Chapter Eight
T aylynn stared at him , only inches away. She had seen his hand reaching for her and forced herself not to move away, now she was glad she hadn’t. Now, as he cupped her face, she couldn’t resist tilting her head into it, so she almost snuggled into the tender touch. She wished someone would wrap their arms around her and just hold her. It had been so long since she was treated like a human being, she had to fight back tears as he was nice to her.
Her shoulder ached as the weight of the cast that no longer rested on the bar pulled on it, in turn, making her ribs throb. She didn’t want to say anything, and she didn’t want to move away from Raven. He and the rest of the Angels had been so nice to her.
Something would change soon, she knew. They’d get tired of having someone to take care of. Someone who was so broken she could barely take care of herself. Sure, she could shower and all that, but she had no money, she couldn’t even pay them back for the food they’d given her, much less pay for her share of the rent or electricity.
And she hadn’t lied to him earlier when she’d said there was no one to worry about her. If there had been, she might not have spent almost a year in the Demons’ lair.
“Thank you,” she whispered, not knowing what else to say. They had taken a risk. Not only picking her up, but bringing her back to their home, their haven, and taking care of her. She glanced down at what she wore. Someone had gone out and bought clothes for her. Her t-shirt was a little more snug than she would have preferred, especially since she still couldn’t stand to wear a bra, not over her ribs, but the leggings weren’t bad. They’d brought her slippers, too. Raven said it was because the floors here were cold and he didn’t want her getting chilled. But there hadn’t been any other shoes, so she hadn’t gone outside. “If I’m to feel like this is normal,” she paused and looked away. She didn’t want Raven to see what she was thinking. “Can I at least go outside?” She hadn’t been outside in days. Not since she’d gotten there. And before that she’d only gotten to go out when she went outside with one of the Demons to service them. That was the only way she could think of it. Servicing them. It made her feel dirty. Even just remembering what she’d had to do before... That was how she thought about it. Before. Before now. Before Raven and the Angels had found her. Before.
“Of course you’re welcome to go outside.” He scowled at her. She wasn’t sure why, but it made her want to get away from the scrutiny. Taylynn forced herself to stay where she was
“I don’t have any shoes. All I’ve got are these.” She stuck out her feet, showing him the slippers he’d brought her when he’d brought her clothes.
“Are those not okay to go outside in?” He looked down at her feet, his scowl growing deeper.
Taylynn shook her head. “I don’t want to tear them up, or track in a bunch of dirt for someone else to have to clean up.”
He looked up at her, eyes wide as if he couldn’t believe what she was saying. He glanced at her feet again then back up to her before glancing around the room.
“Tell Hunter what you want to eat,” he tilted his head toward the man who’d just come through the door behind the bar, “then you’re coming with me.” His voice dipped low as he said the last. His tone and the way it rumbled out of his chest sent heat through Taylynn’s body, swirling lower to pool low in her belly. It was a sensation she hadn’t felt in a long time and thought she might not ever feel again.
If Ace had succeeded a few days ago, she would never have felt anything ever again.
That thought alone made her slide off the stool, wincing as her feet hitting the floor sent vibrations up her body, making every bruise ache a bit and her arm throb.
“Careful, little one,” Raven reached out as if to catch her but was careful not to touch her once he saw she could stand on her own. He beckoned the kid over, waited while Taylynn told him what she wanted then requested two bottles of water. Once the kid gave them to him, he looked back at her, as if waiting for her to be ready.
“I’m good. Where are we going?”
“Outside.”
She hesitated for a second, then followed him. The lure of feeling the sunshine on her skin was more than she could resist any longer. Especially now that she knew it wouldn’t mean being punished.
She followed him down the hall, past the door to the kitchen, then the restrooms, and a couple of office-looking rooms and a pair of large double doors that were closed, to what looked like an emergency exit door.
Raven paused at the door, turning to make sure she was still with him, then pushed the door open and stepped through it. When she reached the door, she realized it led outside. Taylynn paused at the doorway, looking out without stepping all the way outside. What if he was tricking her? What if he wanted her to go outside so he could punish her?
No. That was how Ace did things. Not Raven.
She’d seen nothing in the four days that she had been in the Fallen Angels clubhouse to make her think Raven was anything like Ace. The way he treated her wasn’t the only thing she watched, but the way he treated others, too. He was bossy, but he was the club president, so he had to be. She had noticed that while he gave orders and told people what to do, he was never cruel about it. Never demeaning. Well, to her or the members of his club. She’d heard him call members of other clubs names, mostly the Demons, and she couldn’t really blame him for that. Not after what they’d done to her.
Raven stopped several steps away from the door, turned and looked at her, as if trying to figure out why she was no longer following him. He lifted one brow but didn’t say anything when he spotted her still standing in the open doorway. Taylynn didn’t know if he could read her expression or what, but he didn’t push or question her, just stood and waited.
Taylynn scanned the area. The doorway she stood in opened onto a huge concrete slab. A roof extended about a dozen feet out from the building, but left at least that much more uncovered before the slab ended and a large span of dirt filled the space to the brick wall that stretched as far as she could see around the building in both directions. There were several picnic tables scattered across the area, with most on the cement but a couple in the dirt.
“You’re perfectly safe back here, even if the Demons have figured out you didn’t die and are looking for you. The only way to get in here is over the fence or through the building and I have men watching for anyone to try anything.” Raven kept his eyes on her but went to one of the picnic tables. He rested one hip against the tabletop and lifted one booted foot to rest on the seat, then propped one elbow on his raised knee and watched her.
She stepped outside, hesitant at first. Ready for someone to jump out and scream gotcha, then drag her back inside and force her to do horrible things. But that didn’t happen. She took first one step, then another. After a couple more she took a deep breath and pushed the anxiety away and continued out onto the patio, past where Raven leaned against the table and out to one that sat on the uncovered portion of the slab.
When the sun hit her face, she closed her eyes and tilted her face toward the sun. Letting the warmth she hadn’t been able to enjoy in so long soak into her skin.
Intellectually, she knew it had only been a few days since she’d been outside. Since she’d been dumped on the side of the road, but she’d been so hurt, so unaware of anything but the pain and trying to survive that she hadn’t been able to take the time to enjoy the sun. Now, though, she stood for a full minute, taking deep breaths and letting the heat and freedom of having the sunshine on her skin sink in. The longer she stood in the sunshine, the more the tension that had been building for longer than she cared to remember seemed to melt away.
After a moment, she opened her eyes and found Raven still watching her. There was something in his gaze she thought she recognized, but he was so reserved, so careful around her that she couldn’t be sure. And she’d been mistreated for so long, she didn’t know if she could trust a man ever again. Though, something about Raven made her want to. She didn’t even know if she could trust her own instincts anymore. Still, she was going to try.
Moving from where she stood she went to him, stood for several seconds trying to gather the nerve for what she had in mind, then leaned close and brushed her lips across his. He didn’t react. Didn’t move, didn’t kiss her back. She did the only thing she could think of.
“Thank you for this.” She looked around, still finding it hard to believe that they would let her outside and that they had a place she could feel protected and still get some sunshine.