He didn't move.

His laughter had disappeared, and his eyes were closed.

I'd knocked his a.s.s out.

"Need me to take the trash out?" John, the bouncer, asked over my shoulder.

"John," I said as I faced him, trying to stop myself from flipping the f.u.c.k out on him. I needed someone to keep an eye on Roxy from here on out when I wasn't around, and I thought I could count on him. "Do not let him back in here. Ever. Got me?"

"Yeah, man. Sorry. I didn't know he was a problem."

I could see remorse in his eyes. John wasn't a good person, but he never wanted to disappoint a member of the MC, especially me.

"He's been bothering Roxy." I shook my hand, the pain from slamming it into the little p.r.i.c.k's face over and over again finally seeped into my bones. "If he tries to come in here again, you need to let me know. Do not let him through those doors. Walk Roxy to her car each night to make sure she gets out of here safely. Understand?"

"Yeah, Blue. I got it. I'll tell the other guys," he huffed out as he grabbed the guy by the feet and began pulling him toward the door. As John dragged the motionless body, small trickles of blood dotted the floor.

I was worried about her safety. I'd have one of the prospects keep tabs on her, watching for a bit to make sure he left her alone. Everyone loved Roxy. I knew I wouldn't get any slack for looking out for her.

Roxy's mom was an old lady. She rode on the back of Tiger's bike back in the day. She'd had Roxy when she was twenty-one and didn't give a f.u.c.k about her. Tiger died before Roxy was in elementary school, when he was out on a run doing club business. The problem was that only Tiger truly cared about their daughter. I wasn't around when it happened-it had been over twenty years-but people still talked about Tiger in the clubhouse.

Roxy's mom was a real piece of work. She tried hard to find a new victim to latch on to. The only thing she cared about was status. The prize she sought was becoming an old lady again, but there was a problem. Everyone knew she was a c.u.n.t. No one would claim her as his. She'd spent the last twenty years hopping from bed to bed and acting like a club wh.o.r.e, ignoring her daughter. She didn't have the respect of any man who called the Sun Devils MC their brothers.

Roxy had been doomed from the beginning; this had been her destiny before she'd been able to dream. Her mother was absent in her life, preferring to open her legs rather than care for her only child. For what she'd lived through, having been raised by babysitters and the men of the MC, Roxy had turned out relatively well.

I'd never look down at her for taking her clothes off for a living. Everyone had to eat and survive. She hadn't let the lifestyle become her. She owned her role, but unlike her mother, she wasn't an easy f.u.c.k. She didn't jump on any hard d.i.c.k, looking for an angle.

I watched the f.u.c.ker's skull hit the doorjamb as John pulled him outside, the door closing as soon as his head cleared the entrance. A small smile of satisfaction spread across my face from knowing he'd feel that s.h.i.t in the morning.

"Where'd he go?"

I turned to see Roxy looking around the room, searching for her stalker. "He's been taken care of." I held my hand out to her with a lopsided grin.

Her eyes grew wide as she reached for my hand, noticing the redness and swelling. "You didn't."

"He's still breathing, Rox. Don't worry. You tell me if you see him again, okay?" After bringing her hand toward my mouth, I placed a light kiss on her wrist.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Yes." Her body swayed as I kissed her skin.

"Let's get the f.u.c.k out of here."

She nodded, her eyes still sealed shut, keeping her hand clasped in mine.

Usually, we went to my place, staying close enough to the club that I could be there within a few minutes, but tonight, I wanted to be alone and away from prying eyes. Being with Roxy helped me relax, and with things heating up at the club, I needed to chill the f.u.c.k out before my d.a.m.n head exploded.

"Angel, are you okay?" I asked as she settled in my lap and I wrapped an arm around her.

While I tangled one hand in her hair, we sat on her apartment patio, listening to the sound of the bugs chirping in the distance. The peace and tranquility in the country was a juxtaposition to my daily life.

Leaning her head against my shoulder, she pulled her legs into my lap. "I think so." Her voice was quiet as she sagged into me.

"He won't bother you anymore. I'll keep someone on you for a little while to make sure he doesn't come back." I gripped her hair in my hand, forcing her eyes to meet mine.

"Thank you." A small smile spread across her lips.

"I'm sorry I haven't been around much. The club has been busy with things." It's hard to be with someone when you are unable to share your life entirely with her.

That was the one thing I missed the most.

I felt like no one knew me anymore.

"It's been lonely, but I kept myself busy." She stroked my chest through my shirt, sending tiny shock waves through my system.

The warmth of her touch and the coolness of the air sent a chill through my body.

"I'm sure you do."

"What would I do without you, Blue?" Her tiny fingers traced my collarbone before making a path to my jaw, catching on each coa.r.s.e hair in her wake.

Her words flooded me with guilt.

What would she do without me?

Roxy was my true north in this f.u.c.ked-up life. She was the good in all the bad, f.u.c.ked-up bulls.h.i.t of MC life. I never spent much time thinking about what I was to her or how much I meant to her-not until recently, at least.

The days were drawing shorter; my time in this life would soon be ending. And then what? What would happen to her? My stomach twisted into knots as I took a deep breath and tried to push down the feelings of regret and responsibility from having allowed myself to get close to someone.

I'd vowed I wouldn't let anyone into my life, but my need and craving for human companionship had overshadowed the promise I'd made to my work and myself.

"You're tough, Rox. You don't need me or any man to live." I pulled her tighter against me, resting my cheek on the top of her head.

Closing my eyes, I tried to picture my life without ever seeing Roxy again. Pain bloomed across my chest, the dull ache more than I'd thought I'd ever feel for another person outside my family.

"I'm not. I like to pretend I'm one tough b.i.t.c.h, Blue. It's all lies. I'm a survivor, nothing more. There's a different type of living. Before you got here, I was wandering through each day like a zombie. Going through the motions to survive. Eat, work, and sleep. But when you first touched me...I felt alive for the first time in my life." She snuggled her face into my neck, caressing my skin with her lips.

I could feel my pulse beat against her lips, keeping my voice soft as I said, "You do the same for me. You're the only good in my life." Sadness flooded me at the thought of walking away.

"I love you, Blue," she whispered so quietly that I barely heard her.

I felt dirty. Everything is so f.u.c.ked up. How did I let it get this far?

"Rox, you know I love you too, baby. I just can't." I wanted to punch something. Curse the universe for the cruelty of the situation.

"I know," she said, her voice a little stronger as she sat up and faced me. Then she leaned her forehead against mine. "I live in the now, and right now, I'm yours and you're mine."

"I am." f.u.c.king s.h.i.t. I was, and I couldn't deny it.

The sadness became overwhelming. Wanting to drown in her, get lost in the feel of her body, I crushed my lips against hers.

Our quick breaths mingled as our mouths fused. Searching for comfort, we kissed with such fervor that my lips ached. I lifted her off my lap and carried her into the house with her legs wrapped around my waist.

The warmth of her p.u.s.s.y through my jeans made my already rock-hard d.i.c.k throb to be inside her. Tonight, I'd take it slow. Shutting out the real world, I would let myself drown in the feel of her.

I'd allow myself to dream. Feeding myself the lie that we were back in my home, my real home, with her beneath me in my bed.

She wasn't a stripper and I wasn't a liar.

We were a couple making love, cherishing each other. The fairytale wasn't in the cards for either of us, but for right then, I'd live in the delusion I'd painted in my mind.

Chapter 3.

Even as he undressed me, I could see that something inside him had shifted. Blue was always intense. Closed off like a vault, hiding his true feelings away.

He'd changed since he'd come back from Daytona. He didn't have to tell me-I could read his emotions as easy as I could read my own.

Tonight felt different. I felt his love pouring out through his kiss. I sensed him losing himself in me...in this moment and us. Rarely did I see sadness in his eyes, but tonight, it was etched across his face.

Is he in danger?

The thought of losing him, having him ripped from my life, had me in a panic.

What if he vanishes?

No one had shown me love until Blue had entered my world. I had been drawn to him; unable to stop the silent pull he had over me. I'd given in and opened my heart to him.

Tears began to sting my eyes as he removed my clothing. I blinked a couple of times, pushing my sadness away.

This isn't the end, is it?

Blue wouldn't just abandon me. He wasn't that type of guy.

Who the f.u.c.k was I kidding? I'd spent my life inside the MC. I wasn't a club wh.o.r.e or old lady, but I had been brought into the fold at an early age. I knew how women were treated, their value minimal at best. Blue seemed different, though, and that was the reason I had given him my body-and, ultimately, my heart.

Standing before him naked, I removed his clothing bit by bit and savored the feel of his skin, taking mental pictures of his body and locked the memories away. Even if it were the last night I'd spend with him, I'd look back on our time together with nothing but happiness.

He'd shown me that love was possible-and that I was worthy of it. I wasn't a piece of trash to be ogled by anything with a p.r.i.c.k.

It's easy to forget your value when you're paid to take your clothes off. I'd become an object to men, and I'd started to believe it.

That was until he'd made me feel more.

I deserved a happily-ever-after. I wanted the fairytale I'd been sold as a child.

Blue carried me to the bed, gently laying me down against the mattress. Sliding his hands down my skin, he nestled between my legs, staring down at me as if soaking in the memory just as much as I was.

Crouching over me, he rubbed the tip of his c.o.c.k against my wetness, sliding in easily. Air escaped me as he seated himself inside me, filling me with a delicious stretch only he could deliver. Without thinking, I wrapped my legs around his torso, drawing him deeper inside. Burrowing my face into his neck, I held tightly to him, holding my body against his.

His hands drifted down my back, leaving a trail of heat as he slipped them under my a.s.s. Cupping my cheeks, he shifted my bottom, giving him better access. I moaned, digging my face deeper into his neck, feeling my body shake in his arms.

"Blue," I whispered against his neck, feeling his pulse beat rapidly beneath my lips.

"Roxy," he moaned, thrusting into me in a slow rhythm, stroking my depths.

I wanted to profess my love, beg him to be mine, and ask for him to never leave me, but I didn't. If he didn't say the words back, I'd be crushed.

Cradling his face in my hands, I watched him come undone. As his weight collapsed on top of me, I snaked my arms around him, feeling the heaviness against me.

He'd forever changed me. There was no looking back. Even if he walked out of my life right then, I'd have to figure out how to dust myself off and move forward without him.

It was easier said than done. I knew it even as I thought it.

We usually laughed, teased, and the conversation was easy. Tonight, however, there was a silence that was more deafening than I could bear.

Rolling onto his back, he slid his arm underneath me and pulled me to his side. I propped myself up on my elbow, resting my head in my hand, and stared down at him.

"Sleep, baby," I whispered, tickling his chest with my nails as I traced the contours of his pecs.

The sheet was draped around his waist, small peeks of hair sticking out above the white cotton. He closed his eyes, but I didn't dare. I didn't want to waste a moment of tonight sleeping. I ran my fingers over every inch of his body, memorizing every line and ridge of his torso as his breathing grew heavy and he slipped into a deep slumber.

My eyes began to burn as they filled with tears. I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

Moonlight drifted through the window of my tiny bedroom, illuminating his body. His chest rose and fell with each breath, whispers escaping his lips as the minutes pa.s.sed.

Planting soft kisses against his velvety skin, I let the tears fall.

I'm not this weak girl. f.u.c.king s.h.i.t.

I never let myself dream of a forever. I had known that this wasn't that when it had begun, but over time, it had grown into more than I'd ever dreamed.

He was my rock. The one person I could count on. My everything.

Laying my cheek against his chest, I listened to his heart beat in a steady rhythm. There was a comfort in the sound, listening to him breathe and knowing he was there. Closing my eyes, I allowed myself to dream of our future-a house full of blue-eyed children with their father's rugged looks and my red hair.

I wanted a family. Something I'd never had growing up. My mother had been absent most of my life. Being an only child, I knew I wanted a large family. I wouldn't do that to my children. It was either none or a house full. No in-between and no singles. I wanted bulk.

I could see it-his face lighting up as he laid eyes on our first baby, kissing my head and thanking me for bringing his son into the world. The idea was sweet, and thus...just a dream. Falling further into the fantasy, I let myself get lost in his warmth, enveloped by the only man to have ever stolen my heart.

The bed shifted, waking me. Throughout the night, I'd woken and checked that he was still by my side before drifting off again.

After slowly opening my eyes, I found Blue sitting on the edge of the bed, half dressed and staring at me.

"Hey, baby." I stretched, rolling to my side to face him.