DUKE, AKA NOT THE MAN HE USED TO BE
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All morning, I ride around Basin Rock, looking for trouble and wondering if I was wrong about the Charleston club sniffing around my territory. Court Bayer and his men have never once given me the impression they’re concerned. Of course, they have a deep bullpen. If Court dies, their club keeps going. Mine can’t.
Even if I weren’t stupid to want an alliance, I’ve clearly jumped the gun and handed everything over when I could have negotiated. The Rawkfist Motorcycle Club now owns my club, our town, and everything I’ve built. Though Court hasn’t called in the debt yet, I’ve sold out all my accomplishments based on a possibly irrational fear.
I’m feeling like a damn fool until Edith sends me pictures and videos of my girls at the bridal shop. Clover is wearing one of those jumpsuit bridal getups. She’s paling around with that hitman’s daughter, Roxie. I rarely see Clover behave so carefree around women. She never had friends in school. To see her so happy erases my bad mood.
But the pictures of Lola steal my concerns over jumping the gun with Rawkfist. If I was smarter, took my time, and played the angles, she wouldn’t be decked out in a gorgeous gown and wearing the smile of a woman in love.
My girls aren’t the only winners in this sped-up alliance. Edith sends me a picture of her in her dress. My chest hurts at the worry in her eyes. Edith isn’t suited for all this cloak-and-dagger shit. Neither am I. Lying to Erin and my girls makes me feel like an asshole.
Arriving in Dunphey before Edith, I head upstairs to the room to make sure nothing is wrong with it. The view isn’t spectacular, but the woods are nicer than the parking lot.
Ideally, I’d bring Edith to my house and cook something like mussels in Irish cider. A light dinner and relaxing music on the back porch would be far more romantic than a mid-tier restaurant in a small town.
Once again, I find myself wondering if we’re rushing. Edith seems in a hurry. Maybe it’s just her family’s way or it could be a lack of trust that we’ll last. Either way, if I sense she’s having second thoughts, I’m ready to give her an exit.
After the pink roses are delivered and set up in the room, I head back downstairs. I’m in the front courtyard when Edith’s SUV pulls up and parks next to my motorcycle. She checks her appearance in the rearview mirror despite looking perfect.
Sliding out of her SUV, she doesn’t see me immediately. Her gaze fixates on my motorcycle. I watch her fingers slide across the shiny black seat. There’s pain in her expression as if I’ve already broken her heart.
Edith’s face flips a switch when she sees me. Her sudden electric smile burns right through her fear and uncertainty. I walk to Edith and wrap her up against me before either one of us can say something to derail this magic.
Her hands grip my shirt and keep me pinned to her body. Cars arrive. Others leave. Nothing distracts us until a loud family pulls up. Edith looks at them as if they’re the enemy.
Smiling at her territorial nature, I suggest, “Let’s get your stuff upstairs. Did you want to go out to eat or have something delivered?”
“I’d rather get something at the hotel,” she says as the SUV’s back door eases open to reveal a small suitcase.
“They don’t have many options for dinner,” I say, swiping her bag.
I spot two things about her hand as she reaches for the back door button. One is she’s trembling. The other is her knuckles are bruised.
“What happened here?” I ask and cradle her hand in mine.
Edith tries to slip her hand away, but I keep it trapped against my chest. She looks nervous. I can’t guess what’s upset her. A fight with Lola and Clover, maybe? No, I’d have heard about that, and Edith was sending me pictures earlier.
“Don’t hide from me,” I whisper, holding her gaze like I do her hand.
“Elishia Hill showed up at the bridal shop to hassle Lola,” she says, and I instantly picture that nasty bitch who’s banned from my bar. “Or maybe Elishia was there to harass Tuesday. Many women hate my cousin. Anyway, the swamp whore came in with her cousins, and a brawl broke out. Didn’t your daughters tell you how they kicked ass?”
“Lola and Clover don’t mind throwing down, so it isn’t a big deal when it happens,” I mutter and brush my thumb over her knuckles. “How did this happen?”
“I punched Elishia in the face.”
Grinning, I cup her jaw and admire the hint of arrogance in her gaze. “I would have loved to watch you beat her down. Did she hurt you?”
“Only my fists,” Edith says and sizes up her knuckles. “Her face was harder than a punching bag.”
I kiss her knuckles before covering her lips with mine. Edith grabs for me again like she thinks I might run away. That’s why I keep an arm around her while we walk inside the hotel and head upstairs.
“My brother took Oana’s virginity in a hotel room,” Edith mumbles once the door is closed. “It’s a family tradition.”
Edith’s eyes fill with tears, and she holds her breath. I wrap her against me and frown at how upset she’s gotten herself.
“You’re completely in control here,” I say and stroke her back.
“I’m scared.”
“Of me or sex?”
“Both. Neither. I don’t know. I’m just scared.”
“Well, you know I’m not a threat. As for sex, we don’t need to do anything tonight.”
“No, I want you,” she says, gluing herself to me. “I’ll feel worse if we aren’t together tonight.”
I sway back and forth while stroking her hair. She softens in my arms, but I feel my shirt dampen from her wet cheeks.
“Can’t we just relax tonight?” I ask when she looks up at me. “We’re alone. No eyes are on us. Isn’t that enough?”
“I want you.”
“You have me. That’s why your hands are on my ass.”
Edith flashes a seductive smile. “They’re on your hips.”
“Yeah, but we both know where they’re headed.”
Laughing, Edith backs away. “I’m afraid sex will hurt or you’ll be bad at it.”
I don’t take the bait by assuring her of my abilities. Instead, I point out, “Well, if I lack skill and you lack knowledge, we’ll do research and learn together.”
Edith’s million-watt smile contrasts with her wet, fearful eyes.
“Sex hurts when you rush it,” I explain and walk us to the bedroom half of the suite so we can look out the window. “I think we’re making a mistake by having sex tonight.” Before she can complain, I kiss her and whisper, “Hear me out, okay?”
Edith looks out at the wooded view and smiles softly. She’s a country girl at heart and would have been unhappy in that beach town. Edith Mooney isn’t a woman meant for fancy living. She loves small-town life, where a trip to the bridal store can lead to a brawl with a local troublemaker.
“If you and I weren’t hiding this thing,” I explain as Edith settles down and studies me, “I’d have you over to my place. I’d make you dinner. We’d watch a movie on the couch and make out without an audience.”
Edith’s gaze brightens when she imagines us no longer hiding.
“Instead, we have these dates where we need to drive far from home and worry about being seen. There’s nothing casual about our time together. I think that’s why you’re getting emotional.”
Edith looks at the king-sized bed like it’s a chore she doesn’t want to do.
“You and I need to just relax,” I continue as she grows panicked over sex. “Let’s order dinner. We’ll watch whatever we can find on TV. We’ll hang out as if we were at my place.”
I gesture toward the two-room suite. “We can play house in the hotel room. Maybe by the time we’re in bed, you’ll be in a good place and ready. But probably, we’ll bunk here and wake up with bedhead and bad breath. It’ll be normal like what Lola and Val are enjoying. That’s why their relationship feels real and ours feels like a performance.”
I see the exact moment when my words hit the right spot. Smiling easier now, Edith steps closer and rests her hand on my chest. “I told my ma about you.”
Cocking an eyebrow, I ask, “How did that go?”
“She’s promised to keep our secret.”
I hear what she doesn’t say. Journey Mooney isn’t fully on board with her daughter’s choice. But that’s a problem for another day.
Wearing a bright smile, Edith regains her focus. She’s no longer thinking about me inside her or keeping secrets. Her mind is fixated on how we’re alone in this suite for an entire night.