Chapter 22
Shooter
Waking up to find that she left and returned to work should have been enough for me to march down to her work earlier rather than later. When I strode into the common area of the main house and my brothers looked at me with waiting breath, she charmed her way through those doors.
“Don’t overreact. She’s an adult, she can make her own decisions.” Stray tried to stop me from making a rash decision.
I wasn’t completely mad, but I was worried about someone finding her or even if she attempted to return home running into the chance that Chris would be there, that’s what pushed me over the edge.
Hound Dog had stayed behind the counter of the main bar top, sipping on his coffee. “So, I take it that next church you'll be making a claim.”
“Like any one of you would stop me.” I tensed.
“Stop you? No. Make you do the right thing by her? Absolutely.” Hound Dog proclaimed. Word was law to him, and I had to abide by it, no matter how many times I tested those lines myself.
“You have a grand idea?” B.B. asked from the couch. “Knowing you, you’re not going to let it go that she snuck away from you.”
He wasn’t wrong. I did have an idea, and it required me to look a little bit more presentable than looking like I rolled out of bed from the best night’s sleep.
Hours later, when I saw the surprised look on her face when I showed up was enough to put the smile back on my face. She wasn’t going to hide from me, not when she finally let me in, and I was never going back.
She was mine.
Mine to protect.
Mine to love.
Easy there, cowboy, don’t say that word yet.
I couldn’t fault her though, she was surrounded by people who cared about her, people who were in her corner.
Even the two gobsmacked medical staff that pointed me in the right direction.
Even the doctor who gave me the stare down and lightly threatened me to take care of Amelia.
She didn’t really threaten but it was the heat of her stare and the might in her voice.
I’d worked with many people in the field, and all of them would have been scared to death of that woman.
But when that little shit caressed her, being friendly, I almost snapped right there, giving him more of a reason to be in the emergency department. I was a man obsessed and I wasn’t apologizing either.
She pulled me to a side staff room that was empty, but I wanted her in a more private setting. One step at a time, I told myself.
I sat at the table waiting for her as she hurriedly grabbed a couple of plates and napkins.
But she took a minute to breathe in the flowers, and a small smile caressed her face.
It was one of my favorite things about her, the way she could find a little happiness to smile at.
Like it was her mission to find the one good thing going for her.
She glanced over her shoulder, made a little head shake before finally sitting across from me. I didn’t like the distance, so I reached under the table and pulled her beside me, where I could rest my hand in between her thighs.
To my surprise, she didn’t flinch or tense up, she melted into my touch.
I reached to pinch her chin, bringing her lips to mine, softly kissing her.
She let out a breathy moan. I pulled away and she had this dazed look on her face.
A smile returned to her face. She reached over, tracing my cheeks and touched my beard.
She gave it a little tug, “You shouldn’t be here. ”
“You’ve said that a couple of times, and yet I’m still here.
” I popped a piece of fruit in her mouth.
She furrowed her brows like a little angry cat.
“But two can say it. I thought we talked about this. And yet when I woke up to find my beautiful woman gone and not so much as a note, well.” I trailed off, throwing her a little smirk before stuffing her face with another piece of fruit.
Her mouth slacked, accepting it before her tongue teasingly licked my finger. “Stuffing me with food is not going to make me amenable.”
I chuckled. “Maybe not, but I have my ways, which are ones that you’re very fond of.”
“I’m not apologizing, Shooter. Sorry, but have you heard of the nursing shortage?”
I hummed. “And how were you going to explain the markings on your neck? That vest isn’t going to cut it every day.”
She took a bite of the sandwich. “Easy, grumpy. Plus, you don’t have to worry about reports or anything, Greene will get it taken care of.”
“What the fuck does Greene have to do with this?” I couldn’t hide my anger.
“A friend is a friend, who has been helping me in case I need it.”
“Aren't we friends that help each other out?”
I stunned her. She whispered, “I don’t think “friends” is the right word.” Her eyes widened. I caught her in something.
“Then what are we, Amelia?” My hand on her thigh crept higher, feeling the heat from her pussy radiate.
She got quiet again.
“Friends?”
She shook her head.
“One night stands? Which I would disagree with.”
She shook her head.
“Tell me then.”
She groaned. “You really want me to say what we are?”
“Very much so.”
She sighed. “A complicated mess.”
“I beg to differ. There’s nothing complicated.”
She scoffed, stuffing her face again. Then paused to recollect her thoughts once the food disappeared.
“Let’s see, I’m still married technically.
A debt to pay off with bookies because of my so-called husband.
Another man that seems like he would make the world bleed before anything else happens to me.
Oh, and said man is a part of an organization that could be good at times but probably has enough skeletons in the closet and in the ground to make them the most feared people in the city. Am I missing something?”
“I don’t see you wearing a ring or running back to him. I see you trying to break free and you’re too stubborn to just admit that you want what you want, which is me and a life that could be ours.”
She started to protest, but I shoved more food in her mouth. I had half a mind to stick something else in her mouth and get her to listen. My cock got hard just thinking about it.
“Your mind is making up excuses to not accept that this is what you want. So, I’ll make the decision for you. I never want to hear you call that man your husband, because one day that title will belong to me.”
She squeaked, but I continued, “Not now, Jesus. I said one day. But will you accept that I want you and you want me and we want a life that only we can dream of? I’m not a perfect man, and you love that about me. Hell, I was hoping you’d take the day off and I could take you somewhere.”
I saw the contemplation in her eyes, the fight between thinking about calling me her husband and the fright of being married again.
The asshole had done a number on her mind, second guessing what she wanted, hiding who she was, and so much more.
It angered me more when I thought about it, how I just wanted her to live with a smile on her face that she didn’t have to fake.
She softened. “Like where? I’ve already seen your bedroom.” She started twiddling with the chips, tossing them in the bag.
I smiled. “I like you in my bedroom, and in my shirt, and you under me and bent over.”
“Sounds like someone is still horny.” She popped a chip in her mouth with a little devious smirk.
I smirked in return. “It’s not being horny.
It’s called being obsessed.” I leaned forward, as she pulled another chip out of the bag.
I grabbed her wrist, directed it straight to my mouth.
My tongue twirled around her little fingers, as warmth spread to those cheeks.
I groaned at the taste, watching her expression.
“Obsession is you consuming my every thought, wanting to be around you, feeling like my day gets better when I see you.”
She licked her lips. “Where would you have taken me?”
“Would you let me show you?” I asked.
She nodded.
I imagined where I’d take her. The studio, maybe to Nashville, or Pigeon Forge, somewhere where I could see her and she wouldn’t have to look over her shoulder twice.
“I’d be lying if I said that didn’t sound amazing.
Truly it does. But part of me is still mad that you knew a lot more about me and let me keep going on and on like an idiot, thinking that you wouldn’t understand.
You knew all along.” She brushed her hands free of crumbs, before resting her hand on my knee.
“I want to trust you. And I have a feeling that I won’t be rid of you any time soon.
So, sugar, the one thing I’ll ask of you, there are things that I’m not ready to just spill, but give me time.
And I’ll promise not to run. Although you’d chase my ass and possibly chain me to the bed. ”
Now that could spark some ideas. Naked, chained to a wall or the bed, bare for me, ready for me, at my will. Oh, the possibilities were endless. But she was promising not to run, that was a bigger step than I intended for her to take.
“I’m still not apologizing for the way I found out. But I am sorry for making you feel like you couldn’t trust me. Especially when you came to the compound in the shape that you did. You could have said something sooner with all of this.” I cupped her cheek.
“I had to trust you, remember.”
I nodded. “Then can I trust you to come to me with everything no matter what’s going on?”
“I can try.”