Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 47117 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47117 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
That made her feel so good.
He gave a grunt of acknowledgment, his eyes hard, his focus on her.
“Someone got hurt,” she said, knowing this hadn’t been the end result, not with how everyone had acted.
He nodded. “Birdie, Fury’s longtime friend.”
Her throat tightened. “Will he be okay?”
Mayhem closed his eyes and exhaled loudly. “We don’t know. He’s at the hospital right now.”
Knowing someone got seriously injured had her chest squeezing painfully.
He lifted his hand and, surprising the hell out of her, cupped her cheek. A moment of silence passed between them.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered, seeing this softer side of Mayhem, even if it was raw and hardened still. Of course, a lot of bad things had clearly gone down, but the way he was looking at her was how she envisioned a man looking at a woman he thought he’d just about lost.
“Take care of your brother. I know you’re worried, even if you’re upset right now. We’ll talk later, baby.” He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead, and then he was gone, leaving her standing there feeling open and bared.
Chapter
Twenty-Three
The following day
All night, Butters wanted to talk to Mayhem but by the time the guys had gotten back from the hospital, it was late; and then she’d stayed with Nate, making sure he really was okay although she was still so angry with him.
He’d talked to her, tried to soothe her foul mood. But although she was happy Nate was safe, she was still so angry to even think that he could have hurt other members of the club tonight.
They hadn’t spoken much about why in the hell he’d gone to speak with Marco, but she had gotten it out of him that he’d just wanted to protect her in his own fucked up way.
Fury had called the club’s physician to come check Nate out, but other than superficial wounds, he was okay and didn’t even need her to be there with him.
Butters had found out Mayhem left early this morning to head back to his place for a while, and although she could have waited until he came back, she missed him and was desperate to talk to him.
This whole situation and how he’d looked at her last night had made her realize something was definitely changing within her where it concerned Mayhem.
Butters may not know what the future held, didn’t even know if she’d read him right, but she was going to do this anyway. She needed to thank him personally for helping her brother and her, in so many ways, like she’d done with the other patches already.
She needed to see his face when she admitted even thinking about him getting hurt was scary and made her chest hurt.
She’d taken one of the sweet-butt’s vehicles and gone back to Mayhem’s place. Pulling up to the house and cutting the engine, she just stared at the building for a second before finally crawling out of the car.
She was so nervous for some reason, but she also felt this relief fill her with the knowledge he was right on the other side of that door and that she’d finally say what she needed to say.
Butters stopped over-thinking all of this and just headed inside. She didn’t see him at first, but she heard something in the back room and headed that way.
She stood in the doorway and watched Mayhem grab a shirt from his dresser. She was struck for a moment by the power of him. His back was to her, a towel slung around his hips, and water droplets slid down the hard expanse of his body.
The tattoos that covered his flesh were vibrant, angry almost.
“If you’re trying to catch me off guard,” he said and looked over his shoulder, “I can hear you breathing.” He smiled softly, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
Butters stepped into the room, feeling all kinds of anxiety because she honestly didn’t know what to say about how she felt, how he made her feel. But she didn’t say anything, just walked up to him and all but threw herself against his body.
Closing her eyes and resting her head on his chest, she just stayed there a moment, reveling in the fact he was here and she was allowing herself to feel these emotions for him.
“Baby? You okay?” he said and wrapped his arms around her. He inhaled deeply, and when he exhaled, she felt tendrils of her hair move along her shoulders.
“I’m okay,” she said and smiled, her eyes still closed, a warmth stealing over her.
“It feels really fucking good to just hold you, Butters,” Mayhem said softly.
Yeah, she knew exactly what he meant.
“I want to thank you,” she said to him, her voice low, her heart thundering.
“You don’t have to thank me.” He seemed relaxed, but she felt his muscles tighten slightly.