Always (Wesson Rebel M.C. Series) (7 page)

“Then
…you’ve already made up your mind,” Danny says softly.

“What?” I ask totally lost. I turn to look at Rowan.

She shakes her head, shrugging. 

“About if you’re going to stay with him or not. You two are linked now, there’s no way he’s going to let you break that bond. I was stupid to suggest it.” He shakes his head. “Come on, we need to take a trip,” Danny says.

“Where? You’re being spastic,” Rowan says.

“We’re going to get a test. We need to know.”
Danny’s eyes dare me to argue.

“But he—
shouldn’t I wait?” I ask lamely. My palms are sweaty and my heart’s knocking against my rib cage. Nerves are misfiring and my body is shaking.

“Honey.
” Rowan squeezes my hand. “Stop stalling.” Just like that, she is onboard with him. It’s uncanny how they team up to conquer and divide. Damn annoying too.

“If you aren’t, I promise we’ll get you wasted
off the good stuff,” Danny suggests. He gives me that deadly, sweet puppy dog eyed look.

I’m instantly slain. Seeing this rugged man soften is a humbling thing of beauty.
My lower lip trembles. “Patron?” I ask tentatively, extending the figurative olive branch. I don’t want to fight with them. Right now, they’re all I have and they’re right.
So
right.

“Yes
, my pretty girl,” Dan agrees.

“O—
okay. Let’s do this.” I take a shaky breath.

Thirty mi
nutes later, I’m wrecked, gutted and I can’t stop crying. Hands on my knees, I sit on the lid of the porcelain toilet, knowing I dodged a bullet when the stick didn’t turn pink.
What the fuck would I do with a baby right now? We’re still too new.

“Are you u
pset it’s negative?” Rowan asks.

“It feels like a loss. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I wa
s excited about the possibility.” I shake my head. “This is why I almost hate him at times. He wraps me up in him and I can’t see anything else.”

“When the time comes you’ll be an excellent mother, but that time can’t be right until
you two get your shit together. You need to be more careful,” Danny urges.

“I hear you and I agree.”

Rowan squeezes my shoulder and I lean against her and smile.

“Good, now clean up and you girls get prettied up. I’m taking my best girls out on the town.”

True to his word, Danny took us out
that night and every other one after. I wasn’t blind to his plan of distraction. Between him and my last semester of school, I didn’t have much time to fret over Dallas. He still occupies a giant chunk of my thoughts, but the depression can’t set in when I refuse to slow down and let it. There’s been little to no contact from him. It’s something I’m not going to let slide when he comes home.

Rowan pulls up in front of the
gate as I ride bitch and my heart races.

There’s a
shiny row of bikes being cleaned by the prospects.

“They’re back.”

Joy, anger and apprehension come together inside me, creating the beginnings of a storm.

“You ready
to see your boy?” Rowan asks

“I
don’t know if that title is even accurate.” I glance down at my lap. “He’s been distant and brief since he left.”

A prospect jogs over and pulls the gate open, letting us in.

Rowan snorted. “Are you kidding me? Off or on, happy or pissed off, Dallas Wesson could only ever be yours, Baby Girl.”

“Come on
, Irish, he’s a wanderer.” I glance over, taking in the porcelain skin dotted with freckles, and large blue eyes that earned her the nickname Irish when we were kids.

“No, he was until you were old enough to fuck with. I saw it the minute you turned fourteen and grew a rack. He tried to keep the shit under lock and key, but I’m damn observant.”

“I don’t know.” I shake my head. “Maybe I don’t live up to the girl he placed on a pedestal.”

She huffs. “Stop. Girl
, you need to fully realize your power. You’re the one in control, honey. Trust me.”

I sigh.
“Maybe.”

“No maybe, you ready for this? I can
run interference, take you home?”

“No. It’s time,
” I say, ready to be brave and go head to head with the stubborn ass. I wouldn’t let all of Danny’s hard work go to waste. He tried to be slick, but I noticed the pep talks, extra attention and confidence boosts. My boy bestie has never let me down. I wouldn’t let him down now by being a chicken shit. Growing pains were a bitch. When I grew a pair and entered my relationship with Dallas, I changed our dynamic.

“Look
at you growing up and shit.”

“Shut up, Rowan. I’m nervous as fuck.”

She chuckles. “Don’t be.” Reaching over the console she pushes up my breasts and tucks my hair behind my ear. “Your cleavage alone in that tank is going to slay him after a month long road trip and those jeans make your ass look fantastic.” 

I beam. Her words are a much needed boost.

“You’re beautiful, Baby Girl, time to own that shit.”

I nod
, taking a deep breath and lean in, hugging her tight. “Love you, Irish.”

“I love you too,
Baby Girl.”

We pull apart and leave the car,
slipping out into the bright sunlight. I square my shoulders, hitch my backpack up and walk inside…ready for battle. 

The
tension is so thick I could gag on it. The men stand around looking anywhere but at the bar, which means someone is having it out.

I sigh
.
They always got testy on the road.

“You coming to me like this when I get off t
he road, offering up disrespect?”

I’
d know Dallas’ voice anywhere.

“You’re the one in the wrong,” Danny booms.

“Fuck, they’re at it again.” My breath hitches in my chest.

“What,
Irish isn’t enough…you want to hone in on my territory?”

Stools hit the ground. I dart away from Rowan and w
eave my way through the rows of thick bodies blocking my view.

“Take this shit out back and has
h it out!” Rule booms.

Panic sets in. I’ve seen
the after effect of their
talks
before. It’s not a pretty sight. I fight my way to the bar in time to see the door that leads out the back slam shut.

“Let
‘em go, Baby Girl,” Rule catches me around the waist.

I
look up into his brown eyes and frown. “No, this is about me. I’m not going to let them do this.”

“He
ain’t wrong, little one, Dallas was out of line,” Rule says, “Better Danny set him straight than your Papa over there.” Rule nodded toward Rufus leaning against the bar silently fuming.

“Rule
, please?” I plead with him. “I don’t want this on my conscience.”

Rule sighs.
“Damn, you and Irish are going to be the death of me. Thank fuck, no one else had girls.”

I flash
him a smile and run off. Pushing the door open, I stumble out back into the heat.

“You
fuck her with no protection! You could get her pregnant.” Dan shoves Dallas.

He
holds his ground and balls up his fists. “I’m going to give you one chance to stand down, little brother.” Dallas’ jaw ticks and his eyes flash with anger.

When he’s truly furious he goes still. I know if he explodes right now
, he’s going to hurt Danny. Danny has a good three inches on his older brother, but Dallas is meaner.

“No! How could you be so stupid?”
Danny continues.

“That shit was intentional you ignora
nt son of a bitch. Cora is mine. I own that shit. I want my name tattooed on her flesh, my kid in her belly and my cut on her back, and I want that shit yesterday.”

His words silence Danny.

I gasp, completely shocked by his admittance. “Fuck.” Suddenly, the pieces fall into one whole picture. He didn’t push me away because he was pissed. He feels scared and uncertain. Happiness expands inside me like a helium filled balloon.

“You wan
t to knock her up, but you don’t want to tell her you plan on doing it,” Danny hisses.

He already did. That first day when he told me he wanted everything.
My head spins.

“This
is between us,” Dallas growls. The veins in his muscles pop out and his forehead is wrinkled.

“What if she’s not
ready for this?” Danny seethes. The tension in his body is ringing alarm bells.

“She agreed to it when she said yes to being my old lady.”
Dallas stares down his brother and it’s like he expands.

The air around him becomes crowded
and I sense the deadly violence he’s capable of, creeping to the surface.

“She’s not! You know her dad won’t
allow that until you’ve gained his blessing.”

I rush forward, inserting my body between them.
“This is why you were upset?” I ask capturing Dallas’ gaze with mine. “Because you think I doubted you?”

“Fuck,
yes, Cora.” His shoulders relax and he steps forward, framing my face with his hands. “We’re forever. Not a damn thing could ruin this between us. You have to know that. I could give a fuck about anyone else.” He shakes his head. “I expect this shit from everyone else, not from you. Never from you. You’ve seen inside me, I let you in my head. I told you when we started I wanted it all. You don’t get to renege now, because the waters are deep.”

I cover his hands with my own.
“I’m sorry, Dallas. You’re a lot to handle and so is your past.”

“
You knew what you were getting into with me, babe. I can’t go back in time.”

“I
know, and I’m not asking you to. But it doesn’t make it easier to deal with.”

“Babe
, you outrank all of those bitches. You want them gone…say the word. If what you’re wanting is out of this…we have a problem. ‘Cause, I’ll tell you right now, babe, that shit isn’t going to happen.” Dallas shakes his head.

“No, I don’t want out.” I
struggle to put into words the things going on in my crowded mind. Tied up in knots I try to articulate the kaleidoscope of emotions he creates.

“Fuck
, you’re an idiot,” Danny says. “She needs you to slow down, asshole. You been out there with those fucking whores so long, you forgot how to treat a lady.” He turns on his heels and begins to walk off, then he halts. “And hey, here’s a thought, ask her what she wants before you start working on a future,” Danny yells over his shoulder.

Dallas
palms my ass, pulling me up against the hard bulge in his jeans. “We got plans you and I, Baby Girl. Five kids, four boys and one girl to satisfy your need for estrogen. A wedding like this club has never seen the minute your dad give his blessing, and you on the back of my bike riding bitch forever.”

“I
…” My mouth went dry. “That’s a lot.”

“Oh
, I’ve had years to think about this, sweetheart. I wanted you when my sick ass shouldn’t have. I can’t wait any longer.” He ran his thumb over my bottom lip. “See, I’ve been holding back, but I see now that’s not the right way to handle you. It’s left you unsure of my true feelings. You want the full Dallas Wesson experience, you got it.”

The words
were a balm to my battered pride. I lick my lips. I want this with him. I want the crazy, the all consuming stomach fluttering love. “I want this with you, Dallas. I want all of it, but you can’t talk to me the way you did. You made me feel like I was some sort of club whore. There was no discussion, no meeting in the middle, just you cutting me down, walking off and leaving.”

“I never said you were
. This shit ain’t easy for me, Cora. I’m not good at emotion and sharing. Fuck, it makes my brain melt. I fuck up everything I touch and I can’t do that with you.” His hands slide up from my ass to grip my hips. “If you leave me, I’ll lose my shit, baby.”

Seeing him so open and vulnerable made all the pain he’d caused disappear. I slid my fingers into his
shaggy road hair and raise up on tiptoe to kiss him. “And I get that. I respect you for being honest. But if you want us to work, you have to come correct.” I shake my head. “I’ve seen too many women lose themselves in Wesson men. I won’t be among the nameless faceless added to that pile of decaying bones. I deserve better and you know it.”

“I fucked up and I knew it. But once the sh
it was in play I couldn’t back step.” He shakes his head. “It won’t happen again.”

“It better not.”

He bends down, sealing our agreement with a kiss.

Present