SOLID GROUND: GODS OF CHAOS MC (BOOK TWO) (10 page)

“I do,” I nodded in the darkness.  

“I’m used to the city. Glass skyscrapers and sidewalks.  I mean, Seattle’s beautiful, but I never really got a chance to hang out in the country, you know?”

“Well, now you can. As much as you want. I spend hours in these woods every day, running, working out, just walking. Sometimes, you need a break from the chaos of the clubhouse.”

She nodded, lost in thought.  

“It doesn’t seem so chaotic, to tell you the truth. Everyone was so nice at dinner.”

“Yeah, well, they’re on their best behavior right now.  Grace tries to keep every one in check as much as possible when a new girl arrives.”

“Oh.” She looked upset.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to impose, or get in the way or anything…” her voice trailed off, her eyes darkening with worry.

“Oh, no, don’t worry about that!” I replied, trying not to laugh.  “I said Grace tries - I didn’t say she succeeded.  It won’t last long, trust me.  Before you know it, the beer bottles will be flying and the rock music will be blaring.”

She smiled, and I watched the transformation with fascination. She was gorgeous, no doubt, but when she smiled, it was like someone turned a light on.  

“Okay, cool.  I’m pretty easy going, I can take it.”  She jutted her chin out again.  It was absolutely killing me it was so fucking adorable, and it took all my strength not to reach out and touch her face.  Warmth spread through my limbs like wildfire, and my cock sprang to life again in my pants.  

“Come on, I want to show you something,” I said, turning on the flashlight and taking her hand in mine to lead her into the forest.  It was an easy, natural gesture and yet I couldn’t help but notice how perfectly our hands fit together.

We turned off the road and stepped into the darkness of the trees.  We followed a small trail I had beat into the ground over the years.  The trees formed a quiet hush, and the sounds of the forest filled our ears - a  symphony of crickets, frogs, and all the other creatures that shared this land with us. 

Silently, I led her deeper into the woods.  Fallen pine needles crunched underfoot as we made our way down the trail.  After a few moments, the sound of rushing water filled the air.  

“There’s a creek just ahead,” I told her.  The awkward silence had fallen away.

We broke through the trees, turned a corner and the creek appeared in front of us.  We stopped to take in the beauty of the water rushing over the rocks, the spectacular vision bathed in bright moonlight.  I turned off the flashlight, and we stood in the quiet darkness.  

Lacey’s eyes were glued to the breathtaking sight of the lush, Oregon beauty, the creek rushing over boulders, foaming into white bubbles, and my eyes were glued to her face.

The moonlight spilled over her features, her eyes reflecting the shimmering water in front of us before she turned them up to me, catching me staring at her.  Softly, she smiled as she held my gaze.  I reached my hand out, caressing her face tenderly.

“You’re a beautiful girl, Lacey,” I whispered, daring to break the spell I had fallen under by speaking.  

She brought her hand up, putting it over mine, and pressing it into her cheek as she smiled up at me.

“You’re sweet. But I’m not at my best right now, I must admit,” she said, gingerly touching her bruised cheek with her other hand.

“I wasn’t talking about your face.  I was talking about you,” I replied, pulling my hand away and taking hers in mine again.  “Come on, let’s keep going.”

We followed the trail along the creek, the moonlight lighting our way as I kept the flashlight in my pocket.  The elevation began to increase, and we continued up the trail, climbing up the hill, until we couldn’t go any further.  I stopped Lacey before we turned a corner.

“Okay, wait.  Close your eyes.”

“Close my eyes?”

“Yep. It’s worth it, I promise.”

“Okay,” she said, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.  “Don’t lead me over any cliffs.”

“You’re safe with me,” I said, feeling that familiar wave of protectiveness wash over me.  

I grabbed her hand again and led her around the corner.  The blast of the mist hit our faces and her eyes flew open.  She squealed in delight.

“Wow!” Her gaze trailed up the massive waterfall in front of us, the force of the water falling and plunging into the naturally formed pool below.  The pool fed the creek, narrowing at the edges as it swept through the forest, like a rushing, bubbling snake.

“This is my favorite spot,” I said, as she pulled away from me and ran to the end of the trail, as close as she could get to the waterfall without actually jumping in the pool.  

“It’s amazing!” She turned her face up to catch the mist, and when she turned back to me, she was smiling.  

She’s happy,
I thought.
Her life is just beginning. She’s finally free.

Her smile faded as she met my eyes.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, walking back to me.

“Nothing, why?”  
She’s probably thinking you’re going to attack her you idiot.
 I couldn’t stop staring at her, and I needed to pull it together.

“You just looked so…oh, nevermind,” she replied. “Thank you for bringing me here.  I love it!”

“My pleasure.  I spend a lot of time here, but I don’t mind sharing.”

“Well, that’s good,” she said.  A strand of hair fell in her face, little droplets of mist covering her head and shining like little bubbles in the moonlight.  I reached down and pushed the strand behind her ear, and to my surprise, she stood up on her toes and brushed her lips across mine casually.

Fire shot through me as her lips touched mine and my body responded without consulting my brain at all.  I pulled her into my arms, my lips crashing down on hers and kissing her with all the desire I had been restraining since the first moment I stepped out of the clubhouse doors with her.  Her lips were soft, warm, inviting and we melted together, our lips working together sensuously.

She whimpered slightly, and I regained some semblance of rational thought. I pushed her away as quickly as I had pulled her in.

You’re like a fucking bull in a china shop, you idiot
.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, my voice gruff with desire, my cock throbbing hotly between us.  “I shouldn’t have done that.”

She looked up at me, her eyes filled with confusion and pain and I felt like the biggest asshole ever.  

What the fuck was wrong with me?

“We should get back,” I said, wanting to kick myself.  

“Um, okay, sure.”  She sounded sad, and it was all my fault.  Only moments ago she had been looking up at a beautiful force of nature, looking happier than I had seen her so far, and I had gone and ruined the whole fucking thing.

I grabbed her hand, and led her back the way we came.  She stopped behind me, and I turned.

“What’s that?” she asked, gesturing through the trees.

I followed her gaze and saw my boxing bag hanging from the tree.

“That’s mine.  Like I said, I spend a lot of time here.”

“You’re a boxer?”

“Nah, not anymore.  I used to be, though.”

“Oh. I see.  Why don’t you box anymore?”

Good question.
Because I killed a man.
But I couldn’t say that to her - not here, not now.  

“Come here,” I said, an idea forming in my head.  I led her over to the clearing where I had spent many hours alone and pounding my frustrations into this bag.  It surprised me sometimes that it hadn’t broken off, as much as I had punched the fucking thing.

“You ever punched a bag before?” I asked.

She laughed, shaking her head.  

“No, never.”

“Wanna try?”  I asked.  This was better.  Instead of kissing her, I needed to be teaching her to protect herself.  I needed to focus on the situation at hand, and ignore the way my body was reacting to her.  I was a man, for fuck’s sake, not a hormonal teenaged boy.  

“Uh…really?  Okay, sure.”

I put the flashlight on the ground, pointed it at the bag and reached up to pull my gloves from the top of the bag.  I slipped them over her hands, securing them tightly around her wrists.

“They might be a little big,” I said.  

“A
little
big?” she giggled. “Your hands are huge!”

“Yeah, well, I’m a big guy, I guess.”

“So, what do I do? Just punch?” she asked.

“Well, first let’s work on your stance.”  I stood with one front in front of the other, slightly turned, my fists raised up and covering the front of my face. 

“Stand like this.”

She tried to copy me but it was all wrong.  Her hips were going in the wrong direction.

“No, no…here, let me help you.”  I walked around behind her, my hands landing on her hips, my cock swelling once more, a stark reminder of exactly what I was supposed to be ignoring.  I pushed her hips, the curve of them sliding under my palms.  I positioned her correctly, then reluctantly pulled my hands away.  I reached up, raising her gloved fists up higher.

“That’s it, good. Now, remember that. You gotta keep your hands up to protect your face, okay? You start like that every time.”

“Okay,” she whispered.  

“Now, practice shifting your weight from one foot to the other.  Kind of like you’re dancing.  Like this,” I shifted back and forth a few times to show her.

She imitated me, and I smiled at her awkwardness.

“A little lighter on your feet.  Drop your shoulders, relax a little,” I said, pushing her shoulders down.  “Good, that’s it.”

“Now what? I just punch?”

“No, there’s a certain finesse to it.”  I ran my hand along her arm as I extended it, her skin feeling like velvet under the roughness of my fingertips.  “Keep one hand up to protect your face, and punch with the other.  Let your fist turn down as you approach the bag.  When you make contact, your arm should be extended straight out.”

She landed a few punches on the bag, trying to dance around at the same time.  She looked at me, confusion filling her eyes.

“It takes some practice,” I said, smiling at her encouragingly. “You’ll get it.”

“I like it, though,” she asked, holding her hands out as I unwrapped the ties and pulled the gloves off of her.  “Will you teach me more?”

“Hell yeah, I will!” I exclaimed, a little too enthusiastically. “We’ve got lots of time to kill, so I’ll give you lessons every day, if you want.”

Her eyes shined up at me, the easiness returning between us.  I breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’d like that,” she said, smiling back at me.

A sudden swoosh sounded overhead and I turned my head up to find myself looking into a pair of familiar yellow eyes.

“What is that!?” Lacey jumped away and screamed.

“Oh, don’t be afraid. That’s Oliver.”

“Oliver?” she asked, staring up at the owl sitting on a branch of the tree that my bag was hanging from.

“Yeah, he hangs out around the clubhouse a lot.  Ryder swears he’s known him for years, but we don’t really believe him.  Lately, he’s been bugging me a lot.”

Another swoosh and another owl landed on the branch, perching beside him.

“Oh, my goodness!”

“And that’s Olivia.  Oliver showed up with her a few months ago, and I haven’t seen one without the other since then.  I guess they’re a couple now.”

“Oh, wow, that is so adorable!” Lacey exclaimed.

“I can’t argue with that.  They’re harmless, unless you happen to be a crow, and they don’t do much except show up when you want to be alone and stare at you.  Little bastards,” I replied.

“I love them!” she said, staring up at them.  “I’ve never seen an owl in real life before.  Or a waterfall.”

“No?”  I said.  “Well, stick with me, kid, I’ll show you things.”  I winked at her, remembering the feel of her lips on mine, wanting nothing more than to kiss her again.  

“I think I will,” she said, threading her fingers with mine as we walked back down the trail and back to the clubhouse.