that he looked a lot like you, that’s why I asked. Thought about it for a while, but I’m not one to believe in shit like that so I forgot about it.”
“Well, I do,” I tell him. “And thanks for telling me. It could be because you have his necklace. Maybe he was curious.”
I wish Papà had said something, though. I wish he’d told Scratch to tell me I’m free. That I don’t have to keep my promise to him anymore.
Scratch blinks, and he seems to be looking at me again. “You okay?”
“I should be asking you the same,” I answer. “You got a little dazed just now.”
He shrugs. “That happens sometimes.”
“I’m fine,” I answer his previous question. “I’m just disappointed Papà didn’t say anything to you.”
“And I’m glad he didn’t. To hell with that shit.”
I laugh, rolling my eyes.
Then, we both sober and just stare at each other.
I’ve never felt uncomfortable with him, or threatened, or used. Only safe. Always safe. Even after overhearing him call me a “crazy bitch”.
Grunt once told me that he’d never met anyone as loyal as Scratch and that there was no one he trusted more than him. And I believed it to be true. Because I could smell Scratch’s lust for me from the moment I set foot into the Den of Heathens compound, but in all the times Grunt left us together—whether for him to babysit me or take me home—he never once tried anything with me.
Even though I used to wish he would. Because I was attracted to him on a scale I never understood. Grunt, I felt a comfortable kinship with, but Scratch I want to pounce on and lick all over like a randy wildcat.
But he never did. He would just watch me with curiosity and a smirk.
“I can’t believe you’re really back,” I say after a long stretch of silence.
His head cants to the side. “And I can’t believe you’re in the same place.”
Oof. Oh, he went there.
Gnawing one corner of my lip, I avert my gaze. “It is what it is.”
“No, it’s not. It is what you allow it to be.” He reaches out to pinch my chin between his fingers and turn my face to his. “Why’re you still there, Ley? Why’re you working as a damn cashier?”
Nope, we’re not talking about this. We were never supposed to talk about this again because he was never supposed to be back. “Leave it alone, Scratch.”
“Told you what would happen if I came back,” he reminds me. “I’m not gonna sit back and watch you screw up your life.”
“That’s rich,” I spit as I hop off the stool, “coming from a criminal biker.”
“Got a thick skin, Ley, so you can sling all the shit you want, but it won’t change the fact that I’m back, you’re mine, and I protect what’s mine.”
“I am not yours,” I hiss through clenched teeth. “Get that through your thick head.”
One hand shoots out and grabs me, reeling me right between his legs. When I attempt to wriggle free, he uses his muscled thighs to keep me in place between them. “Yams, you became mine the second you gave yourself to me. And knowing I’m the only man who’s ever been there...yeah, Ley, you’re mine.”
Yams. I could laugh at the bizarre term of endearment, but I brought it on myself, so...
“It’s been five years since that happened. There have been many others since.”
He chuckles. “Liar.”
“How would you know?”
He shakes his head. “C’mon, you don’t think I’ve been keeping watch?”
Keeping watch? How could he…? Then it hits me. Onyx. That freckle-faced rat bastard! No matter where I went, we were always ‘running into’ each other. He was everywhere! I should have known he was spying on me. “That son of a—”
Scratch kisses me. He covers my mouth with his and steals my breath for the second time tonight. And once again, my traitorous body turns to putty in his hands, my stomach twisting and tightening, my heart beating to his rhythm.
His lips are firm, yet soft. His tongue is dominant yet caressing. His kiss is like a song I want to keep on loop. Only he makes me feel like this. Like a weak little girl. I’ve never been attracted to anyone else. Never lusted, starved for, or craved anyone else. Only him. Always, always him. My body zings with excitement when he’s around.
When he breaks the kiss and dips his head to catch my eyes, a gratified smirk dances on his lips as