Page 3 of Taming Bull

“I know.” And I did know. But when nights were too quiet and my brain was too loud, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was something I could have done to prevent what happened. I wanted to go back in time and take a different route home. Or cut off my hair and dress like a dude, or knee him in the balls or something. I hated feeling helpless, and Noah had made me feel so damn helpless I disgusted myself.

Finally, the biker looked at me again. “I mean it, Lily. It’s not your fault.”

“I didn’t provoke him. I wasn’t wearing revealing clothes. I didn’t flirt. I’ve never even seen the asshole before he jumped me.” Something inside me snapped. The fear and anger I’d felt that night came flooding back and I wanted to explode. I hadn’t done anything wrong, yet that bastard had still targeted me. “He was bigger. Stronger. His hands…” His hands had been everywhere at once. I couldn’t move fast enough to block him. His weight had crushed me against the wooden picnic table bench. I couldn’t move him, couldn’t wiggle out from beneath him. I shuddered at the memory. “I tried to fight him off, but I couldn’t. There was nothing I could do.”

The biker’s expression softened, and his hands landed on my shoulders, forcing me to meet his gaze. “I know. It’s not your fault. I’m sorry. Don’t cry. It’ll be okay.”

I didn’t even realize my eyes were leaking until his rough fingertips wiped the moisture from my cheeks. He pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around me. My face landed on his chest. He was warm and solid, and he smelled like rain and sandalwood. I didn’t even know his name and he looked at me like I hurt him, but he felt safe. I breathed him in as the tears kept streaming down my cheeks. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d allowed myself to cry, and now that the waterworks had started, I couldn’t find the valve to shut them off.

“I’m so sorry,” the biker muttered. “I should have been there, sweetheart. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

Um, there was no reason this biker I’d just met should have protected me. I didn’t know what to say. He was having some kind of moment, and I was confused as hell. While I was still trying to figure out how I should react, he pushed me away from his chest and held me at an arm’s length, studying my face.

“You don’t fucking give up, you hear me?” he demanded, his eyes blazing.

The anger and passion in his tone knocked me sideways and caused goosebumps to rise across the exposed flesh of my arms. The way he said ‘give up’ made it sound final. Fatal. Was he worried I’d take my own life? I wasn’t suicidal. In fact, I had one hell of a strong survival instinct. It had gotten me away from my family and landed me in a shelter where I’d been steadily pulling myself up by my own goddamn bootstraps.

I didn’t give up, I hid.

And now, I was going to fight.

I’d see Noah Kinlan in court, and I’d point him out and tell the world what that bastard had done to me. Then I’d get on with my life.

The biker didn’t seem to realize we were on the same page and giving up wasn’t an option. He gave my shoulders a little shake. “Promise me you won’t quit.” His eyes were glassy with unshed tears. I had demons, but this guy… he had the whole devil.

“Okay.”

“I’m not playin’ with you. Say the words.”

Now that he was staring at me, he was so damn intense I could barely stand to hold his gaze. For the first time since my grandma’s death, it felt like someone actually cared about me. Like someone was in my corner, cheering me on. His emotions rolled off him in waves that kept threatening to take me under. It was too much, his passion and concern too fierce. I needed to do what he wanted so I could put some distance between us so I could fucking breathe. “I won’t give up,” I promised.

His gaze took in my features once more as pain filled his eyes. Swearing beneath his breath, he released me. His hands fell to his sides and he straightened. “Thank you.”

I immediately missed the heat of his hands and his solid, comforting chest, but I had to get away from him. I opened my door and fled inside, locking up behind me. I crawled into bed and patted the spot by my feet. I didn’t know if Boots was allowed on the furniture, but I didn’t care. My head was spinning, and I needed the kind of comfort a soft, warm fur baby could give.

I couldn’t figure out the biker. My situation seemed personal to him, and I had no idea why. Regardless, I had no intention of giving up.

Boots settled in beside me and I scratched him behind the ears, closed my eyes, and tried not to think about the confusing biker with intense gray eyes. I had no idea he was about to become my best friend and my biggest challenge.

1

Bull

IT WAS THURSDAY afternoon. The Copper Penny Bar and Grill was currently a quiet watering hole for the club with low music and a laidback atmosphere where patrons could grab a decent burger and watch a game or chat with the spattering of bikers seated at the bar. In a few hours, that would all change. The booths, tables, and bar would fill up, and Flint, the manager, would crank up the music, making conversation all but impossible. Bikers and bar goers alike would toss back drinks and do their damnedest to demote shitty workdays into bad memories as security beefed up to keep everyone safe and secure. Sometimes I stuck around for the late crowd, but I always made sure my guest was home safe, first.

Lily was a friend who’d been through more than enough already, and I didn’t fuck around with her safety.

Collecting the two bottles of Blue Moon I’d ordered, I thanked Flint and headed for the corner booth where she waited for me. As I moved, the booth’s low light bounced off the wall and bathed her in a golden aura, giving her beauty an ethereal glow.

And she was beautiful. So damn beautiful, it hurt to look at her.

Yet, I couldn’t seem to look away.

The first time I saw Lily, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. She marched down the walkway, heading for Emily’s car, looking like my best dream and worst nightmare all wrapped into one spirit-filled five-foot-nothing girl. I hadn’t even lasted an hour before I found myself in front of her door under the guise of playing guard duty, but she was safe in the club. My motivation was all about getting another glimpse to assure myself that what I’d seen was real.

It was. Fuck my life, she was very goddamn real.

Years had passed since that first meeting, and being around her was still a sadistic kind of torture that I couldn’t refuse, even if I wanted to.

---