Page 22 of Gunner

I start to challenge his decision, but before I can contest, he runs over to his friends. When I turn around to my brothers, they’re all smiling at me. “What?” I shrug.

Venom pats me on the back, the tension from earlier withering away. “We got you, brother.”

We both nod our silent understanding, with no more questions of who Lily and Caleb belong to.

They’re both mine, and I’ll protect them until I take my last breath on this fucking earth.

8

LILY

James drives us back home just as the sun finally sets. I glance over my shoulder to find Caleb asleep in the back seat, his soft snores ruffling the silky strands of his sandy-brown hair. My heart warms, remembering how happy he was playing with the other kids at the clubhouse. For the first time since we moved back here, I don’t feel so alone.

I beam when I think about the new friends I made today. Emma and Sienna. As soon as we were away from the men, they bombarded me with a barrage of questions, most of them about my relationship with James. Well, Gunner, as they call him. Though it’s weird to use his road name. The girls and I made plans to meet up and I’m already counting down the days until I see them again.

I look at James, admiring the side of his handsome face. “Thank you for bringing us today. I can see why you think of them as family. But I almost didn’t recognize Landon.”

“Crusher. You can call him Crusher now.”

“He’ll always be Landon to me, just like you’ll always be James.”

He side-eyes me with a less-than-thrilled expression. “The only man you’ll call by his first name is me, baby. No one else.”

This must be one of those club rules I’ve heard about, some biker code, I guess. But I won’t question it. “Well, it was good to see Crusher again after all this time. And meet the rest of your friends. It was a really nice day.”

James places a heavy palm on my thigh, giving it a slight squeeze. “Glad you had a good time, Sunshine.”

He’s perfect, just the way I remember him. Gentle and sweet beneath hard layers of I’ll kick anyone’s ass if they get in my way. I know he had to be tough with the type of upbringing he had with his father, and I’d give anything to change that for him. At the same time, I’m grateful for the man he’s become. For once, I feel like I can relax and breathe and be taken care of like I so desperately want. But it’s going to take a bit for me to break my fiercely hyper-independent ways that have been honed over the years.

The longer I watch James, the stronger my lust for him becomes, rushing through me like waves of heat. The hand he rests on my leg begins to feel like fire, and I contemplate sliding it higher to where I really want it, where I need it to soothe a burgeoning ache.

No, Lily. Your child is sleeping in the back seat right now. Get your hormones under control, you hussy.

I clench my thighs together, trying to temper my craving, and look out the passenger window to redirect my thoughts. Fifteen minutes later, James pulls into my garage, and I’m thankful to escape the mounting sexual tension, if only for a brief moment. While I grab the leftovers from the cookout, James carries Caleb inside, allowing him a few more seconds of rest before we wake him to get ready for bed. I stop in the kitchen, storing the food in the fridge, then join the boys in Caleb’s room. It’s a precious image, seeing this big, burly biker using a wet cloth to carefully wash the Spiderman paint off my son’s face.

I stroke his soft hair, sweat-dampened from hours of playing in the sun. “Did you have fun today, sweetie?”

“Yeah, it was awesome,” Caleb mumbles with a sleepy smile.

“That’s good, baby. C’mon, let’s get you into some clean jammies.”

He quickly brushes his teeth and changes his clothes before climbing under the covers. We usually pick a book to read, but he’s too tired for story time tonight. I kiss him goodnight, then James and I leave, turning off the lights on our way out.

James follows me down the hall to my room. “Are you staying over again?”

He doesn’t answer right away, simply sitting at the end of my bed, kicking off his boots, then pulling his fitted t-shirt over his head. The sight of his golden-bronze, tattooed skin takes my breath away. It’s damn near unfair how good the years have been to his body. I wish I could say the same for mine.

Suddenly, he stands and moves to the door. “Where are you going?”

“I forgot something in the car. Be right back.” Having no clue what that something could be, I leave him to it while I walk to my bathroom and begin my nightly routine. I’m nervous about him staying a second night, so I attempt to calm my thoughts by doing some mundane tasks.

I’ve brushed my hair and teeth and have started removing my makeup when James returns. He leans against the doorframe to watch me. “I stopped by my room at the clubhouse and?—”

“Wait… You live at the clubhouse?”

“Used to. Sometimes I still stay there when I’m too tired to ride home or just feel like being with my brothers.”

“Used to…” I’m wiping away the last of my mascara when I pivot my head to face him, waiting for him to explain.

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