Page 61 of Reaper
“She told me my scars made her feel safe. That they made me the toughest and most dangerous person in the room. That they tell people I’ll go to any length to protect those I care about, even if it means I’m hurt in the process.”
I can’t help but smile at that because I feel the same way. “Damn, I need to meet this woman.”
He huffs and shakes his head.
Thankfully the guys had already filled me in on the whole situation of Mae coming to the Forest Creek club looking for her dad, Smoke, otherwise that comment would have shocked and confused me since I know he only has a nephew by blood relation.
“I’m serious.” Leaning on the bar, I cup my hands around his. “Even before all that happened, I felt that way about you. And afterward, that feeling only intensified.”
He stares at me in shock, his mouth opening and closing a few times, but nothing comes out.
The vulnerability I see etched on his face and in his eyes has me wanting to go around and knock some sense into everyone that’s said shit or did something to him to make him feel like this. And I bet he probably hasn’t shown this vulnerability to many people before, which makes this even more heartbreaking while also making my chest warm that he feels comfortable enough to open up to me about this.
“That’s how you’ve always felt?” he finally manages to ask me, weakly albeit, and I nod.
“You’ve always had that ‘fuck with me and find out’ kind of aura around you, but the danger level wentwayup after everything happened. I’ve always felt safe when I’m with or around you. While I absolutely hate what happened to you,” I pause and lean in close as I whisper this next bit, “and I seriously hope you dealt with those assholes once and forall,” I pause again as I lean back and not say anymore on the matter despite his shocked and then heated stare, “I’ve felt even safer while around you after the fact because a part of my brain and heart recognized what Mae felt and told you. I know you’d do anything to keep those you care about safe. Especially the women and kids in your life. After learning what I’m assuming is the condensed version of what happened, that just solidified what I’d always known about you. That while you are a big, bad biker, you’re also a protector.”
Reaper stares at me for a few moments, not saying anything, and I’m about to apologize for possibly overstepping when he gets up from his stool, steps around behind the bar and pulls me into his arms. He leans down, pressing his nose into my hair and I tighten my arms around his waist.
“How did I ever get so lucky as to have found you?” he whispers and a weight falls from my shoulders because I know we’re okay now.
He pulls back slightly and I look up at him, grinning.
“Easy. You stepped up and protected me when my ex and the bitch who won’t be named came into the supper club and tried to cause a scene.”
Reaper scowls and I chuckle.
“Fucking hate that cunt and cunt licker,” he growls and I can’t stop my laugh at that. He’s taken to calling them the nicknames Miracle and Khloe gave them, and I absolutely love that he does that.
He cuts my laughter off when he leans down, kissing me. While we’ve kissed quite a bit ever since that day at my house after the fire, they’ve all been chaste or somewhat short kisses. He hasn’t kissed me as possessively as he did that day.
Until now.
He swallows my moan but then we both groan in frustration when we hear a few cheers go up. Silently, I curse them because I didn’t want the kiss to end.
He rests his forehead against mine. “I’d like to stay and catch up with you between customers if that’s alright?”
Nodding, I smile widely at him. “I’d love that.”
Reaper gives me another quick kiss before he steps back around the counter and sits down on his barstool. His smirk deepens, most likely noticing how red my cheeks still are, but then he scowls when a customer nearby grumbles about poor service.
“Oh, shut it, Hank. Lark can do whatever the hell she wants. It’s her bar,” Erica sasses him as she winks at me and pours him a drink. He’s a regular here, so she already knew what he’d be asking for.
A few more customers come in and Reaper snags my hand before I can walk away, kissing my knuckles. My blush deepens and when he finally lets me go and as I pass behind Erica, she winks again at me.
“Bow-chica-wow-wow,” she says quietly under her breath and I can’t help but laugh along with her as I shake my head, but then my laughter fades as I realize who has stepped up to the bar.
“Hey guys, what can I get you?”
I swallow hard at seeing Zac among the firefighters that came in tonight. Every now and then a group of them come in here to unwind, though I very much prefer the times when Zac doesn’t show up.
And right now, the jerk is glaring daggers at me. Great. Just great.
After the day Reaper and Python brought me a laptop, his and Khloe’s relationship was pretty rocky for a while. I’d learned a couple of days later that Zac was the rookie firefighter who had carried me out of the house, so he had felt protective of me as a result. I never told Khloe that, while that may be the case, I don’t think it’s the only reason why he’s kept a watchful eye over me. I just hope it isn’t what I fear it is.
Also, I still have no idea what Zac’s problem is with the club. While I can tell he hated whenever Reaper came over to Khloe’s house when we were staying there, he would, for the most part anyway, keep his opinions to himself. That was mainly because Khloe started enforcing a, for lack of a better word, gag order. He couldn’t say anything about who I chose to have come over as a guest, which was usually Reaper. Though a few of the other guys came over a couple of times.
However, that silence might be ending judging by the look on Zac’s face and since we moved into our house a few months ago, he doesn’t really have Khloe’s gag orders anymore.
