Page 64 of Chains
Every star stood out sharply in the clear, cold air. An icy wind brushed across Chains’s face as he walked Autumn to her car. The sound of their footfalls echoed slightly off the gravel lot for a few seconds.
“Here I am,” Autumn said as she opened the door to the car.
“I’ll follow you home, and this isn’t open for discussion.”
She reached out and put a hand to his cheek and caressed it. “I wasn’t going to argue about it. You’re such a sweet man, even though you pretend not to be. I saw that gentleness inside you with Thor, and now with me. I appreciate all you’ve done for me.”
“Autumn, fuck,” he said in a low voice before grasping her hand and bringing it to his mouth.
She immediately snatched it away. “I better be going.”
“Whatever,” he mumbled. “Let me trail behind you on my bike.”
He stalked away, wondering why the hell he kept fucking up with her.Maybe it’s because she keeps giving me mixed signals. Dammit!Chains blew a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding and took out the keys to his Harley.
When he arrived at her house, he stayed on the driveway and watched her get out of the car.
“Do you want to come in for a while? I can make some coffee—I actually know how to do that.” A small laugh bounced off the garage’s concrete walls.
“I should head back. I want to take Thor out for a walk.”
She tilted her chin down and frowned. “Okay then. Goodnight.”
“Night. Make sure to lock up.”
“I always do. I’ve been living alone for years.” Annoyance laced her voice.
Chains almost weakened and took her up on the offer, but he didn’t want to look like an ass when she shot him down. He’d already made a fool out of himself over a woman a long time ago, and he may be a lot of things, but getting duped more than once wasn’t one of them. There were plenty of women out there, those who wanted nothing more than a few hours or nights of pleasure. They were the ones who were safe and uncomplicated, and Autumn was anything but that. Yeah, he’d stick to the club girls. From what Eagle had told him, another sweet piece was interviewing to join the ranks, and he may just be interested enough to try her out for a month or two.
“Thanks for dinner. I had a nice time.” Autumn’s soft voice sliced through his thoughts.
“Me too. I’ll call you about that raincheck,” Chains said as he backed out of the driveway. He waited until she closed the garage door before taking off.
The darkness engulfed him as he headed to the clubhouse via the back roads. Along the way, he saw shadowy clumps of cacti and sagebrush, small hillocks, and large rock formations.
The evening flashed through his mind and he had to admit that he’d had a real good time. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed an evening with a woman, and they hadn’t even hooked up. Chains accelerated and embraced the icy wind as it stung his face and whipped around him.
He didn’t need a citizen, especially Autumn, who was reeling from the breakup with his brother. Seeing Bret hadn’t seemed to push her over the edge, which was a good sign—it meant the healing had begun.
So it was time for him to back the fuck away—as far away as possible.
