Mind Play (Bennett Sisters Book 3) (28 page)

Claire rested her head on the truck and let her eyes close.
His words would have scared her only weeks ago and now had turned into music to her ears. He hadn’t shouted he loved her from the rooftop
;
he hadn’t needed to. Claire had never felt more loved than she did in this very second. She wasn’t about to let another minute slip by without telling him how she felt.

She opened her eyes, brought her hands around his neck
,
and leaned her forehead on his. “I love you
,
Butch Edwards. I love that you think about my feelings, I love that you care about my family,
and
I love how you drive me crazy. I love everything about you
,
and I will spend the rest of my life telling you every day how special you are to me.”

Butch’s eye
s opened wide. It was evident by his expression he
hadn’t been expecting her declaration,
but
then again, she was sure she’d stunned him enough over the last few weeks that he probably didn’t believe she was the same
woman
he’d met a year ago. Claire hadn’t been expecting him to whisper poetic words, but she had been expecting more than him to just stand there without saying a word.

Claire slid her palm around to cup his cheek and whispered, “It’s okay if you don’t love me back. I didn’t tell you that to
hear
words you might not mean.”

Butch opened his mouth to say something. Claire placed her pointer finger over his lips, halting any words that
might not
be from his heart.

“You’ll tell me when you feel it to
o
, and I don’t want you to say it before that moment. I want what we have to be real
,
and I can only know it is if I can trust that you wouldn’t just tell me what I want to hear.” She replaced her lips with her finger and gave
him
a soft kiss before pulling back. “Now…we have work to do.”

Claire left Butch leaning against the truck and didn’t wait for him. She made her way up to her room, g
rabbed a pair of jeans
and
her black cashmere sweater
,
and walked to the bathroom to change. She clicked the door
closed
behind her and leaned on it, sinking down to the floor. Had she made a fool of herself
? H
ad he not meant everything he’d said for the last two
weeks?
Was he just playing the part of
fiancé?
She didn’t know what to believe
. A
ll she knew was how she felt
,
and if her heart got hurt in the process, it was something she’d have to deal with later after all of this was over and done.

Claire was used to dealing with difficult people who didn’t like to part with their money. She rubbed elbows with the best of them. None of them
filled her with fear like
she’d felt when telling Butch she loved him. Claire thought she’d chicken out when it really came down to it, or at least wait for him
to say he loved her first
. S
he didn’t know what
had come
over her.

Feelings for someone other than her family overwhelmed her for the first time in
her
life
.
She’d always been a strong, confident woman, although now she was unsure.
She hadn’t let the thought of rejection dictate how she felt or what she said. She should be excited that she’d done it, but the nagging feeling that she’d made a fool out of herself gnawed
at her from
the back of her brain.

She shook her head and stood, changing into her jeans and top
, unclasped the pearls around her neck
,
and looked down at them
.
Her mother had given her the pearls when she’d graduated
,
and every time she wore them, she felt a little closer to her mother. Unfortunately,
they clashed with the outfit she’d put on
. She brought the pearls to her lips and kissed them
, w
hispered, “Miss you
,
M
om,” and set them down in her jewelry holder.
She opened her bathroom door and went to
her closet to slip on her black
leather boots. She’d just pulled the zipper up her calf when she heard a knock on her bedroom door.

“Let’s get a move on, beautiful. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

Claire paused with her hand on the knob. She couldn’t imagine what to expect this time. She inhaled and pulled the door open.

Butch
was propped up against the wall outside her door
with his arms over his chest. He dropped them to his side and
stepped toward her,
“Damn
,
baby, you look good enough to eat.”

Claire linked her arm through his and started walking toward the stairs. “Come on
,
big guy. I thought you had a surprise for me.”

They reached the bottom of the stairs
,
and Butch stopped walking. “Hang on a sec. I forgot something.”

Butch took the stairs two at a time to where she could only assume was his room. He
came back down the stairs holding a black leather jacket. He held it out to her. “Put this on
. Y
ou’re going to need this.”

Claire tilted her head to the side. “Butch, it’s not that cold outside.”

Butch held the jacket open for her. Claire slid her arms through the holes and turned back toward him. He kissed the top of her head. “You’ll thank me later.” He grabbed a hold of her hand and pulled her through the door and toward
the
garage she never used. He hit the control panel
,
and the door sli
d
up
,
revealing her empty garage. Well
,
empty except for the Harley
-
Davidson parked inside. “I had Briggs bring it over when you went to Emma’s to play dressup.”

Butch tried to pull her toward it, but she dug her heels in. “I’m not getting on that.”

Claire turned on her heels and headed back toward her car. Butch put his hands on her wa
i
st
,
stopping her from walking off. He pulled her back against his chest as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.” He placed a kiss on her ear. “Angel, please trust me
.” He kissed her neck and whispered
,
“J
ust this once.”

How could she refuse when he used that
tactic?
It’s not that she was scared of the motorcycle. She’
d just never r
idden
on one. Claire reached for the pearls around her neck and remembered that she’d taken them off. She bit her lower lip between her teeth as she spun her diamond ring around on her finger. She dropped her hands and turned back toward him.

“Just this one, but Butch when my sisters hear about this
,
they are going to be sooo mad at you.” She sidestepped him and approached her garage again, stopping in front of the massive amount of steel on two wheels.

Butch walked to the other side of the bike and unhooked the helmet he had attached to the back of the bike and held it out to her. Claire watched as Butch threw his leg over the bike and flicked the kickstand with his boot. He reached for her and helped her snap the strap under her chin, pulling it just tight enough that it wasn’t uncomfortable. He held out his hand to her. She put her hand in his and climbed on the back.

Butch showed her where to put her feet and reached around
,
sliding her body snug up against his. He took her hands and pulled them around him. “Hold on tight
,
baby
.
I’ll do the rest.”

Claire rested her head against his back as he started the motorcycle. It strummed to life between her legs. The vibration felt like nothing she’d ever felt before. Claire said a silent prayer as Butch put it into gear, lifted his feet
,
and the next thing she knew they were heading down her drive.

Claire squeezed her arms tight around Butch, afraid when he turned that she’d fall off. When they stayed seated on the
bike,
she released her death grip. She could feel the muscles in her neck tighten the f
a
rther they got away from her house. She couldn’t understand how anyone could consider riding one of these fun.

“You okay back there
,
baby?”

Claire heard Butch clear as day through her helmet. His voice eased some of her fear. She didn’t know if he’d be able to hear her back
,
but she answered him just the same. “Yeah,
m
aybe by the time we get there, I’ll be used to it.”

Butch chuckled in her ear. “Relax
,
angel
, just enjoy it.”

Claire lifted her head and looked around her for the first time since they’d left. She felt some of the tension in her shoulders ease. It was remarkable. She felt free. She felt like she could fly. Her exhilaration took over the rational side of her brain. She was no longer thinking she was going to die but felt her lips tilt up in a smile.

Claire moved her hand up Butch’s six
-
pack. The muscles under her palms were flexing with every move of the bike. He was in total control.

****

“Baby, as much as I enjoy that, you need to stop so I can concentrate on driving.”

Claire hooked her hands together again and laid her head against his back
, surrendering to the warmth of his body
.
The next town over wasn’t far enough away. They’d only been on the bike for what seemed like
twenty
minutes,
before she
noticed the diner that Butch had pulled to a stop in front of.
He held his hand out to help her dismount before he kicked the stand back down
,
leaned the bike on it,
and
climb
ed
off. He stowed his helmet and reached to unlatch hers. He pulled it from her head and placed her
helmet
next to his.