“Is that what you just did?” I asked myself. I shook my head in response. Sasha wasn’t just another piece of ass. She was important beyond the sex and beyond the information she provided to me. She wasn’t there just to serve a purpose, I tried to convince myself.
I don’t know, I texted Dante.
Oh shit. Be careful, boss, he texted back.
I will,” I said aloud to the phone, setting it back down.
As I finished my glass, I grabbed hers and drank what was left in it. I was beginning to feel more than just the warmth of the whiskey I was drinking. I felt good. The edge was gone. The care was gone. All that was left was how I really felt about Sasha.
And it was good. I felt good about Sasha. I felt a connection to her. There was more to her than her prefect legs, her sweet little ass, her tight and welcoming sex, her perfect breasts and delicious nipples, and her deep summer sky blue eyes.
Sasha wasn’t just another woman. She wasn’t just another toy to use and toss away. And, dammit, I was starting to get angry with myself for fucking it up by using her just to get at her boss. I vowed in silence to make it up to her, even though she would never know I had taken that information from her immediately and told the MC about it.
As I slid back into bed, I knew Dante was already making preparations to track Fang down. We were going to end his operation. He was going to learn why no one else had the nerve to challenge Hell’s Overlords.
In the meantime, I was going to hold this beautiful woman lying next to me, and even though I hadn’t lost her trust, I was going to begin working to earn it back. I had violated it, whether she was aware of it or not.
I felt horrible, until I felt her against me. I knew, deep down, that what I was doing had to be done, for us. The only way we even stood a chance was to eliminate Fang. He was already after her, whether she wanted to admit it or not. He would continue to pursue no matter what. At least by taking him out, we were going to pave the way for us to continue letting this relationship grow.
I laughed at myself as I realized that Sasha’s walls weren’t the only ones coming down. Mine had apparently crumbled.
Then, it hit me. I wasn’t the only one trying to tear down the other’s walls. Suddenly, I didn’t feel so bad about betraying her trust. I looked down at the cunning woman lying next to me and I wondered what secrets she’d been planning on telling Fang when his men ambushed her in the park. Trust was a two-way street, and it seemed we had both been going the wrong way.
Chapter 12
Sasha
It was amazing how much this one job had changed my life. Instead of waking up alone in my own apartment, I was waking up every day next to a strong, caring man who had promised to protect me. Instead of waking up to more work every day, I woke up to Cole’s green eyes watching over me and to his arms, embracing me. I woke up feeling safe, comfortable, and happy. For the first time in my life, I knew what had really been missing the whole time.
There had never been anyone like Cole in my life. There had never been anyone who allowed me to feel safe and comfortable intimately. It was a different kind of intimacy from what I was normally used to with men.
Something had changed the first time we had sex. It was like the whole dynamic of our relationship shifted in those few minutes we shared of ecstasy and bliss. We were no longer at each other’s throats, except maybe to kiss each other there. We stopped trying to exert power over one another. We were together. We were equals. We had accepted each other.
We slept together a few more times in those first few days. We explored each other’s bodies as completely as time would allow, and we had all the time in the world. Cole had stayed home with me, avoiding the motorcycle club except for the occasional conversation with Dante. I hadn’t checked my phone in days, even though I was sure I would find countless messages from Fang when I did. We avoided everything beyond his balcony or his front door. We hid away from our professional lives to enjoy some personal bliss.
We spent those first few days in a paradise filled with flirtation and ecstasy. We stayed in bed. We cooked naked. We stayed up and drank late on his balcony. We drank early on his balcony. We cuddled on the couch and watched movies. We showered together. It was like a dream come true, a dream in which I could walk away from my life of crime with this man whose body and heart were strong enough to carry me to safety.
Alas, dreams were sometimes just dreams. They didn’t come true, and we eventually had to wake up to face reality.
I woke up alone. My hand rested on the empty spot where Cole’s body should have been. My head rested on his pillow. I heard murmuring from the other room, so I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I could see the couches from the bed, and as the world came into focus, I saw Cole sliding on his boots with his phone up to his ear. It looked a lot like MC business.