Page 26 of Chaplain

Ronnie sets his beer down and stares at me hard. "You did exactly what a good chaplain is supposed to do. You took care of everyone out there but yourself. You saved the kid without getting us involved, and you shut down the Iron Demon's stash house while giving us the jump on their clubhouse. Hell," he slaps my shoulder hard, "any mother fucker who says otherwise in this club will have his dick handed to him by me."

"What if the person needing convincing isn't in the club?"

Ronnie stares for a second before he grabs a chair, eyeing me thoughtfully. "Luca's coming by later. Maybe he'll bring Eden."

I shake my head. "Doubt it. She's better off away from here."

Ronnie laughs. "You didn't see her that night, brother. She had the prospects shaking, even Tap was intimidated. Being scared off ain't the reason she's gone."

I frown, confused. If not fear, then why hasn't Eden come? Could she actually still care?

Ronnie clasps my shoulder. "Did you ever think maybe it's not the club keeping her away?"

I can't look at Ronnie so I study the beer in my hand instead. Everything he's said hits home. Every fucking word of it should chip away at the self-inflicted jail I've rotted in. Gaining the club's respect back was all that mattered until she walked into this place.

"If she wanted something more, she'd be around."

Ronnie chuckles a laugh. "Fuck, Diesel, you're as hard-headed as you are blind. The woman wouldn't leave your side until Luca made her. And you all but told her you weren't interested."

Ronnie's on his feet and already waving at a group returning from a recon mission. "The way I see it, you've got two choices from here, Chap. Wallow or thrive. The man I know would be on his knees right now, begging for the chance. Not pissing it away feeling sorry for himself on a fucking barstool."

It takesthree days for Ronnie's words to fully sink in.

Three days of berating myself. Waring with my inner demon. Three fucking nights of missing sleep because every damn time I close my eyes, she's there.

I can't rid myself of her. Her sweet smell, the softness of her flesh under my fingertips, the way she whispers my name when she needs the release only I can give her.

Fuck! I'm a dead man walking if I don't get her out of my head and back in my bed. For good this time.

I'm not the champagne and roses kind of guy, but I know a few brothers who secretly are, and with their help and the promise of picking up the next month of beer tabs, I have one Italian restaurant rented out for the night, one perfectly arranged dozen of the reddest roses in town, and one tricked-out Mercedes convertible waiting outside Eden's place.

With Luca's help, Eden thinks she's going out to celebrate his successful job in LA. When she opens the apartment door dressed in a little black number that has me seeing stars, I forget my own fucking name until I hear it from her lips.

"Diesel," she says, her gaze raking over my new monkey suit. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Her eyes are wide, and her mouth is set at an angle that promises her next words will cut me to shreds, but I ignore both.

I clear my throat. "Ms. Vitale, I think we got off on the wrong foot when we first met at the club. So, I'd like to start over." I step closer and hold out my hand, palm up. "Hi. I'm Diesel. Your uncle tells me you're into tech and are damn good at uncovering people's most hidden secrets."

Cautiously, Eden places her hand in mine. "I'm not really sure where this is going."

I pull her in closer until she's standing with her face angled up to meet mine. "Remember when you were sitting at my bedside talking about why I locked you in?"

Eden smirks. It's the first sign she won't run away from me for what I'm about to say. "How can I remember since we just now met?"

I nod and grin. "You're right. Well. I once knew a woman who cared a lot about me, and she showed it by staying by my side, even when I pushed her away."

"And how did you screw it up?" She asks, lifting her chin.

"I told her the truth. That sometimes being powerless is best. I thought I was keeping her safe by keeping her out of reach."

Eden steps closer. One finger trails down my jawline. "And did it? Keep her safe, I mean?"

I close in what little space is left and wrap her bare shoulders between my arms. Looking down into her eyes as they glisten up into my own. "No." Inching down, my mouth hovers over hers. "Turns out she saved me."

Eden reaches a hand until my hair, tugging my mouth to hers. Our lips collide, sending a thousand little sparks burning through the air.

Her fingers dig into my neck, pulling me closer as if she's afraid I'll slip away.

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