Page 52 of Liberate Us

After we had breakfastwith my mom, Sammy and I werewalking down the driveway. I headed to my car when a throat clearing stoppedme. I looked over my shoulder, finding Sammy standing by his bike.

“You can take your bike but I’m driving my car.” I didn’t waitfor a response and continued walking to my vehicle.

“You don’t make anything easy, do you?” Sammy asked, catching upwith me.

“Listen.” I stopped in my tracks and spun on him. “I haven’t hada lot of control over things that have happened in my life. Driving my cargives me some of that back, so I can leave whenever I want. I know things couldtake a turn very quickly. I’m not stupid, but I trust Tiny.” Or I trusted himmore than the others at least, but Sammy didn’t need to know that. Tiny nevergave me any reason to believe that he would hurt me. The others? Some of themhinted. Some just liked making me nervous. Tiny told me that the guys I hadtold off forever ago, while Aaron had done nothing about, had transferred toanother club, but I had no idea why. I didn’t know how it worked. While I knewsome of the club rules, I wasn’t privy to the business side of things. I had afeeling that, like Will, the guys had gone rogue or worse.

For the most part, they left me alone, but I had seen the waythey looked at me when I was with Aaron. I wasn’t exactly small chested, and Ihad curves and long pullable hair. Their words. It didn’t help that I let a fewof the guys use me after Aaron had died. I was trying to mask the pain and Ithought sex would help, but I wasn’t built for a quick fuck. I neededcommitment, love. A damn relationship. I just wanted to be with a guy and nothave to worry about where he was going to sleep that night. I refused to changefor any man. I tried that once and it only made things worse.

“So, what will it be, Sammy? You going to play nice and comewith me or be your usual grumpy self and complain the whole time because eitherway, you aren’t stopping me.”

“Fine.” He searched my face, letting out a hard huff. “I’ll gowith you because clearly you won’t listen to me but one, I will deal with youlater like I said and two, you stick close to me. Where you go, I go. You gotme?”

“Fine,” I said, repeating his word and pulling the driver’s sidedoor. As much as I wanted to tell him he was being unreasonable and thateverything would be fine, I appreciated that he wanted to protect me just thesame. Before I sat in the car, a thought came to me. “What do you want inreturn?” as soon as that question left my mouth, I regretted it.

Sammy slammed the passenger door closed and stomped to my sideof the car. In a quick move, he had his hand locked in my hair and my headripped back. “I’m going to tell you again and this will be the last fuckingtime I say it.” He leaned down until we were at eye level. “I don’t want anythingin return. Just because I do something for you, doesn’t mean that I expectpayment. I don’t know what the fuck you’ve been through, but I am not Aaron. Iam not Will. I’m not anyone else but me. Am I rough? Yes. Am I an asshole andgrumpy as fuck? Yes and yes. Will I push you because I want to break you? Youbet your fucking ass I will, but I’ll also put you back together again. I willnotdo anything that you don’t want.”

“People always want something in return,” I threw back at him.

Sam’s hand tightened in my hair. “I am not people. I am me.You’ll learn to accept that, pet, or do I have to take you back inside, throwyou over my knee, and remind you exactly who I am?”

His threat sent a shiver down my spine. My throat closed in onitself, my heart racing so damn hard, I could hear the loud thumping in myears. “Protect me.”

The hard lines of his face softened. “You don’t have to ask meto protect you, Amber.” He leaned his forehead against mine, his hand in myhair, loosening. “That should be a given.”

“It hasn’t been.” My eyes welled. “Not for me.” I had spentyears protecting myself since it was all I had but now that Sammy was in thepicture, I needed more. I just wanted to curl in his arms and have him hold me.

I took a deep breath, refused to cry, and held back the tears.

“You never have to ask me to protect you.” Sam kissed my nose.“You should just assume I will.” He leaned back, tilting his head.“Understand?”

I nodded.

“Good. Now let’s get this shit done and over with. I’m grumpierthan normal and the sooner we do this, the sooner I can have your pussy.” Whenhe pulled away from me and headed back around to the passenger side of the car,I almost whimpered at the loss. God, what the hell was wrong with me?

Giving myself a shake, I took a deep breath and then another.

My mom had taught me to take care of myself but sometimes, Ijust wanted that extra help, no matter how hard I tried pushing Sammy away inthe meantime.

Once I was seated behind the wheel, I started the car.

“How long has it been since you’ve been home?” he asked, cuppingmy inner thigh. His hand was at the spot between the crease of my center andthigh. It was an intimate touch and one I found that I desperately needed.Especially from him.

“Too long,” I mumbled, pulling the car out of the driveway. “Theonly reason I come home anymore is to see my mom. I really wish she’d move butshe won’t. I offered for her to stay with me, but she told me she doesn’t wantto be a freeloader even though I would never think that of her.”

“I get it. Your mom is by herself. She probably wants herindependence and not have to depend on her daughter to take care of her.”

“I wouldn’t be taking care of her. I just want her out of thiscity and away from...people.” I huffed. “It doesn’t matter though because shewon’t listen to me, but I swear if something happens to her...”

Sammy squeezed my thigh. “I get it, Red.”

That single touch calmed me down, easing some of the anxietyrushing through me.

“Please be nice when we get there. I don’t want any issues foreither of us. These guys know where my mom lives...” I let my words trail off,passing a glance at Sammy.

His eyes were on me, his hand moving higher up my thigh. Hisknuckles hit the apex between my legs. It was like he was reminding me who Ibelonged to, but I didn’t need a reminder. I knew. I had known for awhile now.

I belonged to Sammy Butcher. And I wouldn’t want it any otherway.

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