Page 45 of Sunny Undone

“Vandal. Take his cut,” Knox says. “Reaper, get him treated just to make sure he doesn’t blurt out what happened here, then kick him to the curb at his home. And you.” Knox spins and points to me. “Come with me.”

As I follow him, I don’t think twice about what just happened. I’m still wondering why I never thought to get Della’s contact details. But she’s an assistant professor. Which means, she’s likely searchable. It’s a case of making a phone call. She only lives forty minutes away, which’ll help narrow it down. Maybe I’ll get lucky and they’ll put me through. Maybe I need to pretend I’m a reporter or a student or some shit. Maybe I just need to get on campus, find my way to her building, and sit outside, waiting for her to show up.

There’s a quiet piece of me that already knows I could well have been her walk on the wild side. The bit of rough against the glossy academic she’s used to. I was the guy outside her comfort zone, not her intellectual equal. She probably thinks she’s too good for me.

But…I don’t see it.

She never talked down to me. Teased me, maybe, in the way I teased her.

She stood up for me when North tried to make fun of me.

I thought we were good. One night. Some fun.

That turned into more connection than I’ve felt in my life.

I thought we’d wake up, and I’d talk her into letting me fuck her or even make love to her, whatever that means. Cook her breakfast. Thank her, even. Then, walk her to her car, whose window we fixed, but also whose oil we changed and tires we checked.

“What the hell was that?” Knox asked me as soon as we hit his office in the clubhouse.

I roll my neck and loosen my shoulders. “Looks like it turned out to be the right call,” I say. “You were right to cut him loose for that threat.”

Knox slumps into his chair and rubs his hand across his face. “Not sure that was part of your plan, though. You just got lucky on that one. You really like the woman?”

I take a breath. “I’m not doing this, Knox. I don’t want to have to claim her as my old lady faster than either of us would want me to, just so she can get some respect. I like her enough to want to get to know her some more. To see what happens with a little time. Don’t even know if I can get her to feel the same way after what happened this morning. But I want a chance that doesn’t involve me having to move at a million miles an hour to figure it out. Wanna take her for dinner, that kind of shit, although, I’m not sure where you take a woman like Della.”

“Sit your ass down.” Knox huffs. “Look, I’m not the best person to give this kind of advice. But, it strikes me, given she likes the things she does, that she’s like Maren. They want to be…fuck me, can’t believe I’m saying this shit out loud…they want to be wooed. I could fix my woman a picnic and find some spot out by the water, and she’d be happy. I ever told you about how I tried to apologize to her that day we saw her getting harassed in the parking lot? She ripped me a new asshole in the grocery store when I tried to say sorry. Thought I’d lost her.”

“What did you do?”

“Put flowers on her truck as an apology. Practically begged her to not give up on us. Made homemade whiskey sours and danced with her to say sorry.”

A picnic. Sounds weak, but I’ll follow Prez’s advice because I’m a bit clueless. Flowers, I can do. Not sure Della likes whiskey. But maybe some flowery drink or something.

“You think that’s what I should do?”

Knox shrugs. “I don’t have any better ideas to give you, Sun. But maybe give her a day to calm down, first.”

That bit of advice doesn’t sound right, but what do I know. “Thanks, Prez.”

Knox leans forward. “Look. I know this is new ground for you. Liking a woman beyond fucking her, and all that. So, if you got questions…no matter how weird they might get. Come and ask me.”

“Here’s one. Why didn’t she just wake me up and ask me?”

Knox rubs his hand over his jaw. “The only person who can answer that is Della. But it’s a big question to ask a guy you might like. Did you just fuck me for a bet? She’s here, out of her comfort zone, in an MC clubhouse. Might not think she has any friends here. Might be upset about it and not want you to see her cry if it’s true.”

I sigh, and my shoulders drop away from my ears for the first time since I woke up on my own. “Okay. Thanks, Prez.”

“Now that we got that out of the way, I’ve got one last thing, Sunny,” Knox warns. “Don’t ever string up a member of this club again without talking to me, first. I get why you did it. But I can’t have brothers doing that to each other. You do that again; I’ll do the same to you. You understand me?”

I nod, but as I do, the alert on my phone that tells me there are intruders on my property beeps. I tug the phone from my pocket and look.

“Fuck me,” I mutter.

“What?” Knox asks.

“It looks like my mom just fell onto my porch.” I turn the phone to show him.

Knox sighs. “Just call the police. Have her arrested. She’s not your responsibility, Sunny. You’ve already done more than any son should have to for her.”