Page 58 of Rise In Arms

I must be out of my goddamn mind. I had a gorgeous and naked woman in my room, and what do I do? I refuse her offer to fuck her and take her out for a ride on my bike instead of my cock. I’m losing it, for sure.

A niggling feeling sits in my guts because I know why I did it—Charity is different, she’s special, and I don’t want to treat her like a whore. She deserves to be treated like a lady, deserves to be spoilt, and I know I can’t give her a life of wining and dining that I’m sure she could find out there in a heartbeat, but I’ll try my hardest to make her happy, because fuck me, she’s everything I never knew I wanted, and I’m not letting anyone take that away from me.

We ride through the streets, the rain we had earlier causing the cold wind to feel like ice on my face. When Charity came out of the clubhouse dressed in a short dress, I went back inside and grabbed my leather jacket for her. The light denim one she’d had on wasn’t going to keep the sting of the cold off her skin.

We pull up to my favorite place, it’s where I go to think when I have something on my mind. It’s a park not too far from the clubhouse, there’s a lake with ducks, and kids playing with kites as their parents watch them from nearby. People having picnics, or just workers having their lunchbreak outside, there’s just something about the place that makes things peaceful enough to sit and think about shit.

I turn the bike off and kick the stand down. Charity’s arms release from around my waist, and I pull my helmet off and hang it off the handlebars. Rising up out of my seat and stepping off, I help Charity with her helmet, and wince when I see her cheek is now turning a light shade of blue. Cursing under my breath, I gently move my hand to her cheek, running featherlight strokes along there. “I hate that she did this to you because of me,” I murmur, unable to look away from the damage Honey did to her porcelain skin.

Charity cups my hand, and her eyes look into mine. “It’s fine, I promise.”

I let out a deep breath. “I’m so sorry I left you alone, I should have had someone keep an eye out.”

“What on earth for?” she says, clearly confused. “I don’t need babysitting, Kane. I can look after myself, if you haven’t noticed.”

Oh, I noticed all right.I smirk and lean down, placing a kiss where my hand was just sitting, then straighten, looking around at the park. It’s not as busy as it usually is, probably because the weather hasn’t been that great. Placing my hand out once again to help Charity off my bike, she finally accepts it and raises her body up and off, looking at our surroundings as she steadies herself. “Where are we?”

My gaze follows a trail of grass that leads down to the river, where a couple are just about to head out on small canoes. “Just somewhere I like to come now and then.”

Putting her hands on her hips, she looks around, smiling. “I like it.”

Grabbing a basket that Daisy prepared for us, I hold Charity’s hand in mine and we walk side by side down to a grassy patch under some trees. I place the basket down on the ground and open it, taking out a small rug for us to sit on. Charity’s eyes light up when she notices me shaking it out, and I lay it on the ground for her. “Sit.” I gesture to the plaid rug, and she collapses on it with a big smile. That smile is something I would love to see on her more often.

“Sit with me.” She pats a spot beside her.

I crouch down and sit next to her then drag the basket in between us, removing orange juice, a couple of sandwiches, and some fruit. “Hungry?”

“Famished actually,” she responds, her focus now solely on the food.

“Good, because there’s a lot here.” I hand her a chicken-and-mayonnaise sandwich, and she accepts it eagerly, removing the cling wrap from around it.

“I can’t believe you did all this,” she says softly, pulling back from taking a bite. She pauses on what she’s about to say next and looks at me intently, then leans in close and places a soft kiss on my lips. “Thank you, Kane, this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

“I doubt that.”

“It’s true. With Blake it was always about him, what was in it for him, before anyone else.” She sighs and plays with the discarded cling wrap from her sandwich.

I take a bite out of my own sandwich and look out across the water, giving her some time with her thoughts. “I know what you’re thinking,” she says, finally taking a small bite.

I snap my head toward her. “And what’s that?”

“Wondering how I ended up with Blake Reynolds.”

Finishing off my sandwich, I throw the wrapping in the basket and open some juice, offering it to her first. She takes a small sip, then I finish off the rest.

“Well?” she says after a moment.

“Well, what?”

“Aren’t you? You know, wondering?”

I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and place my legs out in front of me, leaning back on both hands. I look at her, and have to admit that I have been wondering how she ended up with an asshole like Blake—but do I really want to know the details of how she fell for him? Nope, can’t say hearing about her wanting another man is something I need details on.

“I get it, Char, you wanted him, he wanted you. That’s all there is to it.” She smirks. “What’s so funny?” I ask, sitting back on my hands again.

“You’re jealous.”

“Jealous? Me?” I point a finger at my chest.

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