Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
Katrina
He’s going to drive me up the wall into insanity.
Totally and completely.
I don’t get why he is so determined to help me with all of this.
The past four hours have been him helping me clean up this mess. Not just him, but members of his club also came and helped clean up my trashed space. They brought in a large dump container for everything that was destroyed.
Them being here to help isn’t the way I wanted to meet his brethren. I mean, seriously? They have to be wondering what their brother is doing with a hot-mess express like me.
“You want to keep the color on the wall the same or change it?” Gunner asks, stepping up next to me as I continue to pick up torn sheet music in the recording room.
I look at the wall he’s speaking of and then back to him. “Would it be possible?” I wasn’t so sure about the red paint that was used on the cream wall.
“We’d have to do a coat or two of primer, but it’s possible.
My suggestion, though, with the overhaul, might as well upgrade the place.
You have to get new equipment, as it is, so a fresh coat of paint, maybe a sea-foam green or gray, would look good.
My woman is better with this shit, but as many times as I’ve had to go to the paint store lately, that’s what I’d suggest.”
I take a moment to think about his opinion and have to admit he’s right. I might as well do an upgrade of the place. I could even expand the studio room, give people more space so it’s not so confined. The recording room we’re standing in, I could make it slightly more spacious as well.
“I like the idea of sea-foam green. I bet that would look great,” I told him. I glanced at him, then back to Dagger, who was talking with Hammer, a man he had introduced me to.
“You know Dagger is my best friend, along with my brother,” Gunner says, earning my attention once again. I knew he was Dagger’s best friend. He’d told me as much. “I’d do anything for him and want nothing but good in his life.”
“I don’t blame you. Good is simple and pleasant,” I agree. I’ve done everything possible to give myself a good life, and I thought I’d done just that. That is, until Dagger swarmed into my life. Now it’s terrifyingly amazing.
“Don’t take this the wrong way because it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with him. He deserves the best. Everything. He needs someone who’s going to stand up for him just as he’d stand up for them. The shit childhood he had, well, it’s one I don’t wish on anyone.”
“I completely understand where you’re going with this,” I say, my heart heavy as I interrupt him from going further.
“You say not to take that the wrong way, but you honestly don’t know me.
Nor do you know that I wouldn’t do anything to cause him pain.
I’m not that person. Yes, I’m stubborn and bull-headed.
I don’t like change. I don’t like asking for help.
I’ve done things my way for as long as I’ve been out of my mom’s house.
He didn’t have a great upbringing, and neither did I.
So I get him. And I agree, he does deserve the best. Best of everything. Is that me?”
I pause and wait for him to answer. Which he doesn’t. He simply watches me closely, so I keep going.
“I don’t know if it is or not. What I can do is stay the course of being who I am.”
With that said, I turn away from Gunner and get back to what I was doing.
I’m hoping that I’ll be able to salvage my sheet music.
The music sheet was for a song I was working on.It didn’t have lyrics yet, just the notes for the chords to be strummed.
Total opposite of what should be done when it comes to writing music, but for me, it’s the way it’s always been.
The vocals always came second to the notes and the instrumentals.
My thoughts are all over the place, yet I can’t stop looking at the damaged, crumpled pages, holding hope that I can fix them.
I go to set them aside when I feel Dagger step up behind me, his arms going around my middle.
Just his presence alone is like a physical touch, warm and solid.
His touch intensifies the sensations, and I know without a doubt, I’m falling for him every day he’s in my life, which scares me because I’ve never had anyone like him.
No one has done what he’s done for me today. He didn’t just take my back with this mess, he took over, not caring about my protests.
“You okay?” he asks, his lips at my ear so only I can hear.
I cock my head slightly and look up at him, taking in the concern in those dark eyes. “Yeah, just trying to save what I can. Some of this music I’ve been working on for months.”
He doesn’t say anything at first, and his enormous frame makes the studio feel even smaller than it already is. “Gunner giving you the third degree?”
I can’t help but smile. “Just looking out for his best friend and brother. I can respect that.” I actually loved that Gunner would look out for Dagger and speak his mind.
Dagger’s fingers brush against mine and he brings them up to his lips, kissing my knuckles. “He means well. They all do.”
“I know.” I hesitate, then add, “They must think I’m a disaster.”
“No, they don’t.” He grins and drops my hands to tug me close.
It’s something I’m learning he likes to do.
He keeps me close as much as possible, especially when we’re talking.
“They’ve all got respect for what you do here.
Hammer’s woman is a fan of yours. Loves your music and has been demanding to meet you.
The women are all getting a little restless that I haven’t brought you back to the clubhouse for a cookout. ”
“Why haven’t you?” I blurt and lick my lips nervously. “I mean . . . “
“Baby, been doing everything I can to go at your pace. I’m not about to throw you to the wolves when you’re not ready.”
God, why does he have to say things like that? It makes my heart ache for more. It shows me just how much he cares when he barely knows me.
“And if I want to go at a faster pace?” I ask, looking deep into his eyes.
“Then you just gotta say the words.” Dagger dips his head down and kisses me thoroughly before breaking away.
“I want more,” I whisper on a breath.
Dagger’s eyes flash with heated intention that is easy to read. “We get done here, we’re goin’ home where I’ll give you more. Brace, baby, you’re in for a long night.”
Slapping my ass, he kisses me once again and leaves me standing there, watching him go.
The heat of his words lingers on my skin long after he’s walked away. I stand there, heart racing, trying to process what I’ve just agreed to. More. I want more of Dagger, and the way he looks at me makes it clear exactly what kind of “more” he’s offering.
I glance around the studio, suddenly impatient with the cleanup. The destruction seems less devastating now, more like an opportunity for a fresh start. My mind races with possibilities — new equipment, new paint, new beginnings. Everything new.
I didn’t have anything to worry about. I could get everything ordered tonight and have it within a week. So, there’s nothing for me to worry over when it comes to what I’ve lost here today.
Not when I’ve gained something so special. A man who will do anything and everything for me. It’s in the way Dagger took charge without making me feel as if he were. It’s a beautiful feeling to experience.
Staring after him, I want this to be done and over with so we can go home and get down to him showing me what he means by me being in for one long night.