Rush - Blue Devils MC Book 2 (Book 1 Included FREE for a short time only!) (39 page)

~ Lain ~

He looked at Ella, her tousled black hair sticking out in every direction, biting her lip, wrinkled clothes from sitting in a heap all night…

And realized that he’d never seen a more beautiful woman in his life. More than beautiful on the outside - although he could really stand to have her dye her hair back to blonde - she was gorgeous on the inside. Funny and so goddamned smart and thoughtful and sexy as fuck and she loved to ride which was some sort of miracle in itself and didn’t seem to be prone to carrying small dogs around in her purse, although her purse was so large, she could probably hide a Chihuahua in there without anyone noticing…

He shook his head, angry with himself. He had to focus. Those gorgeous green eyes were trained on him, taking in his every movement. He couldn’t fuck this up.

He couldn’t let Ella go. But, was he ready to ask her to stay here? To give up her career in New York? He couldn’t move there, especially not right now, not after last night. He couldn’t leave the Blue Devils right after splitting the club in two
and
killing its president.

Was she willing to stay in Arizona? For him? A guy who rode bikes and managed semi-truck routes? She was
way
above his pay grade. What would happen when she figured that out? And the heat. She fucking hated the heat. Would she want this humble life that he could offer her?

He was taking too long to answer. Her eyes had drifted closed, and she was turning away from him. She was moving away—

His hand shot out and grabbed her arm. “I—I’m sorry, Ella,” he whispered. She shook her head, her face turned away, her shoulders stiff. She started to move off the bed.

“Stop, please,” he said softly, holding tightly onto her arm. “I…just needed a minute to think. But not…not for…not why you think I needed to think.”

Goddamn motherfucking son-of-a-bitch
.
What did you just tell yourself about not fucking this up??

He took a deep breath and started again.

“Ella Anderson, I love you.” She froze completely, faced away from him, and he couldn’t tell if she was getting ready to slap him or hug him. “I’ve never loved anyone like I love you. Since I picked you up in that goddamn airport and drove you here, I’ve been obsessed with you. What made you happy? What did you want? How could I make you smile?” Her shoulders began shake under his hand and he belatedly loosened his grip and began running his fingers up and down her arm.

Goddamn motherfucking son-of-a-bitch, this was not going well
. He wasn’t exactly the King of Emotion, but even he knew that crying wasn’t a good sign.

“I—I—Ella, please, turn and look at me. I don’t know what you’re thinking and I’m afraid I’m completely fucking this up and I need to know—”

She turned and launched herself at him, covering his face with kisses, the tears streaking down her face, unabated.

“I love you too, Lain,” she choked out.

Oh thank God
.

He pulled her tight against his chest and let her cry. All of the fear, the anger, the worry, of the last week drained out of her in buckets.

“Shhh…shhhh…” he said, running his hands over her head. “It’s gonna be fine,” he whispered.

Finally, her tears subsided and she pulled away, looking down, embarrassed. He stroked her cheek. “Well, you’re the first woman I’ve said those words to, darlin’, and I have to admit, I always thought it’d go a little differently. Those chick flicks usually ended with smiling and kisses.”

She choked out a laugh and he grabbed a tissue from the nightstand and handed it over. And then another. A couple more, and finally the job seemed accomplished.

“I’m sorry,” she said, finally looking him in the eye. “I guess all of it—” she waved her used tissues in the air, a few flying loose from her grasp, “—just finally hit me. Thank you for holding me. And, uhhh,” she looked at the wad in her hand, “supplying me with tissues.”

She climbed off the bed, found the trashcan in the bathroom, splashed cold water on her face, and came back to bed, settling down crosslegged in front of him.

“Ella,” Lain said, before she could say anything, “I know this is a lot to ask…but I don’t want you to leave. I know you have a career in journalism back in New York and I don’t even know how I can dare to ask you to give that up, but,” he reached out and grabbed her hands and brought them up to his lips, “I can’t bear to lose you. There are newspapers and magazines here in Arizona - maybe—”

“Oh!” Ella broke in. “I didn’t tell you - I quit my job at
Pout
this morning. That’s what my phone call to Dan was all about. Other than to listen to him harangue me, of course.

“I had time to sit and think this morning. Lain, I make a shit-tastic investigative reporter. Because that was my whole plan, as you so easily figured out. I was going to write a piece for
Pout
, and I still will, but my main focus was a tell-all story for a place like
Huffington Post
or
Washington Post
. But I’d barely ask two questions before you’d show up and I was back to square one. Not to mention, I really don’t enjoy it. I spent my entire life thinking that this is what I was destined to do, and my first chance at a real story, I FUBAR the hell out of it.

“Which is why,” she said with excitement in her voice, “I think I’m going to change professions. Kinda. My draw to reporting has always been the stories I wanted to tell. But I realized - why tell true stories? They tend to get you shot at. I could write motorcycle club stories instead.
Fiction
stories,” she emphasized. “They’re not as dangerous, and - bonus points! - they don’t land the guy you love in jail.” She grinned at him and he couldn’t help but grin back.

“Now
that’s
a fuck-awesome idea!” he said, and grabbed her and pulled her forward onto his chest. She sighed happily and leaned against him. “Does this mean,” he continued cautiously, “that you’re willing to consider moving to Arizona?”

“The way I see it is, I only need an internet connection and a laptop. I’m pretty sure that even in a place like Copper Lode, Arizona, they have discovered the internet.”

“Yeah, probably,” Lain laughed. He put his finger under her chin and lifted it up to meet his gaze. “God, I love you, Ella. I’m going to spend the rest of my life proving just how much.”

“And I’m going to spend the rest of my life letting you,” she teased.

And she kissed him. And he proved, for the first of countless times, just how big his love was.

THE END

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