Page 39 of Cries of Cassie

"Ripley," I call out to him softly. Startling him out of his feelings won't help anyone.

I reach for him. The red of my nail polish matches the blood on his tanned forearm. For a moment, I pause and really question what I can handle in my life.

I've wanted to be a biker chick for as long as I can remember, and befriending people in the MC brought me closer to my dream. Living here now, it's not everything I thought it would be.

These aren't just hardened criminals with no feelings and wild sides that take your breath away. They're more than just a group of people who live life on the high side and have each other's backs no matter what.

No. They're so much more.

The feeling the Shadows possesses is far beyond anything I could dream of. I've never known much danger in my life, but if I did, this is exactly where I would want to be. Who I would choose to trust.

There's warmth and beauty here I never expected. It's in the easy smiles, rambunctious laughter, helping hands, hugs, and jokes. Their lethality is reserved for safety and guarding this big family. Women choose their paths and who they give their time to. The elderly are helped up the stairs and given the best seats.

Respect, love, camaraderie, and family live in the Shadows MC. And it's just that, isn't it? They're hiding their true selves from everyone else. Their good is being hidden, and I plan to know why.

There's a reason I never ran—now it's staring me right in the face. They're good. When they blend a little further into the darkness they use to cloak themselves, I want to help wash it off.

I can handle the blood, territory disputes, war, and fights. I want it all. Hell, one of the men I'm falling for doesn't want me to be scared of him so badly that he's losing his mind and tearing himself apart.

So as I slam back into the present, I come to with a small smile and the realization that I have never once been scared since I got here. Not by them. Not by this compound.

"Ripley, come sit," I order, tugging him toward the couch in Maddy's office. He doesn't budge, just continues staring at the bloody arm I still have in my hold.

His shuddering breath threatens to strangle me with emotion. The shaky breathing, paired with the fact that he won't look at me between his long waves covering his face, gives me more resolve.

"You'll dirty yourself." If a grown, muscly, dominant man could whimper, I think he just did.

I huff a small breath and tug on him, ignoring the foul scent of pee and copper. "Now, my love." Using my new nickname for him makes him stumble toward me. I count it as a win.

With some precise nudging, I manage to get him seated on the couch. He barely has a moment to form a protest before I'm straddling his thick thighs and brushing his hair away from his harsh cheekbones.

I hold my hand out toward Koa, not once glancing away from my trembling man. A wet chill encompasses my palm, signaling my time to take care of Ripley.

Reverently, I drag the soft cloth across his eyebrow and over the arch of his nose. Hmm, someone broke it at some point.

"Why are you frowning?" Ripley whispers, worry sinking deep into his dark eyes. "You're scared of me now, aren't you?"

I purse my lips and wiggle further into his lap. Not going anywhere. "I was thinking about what I would do to the person who broke your nose. Maybe use a spoon and scoop their eyeball out or something."

Koa snorts, and I think I hear Maddy rumble out a laugh. Parker’s choke and following words give me so much joy. "Absolutely not! I'll remove all the spoons from the fucking compound before you even think about taking my eye!"

Glancing over my shoulder with a cheeky grin, I tease, "Then I'll just have to use a fork."

"Is it too soon to tell her I love her?" Koa mock-whispers to Maddy, who swats him in the chest.

All too soon the teasing fades, leaving us in a thick atmosphere of unknowns and assumptions. Maddy comes to stand near me with his damn eyebrows furrowed as he watches me wipe the blood from Ripley. "Cassie, maybe you shouldn't⁠—"

"Shh," I hush him, trailing my thumb across Ripley's lip. "I'm just fine."

I swear I can feel Maddy raise an eyebrow without even looking at him. "But...?"

"But I have questions," I mutter, thoroughly distracted by Ripley's heavy breathing as I pamper him with gentle touches.

Pressing a lingering kiss to the corner of Ripley's mouth, I sink into the feel of him. Seeing this side of him, the bloody and the vulnerable, has made me far more attached than I'm willing to admit yet.

Maddy sighs. "Of course you do."

Now isn't the time to demand answers, and I'm not sure I'm ready to dive into it yet anyway. I want to take care of my crazy stalker and let them figure out their business for a bit longer.