Page 71 of I Should Hate You-but I Don't

"You're supposed to be inside the bar." His hands caressing her head took the sting from his words.

"I was scared you weren't coming back. I needed to find you." She patted his sides. "Are you okay?"

He captured her face with his hands, dragged her to his toes, and kissed her. Her mouth opened in shock. They were outside in the open, with bikers, firefighters, and Gem Haven employees moving around.

He took that opportunity to slide his tongue into her mouth. She fisted his leather in her hands, holding on because the ramifications of what he was doing left her weak, confused, and ecstatic.

He pulled his mouth off her. "Feeling better than I have in a long time."

"You're kissing me," she blurted.

"They'll be more kissing. More fucking. More arguing. More making up." He inhaled deeply. "You're mine, River. I have a lot to fix. But first, you need to know, I'm not letting your dad or my dad dictate our lives anymore."

"Wh-What do you mean?"

"I'll explain later, sweetheart." He smoothed her hair back from her face. "I need to check in with Big John and meet with the sheriff to see how much of the fire we have contained. You need to get inside the bar, out of the smoke."

She clung to his hand as he strode to the bar. Kingsley rode up on his Harley.

They stood on the steps until Kingsley stopped and shut the bike off. Both men were covered with black soot. Zane never let go of her as he threw his arm around his brother.

"Sheriff's coming to hold a press conference. I told him he could use the bar." Zane pointed behind him. "Banger arrived to take my place. He'll have Echo return if anything changes."

"Has the fire breached the fire line yet?" asked Kingsley.

"No, the wind shifted, and the fire went southwest. If it continues, it'll get trapped in the canyon, and with the creekthere, we have a good chance of it burning itself out." Kingsley's gaze went over River's head, and he frowned.

She looked behind her and found Kenna watching from the doorway.

"You're back?" Kenna's chin lifted.

"For now." Kingsley cocked his brow. "What are you doing out here?"

"You've got eyes. You can see I haven't stepped a foot outside the bar." Kenna shook her head and stepped back, shutting the door.

When her sister was gone, Kingsley chuckled. River studied him. She never would've believed it if she hadn't seen the change in him or heard the amusement.

Kingsley was in love with Kenna.

"Let's get inside." Zane put his hand on her lower back and walked her inside.

The next half hour was a whirlwind of fixing more sandwiches, moving tables and chairs, and setting up for the Sheriff, who wanted to broadcast the update on the fire to the local news.

When the info broke that the fire was seventy percent contained and comprised one hundred and fifty acres, she tucked herself under Zane's arm while everyone broke out in cheers.

Chapter Thirty Three

Zane

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River walked out of the bathroom, towel-drying her hair. Zane sat on the edge of the bed in his jeans, wishing he could get back and spend the day with River instead of dealing with the fire's aftermath.

She stopped in front of him and frowned. "How can I still smell smoke in my hair?"

"It's in the air." He hooked the back of her legs and pulled her between his thighs. "At least the fire is getting smaller."

"Everyone has worked so hard." She sat down on his leg and looped her arms around his neck. "I'm glad you got some sleep last night."

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