"I'll wait."
Those were the last words he spoke to her and he damn right meant them.
Runner fell for the wild beauty that was dragged in by the Riders from the first moment he laid her eyes on her. She was an enemy of the club and he shouldn't but...
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Magdalene
"Glass jars?" I frown at Lysa.
"Yes. I need it for the decoration. I ordered some through the Internet but there was a mix-up and they could be here after the wedding so I canceled the order."
"So? Use plain candles."
I am not in a mood to talk about wedding decorations, not by a long shot. All I want is to stay in bed, under my covers until the wedding day and then leave. I never thought that free will would be such a bitch. I chose. I chose to leave. Again. While Runner was calling for me. Again.
I did the right thing, I know I did. Did I? I did! I am too messed-up right now and perhaps for all eternity and he is too damn confusing to be around.
I am certainly not the same after our...encounter. I have changed, something was unlocked in me, a deep desire, a dam of lust, a need. My body is on fire these last few days to the point of hurting. I thought of going out, on a random bar and hook up with a random stranger to feed that hunger that has taken over me but the idea was inadequate. There is no other man like him out there, no other that can push through my aversion to sex and turn me into a mass of want. And he is the only one I can't have.
"Magda?"
"Uh?"
"What's wrong, Magda?"
"Nothing. I just don't get what the fuss with the jars is."
"Vik has set a hundred jars for me when he proposed as I have been explaining for the past three minutes while you were thinking of Runner."
"I was not!"
"Less shrill next time and I might believe you."
Noted.
"Where do I get those damn jars?" I change the subject.
Lysa tightens her lips and searches my eyes. Not now, I send a mental message and judging by the way she lets a soft breath out and nods, I think she got it.
"Well, I have phoned a few places in Berkeley and around but you have to hit them all to have enough. These are the ones I want and you've seen the size of the candles so you know."
I glance at the picture on her phone and I nod.
"Do I take your car?"
"No, I got Vik send a Rider with an SUV to help you out. He'll take care of payments as well."
And right on cue, I hear a car pull up the driveway. I hope it's Ironhand. That guy gave me the creeps when he was keeping an eye on me and Jack but he is a taciturn man and that is exactly what I need right now.
"Leave them at the gym," Lysa escorts me out. "I will meet you there."
The car door opens and closes and I turn. Fuck! Runner is standing there, his head thrown high and his face hard. He has his hair in half a messy bun so a few curls fall on his face and he looks like a heavenly gift to women. I am a woman so there is no controlling it. My body shivers and my nipples go hard, blood pumps up my cheeks and wetness pools between my thighs and all he did was stand there. Goddamn it!
"Ready, Lysa?" Runner says without even looking at me.
His voice is gruff, rough and has lost some of its softness as if he was yelling too loud for too long. I dare one long look and I see more. His eyes are shot and there are black circles under his eyes. His lips are cracked and drawn and his beard is unkempt. Did I do this? Guilt rips through me like a sharp hook to my gut.
"No, I can't come, I...uhm... got some things to take care of," Lysa says. "But Magda will come. She knows what I want. Bye!"
Lysa hurries back inside and closes the door behind her. Sneaky, sneaky bitch! I throw one dagger look at the door and make a silent promise to make her pay once I am fit for sparring. Then I turn to Runner that is still standing with his whole body coiled and he too looks at the door before focusing on me. For a few minutes, we just stand there, looking at each other. The mixture of emotions that passes between us is violent. Anger, fear, lust. Tons of lust. Did I mention lust?
"OK, let's do this," he goes around the big SUV and opens the passenger door.
I grind my teeth and I go down the stairs. I can do this. I will ride next to him in a car and pick up those fucking jars and that will be all. But as I approach and see his perfect face, the chest defined under the deep neckline of the tattered t-shirt, the tense, ripped arms holding the door, I get weak. And that cross around his neck, the one I pulled him down to me by, the one caressing me between my breasts while he... No, no, bad idea!
I can't do this. I can't be so close to him and not lose my mind from desire. It may be stupid and wrong and a couple of other bad things, but I crave for his touch, for the pleasure he gave me and for that shuttering feeling I got when he made me come so hard. And to add to my conflicting feelings, he licks the side of his mouth with that wondrous tongue of his. Stop it!
"I got the list of the places we need to go," I say to him when I reach the car door.
"OK," he beckons for me to get in still avoiding my eyes.
I try to climb up the seat but that fucking thing is too high and my leg is still busted. And then, two strong hands grab me and help me up. I am going to kill Lysa. His warmth sets me on fire and the memory of those hands holding me in place while he pounded in me makes an impromptu visit and plants ungodly thoughts in me.
"You OK?" Runner asks harshly.
"Yeah," I lie and swallow.
He slams the door to my face, goes around and takes his seat. He starts the car and then turns to me, looking over my shoulder. I am still in the haze his touch plunged me in and I wiggle on the leather seat instinctively. My therapist has tried everything to mend the broken idea I had about sex, after all that had happened. All she had to do was bring me a tall, hot, ripped man with a caring touch and a soft voice. And a wicked tongue.
"Mags?"
A thorn prickles my heart. Mags, that's what he called me caught in passion and I melt upon hearing it leave his lips. It's casual, familiar, a thing you say to someone that means something special, that little, silly nickname. I go from hot to cold in seconds. I am not fighting my urges now but my tears.
"Mags? Where to?"
I tear my eyes from him and I look down the list Lysa gave me.
"Beck's Hardware seems to be close," I say in a shaky voice.
He says nothing, just backs the car down the road and he drives.
