Page 29 of Never Wed an Outlaw

Down Time (Hannah)

Isat at the counter with my laptop and a thermos of sweet tea, ready to pour it across the keyboard and then chuck the fucking thing out the window.

My latest attempt at patching the app wasn't working. Of course, that meant the Sicilian's had their dicks hanging out. Ready for anyone with too much curiosity and a computer science degree to stumble upon. And if Dom and his bastards had their pants down, then so did I, in more ways than one.

Closing my eyes, I pressed my face into my hands, trying to stop the raw headache banging my temples numb. I'd barely processed what a complete disaster the last twenty-four hours had been.

So, when the doorbell rang, patching me through to the intercom at the gate, I nearly screamed into it. If it was some door-to-door marketer, I swore I'd...

“Hannah? Let me in.” No, Dusty's voice told me a simple marketer would've been far too easy.

“What do you want?” I asked, punching the button for the kitchen intercom. “Can't believe you're here after what went down yesterday.”

“Believe it, darlin'. I want to talk.”

I looked over my shoulder, staring sadly at the work I didn't know how to finish. My rebellious fingers hit the gate's button, letting him in. I walked outside just in time to hear his loud, familiar engine rumbling toward me.

Dusty never failed to make a good impression. Even when he was the last person I wanted to see, save Dom, the bastard looked magnificent. He switched off his bike, jerking his helmet away, throwing one leg over the Harley to come meet me.

I let myself take a good, long look – the last pleasure I was bound to have before he dropped more problems in my lap.

Mister Bad Boy Give-No-Fucks incarnate.

The man I'd nearly given up my V-card to yesterday, and still wanted at some strange primal level. The beauty, the beast, the grey eyed devil who painted my skin bright red whenever he got too close, or drilled his gaze into mine.

I leaned on the door frame, squeezing my legs together. “You'd better tell me what's up, Dust. I'm not in the mood for any games.”

“Ain't just Firefly who found out about us yesterday,” he growled. His hand flew up above mine and slapped the wall, his huge body towering over me, eclipsing us in his shadow. “The whole club thinks we're fuckin', Hannah.”

The whole club?

Sweet baby Jesus.My heart nosedived into my belly, scattering the butterflies he'd summoned as soon as his bike pulled up.

“God. Are they angry like Firefly? I tried to call, late last night, but he wouldn't answer. Cora told me his phone was shut off, and he'd need some time to cool down.”

“That's exactly what I'm giving everybody. Time. Me and him, we'll settle soon, face-to-fuckin'-face. As for everybody else, no, nobody gives a damn. Trouble is, this thing between us, whatever the fuck it is...just caused me to lie to my boys. If there's one thing I've been doing lately that turns my stomach, it's that.”

I shook my head, trying to follow him. “And so...what? You want me to lie to them too? Put on one of those PROPERTY OF DUST jackets like all the old ladies wear for their men, and pretend we're something we aren't?”

His face tensed, as if he was actually pondering it. That scared me more than anything else.

“Dusty!” I gently slapped his chest, bringing my hand back, wondering how hitting a human being could feel so much like driving my palm into a smooth, warm, immovable wall.

“I'm fuckin' with you, darlin'.” Taking me by the hand I'd just slapped him with, he led me inside, and we both sat down on the little love seat in the front room. “I'll be straight with you so we both know why I'm here, even though it's nuts.”

Great. More crazy.

I tilted my head, looking at him uncertainly, one eyebrow raised. “Just tell me. Enough with this drama. I know it tears you up, lying to your brothers. You don't need to do that with me.”

“I'm tired of mincing words, Hannah. Tired of sputtering around 'cause I've got no rudder. Shit, after everything we've been through the past couple months, it's probably more than just the club who thinks we're something else. I'm done lying to the world, bullshitting my brothers, and I think you are too.”

“Then...what? You're sitting here, asking me for a favor...aren't you?” I asked, flicking my tongue nervously over my lips.

The tiny spark in his cool grey eyes looked hungrier than ever. His voice growled every word, edgier than when he was just mad or frustrated. This was on a new level, more than Dusty the tease, or the Deadly Pistols President.

No, he'd cut himself open, spilling out his heart.

“Yeah, darlin', I'm asking for honesty. Something I should've done that night I picked you up in Atlanta, and we shared that beat up little bed. Took me all fuckin' night to get to sleep with my cock straining in my pants. Had to lay on my own hands, just so they wouldn't drag you into me, take those tits in my palms, and start ripping away everything you wore to bed. Practically had to knock my ass out so I didn't stick my dick where it really belongs. Favor? Fuck that. I'm asking for what we've both been too scared to admit for too long.”

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