Page 22 of Never Wed an Outlaw

“Darlin'...what's going on?” he growled, sweeping me up into his powerful embrace.

In his embrace? Nothing. I was safe there.

His inked, muscular arms had a terrible way of making everything all right. Fire and brimstone could've been raining down around us, and it wouldn't have mattered.

Whatever power Dom and his minions had over me, it was gone like ash, stubbed out in the night the second I had Dusty here. Had him in all his growling, intense,mysteriously masculine glory.

“Just a lot on my plate lately,” I lied. “I'm lonely, Dust.”

“Lonely?” He pulled back, giving me a long, hard look.

I worried my eyes would betray me. If he stared into them long enough, would he see the turmoil, the man with the literal gun to my head?

Worse, he might've seenmymistakes. That stupid, ignorant little girl I'd been last year, snapping up a loan shark's bait because the bastard saw her shades of grey, and used them to put her in the fanciest handcuffs this side of the mountains.

“Just come in,” I said, reluctantly leaving his arms. “I'll fix us some drinks.”

Dust trailed me, whistling a little when we stepped into the gourmet kitchen, a massive room with artisan finishes and more appliances than I knew how to use. “Damn, girl. A boy could really fix himself some breakfast in here. Firefly said this place was fine, but I had no fuckin' clue.”

I smiled, reaching for whiskey and a couple glasses. Tried to ignore the bittersweet aftershocks his words left in my system.

“I'll take mine straight,” he growled, when he saw me throwing my cocktail together.

“Always so simple,” I said, smiling a little wider while I poured whiskey in his shot glass, and passed it to him. “You should really broaden your horizons one of these days.”

“Maybe I will, soon as I know why the hell you called me outta the blue, and wanted me over.” He paused. “Spending time alone raises the risk of somethinghappening that shouldn't. I ain't a fool, Hannah. You're up to something if you're after me.”

Damn. He wasn't going to let it go, was he? I took a huge sip from my cocktail, and walked over, taking a seat next to him at the breakfast bar.

“You're so dramatic,” I said, rolling my eyes. “It's just work stuff. I wanted some company. There's no bigger conspiracy than that. It's nice to see you sometimes, Dusty, believe it or not. Even nicer when you aren't looking at me like a piece of meat.”

He smiled, downing his generous shot in a single gulp. “Darlin', you'd be the finest sirloin any boy ever had. If life's got you down, then that makes two of us.”

The way he clinked his empty glass on the counter surprised me. My eyes went wide, staring into his strong grey eyes, wondering.

“What's going on?” I asked, laying a hand tenderly on his shoulder. “Is it the club? Firefly cut me off pretty fast when we talked last week. I thought it was just the stress from Cora and the baby, but now I'm wondering if it's something else.”

“Joker,” he growled. “My damned Veep's been going straight off the rails lately. All because he's got some girl chasing his tail, and he's too big a fool to let her. Don't need that kinda shit with war coming.”

“War?” I repeated, watching him tense up. I realized how deadly serious this was getting, and he knew he'd said too much.

“We're settling our shit with the Deads soon once andfor all. Gonna give my club the future it deserves, every single man and woman who's part of my family, including your brother. Also gonna make good on a promise I made a long time ago to my Veep and his kin.”

“Yeah? What kind of promise?”

He pushed his glass to the center of the counter. “I ain't letting that slip so easy. Pour me another drink.”

I didn't even argue. Just got up, took down the bottle, and this time left it there. He took another heavy shot before he looked at me again, grey eyes burning.

“Deads killed Joker's twin brother, Piece, a few years back. Put their Grandpa in a fuckin' nursing home from the stress. Dropped my poor Veep straight into hell and back, living with the grief every damned day, going crazy for it. And that's not the worst.”

“What do you mean? There's...more?”

“You said you wanted the whole story, right? I shouldn't be saying a damned thing about club biz, Hannah, but you...you've always been around. More level headed than anybody else attached to the MC. Smart enough to bootstrap your way outta the muck. In case you hadn't figured it out, I respect the fuck outta you.”

He reached into his pocket, bringing out his pipe and a thick steel lighter with the club's skull and smoking pistols carved in it. “It cool to have a nip in here? It's tobacco. Never been much for anything else.”

“Go ahead,” I told him, walking across the kitchen to open the nearest window.

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