She'd looked beautiful. Pregnancy agreed with her in a lot of ways. Even though he had seen the tension around her face, he'd also noticed the way her T-shirt pulled tight against her breasts, the way her skin glowed in the sun. Dalton wanted nothing more than to follow her as she'd given up her place in the drive-thru line. His hands ached to touch her, his ears wanted to hear her voice again. It'd been weeks since he'd heard her speak, longer than that since he'd touched her. He physically ached with the wanting.Last night when he'd gotten back into town, a part of him had wanted to be as close to her as he could be. With the dark of night covering him, he'd driven over to her apartment building and watched her window for hours. He'd relived moments they'd shared together in his mind. Memories were the only things that kept him going these days. They kept his head above water and the depression at bay because he was damn tired of wanting something he couldn't have.There was an
Dalton was vibrating with fury as he pulled up to the trailer on the lake. The dwelling had seen much better days, but it still provided him with shelter whenever he needed it. It had been the only home he'd known as a young kid, and it was one of the most important places in his memory bank. As they always did, memories assaulted him of that night he and Mandy had sealed the deal in this trailer. She'd given herself over to him and told him he was good enough for her.What a crock of shit those words had ended up being. He'd done the one thing he'd promised himself he'd never do. He disappointed her, not been the man she needed, and he had a suspicion that before this was said and done, he'd never get the chance to be that man again. He didn't deserve the chance. He knew that. There was no telling what he'd have to do to help the man who'd helped him as a kid. He knew his days were numbered, expected he'd go down in a blaze of glory, and he was okay with that.Taking the steps two
Mandy laughed, bringing her arms around her stomach. "What did you tell him?" she asked Tatum, still giggling. Her younger sister was something else. She'd gotten the best parts of them all; feisty, spicy, head-strong, and fiercely loyal. Mandy noticed for one of the first times how grown-up she looked. Gone was the shoulder-length bob cut she'd worn for years. In its place was longer hair, worn curled, as silky looking as anything that could be done in a salon. The makeup was darker now too, more professionally done, in colors that suited her. Looking at her fingernails, Mandy also noticed Tatum sported a manicure—something she wouldn't have been caught dead having a few years ago. It wouldn't be long until Tatum would be ready to leave the nest and maybe bring home a man of her own.Mandy could remember being her age and being so in love with Dalton she couldn't see straight. Not much had changed. Except now that love was twisted up in anger, and she hoped at some point she could h
Dalton wasn't sure what he was doing here. He hadn't even realized this was where he'd decided to come until he'd parked his bike in the extra space next to Mandy's car. His bike had chosen its own way there, and it had gone home. He was as much a nomad as his brother these days. That was becoming more clear to him every single day of his life. But this woman, she represented so much of what he needed in his life. She was the air he needed to expand his lungs, the rest he needed at night, and the blood he needed pouring through his veins.He was so fucking tired. Tired of worrying about other people, denying his feelings, and most of all, tired of lying to himself. He needed her like he needed his next breath. Denying their need of each other was doing nothing but hurting them, and for one night he didn't want to hurt anymore. He was raw after talking to Samuel and trying to figure out how they were going to fix the problem he'd dragged all of them into.More than anything, he need
Dalton sat her down softly on the blanket covering the bed. She'd had it since she was younger, and he could remember them making out on it back in the day. Everything about her took him back to another much simpler time, and he wished like hell they could go there now. He laid her down so that her legs hung off the end of the bed. It made a perfect cradle for his body between her thighs.Standing over her, he ran his hands over her T-shirt clad torso, stopping where he could see the peaks of her nipples poking through the material."Sensitive?" he asked, even though he'd always heard that they were for pregnant women.She took a deep breath as his finger circled the pebbled flesh, nodding. "Yeah, very."She whined when he took his hand back, working on removing his cut and his own T-shirt. He knew Mandy better than he knew anyone else, and he could tell by the way she was already arching into his touch this was something she'd wanted for a while. "You missed me, baby?" He push
The morning sun woke up a couple on the other side of town. They'd slept peacefully, even with worry on their minds—unlike the soon-to-be-parents. Denise turned in her husband's arms so she could look at him as she spoke. She wanted to see his facial expressions, wanted to know what he really thought about their daughter and how she was acting. Not that she thought he would hide anything from her, but she wanted to see his reactions."Are you sure you have no idea why Dalton's asked for a leave of absence? I'm telling you, something is going on with Mandy, but she wouldn't tell me what it is. She asked me how I felt when I learned I was pregnant with the twins. You don't think…" She trailed off; leaving the words on the breath she'd stopped. More than once in the last few weeks as she'd looked at her daughter, she'd wondered if maybe she was continuing the family, so to speak, but Mandy had always been her responsible child."No," Liam's voice was forceful. "Both of them know bette
"Usually people who take a leave from the club don't hang out here during their off-time," Tyler's voice boomed in the big room.Dalton grinned as he caught sight of Drew and Tyler in the boxing ring that sat on Heaven Hill property. It'd been around for as long as he could remember. He and Drew had spent time as teenagers in this very ring with Tyler. They'd come full circle, he figured."Yeah." Dalton took his cut off and started suiting up in gloves, tape, and a mouthpiece. "But sometimes you have a need to beat the shit out of someone else. Here I can do it without that pesky assault charge."Drew hopped up on his feet, wearing a tank top and basketball shorts. "We haven't been in the ring together for a long time. I can't wait." He hopped from one foot to the other. "When I beat your ass, you can tell me what's wrong with you and my sister."He swallowed against the lump in his throat. How could he tell his best friend he was going to be an uncle? How could he explain he w
The sun was out, and the day was gorgeous. Instead of spending her lunch hour cooped up in the office, Mandy had locked up, since Charity was doing home visits with clients, and walked the block down to the coffee shop. Today she was hungry; her stomach actually growled with hunger instead of trembling with the possibility of sickness. Going inside, she ordered a plain turkey sandwich, some fruit, and a sweet tea. Probably wasn't the best meal she'd ever had, but it sounded so good she couldn't deny herself.Taking her plate and drink out onto the sidewalk, she spotted an empty table in the outdoor seating area. It wasn't directly in the sun, but it was enough that she'd feel the warmth on her face. Having a seat, she moved her sunglasses to the top of her head, pushing back her longer pieces of hair, and took a large bite of her sandwich.Nothing had ever tasted so good in her life. It was as if her taste buds had come alive this morning. Everything smelled differently too, but th