Brick (Brutal Chains MC #2)

Chapter 4

Four

Brick

I knew I fucked up the second my lips touched hers. It took every last bit of my willpower not to kiss her, especially when it was so clear that she wanted me to. She’s so fucking ready for me; I would bet money that she was soaking through her panties right now.

With a rumbling grumble, I spread my legs to give myself some room as I continue to take care of her arm. She may not be saying anything, but I can feel the thundering pulse in her arm. She’s just as affected by what just happened as I am.

I take my time with her arm. I want to know more about what happened in the first place, but I don’t want to push. It’s none of my business.

“You’re all set.” I finish taping up her arm, and she slowly pulls it away from me.

“Thanks. Now I just need to get a cab, and I can get home.” Luna stands and follows suit.

“You’re not going to take a damn cab. I brought you here; I’ll take you home.” She’s absolutely infuriating.

“Brick, you’ve already done enough,” she sighs.

“And is that how you repay me? Is this what I get for doing a good deed?” I keep my eyes glued on hers.

“Do you always have to make things so damn difficult?” She huffs.

“No, it’s all easy. All you have to do is go along with it.” I smirk at her, only to be rewarded with another groan. It’s almost exciting to get under her skin, the same way she gets under mine.

“If you’re going to take me home, I’d like to get on with it. I don’t want to be out all night.” Luna takes off in the direction of the exit. Every part of me wants to get in her way. I want to convince her to stay the night here. Not even to do anything that would include us being naked, though I wouldn’t say no. But having her here would mean that I could keep her safe—a sentiment that is trouble all in itself. She’s not my ol’ lady; it’s not up to me to keep her safe.

“Yeah, alright.” I grab my lid, and we walk out of my workshop back to my bike. I throw a glance over my shoulder at the looming architecture of the compound behind the building. It’s so large it always surprises me that people don’t notice it right away.

I could invite her to stay the night with me. Take her back to my room and lay her down in my bed. Let her long dark hair spread on my pillow while her guttural cries and whimpers bounce off the walls around me. Feel her legs...

No, I definitely can’t bring her back to the clubhouse. Besides, it was against the rules—rules I put in place for a reason. I know a lot of clubs are lax about letting people in and out of their space, but that leads to bad shit happening. I don’t want anyone in my space that doesn’t need to be there. That includes lovely Luna.

I follow behind her before pulling ahead and tossing my leg over my bike to keep it level. She scoots on behind me, and I have to bite the inside of my mouth to keep from groaning when she wraps her arms around my waist. God, she feels good.

I need to get her to her house so I can just be free of her. It’s a race to her house. I know if I slow down even a little bit, I’m liable to turn back toward the clubhouse and do exactly what I want to do, and that is keep her there.

Luna gives me turn-by-turn directions. Every time she leans forward and speaks into my ear, my body tightens more and more like a rubber band being pulled tight. Finally, we make it to her apartment building. The surrounding area is more commercial storefronts than residential areas, but the building itself is nice.

“Thanks for the ride and for bandaging me up,” Luna breathes out as she hops off the bike.

“Yeah.” I slide off my bike right behind her. I follow behind her, and she turns abruptly. “What are you doing?”

I don’t know exactly what it is I’m trying to do, but I quickly recover. “I don’t have many chances to be a gentleman.” I peer down at her, and my eyes hone in on her mouth and the way her tongue slowly darts out and wets those glorious lips.

“Whatever you say. I’m not going to let you in.” She hitches an eyebrow but holds the door open for me.

She lives on the third floor, and the hall isn’t even lit. It’s making me uneasy. Finally, we get to the floor, and she takes her keys out from her jacket pocket.

“You think walking me up to my apartment is going to make me think you’re less of an ass?” she jokes.

“No, it’s going to take more than just me walking you to your apartment to take my title as lead asshole.”

Finally, we make it up to her door, and she turns around, laying her back against it. I can tell she wants to invite me in. We stay there for a second just looking at each other, neither one of us wanting to give in to the other. Tonight is going to end in a stalemate. I’m okay with it, though. It’s better this way.

“Go on, get some sleep.” I nod toward her door, and she lets out a soft sigh. She nods and turns to go inside. I stand back and let her leave. It’s probably the hardest thing I’ve had to do in a long while.

A few seconds tick by, and I hear her moving around in the house. Time for me to get on my way. Not even halfway down the hall, I hear the glass break. I’m turning in the direction of her apartment when I hear her scream.

“Brick! Brick, help!”

I’m bursting through the door before the scream even has a chance to echo. My blood boils in my veins as I walk in and see a man trying to hold Luna down. She pulls away, and as she does, her shirt rips, and she instinctually covers her chest—but that only allows the intruder to grab her.

No fucking way.

With a roar loud enough to shake the fucking walls, I barrel into the apartment, not giving a shit about what I break. The man trying to grab Luna stands to full height, and I realize he’s about a foot shorter than me. It’s going to be way too easy to beat his face in. I shove Luna out of the way simply because I don’t want her to be hurt. My eyes dart to her for a second and see the blood dripping from her lip.

Oh yeah, fucking this guy up is going to be so very satisfying.

The asshole tries to rush me, but I barely even feel him. I clench my hands together and bring them down like a club in the middle of his back.

“Fuck!” he groans and crumbles to the ground, barely able to breathe.

“Who the fuck are you?” I grab the back of his shirt and yank him back to his feet.

“Get the fuck off me,” the asshole grunts and tries to swing on me. His blows feel like a fly smacking against my skin—weak. Pathetic.

“I asked you a fucking question!” I shout before I fling him forward. He frog splashes onto Luna’s couch before rolling onto the glass coffee table. It smashes into a million pieces.

I surge forward, trying to get my hands on him again, but the bastard grabs a handful of glass shards and tosses it right in my face. At the very last second, I close my eyes and use my forearm to block the spray. A few shards crash against my face.

By the time I open my eyes again, the asshole is already at the window, sliding out.

“You punk bitch!” I call out and try to chase after him.

“Brick, no. Please. Don’t go. Please.” Luna reaches one hand for me.

I’m torn because one part of me wants to go after that asshole, but the other part wants to stay here and make sure Luna is okay.

“Shit. Come here.” Protecting Luna wins out.

I rush over to where she is and grab hold of her. Her whole body is shaking.

“Shh, I’ve got you. I’m here, Luna.” I push her hair out of her face, and it nearly breaks my heart when I see her eyes welling with tears. I could break that bastard's neck.

“Who was that?” I ask her but make sure to keep my voice soft. I don’t want to scare her any more than she already is.

“I...I...I don’t know,” she stutters.

“You’re hurt. Let me see you.” I try to move her other arm from around her chest, but she clamps down hard.

“My shirt...it’s ripped.”

“Here, sweetness, take mine.” I peel my cut-off and pull my shirt for her to wear. Gently, I pull my shirt over her head and let it fall down her body. It feels right having my shirt on her.

“Let me see your face.”

Finally, covered up, she lifts her face so I can see her. There’s a bruise on her cheek, and her lip is busted. There’s a small trickle of blood dried under her nose, but it’s already stopped bleeding.

“I’m okay. I just need to wash my face.” She tries to get up. I growl when she winces as she stands up.

That bastard.

“Come.” I put my arms out so she can come to me, but she’s so stubborn she tries to take a step on her own. I’m not having it.

I scoop her up. “Where’s the bathroom?”

“Back there.” She gestures down the hallway.

I walk slowly, just in case there’s another asshole in here. Lucky for them, no one else is here. I softly place her on the toilet seat and grab a washcloth to wipe the nearly dried blood off her face.

“Thanks, Brick. I’m okay now. You can go.” She tries to push my hand away.

“Not on your life, Luna. I’m not leaving you here.”

“What do you mean? You can’t think to stay here.” She raises her eyebrow at me, just a touch of the fireball that is Luna coming back to the surface.

“No, of course not.” I shake my head. “You’re coming with me.”

“Brick,” she starts to complain, but I put my hand up to stop her.

“Luna, someone just broke into your house and tried to do whatever. Be smart. You can’t stay here on your own until we figure out what the hell is going on here.”

She presses her lips together hard and looks around the room as if she’s looking for an exit.

“I can get a hotel.”

“Luna.” I growl, and she releases a deep breath when she realizes that there’s no getting out of this.

“Fine, let me just get some of my things.”

“No, I want to be out of here now. I don’t know if that jerk-off has any of his friends waiting for him. I don’t want to be here if they decide to come back.”

She looks up at me for a second before she finally gives in. She nods, and I pick her back up and rush out the front door. I don’t even bother to lock it behind me. I could give two fucks about what she’s got in there. All that matters is that she’s safe.

Quickly, I get her back downstairs and onto the back of my bike. For the second time tonight, I’m racing like the devil is at my back in the direction of my clubhouse. This time I’m not focused on the feel of her hands on my body. This time I’m focused on making sure I keep her away from whatever fucked-up mess she’s into.

The second she called my name, every last reason I had to stay away from her vanished. Her business is my business. And if there’s one thing that has always been true for me—it’s that I handle my fucking business.