Page 44 of Ravaged and Ruined
She sighs, soft and content. And for one perfect moment, the world outside that door doesn’t exist.
Chapter Eighteen
Aero
Lacey shivers against me, the tremble of her body dragging me out of that half-sleep haze. My arm tightens instinctively, but it’s no match for the cold tracing goosebumps across the strip of skin left bare by the sheets. Carefully, I untangle from her. My body protests, not ready to let her go, but I move anyway. I slide out of the bed, naked and sore in every muscle, the dull ache of exhaustion giving way to a sharper edge the second my feet hit the floor.
I cross the room in a few strides, heading for her dresser. Going through her shit feels intrusive, but this is something I can fix, even if I’m warring with myself to fulfill the rest of her needs.
I grab the handle and pull. The drawer sticks for half a second before it gives, jerking open with a scrape of wood on wood. Her clothes are folded in a way that says she tried to be neat, but life got in the way. Among the disarray of cotton and lace I find one of my Royal Bastards t-shirts, the worn black fabric familiar in my hands. The sight punches something low in my gut. I don’t even remember her having this but the thoughtof her wearing my shirt does something to me. I drag it free and lift it to my face before I can stop myself, breathing in a mix of detergent and her scent. All traces of me are gone. Christ. I wish she could wear nothing but my colors so the whole world knows she belongs to me but that’s just a fantasy. Another life where the danger that comes with being the Ol’ Lady of a President of an MC like ours doesn’t exit. At least here, in this room, we can pretend.
I turn back toward the bed and shake it out. She’s still curled up, arms tucked against her chest, a stream of afternoon sunlight cutting across her bare back.
Something small drops from the folds of the fabric. It hits the floor with a soft clink. A glint of brass, dull and out of place, catches my eye. My gaze snaps to the small, cylindrical form. I crouch slowly, not blinking, not breathing, my fingers closing around the cool metal.
I turn it over in my palm, and stare at it. The haze from sleep and sex shatters like glass. My heartbeat slams into my throat, my fists clenching around a bullet.
“What the fuck is this?”
She sits up, dragging the sheet across her skin, and blinking the sleep from her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
I stand, slow and deliberate, the bullet pinched in my fingers. I watch the moment recognition flashes across her face. The way her eyes go wide, like she’s not surprised by this.
“You wanna explain?”
Her chin lifts. “I was going to tell you.”
“But you didn’t.” My voice drops low. There’s no softness left. No patience.
“You weren’t here, Aero,” she fires back. “You’d ghosted me again. What was I supposed to do, call you when you were out dealing with club business. Possibly get you killed?”
“That’s bullshit, Lacey.” I’m pacing now, fists clenched, the bullet digging into my palm. “Tell me where you got this.”
“A guy from Bloody Scorpions gave it to me yesterday. He didn’t say much. Just that you were making bad decisions, and I shouldn’t be standing too close to you when they start to fly.”
I go still.
“Someone threatened you and you just.. what…hid it away for later?”
“I didn’t hide it, exactly.” She defends her actions like this isn’t exactly what I’ve been telling her I was afraid of. “I would have told you.”
“You don’t get to make that call, Lacey.” I shove the bullet on the dresser, hard enough that it rattles. “You don’t get to decide what I should or shouldn’t know when your life’s in danger.”
She flings the covers off and stands, completely naked, not giving a single damn. Stepping closer, eyes blazing with her own stubborn fire that rages so damn beautifully with my own. “You made that choice for me the second you pulled away. If you expect full access to everything inside me, then stop vanishing like you’re doing me a favor.”
I stare at her. At the fire, the fight, the damn strength of her. And I hate it. I hate how she delivers the truth like a blow to my gut.I let my guard down. I let her in. And now she’s marked because of it. Because ofme.Just like I feared. My heart’s punching through my ribs like it wants out. And the only thing louder than the rage in my chest is the one truth I don’t dare speak out loud. I fucking let it happen.
A beat passes.
Then I explode.
“This is exactly what I fucking meant, Lacey.” My voice vibrates with restrained fury. “You think this is a game? That there aren’t consequences to being mine?”
Moving like a man possessed, I grab my jeans from the floor. I thought I finally found something good in this fucked-up world, but now I feel like I’m bleeding out. I shove one leg in, then the other, nearly losing my balance as I jam them up over my hips, forgetting my boxers. Oh well, no time. I snatch the shirt I wore off the floor and drag it over my head, the fabric sticking to the sweat still clinging to my skin.
“No, but I’m not a damn crutch to use to keep shutting me out.” Her voice cracks from holding everything in too long. “Where are you going?”
I stomp my boots on without tying them. Laces half-dragging, but I don’t give a shit. I snatch my cut off the back of the chair and shove my arms through the worn leather.
