I’ll always be right there. My hands land on her arms and she sucks in a sharp breath. As she breathes out, she asks, “What are you doing, Snake?”
I take a step closer, my entire focus on the woman in front of me, the woman who is so damn close to being in my arms. Right where I want her to be. Right where she’s supposed to be.
“First of all, there’s no way in hell I’m letting you walk home alone, Angel,” the words pass my lips sounding like a demand and a plea. Either way, she visibly softens and I already know I won part of the battle.
“And?” Graycie arches an eyebrow at me, the challenge written all over her face.
I blink at her once, twice. “Huh?
The smile on her face is damn near blinding. “You said,” she puffs up her chest and drops her voice in a clear attempt to impersonate me, “first of all.” She switches back to her voice and huffs, “Which implies a second of all or a B, whatever floats your boat.”
“Right,” I nod and hope she can’t see the way the tops of my ears get warm while I clear my throat. “Second of all,” I give her a pointed look and wiggle my eyebrows which has her giggling softly, “to you, I’m Turner. Not Snake.”
Graycie stops walking for a moment and turns toward me fully. “You want me to call you Turner?”
“Yup.” It’s all I give her as I gently guide her forward with my hand on the small of her back.
She doesn’t shy away from the contact, and I have to stop myself from fist bumping into the air. Feeling her warmth and her presence under my hand makes it feel real.
Like I could really get my woman, have my family, and build a forever I hadn’t imagined before. Because I figured the right woman for me wasn’t out there, not one who could have a place in the club, who would be loyal down to the core of who they are, and give me dreams of a soft place to land.
“O-o-okay?” She glances at me in her periphery, like she’s half-way expecting me to disappear.
“Did you have fun the other day at the clubhouse?”
“You know what?” She sounds surprised, “I did. I didn’t expect to have fun. I expected to spend the entire time scared out of my mind, but I felt almost, kind of, safe.”
That has my back going straight while my voice drops down to a threatening tone, “Did someone make you uncomfortable? Unsafe? If that’s the case, Angel,” I demand while trying not to growl, “you have to tell me.”
Her hand lands on my wrist and her making contact first, of her reaching for me, has my cock going to half-way there to fully fucking on board far too fast. Shit makes me dizzy for a second.
But there’s no way I’m fainting in front of my woman. Not when I’m finally getting to spend some time with her.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” she assures me. “No one made me feel threatened or anything.”
I study her profile for a long moment, but finally nod and grunt, “Good.”
The thought of her being made to feel unsafe at the clubhouse, by my brothers, had my vision taking on a hazy red hue. But it’s clearing. Just being near her has that effect on me. Only her.
“Do you enjoy baking or is it just a job to you?” I can’t help but ask the question that I’ve been really fucking curious about since I met her.
There’s something about her, something more, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. She wasn’t a baker in her past life; I have no doubt about it. I would bet my bike on it, and I don’t fuck around with my bike.
“What do you mean?” She tries to deflect with a scoff, “Of course it’s a job. But I do enjoy it. It helps that Lara is a great boss and is really trying to build something real here. She wants it to be a place where people look forward to going in and getting a treat. She loves this community, even though she’s new. Just like me.”
“And do you love the community too?” There’s a tease in my voice and from the way her cheeks pink with a cute blush, she knows I’m really asking about how she feels about me.
“I think there are some very attractive qualities when it comes to this community,” her voice is light and sweet, like she’s enjoying the repartee as much as me.
“Yes, but it’s always nice when we get new additions. They bring a fresh outlook and make the community even richer. We’re quite lucky when people decide to join us here.”
Graycie giggles softly and smiles up at me. Her expression is open without the wariness I’ve seen there before. Fuck me, she’s beautiful.
“I’m sure having new blood is always a plus,” she teases with an overly dramatic roll of her eyes.
My laugh is a low rumble that almost has my woman tripping over her feet again. “Careful, Graycie-girl,” I murmur.
When she glances at me, her eyes are glazed over with lust, and I file it away for later. The need to kiss her is clawing at me, begging me to pull her into my arms and press my lips against hers. But she’s not ready. Not yet.