Page 38 of Thunder

“Give us a time and date Marshall but any funny business then we’re out of there, and Sammie can stay with Axel,” Bradley says and Dad sighs and says, “I’ll message you the details, thank you, Thunder,” then says to me, “I love you Scottie and I am proud of you,” before he hangs up and I swallow hard.

Every day, he makes sure to tell me he’s proud, but it always feels weird after going so long without the recognition of the hard work I put in with everything I do.

“Making all the parental decisions about my nephew now, huh?” I chuckle as I turn slightly in his hold and he grins before pressing his lips against mine.

“Always,” he murmurs, and I smile against his lips before I ask, “You sure you want dinner with my family? They aren’t the nicest of people.”

“Treasure, I’m sure, we’ll get through it together and I have your back always,” he whispers before kissing me so hard that I feel it right down to my toes.

Our tongues tangle as love fills between us and the words lodge in my throat, words I want to say but instead of breaking the kiss and confessing my feelings I instead freeze when I hear, “Scottie?”

Damn, please don’t tell me it’s…

I break the kiss, something I really don’t want to do because I love kissing Bradley. I turn and lock eyes with a pissed-off Dino who I haven’t seen in nearly three months. My stomach knots at the anger glaring back at me, anger that is not warranted.

“Dino, how are you doing?” I ask politely instead of telling him to get lost like I want but I don’t remove myself from Bradley's hold.

“I didn’t know you were seeing someone,” he says instead of answering my question, and I raise a brow at his tone.

“Why would you know?” I ask, “I haven’t spoken to you since I quit.”

“Yeah, about that,” he mutters as he eyes Bradley’s cut then his arms that are tightly wrapped around me making me feel, “Why did you quit? I thought you had mountains of debt in student loans, or that is what your sister mentioned when she last came in.”

Am I surprised my sister still bitches and lies? No, not one bit, but am I shocked she’s talking to Dino of all people? Absolutely. Then again, if he’s lied in return and told her we had a thing when we hadn’t…

Bradley snorts as he presses his lips against my head and I lean further onto him, knowing he can take it. His shoulder and knee are healing nicely, so nicely, he could probably ride home now.

And that thought makes me want to be sick.

“Dad paid off my loans months ago, Dino, so I don’t know what Rachel has been telling you, but it’s all lies,” I say, then look at Bradley and ask, “Ready to go home?”

He grins and gently nudges me towards my car without removing his grip, and I look at Dino and say, “Have a nice evening, Dino,” and allow Bradley to guide me forward and away from the man who creeped me out. He didn’t like the word no, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was screwing my sister because she thinks she’ll get one up on me. She is always trying to win a game I have never taken part in.

Bradley and I have a date, and maybe tonight, I’ll finally give him all of me because honestly, cuddling at night with no sexual touching is not enough anymore.

***

I gently nibble my lip a few hours later as I eye Bradley’s shirt. I just put it on and I am walking down the hallway and towards the stairs, ready to put my plan in place.

I want him, and I know his injuries are healing nicely, so I’m taking what I want tonight.

A nervousness hits me along with the feeling of excitement as I get to the top of the stairs. I look at his shirt one more time, and I take a deep breath but hold it when I hear, “Doc,” muttered and I look over the banister slightly to find him shirtless, his tattoos clear as day, sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. His phone is on the coffee table while the demon cat is on his bed near the fireplace staring at Bradley.

Little shit still thinks it’s funny to attack me all the time. My arms are beginning to look like scratch posts.

“The brothers are getting restless,” I hear Doc say and I tense as I notice Bradley has put his phone on speaker.

I feel like I should probably step back, that him speaking to his president is a private matter. But, he’s been a little off this evening, since leaving Dino near the diner, he has barely said much since I explained Dino wanted to date me, but I turned him down. I had been working two jobs to pay off my loans until Dad took over behind my back. I thought maybe he was just tired from tattooing all day, that maybe his shoulder was aching, but maybe it has something to do with his club?

“I’m not an officer brother, Doc,” Bradley mutters, and I hear Doc sigh then reply, “It doesn’t matter, you are still the heart of the club. Your sister is threatening to come knock you out, your mama is losing it every day. The brothers want you home, and we both know medically, you can ride. It’s time to come home, brother, it’s time to return to your family that you helped keep together.”

My heart physically shatters at Doc’s words, and my breathing picks up as my eyes tear. I step back for a moment as their voices get quieter so I can’t hear the conversation. It wouldn’t matter if I wanted to hear the rest anyway because all I can hear is static.

He has to go home, but I can’t leave Sammie…

I want to be selfish. I want to beg him to stay with me. I want to tell him that I’ve fallen madly in love with him. I want to remind him he’s been living with me since his family returned to Wincher and forced me to rely on him. But I can’t. He has a family to return to…

I quickly take a few breaths to stop my tears from falling, to try and control my heart suddenly breaking, and I wait until he’s finished his call, to get my emotions under control so he doesn’t know I’ve overheard part of his conversation.