Page 46 of Static

I folded my arms over my chest, not believing a word they were saying. They looked at each other, then Butcher scooped up what he dropped with a shrug.

I looked over and saw Ricochet, Lock, and Priest coming out of the hallway that led toward the meeting room, Lock's office, and the gym. As I watched, Lockout gave Static a meaningful look, then jerked his head toward me.

"Here," Static said, piling the packages he was carrying into Hellfire's already overloaded arms.

"Why not give them to one of those guys," Hell grunted as he struggled not to drop everything.

I'd seen him help carry a car engine, so I knew it had less to do with weight and more to do with the fact that the pile was awkward and could topple at any point.

"Figure it out," Static said with a chuckle as he walked toward me.

I glanced over at Ricochet, who just gave me a wide smile. Why was I nervous? I'd come down here specifically to speak with Static, but now that he was striding toward me my belly was tying itself in knots. Oh, right. Because I was planning to lay it all out and leave myself vulnerable in front of him. That was easy to do when you were alone. Much harder when the gorgeous man was gripping you by the arm and ushering you in front of him up the stairs.

He opened his door and urged me through.

"I'm sorry," I told him before he could say anything. "I'd never tell anyone club business, but I definitely won't tell anyone about this. You don't have to worry about me."

His brows shot up. "Slow down, Sugar. I just wanted to explain what you just saw." He frowned. "Why are you so pale?"

Because I was panicking. I was just Ricochet's sister. They weren't obligated to let me stay here. To protect me. Not like they were with the other old ladies.

His eyes narrowed when I didn't answer. "What's bumping around inside that beautiful head of yours, Gwen?"

I blinked up at him. He thought I was beautiful? Were the girls right? Did he actually want me? I mean, he'd kissed me, but it wasn't like these men needed much encouragement to want to kiss a woman.

"I promise you whatever it is, you're wrong."

"I don't want Lock to send us away," I admitted, voice small.

Static looked stunned. He stood there in silence, staring at me long enough that I started twisting my fingers together to ease the anxiety. "You're kidding me? Right?"

My brows drew together. "About what?"

"Lockout would never do that," Static told me. "He would never even consider sending you away. Or the kids. He'd fucking kill anyone who tried to hurt any of you."

"But-"

"But nothing, Gwen." He stepped closer and I had to tip my head back to keep looking into his face. "And if he even did consider it, I wouldn't fucking let it happen. You belong here."

My cheeks warmed and the tension drained from my body. "Thank you," I told him, placing my hand on his chest. The leather from his cut was cool beneath my touch. "I was only coming downstairs to see if maybe we could talk..." I broke off. "But it's late-"

"We do need to talk," he interrupted.

I nodded and started to take a step back. It was getting ridiculously hard to breathe while standing so close to him. I was caught up in the clear blue of his eyes. He reached out and grabbed my arms, holding me still, pulling me even closer. With every breath, my nipples were brushing against his chest. I sucked in my breath and held it because my body was starting to tingle and I was afraid I'd go up in flames.

"Where you going, Sugar?" he asked, voice low, the quirk of a smile on his lips.

"N-nowhere," I breathed, searching his eyes.

"That's what I thought." He released one of my arms and lifted a hand to cup the back of my neck. His thumb brushed over my nape, making me shiver. "Am I scaring you?"

God. The fact that he even had to ask me that made me sad. But another part of me was so grateful he was asking, because sometimes I needed that question to be voiced. I shook my head in answer. "I wanted- I thought we should talk about last night." The way he was watching me had my body rioting. I wanted to press closer to him. I wanted to step away. What would he do if I just jumped up into his arms and wrapped my legs around his waist? Pre-Trent I might have been brave enough to do something like that. What happened to that girl?

His thumb brushed over my lower lip, forcing my chaotic thoughts to the back of my mind. "Where'd you go?"

"Sorry. Nowhere." I gave him a shaky smile.

"We're not doing anything you're not comfortable with, Gwen," he told me. "You can set the pace."

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