“At home, why?”
There’s no sense in saying anything else yet. I’m answering her, and that’s all I need to do at this point. Sucking in a breath, I hold it as I wait for her to continue.
“Because your brother is on a rampage,” she hisses. “Paul is at your place right now? He’s pissed about it but knows he can’t do anything about it. And now he’s really starting to lose his shit about the whole situation.”
“Millie,” I whisper. “Paul was here, but nothing happened. He left.”
“Does he know about you and Gunnar?” she asks, but I can tell she’s being really quiet, probably so that Axton doesn’t hear.
“Maybe, probably…” I say, my words trailing off. “But it doesn’t matter.”
“It doesn’t?” she asks, but before I can answer her, she continues. “He loves you, and you love him.”
“And it doesn’t matter,” I state.
Thankfully, she doesn’t push. She drops it and changes the subject. “Are you packing today?”
“I am,” I murmur as my gaze sweeps the room.
“How about I come over and help? Nobody else, just me. A little sister time.”
She doesn’t say it, but what she means is… for the last time.
“Sure, I could use some help.”
It’s a lie, and she probably knows it, but she doesn’t call me on it. Ending the call, I walk over to the window and look out again. I expect to see him sitting there staring at my window still, but he’s not. And his bike is gone, too.
It’s for the best.
VIKING
Seeing her watch me from a distance, her gaze clearly focused on me and nowhere else, even from across the street, causes my body to almost explode from craving. Desire that I can’t have. So instead of watching her, I start my bike and get the fuck out.
I don’t go back to the clubhouse, though. I need to stay away. I’m afraid I’ll do some shit that I’ll regret. I also don’t go on a hunt for Paul, even though that’s exactly what I want to do, because that would have the same result…
I would fucking regret doing something to hurt the club. Even if it meant it would make me really fucking happy.
Instead, I just ride.
I don’t have any plans for where I’m going or where I’ll land, but I can’t stay in Thunder Rock, at least not right now. I need to be far away before I do something really fucking stupid.
I can’t go back, at least not until after the wedding. I think I need some time away, and while it’s going to likely piss Bullet off because I’m not there to do my fucking job, that’s something I’ll just have to deal with later.
I need to be far fuckin’ away.
And without even realizing where I’m going, I ride until my bike comes to a stop, mainly because I can’t go anywhere else.
My bike takes me to South Carolina and stops there.
It’s better to be in a different state. It’s better to be so far away that I can’t just show up in the middle of the night and fuck the only woman I’ve ever dreamed of in my life. The only woman I’ve ever desired to the point where I ache. My body fucking aches for her.
For Lainey-Rose.
The only woman I’ve ever loved.
When I pull up to the ocean lookout spot, I stare out at the darkness where the waves meet the sand. I can’t see dick right now, but I can hear the soft roll of the water against the wet sand. It’s out there, and when I close my eyes, I can imagine it.
I love the ocean. Though the mountains are home, the ocean is a close second.