Page 41 of Bolt (Iron Thunder MC 1)
Sophie seemed confident that the guys were going to return unharmed, but Bolt said he couldn’t make any promises. I shuddered at the thought of losing him already. Were we destined to just have one night together?
I clutched my stomach tightly because the thought made me feel sick. I’d never felt this way about a man before.
The only relationships before this were casual and short-lived. None of those men made me feel this upside-down. I’d never wanted to change my whole life around for the sake of being with someone else, but now I did.
My family had always been the center of my world. Dad, Mom and Chip. When I started losing them one by one, I held on tightly to Chip. My brother. The only family I had left.
I thought I knew my brother, but as it turned out, I didn’t. I’d never thought he was capable of something like this, but maybe I should’ve forgiven him. He was trying to save our family home after all. Maybe he did deserve some sympathy. But I couldn’t find it in my heart to sympathize with him. Not until Bolt returned.
What would my parents have thought of me being with someone like him? Mom had always been so afraid of Chip hanging out with the ‘bad crowd’, the ‘biker types’. She’d conditioned me to believe her thoughts too—that all these men were violent and bad. That Chip was putting his life in danger by sticking with them. That they were nothing but trouble.
So I knew she wouldn’t approve if she knew I’d fallen in love with one of them.
But Mom had never known these guys the way I did. She hadn’t lived with them in such close quarters.
The truth was, I’d never felt more safe than I did right now when I had Bolt looking out for me. So Mom was wrong. They weren’t dangerous. Not when you were loyal to them. Not when you abided by their rules and were a part of their community. There was no place safer.
Chip had failed to do that. He’d betrayed them. If they’d punished him the way Bolt said he would’ve been—how could I have lived with that? My brother being punished to death.
But he wasn’t. He was clever enough to save his ass.
And now we were here.
I was more a part of this now than I ever thought I would be.
I sat down on the edge of the bed with a thump again, and looked at my watch.
It was past midnight now. Bolt and the rest of the MC had been gone for several hours. I didn’t even have his phone number. How was I supposed to get in touch with him? I was tempted to go look for Sophie. Maybe she would know how to get in touch with them, but I decided to wait a little longer.
Bolt and I had one chance of being together; I just hoped I wouldn’t have to live with the memory of just that for the rest of my life.
My eyes fluttered closed for a moment. I was tired. I was sitting upright in bed, but felt physically and emotionally drained. If only he was here and I could wrap my arms around him. Rest my head on his shoulder.
The door gently creaked open. So softly that I thought I was imagining it. When I opened my eyes, I saw a shadow at the door.
“Bolt?” I whispered his name with a gulp. My mind was whirling. It couldn’t be him, could it?
He took a step into the light of the table lamp in the room.
I saw his face. He was watching me with his piercing blue eyes. I stood up with a jerk, but couldn’t speak.
In the light, I could see him now, his face marked with what looked like grease or dirt. Like he’d rolled around on the ground. There was dirt on his clothes too. His usually polished boots looked muddy.
I could see something glistening on his forehead. A dash of blood?
“Bolt!” I shrieked, rushing to him.
I wasn’t just imagining this. He was real. He was really here.
He took me into his arms, and I kissed him. It was a slow and gentle kiss. I was so relieved…more than I’d ever been in my life to see someone. I hadn’t even felt this way when I saw Chip that day. What did that say?
I’d given myself to Bolt completely.
He held me, his strong arms around me.
“You’re here,” I whispered when our mouths finally parted.
“There was no other place I would have returned to,” he replied.
I rested my head on his chest, just like I’d wanted to all night. “Tell me everything,” I said.“Chip’s information came through, he was right about everything,” Bolt said.
We were in the bathroom. I’d drawn him a hot bath and now he was stripping his clothes off one by one. I stood in the corner, watching him, trying to stay focused on the conversation.
