Page 34 of Bully's Darkness
“No,” he snaps, cutting me off. “You didn’t. You turned your phone off. You left the club, knowing damn well the Scorpions have been circling. And for what? A drink with ‘your girls’.”
I resent the way he says ‘girls’, like I’m a child, and I bristle at his words. “If he wanted to hurt me, he’s had plenty of chances.”
He arches a brow, flexing his fingers like he’s fighting not to grab me and shake some sense into me. “Are you trying to fucking piss me off?” he asks, his tone dangerously low. “What does that even mean, Liv? Is there shit I should know?”
I groan. “No, of course not. Look, I don’t want to be locked away here. I want my normal life, the one I had before you got out.”
“There is no normal anymore,” he yells, slamming his palm against the wall. “Not when you’re the old lady to the President. You’re a target, Liv, whether you like it or not.”
I flinch. “What are you saying, Bully? That I can never go out? Never see my friends?”
He takes a deep breath. “I’m just trying to keep you alive.”
I blink back the tears that balance dangerously on my lower lashes. “I was scared tonight. When that shot first rang out, I couldn’t breathe. I kept it together for Bria. I didn’t fall apart.” He remains quiet, and I risk a step closer. “But I need you to stop treating me like I already have. Like I can’t handle being at your side.”
He takes my hands gently. “You were brave. But darlin’ . . .he touched you.He looked you in the eye and said those things because he wantedmeto hear them in your voice.”
We stand in silence for a beat. “I’m sorry,” I say.
He pulls me against his chest, resting his chin on my head. “Just don’t make me go through that again. I can’t protect you if I don’t know where you are.”
“Things are moving so fast . . .” I begin.
He pulls back to look me in the eye. “Don’t start with the doubts again, Liv. I can’t take anymore.”
I see a flicker of vulnerability as his fingers dig into my arm, like he’s trying to convey how much I mean to him, how much he needs me. “So much has changed,” I mutter, looking around the room. “You’re on the top floor,” I add with a slight smile. When I first started dating Bully, he had a room between Boss and Taz, a tag team of self-professed whores. Their constant one-night stands kept me awake with cries of ecstasy or headboards banging either side of us. It was hell. And now, we’re on the top floor in what’s basically a self-contained apartment.
“My parents were the last people to stay in here,” he mutters, glancing around. “Hawk had it redecorated after Dad died, but he hated it up here, felt too far away from the others.” He laughs, shaking his head. “I can’t say I blame him. It does feel weird being up here and away from the noise of the club.”
“I like it,” I say. “And the music from the bar won’t keep me awake.”
He grins, wrapping his arms around my waist. “It’ll be perfect for when we have babies.”
I frown. We used to talk about marriage and kids, but once he got sent away, I put it to the back of my mind. “One day,” I say with a shrug.
“Soon,” he adds, running his fingers into my hair and tipping my head back. “Real soon.” He kisses me, stealing my breath.
“I’m on birth control,” I tell him, and he frowns. It’s not something he’s asked about, so I never thought to mention it until now, but the way his eyes are burning again, I can see it’sgoing to be an issue. I pull back to sit on the edge of the bed to remove my shoes.
“Why?”
“Because . . .”
“Liv, I’ve been inside for five years. Why the fuck are you on birth control?”
I roll my eyes, dropping my shoes on the floor and standing. “It doesn’t have to be a big deal, Bully.”
“So, why do I feel like it is?”
“I was having heavy periods. The doctor suggested the coil to help. Jesus, you have to make an issue out of everything,” I mutter, beginning to undress.
He watches, his eyes softening. “Well, when can you have it out?”
“I don’t want it out.”
“You do,” he says, sidling up to me with a smile. “I wanna fill you with babies.”
I roll my eyes, batting his hands away as he removes my bra. “So you can keep me here in your tower of bikers? No chance.”
