“Come here.”

Turning her around, I pull her into my arms and gently kiss her mouth, showing her just a sliver of the gentleman that I used to be.

“Let me grab my shit and we can go.”

“Alright,” she says gently. “Let me go say bye to Madison and make sure one of the guys will take care of her. I don’t want to leave her alone.”

“They both will,” I answer her, while opening the door for her and guiding her out to where her friend is enjoying herself with my guys.

Her friend looks up and waves her over as soon as she notices us walking toward them, so I release her waist and let her walk away.

Jax pushes a shot of whiskey my way and silently watches as I tilt it back. “Fuck!” I shake my head and slam the empty glass down. “Everything taken care of with the kid?”

“Hell yes,” Blaine chimes in. “I doubt that kid will have to worry again.”

I nod my head in contentment and watch the girls talking by the end of the bar.

“You boys good to take care of Madison? I’m taking Avalon with me.”

“You know it,” Blaine says. “She’s in good hands.”

“We’re about to close up here anyway,” Jax says. “Blaine and I will keep her company.”

“I bet you will,” I mutter, while pushing away from the bar. “I’m out.”

Walking over to the girls, I silently place my hand on Avalon’s waist, letting her know that we’re good to go.

“Text me later,” she says to her friend.

“You know I will,” Madison responds with a smile.

Taking off my jacket, I slip it over Avalon’s shoulders, right before opening the door for her to walk outside.

She snuggles up in it and lets me place my helmet on her head, before climbing onto my bike and holding on tightly as I take off.

Now all I want to do is get her in my bed and hold her until she falls asleep, knowing that she’s safe in my fucking arms.

I’m not ready to let anyone else get hurt . . .

I’VE BEEN LYING AWAKE FOR the last hour, running my fingers over Royal’s sweaty, tattooed chest, and watching him sleep.

It’s cold down here, yet he’s completely drenched, looking as if he’s battling something inside his head. I hate seeing him looking so pained, even in his sleep, and a part of me wants to wake him up and save him from whatever is haunting him.

Last night when we arrived at his house, he immediately brought me downstairs¸ undressed us both, and pulled me into his bed and into his arms, holding me tightly against him as he buried his face into my neck.

He held me close, not moving or talking the whole night, and I have a feeling that he just needed someone to hold onto. I was happy to be that for him, because the thought of it being anyone else kills me.

It may be wrong of me, but I don’t want anyone else touching this beautiful, pained man but me. I want to pull him close, caress his flawless face, and let him know that he’s not evil and that I think he’s just as good or even better than most people I know.

I jump and let out a surprised scream as Royal grabs my wrist, stopping my hand from rubbing him. “Crap . . . I thought you were sleeping.”

He looks down at my wrist in his hand and loosens his grip, gently rubbing his thumb over it. “Sorry,” he whispers. “Did I hurt you?”

I shake my head and pull my wrist out of his grip so that I can touch his still slightly bruised face. “No . . . you just scared me. Sorry if I woke you up.”

He lets out a small breath and looks me in the eyes as I continue to rub his face, showing him that I care. Being able to touch him this way sends my heart soaring and I never want to stop. I want to sit here all day and freely touch this man.

“I needed to wake up anyways,” he says in a husky voice. “I should get you home before work.”

I pull my hand away from his face and watch him as he tiredly sits up and stretches. “I don’t work until one today. I just planned to stop by and visit my uncle on his day off, but I’m in no rush.”

Royal closes his eyes and shakes his head, as if trying to shake his sleepiness off. “You guys close? What does your uncle do?”

“Yeah . . . we’re close,” I admit. “He’s the closest person I have to a parent.”

Answering this next part makes me nervous. I still have no idea if it was Royal’s bar that my uncle got called to that day, and I’m nervous that he’ll want to stay away from me once he knows my uncle works with the law.

“He’s a cop,” I say with a forced smile. “He moved us here about two years ago when he got word that they were looking to fill some positions.”

His eyes are unreadable as he stands up and starts getting dressed while looking at the wall. “What’s his name?” He questions tightly, while still looking straight ahead.

“Officer Knight,” I reply, while hopping to my feet and grabbing for my dress to slip it on.

He stops in the middle of doing his belt and runs a hand through his hair before turning to me. “And does he know about me?”

I shake my head. “Not exactly. He just happens to know that I jumped onto the back of some guy’s bike a couple weeks ago.” I laugh at the thought of Madison and her big ass mouth. “Madison told him that while shamelessly flirting with him.”

“I’ll come with you.” He reaches for a red flannel and pulls it on over his white shirt. “I’ll take you by your house to change first. Let’s go.”

Before I can respond he’s walking out the bedroom door. A few seconds later, I hear the bathroom sink turn on and the sound of him brushing his teeth.

“Oh shit . . . this might not be good.” I grab my shoes and sit on the edge of the bed, quickly slipping them on. When I look up toward the door, Royal is gripping the doorframe, watching me.

“Your uncle needs to know who you’re going to be spending time with.” He exhales and releases the door. “Especially when it’s me.”

Standing, I meet him at the door and walk up the stairs as he grabs my waist and guides me up them.

My insides are going crazy at the thought of them two meeting, but it’s not because I’m ashamed of Royal. I’m far from it. Him wanting to meet my uncle fills me with warmth, knowing that I mean enough to him for him to even bother.