
“I know,” I whisper, smiling sadly. “I’m not going to move away. I wouldn’t do that to you. I’ll wait for this to die down and then I’ll find myself a place close by.” I don’t have anything left for me back in my old town.
He’s silent for a few long moments, and when he speaks, his voice is slightly hoarse. “There’s no rush for you to go anywhere. I know the clubhouse isn’t a long-term solution for the kids, but I have a house about fifteen minutes from there. We could… you could…” he trails off, clearing his throat. “You could stay there. It’s rented out right now, but they only have another month on their lease.”
I don’t think I’ve ever heard him sound unsure before, so I answer with, “Okay, that could work. I can get a job with Curse and Rune. And we can share custody of Rider.”
He goes quiet again, and I can almost hear his mind working out loud. “Something like that. And you don’t need to work, I have it all covered.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, my brow furrowing. “I’m not going to expect you to pay for everything. What you’re doing for us now is already taking advantage?—”
“You’ve supported Rider on your own all of these years,” he says, reaching over to take my hand. “Now it’s my turn.”
I want to tell him that’s not exactly true. I mean, yeah, I struggled for those first few years. I lived at a shelter when we first broke up, and then in a shared house. I worked two jobs, lived in a shitty place, and barely made ends meet. I made sure Rider had everything he needed and then some, but things got much easier for me when I met Trent. He used to pay for a lot of things for us. Now I know that was all likely dirty money, it makes me feel sick.
“Lore—”
“Let me do this, please,” he rasps.
“I’ll pay my own way,” I say quietly, squeezing his hand and letting it go. “If you want to spend whatever on Rider, that’s fine with me.”
“And Dove.”
“What?”
“Whatever I give Rider, Dove will also get. I’m not an asshole.”
“I don’t expect you to do that,” I blurt, my brow furrowing.
“Yet I’ll still be fucking doing it,” he replies, flashing me a charming grin that he always uses to get his way. “Besides, with how protective our boy is over her, I know he wouldn’t have it any other way.”
