monk. If this girl makes you happy, I’m glad. Hell, I’m ecstatic. But I’m gonna need you to figure out real quick whether it’s the real thing or not. I’ll have your back, no matter what. You don’t even have to ask. It just ... the trouble better be worth it. You know?”
I did know. If this was just about me getting my rocks off, there were far less complicated options. Only I knew it wasn’t just that. I said Sydney was all I could think about. That was a crock of shit. I damn near couldn’t breathe without her anymore. She consumed my thoughts. I wanted her near me. Under me. On top of me. What we shared last night was just the beginning of where I could take her. I felt her need for it as well. Sure, I’d made her tap into her wild parts, but something deeper happened to me. I felt more in control of myself. Like she’d helped me harness the demons inside of me for an hour or two. Now I craved it. I craved her.
“I know,” I said. “And the last thing I want to do is make trouble for you or the club. So I won’t. I need some time to figure out how far I want to take this with her. And I’ll be damn careful she’s on the same page. For now, I think she is. I’m not looking to hurt her, Colt. I think I’d die before I let that happen.”
Colt broke into a slow smile. “Shit, Torch. You talk like a man in love.”
I couldn’t answer. I didn’t know how.
“Listen,” he said. “There’s something else I wanted to talk to you about. I need you to take a ride down to Cincy. We just made a deal with another bar down there. Sammy’s. I don’t expect any trouble. But the Hawks used to have a foothold down there. I just want you to go talk to the owner. Make sure he knows the Wolves are gonna make sure things go smooth once he starts selling our GWMC brew. Two-day trip. There and back. I want you to leave tomorrow morning.”
“You got it, boss,” I said. “It might be good for me to clear my head.”
“Yeah,” Colt said. “Why don’t you take your girl with you? It’ll get her out of George’s sight, and maybe you can figure out how deep you’re planning to go with her. When you come back, I’ll need an answer. You think you can do that?”
Two days with Sydney on the back of my bike? Yeah. I think I could do that.
I rose and offered Colt my hand. He shook it. His eyes were hard, and they told me everything I needed to know. If I was serious about Sydney, he’d back my play. But I had two days to decide. In or out. Her uncle was too important to the club for me to fuck this up.
I just hoped I wouldn’t let any of them down.
Chapter Eighteen
I called Sydney as I left Colt’s office. She answered on the first ring, and my heart flooded with heat at the sound of her voice. I woke her up. She’d been sleeping off the night I’d given her. Damn. I liked her that way. Worn out. Happy. Just as eager to see me as I was to see her.
“Can you pack a light bag?” I said. “Just a change of clothes. A toothbrush. That sort of thing.”
“Sure. Where are we going?”
Dammit. Just like that. I didn’t have to ask. She was ready. She trusted me. I told her. I left out Colt’s ultimatum. If I still wanted her by the time we came back, that was one thing. If I didn’t or wasn’t sure, I’d have to end it.
“Never been to Cincinnati,” she said. “How long does it take to get there?”
“Five hours or so,” I said. “We’ll stop along the way. You’ve never been on the bike that long. It can be rough if you’re not used to it. It’s better to break you in easy, but I think you’ll be okay.”
Her sexy laugh got me hard all over again. “Was that what last night was? You breaking me in easy.”
Fuck. Even as she said it, I knew I had no intention of going gentle with this girl ever again. The rougher I got, the more turned on she seemed to get.
“Baby,” I said. “Be ready by, say, seven? I’ll pick you up after