Page 55 of My Darling Mayhem

“I’m sorry. You’re right. I do need to start realizing I’m living here not as a motorcycle club president but as a citizen. I don’t want to handle things like I’m used to and scare you off. Will you forgive me while still allowing me to protect you?”

Sunshine found a way to wind through my chest, warming my heart unfamiliarly. To have someone care for us, to need to protect us…that has never happened to us. It had been just Cruz and me against the world from the start…What would it be like to accept something like this from a man like Archer?

My gut screamed at me not to get attached to him or let him inside the safe space of my heart because if he walked out, I’d never be okay.

“Say something, please,” Archer whispered against my forehead, then pressed a kiss there.

“I—” my hesitation circled my head as effectively as a drain, there and gone again. Reality hit, leaving me confused, standing there in his arms. I didn’t hate that he wanted to take care of us. “I, well, I want to pay you something for it. Please.”

I felt his smile against my skin.

“Do you want to see it first?”

I shook my head. “No. I trust you, but in the bill of sale, charge me something, please. I can afford a little bit, just not a ton.”

I felt him laugh, and then I raised my hand to stroke his chest, near his throat, so I could memorize it.

“Okay, I’ll charge you something, but you can’t argue with what I put on the paper.”

I smiled, letting him wrap me in another hug. “Fine.”

FOURTEEN

ARCHER

Wren staredat the car with a straight face, but a smile kept curling her pink lips. She was inspecting her new car, which I had sold to her for just a dollar. I’d had Buck tow away her old one once she got anything of value out of it, then drove in and parked the new one in her driveaway.

“It’s so much bigger than my old one.” She half crawled into the back seat. I noticed her hand lightly graze the screens built into the headrests.

Shrugging, I lightly kicked at the front tire. “Just means it’ll be better for the winter and when you need to haul more stuff.”

Her amber eyes skated over, pinning me in place with a look that said I was full of shit.

“Means it’ll be more gas money.”

I rallied, lifting my hand. “But this one is a hybrid, so it’s more gas-efficient and better for the environment.”

“Says the guy driving a diesel.”

I smirked, tugging one of her curls. “It’s biodiesel.”

With a slight shake of her head, she finally let out a sigh, turning toward me.

“This is incredible, and I’m still struggling to accept that you’re offering it to me.”

“I sold it to you.” My smirk was lopsided because she was so damn cute with her hands on her hips and her chin held high. I knew she was about to argue with me, so I aimed at her weak spot instead.

“What does Cruz think?”

Her determined expression transitioned into a soft, dreamy look. “He loves it. He’s never ridden in anything this nice.”

“Then let’s stop arguing about it. You deserve to have something stable and good in your life, Wren. Even if I leave tomorrow, you deserve that.”

Her face swung over like she was worried I would, in fact, leave tomorrow.

“I’m not, but I’m just saying.”

She took a step closer to me and bumped my shoulder. “Can I make you dinner as a way of saying thank you?”

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