Page 35 of Crusher

“It is morning, baby.”

“I meant morning morning.”

He’s such a wiseass, but he makes me laugh.

Landon mounts his bike, turning to help me climb on behind him. I settle on the leather seat, tightening my legs on each side of his. He shifts and I slide forward, pressing my body against him. He’s hard and warm and feels like home. Like a safe place that I want to snuggle into.

I wrap my sore arms around his muscular torso and skim my palms underneath his blood-stained shirt. His chiseled abs tense beneath my touch before he places his hands over mine and guides me to hold him tighter. As if he needs this connection right now as much as I do.

“Hang on, Trouble. We’re going for a ride.”

The world is quiet now, but that’s not surprising when sunrise is only a couple of hours away. I glance up at the night sky, the moon waning and casting its light over the deserted roads. The ride is smooth as we coast through Carnage, making our way back to the other side of town. I remember that I left my truck at Smith’s and pray it’ll still be there for me to pick up tomorrow. But that’s something I can worry about later. My tired and weak body is struggling to hang on while I attempt to enjoy my first time on the back of Landon’s bike.

The wind whips at me, goose bumps rising on my skin but I don’t feel them. I only feel the mountain of a man between my thighs and the sensual vibration of his motorcycle beneath me. The man who keeps peering back at me over his shoulder to make sure I’m okay. That I haven’t disappeared and that I’m still here.

It’ll take a lot more than a kidnapping to break me.

Exhaustion begins to take over, my eyelids weighing heavier with each passing second. In my sleepy haze, I notice his brothers take a left toward the clubhouse, but we remain on the main road heading west. My brows furrow as I wonder where we’re going; then I really become curious when he misses the turn off leading toward my house.

“Um… Are you lost?”

Landon’s body jolts when he snickers. “I ain’t lost, baby.”

“But my house is back that way.” I hitch a thumb over my shoulder in the direction of the last intersection.

“I know where your house is.”

“I thought you were taking me home?”

“I am,” he says confidently, but I’m not reassured. Perhaps he’s taking a scenic route, which I’d prefer he didn’t, since I just want to clean myself up and rest a bit before seeing Kyle. But I’ve run out of fight and merely lay my head on his back while we ride.

Landon picks up speed, and I grip his waist tighter. He drags his hand up and down my thigh in soothing strokes, practically lulling me to sleep. I’m struggling to stay awake when we turn into a quiet neighborhood in a newer subdivision at the edge of town. A few quick turns and we pull into a driveway at a beautiful split-level home. The garage door closes behind us and he dismounts his bike before offering a hand to assist me.

“I meant my home,” I clarify while he removes my helmet and sets it on my vacated seat.

“Okay,” he replies with a devilish grin. “Come on. Let’s get you inside. You can fuss at me later.” At least he acknowledges an ass-chewing is coming. But I also know he’s the type to do now and ask forgiveness later. Can’t blame him in this case because he knows I would’ve said no.

He nods to a door up ahead and I let him lead me inside the house. But when we step into the kitchen, my stomach growls as if on cue.

“Fuck,” he curses. “Those bastards didn’t feed you anything, did they?”

“Did you really expect them to?”

Landon spins around and lifts me onto the counter, causing me to yelp in surprise. “Did I hurt you?” He looks me over with concern etched onto his face.

“No, you… caught me off guard, that’s all.”

“Let me take care of you, Sadie. You do everything for everyone else, so for once, let someone do something for you.” His words hit me like a ton of bricks, and I suddenly realize how long I’ve been waiting to hear a man say that to me.

Being strong all the time is exhausting. And I’m tired of keeping these walls up. I want someone to care for me and love me and spend time with me, but I’m scared. I’m terrified I’ll let them in and I’ll fall madly in love with them and they’ll leave. Or worse, they’ll die like my parents. But I’m so tired of being alone and scared and pretending to be strong when all I want to do is be loved. Completely, consumingly, and unconditionally.

If I let him, Landon would do that for me. And I know I’d do that for him too. Love him the way he deserves to be loved. And he’d love me back just as much.

Without warning, my emotions overwhelm me and I begin to cry, causing a panicked expression to cover his face. “Talk to me, Trouble. What’s going on inside that pretty little head?”

I exhale an amused huff. “Not so pretty at the moment.”

Landon gingerly cups my swollen and bruised face in his calloused palms. “You’ll always be beautiful to me.”

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