He kissed her forehead. "I imagine you will soon."
She stiffened at the tone of acceptance and reluctance coming from him. As if he'd announced their relationship was over, he walked out the door.
She swallowed hard, sinking to the floor. What was happening in Avery Falls was bigger than her. He wasn't going to let her walk away.
She was a threat to him and the Avery Falls Motorcycle Club.
And they weren't men who'd let her tell anyone what happened to her.
Chapter Twenty Three
The craving to escape his life left Keenan shaking. He sat on his Harley in the driveway, telling himself it wasn't too late. He could hit the highway out of town, be in St. Maries in an hour, and be able to get his hands on all the alcohol and drugs he needed to overdose and get the fuck out of the life he was stuck in.
He could finally put an end to the hell he'd lived through and go out the way he wanted.
The way he had planned to go out years ago.
He gazed up at the stars. It was a clear night in the universe. The locals were asleep. The tourists resting in whatever cot, bag, soft spot they could find before rising early in the morning to get the most out of their vacation.
Meanwhile, the members of AFMC were locked up like criminals, losing their minds and turning on each other. Prez was twenty bottles deep and one step from walking off the dock into the water. Speeder had his family up in the cabin, trying to take care of himself, his woman, and his daughter. Trip struggled alone, worried about Bonnie and the boys, and their safety, in town.
He closed his eyes and let his chin drop to his chest. Meanwhile, he had no fucking idea what to do about Grace.
She was the only thing keeping him sane. Sane as he could be.
There was something between them. A connection. A spark. A need. Before he participated in the Alpha Bio Project, he'd never had anyone in his life that wanted him. Now, despite how he'd treated her, she wanted to stay.
Grace hadn't asked him to kidnap her. Far from it. Every day, she begged for him to release her. Then, they'd have sex, and he could see the desire in her eyes.
That promise of more wound him up. He wanted to give her more.
When this was all over, and the surviving club members reentered society, resumed their jobs, and had the freedom to move on with their lives or leave, would they stay?
Or would Avery Falls Motorcycle Club crumble, and the members scatter in the wind?
He stood and slid his leg off the Harley. Walking through the garage, he dug in his pocket for the key and came up empty.
His chest squeezed, and his gaze snapped to the lock. It was gone.
The oversight was on him. It wasn't Four's doing—he was dead.
He'd walked out the door in his hurry to fulfill his promise to Speeder and Trip and had left the house unsecured.
"Fuck," he muttered, trying the door handle. It turned in his hand, and he pushed his way into the kitchen.
Striding through the house, he searched each room for Grace. He stuck his head in the bedroom and almost turned around to repeat the hunt and found her curled on her side under the bedspread.
He leaned against the doorframe, trying to calm down. Reality punched him in the gut.
It'd taken him half the day to get Laurel and Trina up to the cabin, check on his MC brothers at the clubhouse, go by the boathouse to make sure Prez was still there, and meet with J.J. to update her that the club was still out on business and to handle as much of the town's troubles with the locals and get them more involved.
Grace had hours alone in the house. She could've left him and been halfway home. But, she'd stayed.
He kicked off his boots, unlatched his belt, and pulled off his jeans without making a sound. Shrugging off his vest, he put it on the dresser before reaching behind his neck and pulling his T-shirt over his head.
Naked, he climbed into bed and molded himself to Grace's back. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her tightly against him. Her warmth soaked into him. He could tell she wasn't asleep. Her breathing was too rapid.
He pressed his lips to her ear and closed his eyes. "I will search the fucking world for you if you leave me."
A shudder rolled through her. His cock hardened against the plumpness of her ass. Rolling her over onto her back, he got on top of her. In the dark, he could see her. She couldn't see him.
She had no reason to hide, so her feelings were written all over her face.
Anger pinched her brows. Sadness softened her eyes. Confusion puckered her lips.
He pressed his forehead against hers and inhaled deeply. It was a shit day. It could've ended with her leaving, destroying him in the process.
He planted his lips against the bridge of her nose, chin, chest, and stomach. Sweeping the blanket away, he spread her legs and dived in, licking her pussy in one long swipe before sucking on her lower lips, feeding off the mellow scent.
Grace threaded her fingers in his hair, caressing his head, settling his thoughts. He slid his hands under her ass, lifting her higher without taking his mouth off her. Tonguing her clit, he captured the small nub between his lips and sucked.
She pressed up against his mouth. He soothed her with licks, flicks, and swirls. Then, squeezing her ass, he moaned against her.
Her inner thighs trembled before spreading wider as her weight settled into the palms of his hands. He had her right where he wanted her. He was right where he wanted to be.
Licking her wetness, he circled her clit. His cock pulsed like a drum underneath him. The arousal, agonizing and brutal, fed his addiction to Grace. Because once he had her, once he sunk deep in her body and came inside of her, he'd find the high he always chased.
He was an addict from the time he was born.
Taken from his back-alley-addicted mother, who'd double-whammied with not only crack but heroin while he was in the womb, he came into the world suffering withdrawals that left him always chasing the dragon.
Damaged. Suffering. Unlovable.
By the time he was twelve years old, he could get his hands on every substance known to ease the pain inside him, from sniffing paint to injecting shit in his veins. His behavior led to sexual addiction—because the two went hand in hand. He went through life seeking the ultimate escape, never knowing what he was looking for.
The ever-present need to escape came back hard during the switch, harder and more intense than he'd dealt with in his previous life before the Alpha Bio Project.
It wasn't until he found Grace—or she found him that he found his compulsions fulfilled. With her, he tolerated the hunger gnawing his insides. She forced him to have control of his body, his mind, and his desires, keeping her with him.
Through her, he managed to concentrate on his club, maintain Avery Falls, and make sure he never lost her.
Grace's thighs clamped down on his head. He lapped over her clit until her legs relaxed, and she moaned.
Yeah, she was all he fucking wanted.
And he showed her. With his mouth, his lips, his tongue. Until she quivered in his hands, letting him drive her pleasure. All her pleasure.
He gave her everything.
She thrust her hips up, down, around. He stayed with her, giving her exactly what she needed, enjoying the wetness coating his face. Her aroma drifted into his nostrils. The smoothness—the softest damn thing he'd ever consumed—against his tongue.
Grace's movements grew frantic, hurried. He held her ass in his hands, not letting her move away as she bucked against him and knotted his hair in her fist, pushing him down, not letting him escape.