Page 55 of The Broken Queen

He climbed on the bike and straddled it. “I have a surprise for you. Hop on.”

I bit my lip. I hated motorcycles. I’d always hated them. While the appeal of them were sexy and intriguing, actually getting on one was not. Not to mention, Slade was a bit careless on his bike and never rode with a helmet. I didn’t see one anywhere, so that meant I would be riding without one as well.No thank you.

He started the bike, and it roared to life. Goosebumps rose on my arms. This felt like I was waiting in line to go on a huge rollercoaster that I would be afraid to come down from.I also didn’t like those.I wasn’t adventurous in that aspect, never was and never will be.

“C’mon Rav, what are you waiting on?”

Rolling my eyes, I swallowed my fear and got on the bike. Wrapping my arms around him, pressing my chest against his back, was a feeling that I hadn’t had in so long. I wanted nothing more than to wrap myself up in every inch of him.

Closing my eyes, I rested my head on his back and held on for dear life.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Raven

About thirty minutes later, we pulled up to a fancy gate that had lights on either side of the poles with a box for a code to be put in.Fancy.Slade put the code in and the gate swiveled open. After getting back on the bike, I wrapped my arms around his middle as we rode through on the gravel road.

We pulled up to a beautiful, large, white and brown barndominium. It had grand windows, rock lined flower beds with little solar lights in each one, a wrap-around porch, and more space than anyone could ever imagine.

He turned off the bike, waited for me to get off and then put the kickstand down. I continued to stand there, as if I didn’t know what I was doing and just stared in awe of the beautiful masterpiece in front of me.

“What is this place?”

He got off the bike and tucked his keys in his back pocket. “It’s something I bought a while back.”

My eyebrows rose, “This is yours?” I walked away from him to the porch. Wrap around porches were always my favorite. There was something so serene about being on one with a porch swing or two rocking chairs.

“It’s ours.” His words were so quiet that it made me second guess what he had said. I turned around and met his gaze.

“What?”

“I bought this...for us.”

He had to be joking. There was no way he did this. Especially in the state our relationship has been in the last several years.

"That’s not possible. We haven’t been together in years. You’vehatedme.”

“Yes.”

What was with his cryptic bullshit?“Then why would you buy us a house?”

He shrugged, “I guess I thought maybe one day we would work it out, and if not...I could at least provide Julianna with a stable home life.”

My mind kept drifting off to the same dark place. If we didn’t work out, it sounded like he would fight for Julianna and take her from me.The thought made me queasy.

“I don’tget it.First you give me that folder changing everything, and now you’ve gone and bought us a house? What is your game Slade? Are you trying to get my hopes up? To torture me more? What do you want?”

He took a few steps toward me. “I want you.” Taking my face in his hands, he tilted it up so his lips hovered over mine. Suddenly I didn’t care what he wanted from me. I wasweakfor him and always would be.

Our lips collided, and I was a goner. He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up so I could wrap my legs around his waist. I started to lift up his shirt, needing every inch of him pressed against me. He walked us back to where we were up against a wall, and I continued to grind against him, needing him with every breath that I had.

His lips left mine and began to trail down my neck, kissing along until he got lower, and lower. My skin was on fire from his touch, and all I wanted was him all over every inch of me.

He broke away, breathing heavily. “This isn’t why I brought you here.”

My legs loosened and dropped to the ground.Of course it isn’t. He doesn’t really want me, does he? Could I believe that it is me he wants and not just our daughter or to use me in someway. Did I even care?I licked my lips as his dangerously called to me. “Then why did you?”

He took a step back, pulling his backpack off and getting out that same folder he gave me earlier. My breath caught; I honestly never wanted to see that thing ever again.

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