Guiding me into bed, Nerd pulls me into his arms so that I’m resting on his chest. “Go to sleep,” Nerd mutters squeezing me to him when I tense.
Yeah, right, that’s not going to happen. I mean seriously my heart feels as if it were about to beat straight out of my chest.
The two of us lay in the bed, neither of us speaking. I merely soaked in all that was this man, thinking that this is the only time I’ll allow myself to enjoy it. When morning comes, I’ll do what I have to in order to push him away. Nerd doesn’t deserve to be tainted by me.
Closing my eyes, I sigh as I relax into Nerd’s body and drift back off to sleep, this time savoring every bit of this man.
A light touch running along my cheek draws me out of my amazing dream, one where I was laying with Nerd.
“Wake up, babygirl.” Oh God it wasn’t a dream. Opening my eyes, to meet Nerd’s staring down at me while bracing his body up on his forearm. “Time to talk, babe, and you’re gonna listen,” he enunciates.
“Um.” I don’t get to say anything else due to Nerd placing a finger over my lips.
“Cara, babe, we got a lot to get through. Tons of hurdles ahead of us but I’m not going to let you fight me on this. I know you’ve got shit fuckin’ with your head right now. I intend to help you every way I can. Starting now. I’m not about to let you slip through my fingers. I had planned on letting you get through school before I made my approach, babygirl. But I don’t want to wait anymore. Not when it comes to us.”
Oh boy. How do I explain to him, I’m not good enough to be with him? Not anymore.
“Today we’re going to pack your shit and get you home.” At this news, I stiffen and begin to panic. Nerd sees this and immediately goes about putting me at ease. “Not to the clubhouse, Cara.” Only to cause me to panic once again. “I’m taking you home to our house.”
Our house?
He can’t be serious.
“Nick,” I murmur, ready to protest but Nerd shakes his head.
“Let me finish, Cara,” he states.
Nodding, I rest my head on the pillow and stare at him as I wait for him to finish. Then I’ll let him down gently.
“Know it’s not going to be easy for you at first. But let me ask you a question, babygirl, during the three hours we slept in this bed together, did you have any nightmares?” I grow still at this question because I didn’t. I felt safe enough in Nerd’s arms, I was able to sleep soundly. “That’s what I thought. We do this together, Cara. You and me. Give this to me and I’ll pull you through. Swear it on my life, same as I swore to you in the hospital, no one would ever harm you again.”
A strange note filters through his voice as he finishes and my throat tightens.
Meeting Nerd’s gaze head on, I take a long moment to see nothing but admiration and determination filling his. No pity, nothing along the lines of sadness for me.
Nerd wasn’t going to take no for an answer on this one. So, I only had one choice to make in this matter, and that was choosing him.
Sucking in a deep breath, I nod my head as I give him his answer. “Okay.”
“Good choice, babygirl. Now let’s go tell Rage and Cleo. Then we’ll pack your shit up, what doesn’t fit in a backpack we’ll ship to the house. You wanna let Coyote know you’re coming home?” Nerd asks.
“Um, can I get settled first?” I ask nervously.
“Cara, babe, not tryin’ to upset you but you gotta know, Coyote has been stressed to the fuckin’ max about you and it’s takin’ a toll on him. Tinsley does the best she can but she’s pregnant as well as caring for their son Cody . . .”
“Okay, I’ll tell him,” I mutter interrupting Nerd before he could go on with his guilt trip. “But can I do it tomorrow after we get there?” I don’t want to tell my brother over the phone and if I’m going to stay at Nerd’s place then I will have to tell him face to face.
It also might be good if Nerd wasn’t around when I did tell him. Considering the way Coyote acted when he’d stormed into the room Josh and I were in at a frat party, I don’t want to go through that again.
This time Coyote will respect my decision and get over his big brother tendencies otherwise he’ll start a conflict that will not be pretty.
“Yeah, you can do that, and so you know, we’ll do this by inviting him to the house with Tinsley and Cody. This way you can finally meet your nephew and get everything done in one sweep. I’m sure Coyote is gonna flip his shit, but he’s got to know that we’re together.”
Oh my God. Nerd voicing it makes the words that much more real and I don’t know if I can handle it. Let’s hope I haven’t jumped into a fire that isn’t only going to burn me but turn me to ashes.
Chapter Eight
Nerd
After spending the morning packing up the little bit of stuff Cara had accumulated over the past two months, we finally headed out after lunch.
As we were about to load up and head out, Rage pulled me aside to talk with me.
“You sure you know what you’re doing?” he asks.
“Never been surer about anything in my life,” I shared without missing a beat.
Nodding, Rage held my gaze as he watches me for a brief moment while deciding the true depth of what I just said.
“Good luck, brother,” he grins holding his hand out for me to take. “Been where you are and know what it’s like; however, you got one battle I didn’t have. Let’s hope Coyote doesn’t put a bullet in your ass when he finds out you’ve claimed his little sister. Happy for you though.” Taking Rage’s hand, we give each other a bro hug, patting each other’s back before parting.
“It’ll be okay,” I mutter, running a hand along the back of my neck. “Well, it will be once he calms the fuck down after finding out the news.” Rage throws his head back in laughter at this remark. “Not funny, brother.”
“Brother, it’s fuckin’ hilarious.” The fucker had the nerve to continue chuckling with a shit eating grin. “Now get the fuck out of here.”
Shaking my head, I can’t help but begin to laugh along with him as we head for my bike. Rage stops next to Cleo and picks his daughter up and holds her to him as I straddle my bike. I hold a hand out to Cara to help her climb on behind me. However, my girl swats my hand away and places hers on my shoulder as she swings a leg over and situates herself for the ride. Wrapping her arms around me she gives me a squeeze when she’s ready.
I start my bike, lift the kickstand, and hit the throttle. Time to get my girl home and start sorting our shit.
“I forgot how much fun it could be riding,” Cara says as I shut my bike down and unwraps her arms from around my waist.
“Well anytime you wanna go for a ride, babygirl, just let me know. I’ll take you out,” I chuckle while Cara slides off. We stopped only for fuel on the way here and now I’m fuckin’ starved with no food in the house. I should have probably sent a prospect out to get some stuff for me but I didn’t want anyone inside my house. Not before Cara at least. Shit I’ve barely been myself.