Page 16 of The Biker's Hidden Obsession

He bursts out in a short bout of laughter. “Fuck… that’s rough.”

“Yeah, you’re telling me.” I sigh and scrub my hand over my face as the refrigerator hums beneath Red’s amusement. “The trouble is, I don’t think I can let her go. I mean, I can pretend I can, but the truth is, she’s everything I want. Sweet, smart, hardworking, a smart ass, and yeah, she’s gorgeous.”

He shakes his head and tosses the small bakery box in the trash. “If you want her, I say go get her. Never known you to let some asshole stand between you and what you want.”

“This is different.”

“It’s a lot different. This isn’t some hit you’ll forget about in two weeks. It’s not some mission you’re being ordered to take. This is the kind of thing that’ll eat through your insides. You’ll think of her some fuckin’ sunny day when you’re out with some other woman. Maybe you’ll tell everyone you’re happy, but deep down, you’ll still be thinking about the girl from the wedding shop.” He claps his hand on my shoulder. “I see it in your eyes. She’s the one, man. It’s got roots. Whether you dig ‘em up or let ‘em grow… they’re there.”

Fucking hell, this man is making too much sense lately. I’m a little worried about him.

“You’ve given me a lot to think about, man. Thanks.”

He nods and leaves me with thoughts quiet enough that I can feel them, without regard for anyone but the two of us.

Red is right. No matter how hard I try to twist this in my head, she’ll always be my obsession. I’ll think about her every fucking time I go fishing for the rest of eternity. I’ll think about her every time I climb up onto my bike. I’ll think about her whenever I see a wedding, or a girl, or feel the fucking wind.

Fuck!

I have to tell her what happened between me and her father. I have to tell her the bad things I’ve done. I have to lay every ugly piece of my story at her feet and pray she sees something worth holding onto.Then, I have to make her mine.

No questions. No doubts. Sienna belongs to me, and I’m taking her.

Chapter Nine

Sienna

The wedding venue is already bustling with folks getting everything on track for today’s event. The caterer is setting up in the lodge, the bakery just dropped off the cake, the rental company brought us sixteen extra chairs, and the fountain is set up behind the altar overlooking the mountains.

It’s perfect, and the second I see Tennessee I know why.

He stands in the archway in a tailored black suit, slate-gray shirt beneath, and shoes polished to a mirror sheen, but it’s the dichotomy of the fancy threads and the ink on his hands that draw me in. Tattoos sprawl across his knuckles like a warning and a promise, proof that beneath all that sleek civility lives something untamed.

It’s official, I’m not going to make it through today.In my defense, I’m not sure who would. I mean, the man is a god in his own right.

I really should’ve given him some space yesterday. Why was I pushing so hard? I don’t care what happened between him and my father years ago. What matters is right now.

I linger on the back patio, half-hidden, watching him work, unsure of what to say after the strange end to things last night. On one hand, I want to run into his arms until our bodies are pressed together so tight that I feel him in my bones. On the other, I want to wait here patiently until he comes to me.

Still thinking over my next move, I continue to watch as no one interrupts him. No one dares. He moves like he owns the air around him. Hell, he moves like he ownseverythingaround him. I don’t think I could exude that boldness if I wanted to. I don’t have that thing about me that he does. The vibe that’s deep inside of him that makes everyone else jump and listen to his every whim.

He adjusts the floral arch just right, then turns back toward the lodge, making eye contact with me immediately.So much for my secret hiding spot.My fingers go numb and my heart slams against my chest as I stare back at him.

“Morning, little girl. You’re looking extra gorgeous today.” His eyes drag down my frame.

Okay, this is a good start.

“Thanks,” I say, my breath on alert. “You were right, you do clean up nicely.”

He brushes his wide palm over his trimmed beard and stares at me. “We should talk before your family arrives. We’ve got a lot to sort out.”

“Yeah? Like what?” I plead to the heavens that,‘I have to fuck you before I lose my mind,’are his next words.

He grins, reaches toward me, and tucks me against his chest. “I need to tell you more about who I was, sweetheart.”

A huge part of me wants to sit and listen to that story, and someday, I’m sure I will, but right now, I say without hesitation, “None of that matters. Whoever you were back then, you’re not that guy anymore. I want you, Tennessee. The man you are today.”

He groans under his breath, stares at me for a long moment, then scoops me up in his arms in one wild motion. “I don’t deserve you, little girl.”

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