Wayward Soul (8 page)

Chapter Twelve

Sometimes I don't get that girl. One minute, we're burning up the sheets, and the next, she's avoiding me like the plague. We should have decided we were going to keep things strictly sexual, but I can't get her off my mind. When she said she couldn't do it, it fucking gutted me. I've never had a girl turn me down, and I can't figure out what I did wrong. The guys are going to think I'm a pussy, but I don't care. I want that girl.

It's been a month since I
’
ve seen Casey at the club with that douchebag. Every time I think of that bastard touching her, I want to punch something. The guys have been avoiding me and I'm good with that.

For the last few hours, I've been checking the inventory sheets, but I need to get out of here for a while. I make my way outside to my bike. Revving the engine, I see her walking down the street. I rev the bike again and her head turns in my direction. I hate that she walks by herself out here. I pull out of the parking lot and stop right next to her.

I watch her look me up and down, licking her lips. I smirk and put the kickstand down, then walk over to her and pull her into my arms. Without even thinking, I kiss her hard. She tenses up, but after a few seconds, her body gives in. Her soft moans channel straight for my dick and I want nothing more than to fuck her right here, right now.

When we finally break apart, our breathing is ragged. "Gun
…”
she says, full of emotion.

I put my finger to her lips and when she protests, I press my mouth to hers again. Kissing her into submission, I pull away. "Beauty, don't say anything. I'm gonna tell you how it
’
s gonna be."

She looks at me with a worried expression, but nods. "You and I are gonna happen. We can take things slowly or keep things purely sexual, but we
are
going to be together one way or another."

She looks at me in shock. It's cute how she thinks she can get rid of me that easily. What she doesn't know is I get what I want, and I want her.

"Gun, I don't know..." She stops speaking and I watch her. She looks scared. "Gun, I don't want to get hurt and I know you're gonna hurt me."

She looks anywhere but at me, so I grab her face. "Beauty, look at me." She keeps trying to look away, but I force her to look at me. "Babe, I promise to try my hardest not to hurt you, but give us a chance. Stop denying what you feel for me. We don't have to be exclusive. I just want any part of you I can get." I watch her lip tremble and she tries to pull away. "Case
…”

She stops pulling away from me and looks at me with a new expression. Hurt? Anger? Lust? I'm not really sure.

"If you really want to just fuck me, then say so, Gunner! You want to be able to fuck every other girl, too? Just tell me that. Don't act like you care about my feelings because you don't!" Shit. This isn
’
t going how I want it to. I want to try this out. I couldn
’
t care less about fucking other people.

"Casey,
”
I warn. She looks at me like I'm crazy. I wish this girl would just listen. "I hate seeing you with other men. I want to have you naked and in bed with me, not them. I want to try. If you find out this isn't for you, we
’
ll go our separate ways.
”
She looks hesitant. "But when I have you, I want all of you."

Her eyes shoot up to mine. She's trying to see if I'm serious about this. I grab her hand and pull her to my bike. "No, Gunner!" she says, pulling out of my grip.

I grab hold of her wrist and tug her back to me. "Casey, I'm not going to hurt you. I want to prove to you it's not just the sex, even though the sex is fucking amazing.
”

Her eyes widen and she shakes her head. "Gun, I have to go. I have class and I'm already running late."

I take her by surprise when I grab her bag from her and take her hand. "I'll walk with you." Watching me for a minute, she smiles slightly and nods.

The whole way to class, we talk about random things we like. The ten minute walk seems short, but I soak up every minute I get to spend with her.

Chapter Thirteen

The past year has been amazing. I never thought Gunner would be this wonderful. He's sweet when he wants to be, but still has a dangerous side to him that drives me wild. We've never labeled what we are doing, but it feels like a relationship.

Because we are finally in a good place, I don
’
t push the issue. We laugh, hang out, talk, and have awesome sex. It
’
s the happiest I
’
ve been in a long time and I am trying to keep it that way.

Tonight we are going out to a fancy dinner and I'm really excited. We typically don't go anywhere fancy, but Gunner says tonight's special.

I'm dressed and ready by the time Gunner gets to my apartment. Anslie moved out when she and Charlie got married last year. I still think she's making a mistake, but there is nothing I can do to change her mind. I miss her and the twins I wish I could see them more, but Charlie doesn't like me coming around the house.

I still haven
’
t told Gunner her kids are Brant
’
s. He knows Anslie got married to Charlie and she had kids, but that
’
s as many details as I have gone into.

The doorbell rings and I look in the mirror before opening the door. Standing there is a very well-dressed Gunner. His black slacks mold to fit his ass and legs perfectly, and his blood red dress shirt hugs his shoulders and biceps.

Hot damn! There go my panties.

Once my eyes return up to his face, I see his smirk. "Like what you see, beauty?" I nod and lick my lips. Hell yes, I like what I see! Standing on my tiptoes, I wrap an arm around his neck and bring his mouth to mine. I suck on his bottom lip and he wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me to him. "Mmm, babe, you look fantastic. Let's go before I change my mind and eat
you
for dinner." He wiggles his eyebrows and I giggle.

He leads me outside and I look around the parking lot for his bike, but I don't see it. I was hoping that I would finally get to ride on it, but it looks like I don't get to. I frown. "You look disappointed, beauty,
”
he says, wrapping an arm around me.

"I thought you were gonna bring your bike,
”
I say with a pout.

He has never let a woman ride of the back of his bike. Every time he says he doesn't want an ol
’
lady on it, I know things are short-lived. Right now, I'm taking him as I get him. I'm happy having a small part of him, instead of none of him at all.

He kisses my lips. "As hot as you will look on my bike, I didn't want you to flash the whole world that sweet pussy of yours. That's mine and only I get to see it." He grips my ass and pulls me to him. His kiss devours me and I couldn
’
t care less about the bike now. When he breaks our kiss, I follow him in a daze. I can hear his laughter, but I don't care.

We get into his black '69 Mustang and take off towards our destination. One minute, we're talking and laughing, and the next, glass is shattering. I start to scream and Gunner pushes my head down. "Stay down." I can feel the car swerving and I clutch onto the seat.

Gunner has his hand on my head, holding it below the bottom of the window. I can hear motorcycles beside the car. "Case, I need you to call Johnny. Tell him we
’
re being shot at."

Another window breaks and the glass falls on me. I can feel it cut my skin as I grab Gunner's phone off the seat and search for Johnny's name in his contacts. Gunner jerks the wheel and I scream, dropping the phone. Johnny answers while I'm screaming. "Yeah?" I can hear him ask.

"Casey. Get the phone,
”
Gunner says.

I pick the phone back up. "Hello?
”
I say cautiously.

"Where's Gunner?" he barks.

Tears start to roll down my face.
“
Someone
’
s shooting as us.
”

I hear him yelling at people in the background, then tells me to have Gunner take us by the house. "Gun, he said to go by the house. They are waiting.
”
I start to sob. I'm not made for this life. I am terrified and I just want to go home. I don't know how Anslie does this. I don't think I can handle this lifestyle. As much as I'm in love with Gunner, I don't know if it's worth it.

More shots ring out and someone rams into us. "Baby, I'm gonna get us out of this. It'll be okay. Trust me."

I can't help but cry more as a piece of glass cuts through my arm. He looks down at me for a moment before muttering under his breath. I pull myself closer to him and bury my face into his stomach. His hand is tangled in my hair and I just pray that this ends soon.

A few minutes later, he speeds up and screeches to a halt in the driveway of the house. "Stay here, beauty." He moves out from under me and all I can do is nod. I'm terrified. I stay in my spot and wait for the gunfire to stop.

Chapter Fourteen

I can't believe someone shot at us. I want to fucking gut whoever it is. Those pussies from the Black Hills MC are asking for a death sentence. Once we are in Wayward Saints territory, I am able to relax a little as I pull into the compound and screech to a halt. I can see the fear in Casey's eyes and it kills me to know this is my fault. She deserves so much more.

I make sure she's okay before I get out of the car and take my place with my brothers. Bullets are flying. The building is blocking Casey and the car, so I don't have to worry about her getting hurt.

Gunshots are echoing off the buildings surrounding us and I can hear approaching sirens.

Johnny yells at me to get Casey out of here, so I run back to the car. Opening the door, I see her curled up in a ball on the front seat. "Beauty?
”
I whisper so I don't scare her. She shakes her head at me. "Case, we need to go. Come on, baby,
”
I say with a little more authority. She looks up at me and I can see that she's terrified. I reach my hand out and she hesitantly grabs it.

The sirens are getting closer, so I pull her out of the car and start walking towards the back entrance of the club. I check out the gate before pulling her out with me. We walk in the alley for a few minutes in complete silence. She won't even look at me. I pull her into my body as we trudge to the covered opening that leads to the street. When we finally get there, I pull the branches away and lead her through. "Gun
…
?
”
she whispers so low, I almost miss it.

"Yeah, beauty?"

"Can I go home?" Her voice is shaky and I can tell she's about to cry.

Once we are through the false wall in the back of the compound, I close the entrance and pull her back into my body. "Yeah, baby. I'll take you home."

We make the three mile walk to her apartment in complete silence. I know she's thinking of all the bad shit that's happened in the last couple of hours and there's probably nothing I can say to make it better. I walk her up the steps to her apartment and wait for her to unlock the door. Her hands are shaking so badly, she keeps fumbling with the keys, so I grab her hand and gently pull them from her grip. Unlocking the door, I push it open and let her lead the way. I watch her movements as she sits on the couch. Her eyes are red and puffy.

I walk to her bathroom and grab a few things to clean her cuts. I wet a washcloth and grab her first aid kit from under the sink. Walking back into the living room, I notice she hasn't moved.

"Casey..." I start before she tries to stop me, but she pushes me away from her. Standing by the couch, I don't really know what to do or say. I want to reach out for her and pull her into my arms, but I'm not sure how that will go over right now.

Instead, I spend the next fifteen minutes cleaning the cuts on her arms and legs, placing bandages on the really bad ones. I want to make everything better, but I can
’
t. I get up to throw the garbage away, but when I get back, I can see it written all over her face. I almost walk away at that moment
…

Screw it! This girl is mine and I will make her see that things are the same. I walk over and sit next to her, pulling her into my lap. Gripping her face lightly, I make her look at me. The tears are threatening, so I kiss her. She tenses, but once my tongue slips into her mouth, I can feel her relax. The passion between us is electric and nothing will ever compare.

She suddenly pulls away and buries her head in my chest. I can feel her body shake with sobs and her fingers tangle into my shirt. I kiss her hair and rub her back. Looking into my eyes, she breaks my heart. "Gunner
…
,
”
she sobs. I know what
’
s coming next and I'm powerless to stop it. "I think...I think we should go our separate ways before one of us gets hurt." I watch her lip tremble and she sucks in a breath.

I feel like I just got the wind knocked out of me. Holy shit. Who knew it would hurt this bad? This must be exactly how Brant felt when he and Anslie parted ways.

I'm too stunned to even say anything. I have no idea how to respond. I watch her get up off my lap and walk into her bedroom. I sit on the couch for a few minutes, just thinking about everything that just happened. If I can't win her over, I will walk away without looking back.

Walking to her bedroom, I hear her crying through the closed door. I take a deep breath and open it. Her back is to me and she's curled up in a ball in the middle of her bed. I sit next to her and put my head in my hands. How could the perfect evening turn into this? This girl was my future. I want nothing more than to make sure that still happens, but I know she will fight me every step of the way. Maybe if I give her time, she will be able to get past this. I'm not used to feeling this way and I fucking hate it. Now I fucking get why Brant was moping all that time.

After about ten minutes, I finally whisper, "Casey, over the last year, you have become one of the most important things in my life and I don't know how to fix this. I want you in my life, but I already know what you're gonna say. It
’
s a mistake, but it
’
s one I will live with if it makes you happy."

I hear her sob louder as I make my way out of the room, out of the apartment, and out of her life.