Page 70 of Wrath

“I can’t do casual with you, Eden.” His words seem to come out of nowhere.

“What?” I laugh, dragging myself up to rest my elbow on his chest.

“I get that you’ve been through all these changes and that it’s a lot but I wanna come home to you every night. Whether it’s here or back at the houseboat. I wanna sleep beside ya, and then wake up like this. There ain’t nothin’ fuckin’ casual about the way I’m feelin’, I need ya to understand that.” He almost looks a little vulnerable as his eyes search mine for a response and I slowly nod my head back at him. Yeah, this may all be a little fast, but it’s exactly what I want too.

My eyes catch a glimpse at the alarm clock behind his head and when I notice the time I suddenly panic.

“You have to go.” I quickly jump up, remembering the conversation I had with Laura last night when we said goodnight on the balcony.

“What?” Aaron looks stunned as he sits up and watches me gather his jeans and his boxers from the floor. “Eden, I got a whole hour before I’m meetin’ the guys at the gym.”

“I know I wasverydrunk but…I remember telling Laura to knock for me at 8 am.” My eyes flick to the clock, to speed him up and when he follows them and sees the time, he shakes his head and laughs.

“You know, you're gonna have to tell her sooner or later?” He takes the jeans I toss onto his lap and starts sliding them on and when I realize I’m still wearing his shirt I quickly drag it off and toss that at him too.

“I’m so sorry, I promise I’ll make this up to you later.” Eden is beautifully flustered as she forces me to the door, while I continue to struggle getting my head through the neck of my shirt. She scoops up my boots from the floor and dumps them in my arms before I even get a chance to put the second one through my sleeve.

“Thank you for the cure.” She opens the door and kisses me, before backing me out onto the balcony. Then, with a half-cute-as-sin and half-guilty smile, she slams the door in my face. I stare at it for a few seconds, shaking my head. I jump as the door beside it opens and when Ruckus gets thrown out of it in exactly the same way. He looks as bewildered as I am. One after the other, his boots get thrown out onto the floor by his feet and as he bends to pick them up, his cut follows after them and smacks him in the face.

“Whatcha doin’ out here, VP?” he sniggers as he looks between me and Eden’s door.

“I was gonna ask you the same question.” I raise my eyes up to Eden’s very embarrassed-looking friend.

“Aaron, you forgo—” Eden gets shocked into silence when she opens the door holding my keys and sees me and Ruck both standing half-naked on the balcony.

“Laura?” She turns her head to her friend, looking for an explanation but instead of giving one she just drops her head into her hands and groans.

“Guess I’ll see ya round, darlin’.” Ruckus winks at Laura, before tipping his chin to Eden and stepping into his boots. He leaves the laces open as he casually strolls toward the stairs and slides into his cut.

“Ladies.” I flick my eyes between them both sensing the awkwardness before I chase after him and manage to catch up by the pool pit.

“Tell me you and Eden’s friend didn’t?—?

“What d’ya think I was doin’ in there, Wrath, countin’ fuckin’ sheep?” His face says everything I didn’t need to know.

“But she’s so?—”

“I’m tellin’ ya, it’s the uptight ones you gotta go for. Everyone has to cut loose some time and, man when they do....” His eyebrows raise.

“Eden didn’t want her to know about us.” I look back up to the balcony and see that they’ve both gone inside.

“Well, I guess she knows now.” Ruckus shrugs, taking a smoke from his cut and lighting it.

The clubhouse door slams open against the wall and as soon as I see Raze storm out, I can tell there’s something wrong.

“Raze?” I stand still as he marches past us toward the parking lot.

“Quinn just called,” he growls.

“Don’t tell me there’s been another one.” I follow him through the arch toward our bikes, wondering how much more this club can fuckin’ cope with, things seem to be coming at us from all angles.

“Yep, only this time the sick fucker didn’t manage to finish the job,” he explains.

“You mean she’s still alive?”

“I’m headin’ to the hospital, now. Quinn’s got her friends who work in the ER to hold off on callin’ the cops until I get a chance to talk to her. I’m gettin’ to the bottom of this.” He looks ready to go to war as he saddles his bike.

“I’m comin’ too.” I rush toward mine. “Ruck, tell Troj and Storm I’ll meet ‘em at the gym in an hour.” I look over at him and although he’s looking a little unnerved he nods as he takes my instruction.

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