Filed to story: Reclaimed Book by Roxie Ray
“I’m sure he did,” I said. “But if Levi is pulling shit like this on his own, Sean’s going to tap that energy. He’s not done.”
“Great,” Striker said and rubbed his forehead.
“Keep an ear out for any rumors,” I said. “We can’t let something like this happen again.”
Striker nodded. “You coming back to the garage?”
“Not tonight. I’ve got plans.”
“Seems to be the case a lot these days,” Striker said with a knowing look. “Anything the clan needs to know about?”
“We’ll see.” If I claimed Harley-my fated mate-it’d be a big deal for the whole clan.
But we weren’t there yet. We might never be there. All I could do was hope she’d had enough time to clear her head.
“All right, get out of here,” Michel said. “I’ve got some rich women from upstate coming to look at custom dressers. I don’t want you to scare them off.”
“Make sure you speak to them in French,” Striker said as he climbed into the box truck. “Rich people love that.”
“C’est vrai,” Michel said, slamming the garage door shut behind us.
Striker threw me a salute, then drove the box truck back onto the narrow highway. I waited a few minutes, then drove after him. By the time I approached Lakeview again, it was late afternoon. Hawk texted to let me know the playground date had been extended into a movie outing, and then dinner at the pizza place.
I pulled into the driveway and was greeted by the sight of my home, the lights twinkling as if to beckon me back. My dragon hummed in pleasure, and my heart warmed. Coming home to Harley at the house, waiting for me, was a lot better than returning to darkness. But even so, it was a dangerous sensation because it most likely would be ending when summer was over.
I opened the front door, and the rich aroma of red sauce enveloped me. Music played softly in the background. Harley was in the kitchen, her hair pulled into a bun, wearing one of my gag-gift aprons-it read “Ain’t No BBQ Like A Dragon BBQ” with a cartoon dragon blowing fire at a steak. Not the cleverest slogan, but Hawk had nearly passed out he’d laughed so hard. It was tied tightly around her waist, accentuating the curve of her breasts and hips. My mouth watered, and it wasn’t because of the delicious scent of the meal.
“Hi,” she said softly. “I made dinner.”
“Smells amazing.”
“It’s nothing crazy. Just pasta.”
The table was already set for two, so I pulled a nice bottle of red wine from the pantry and poured it into the waiting glasses.
Harley shooed me out of the kitchen with a smile and gestured for me to sit down at the table. “Okay, okay,” I said, raising my hands in surrender as I sat. She was totally comfortable in my kitchen now-even more than I was-and I could’ve watched her for hours.
Dinner was pasta with a thick, rich meat sauce, and a huge salad filled with every vegetable in my fridge and then some. She’d made the croutons herself, she said, using up the homemade bread a local had brought me that I’d abandoned in my freezer ages ago.
“This is really impressive,” I said, looking out over the spread. “You didn’t have to do all this.”
“I know.” She took a small sip of her wine. “I wanted to. Cooking helps me think.”
“So, you’ve been thinking?” I took a bite of the pasta, and a myriad of flavors burst on my tongue. It was delicious-even more so because she’d made it for me.
“I have. I’m ready to talk.”
I smiled. She looked a lot more confident now, put-together. As much as I loved to fluster her and see her blush, I loved to see her take charge like this, too.
“You know there’s a lot of reasons we shouldn’t try again,” she said.
I held her gaze steadily and nodded. “Should we go through them?”
“I don’t want to feel like an outsider in Lakeview. Blakely obviously didn’t want me around. Is she going to cause more issues?”
My dragon growled at the mention of Blakely’s name. “No,” I said. “She won’t be a problem. She’s banned from all clan activities. She knows what she did is unforgivable. She wouldn’t dare try anything again.”
Harley nodded slightly. She didn’t look completely convinced, but that would take time.
“What about the other women around Lakeview?” she asked. “Women bring you food and they hang out at the clubhouse. I know a lot of them want the alpha, or whatever, and even when we met, you had a reputation…” She trailed off, her cheeks turning pink again.
“I know I was a playboy when we met,” I said. “But that was ten years ago, Harley.”
“And you haven’t been with anyone since then?”
“Of course I was with a few people,” I said. “Weren’t you?”
She looked away, but nodded.
“I tried to have a few relationships after I got out of prison,” I admitted. “Casual. Low stakes. But every time I tried, it felt… wrong. Eventually, I stopped trying. Every time I was with another woman, even just on a date or at the bar, I compared her to you. It wasn’t fair to them. So, I mostly kept to myself.”
“Okay,” she said softly. She ate a few bites, watching me like she was waiting for something. I let the silence draw between us until she asked, “You’re not going to ask me about my relationships?”
“No,” I said. “That’s the past. It’s over. If you want to tell me, that’s one thing, but I don’t need to pry.”
She blinked, surprised. “Really?”
“Really.” My dragon grew restless. I didn’t want to hear about any of the men Harley had been with because it would only make me jealous. If I couldn’t erase their touches with my own, I didn’t want to know about them. “All that matters to me is that you’re not with anyone now.”
“I’m not,” she said.
“Good.”
Harley cleared her throat. “What about your work? You’ve spent all week at these meetings, then showed me the security system. You’ve spent most of the past decade in prison. I… I can’t let Dylan get close to you only for you to be snatched away again.”
“I know. I don’t want that either. I’m playing with fire right now, trying to get out of the business.”
“How much longer?” she asked. “What’s the risk?”
“We’re almost done,” I said. “There’s been some complications.”
“That’s hard to swallow. How do I know there won’t be more complications? How can I know it won’t go wrong and end with you being locked up again?”
I pressed my lips together. “You can’t.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“Hawk wants out, too. He doesn’t want to risk getting put away while Bella’s young. The plan has been in motion for a long time. But you’re right. We’re not all the way there. And while we’re not there, there’s always a risk.”
Harley leaned back in her chair and swirled her wine in the glass.
“It’s a risk, not a guarantee,” I said. “But I promise you, all of the clan businesses will be legitimate. I won’t leave Dylan anything illegal. There won’t be a single dirty dollar. Whatever it takes. I promise you that.”
“I want to trust you. I really, really do.”
