Back to the Beginning: A Duet Read online

  At first she’d fought him on it, pushed back against his natural authority, but eventually she’d realized he spoke the truth, although that truth wasn’t something she’d wanted to hear. Denise Cunningham had spent a lot of time on her own and had become very good at being self-sufficient. It wasn’t until the lowest point in her life that she’d even needed a man. The economy had tanked, she’d lost her job at the factory where she worked, and the meager life she’d made for herself had collapsed. Eventually there had been no money for her mortgage, no money for any kind of luxuries, and barely any money for food. In the end, Denise figured out Liam was an answer to an unspoken prayer. He’d picked her up, he’d brushed her off, and he’d loved her, even when she hadn’t wanted to be loved. From the beginning he’d known exactly what she needed, without her ever having to ask for it. They were attuned to one another—and still were to this day.

  “Then let’s go see that moonbow.”

  *

  She had told him it would be packed, and she was nervous he would pack it in and say they should go back to the hotel, but her husband surprised her. After they’d parked as far away from everyone as they could, he’d taken off his leather cut and stored it in one of the saddlebags attached to the bike. Without the cut, he still looked dangerous and very much a badass, but he also looked like any run-of-the-mill weekend warrior. The cut sometimes made people want to test him. They wanted to see if he was as badass as the cut proclaimed, and tonight he just wanted to be a husband having a nice night with his wife.

  “Are you okay with that?” Denise asked, motioning towards the saddlebag. He looked different without the piece of leather; not in looks, but it did change his demeanor. It wasn’t that he shrunk within himself, but he didn’t make it a point to walk around like he owned the place. There was a kind of preconceived notion that came with that piece of leather, and she knew he always had to be on guard. Without it, he could relax, and they could enjoy their time together.

  “Not forever, babe.” He put his arm around her neck, pulling her closer. He wanted her right next to him all night, because as weird as it sounded, there was a certain protection he felt with that cut, and without it, he felt naked.

  “Thank God for that,” she mumbled. “I don’t know what I would do if you gave up that cut forever.”

  Neither would he, and he was happy she supported him in all the decisions he made, even the ones that weren’t so popular and didn’t make their lives any easier. He could be accused sometimes of doing the right thing instead of the easy thing. He was okay with that. He’d never gotten anywhere taking the easy way out, and at almost thirty-six, he wasn’t going to start now.

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  Chapter Six

  As they approached the crowd gathered to watch the moonbow, Liam felt his pocket vibrate. A part of him wanted to ignore it, but he knew this could be news on the twins and Tatum. He’d never forgive himself if he ignored it and was needed back home. Letting go of Denise’s hand, he grabbed his phone, seeing Tyler’s name there. It had taken the other man forever to text him back, and he was worried something was wrong somewhere. Immediately he pulled the phone closer to himself so that Denise couldn’t see it.

  Things are good. The twins are out with friends, and we’ve got Tatum over here with us. Drew and I were working out, and then I took a shower, sorry it took so long to get back to you. Hope to Jesus that you’re more relaxed now.

  Leave it to Tyler. Liam shook his head, a smirk forming on his face as he texted back.

  Thanks for taking care of everything. My relaxation is a non-issue at this point, fucker. Don’t get too comfy in that pres chair just yet.

  “Everything okay?” Denise asked, worry evident in her eyes since she’d seen Tyler’s name.

  “Yeah, they’ve got Tatum at their house, and the twins are both out with friends.”

  “Good.” She breathed a relieved breath. “Why did you smirk if the text was from Tyler.”

  He hooked his arm back around her neck and pulled her close to him, so close he could touch his mouth to her ear. “He asked how my relaxation was. Apparently everybody could tell that we hadn’t had any time alone in a while.”

  She huffed out a laugh because he had been an ass on more than one occasion. “What’d you tell him?”

  “That my relaxation is a non-issue at the moment.”

  Exactly what she liked to hear. Turning her face around, she pursed her lips for a kiss, which he gladly gave to her. “C’mon, now that we know the family is okay, let’s try to get closer.”

  Being in this crowd made him nervous, but she grabbed hold of his hand and wouldn’t let go. She snuck them through cracks of people, and he wasn’t sure how they made it without someone getting smart and him having to jack a jaw, but eventually they made their way to the front. What he saw there was one of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen in his life. The mist from the falls caught the light from the moon and refracted them to form a rainbow. Everybody had their phones out taking pictures, but he knew it was such a spectacular image he’d never be able to forget it as long as he lived. He didn’t need a camera to preserve this memory. Just when he thought it couldn’t get any better, Denise turned around, smiling at him.

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

  His throat was tight as he realized he’d never seen anything more beautiful than her happy face, looking at him with all the love she had in her soul, the moonbow in the background. He was a lucky son of a bitch, and he would work his whole life to remember that.

  “Not as beautiful as you.” He tilted her chin up so he could steal a kiss from her. It was one of the sweetest he’d ever tasted.

  *

  “Where are we going today?” she asked the next morning. They’d slept a little late and were getting a later start than he’d wanted, but they weren’t necessarily on a timetable. They could come and go as they pleased as long as they made it back home in time to relieve everyone who was helping watch their kids.

  “I’m not telling you.” He smacked her ass as she packed their saddlebags. Seeing her bent over right in front of his face, he couldn’t help it.

  “Ow.” She jumped.

  He gave her a look, pulling his sunglasses down on his nose. “Don’t even act like you don’t like it sometimes.”

  She blushed all the way to the roots of her hair. She did like it sometimes, but she didn’t exactly like for other people to know she did. That was something she shared only with him, and it was embarrassing when he talked like that. “Stop saying that out loud.”

  He glanced around. “Babe, it’s just us and Bambi. I think your dirty little secret is safe.”

  “No thanks to you.”

  Grabbing her up around the waist, he turned her around, jerking her chin so that their eyes could meet. “I knew it was only us out here. Do you think I would have made that crack if other people could hear it? Your pleasure is mine and mine alone; don’t forget how possessive I am.”

  She couldn’t help it. At the sound of his voice, the feel of his grip on her, her breathing quickened and her eyes darkened.

  “And that fucking turns you on, doesn’t it?”

  She nodded slowly. “Yeah, it does.”

  “Good. Tonight when we stop, you’re gonna see just how possessive I can be.”

  *

  As they rode along I-75, Denise had to wonder where they were going. She knew they were close to the Gatlinburg area. She’d never been, but Meredith and Tyler swore by it. It would be easy for the two of them to hole up in a cabin for the rest of the weekend. She’d welcome it and enjoy it if last night was any indication. They’d obviously both been missing one another way more than they thought. She tried to enjoy the scenery as they went up into the mountains; it wasn’t something she’d ever seen before. The roads kind of scared her, but at the same time, she knew she was safe with Liam. He’d never let anything happen to her, and as far as she knew, he’d never laid his bike down.

  Resting her
head on his shoulder, she took a deep, cleansing breath. No matter what was going on in the world, even on this busy interstate, she was at her most comfortable with him. Not wanting to see how close the tractor trailers were to them, she closed her eyes, conjuring up something more pleasant.

  “You should have woken me up.”

  Denise lifted her head, catching Liam’s tired eyes with hers. They were darker than normal; exhaustion shown through and made them almost black in color, especially in the muted light of the room. She cradled Tatum in her arms, holding the little girl close. After a long hour of whimpering, she’d finally given into the sleep she liked to fight all the time, and Denise was loathe to tempt fate.

  “You were tired,” she whispered as Liam had a seat on the footstool directly across from where she sat rocking.

  “So are you. It’s not like I have the monopoly on it,” he argued, leaning forward and trailing a knuckle down her cheek.

  Turning into his touch, she closed her eyes, inhaling the scent that was her safety blanket. It didn’t matter where she was or what she was doing, as long as she knew he was around, all of them were taken care of. It made her want to return the favor, in whatever way she could. “You’re going on runs, and you’re leading this club. You have to be semi-well-rested. I don’t want you to get hurt because I was too lazy to get up with our daughter.”

  Anger flashed in his eyes, and she could see his jaw tighten, even in the dim light. “She’s my responsibility as much as she is yours. I’m her dad, and I take that seriously,” he hissed.

  Tiredness and exhaustion were making them short with one another; a fact she hated. “Nobody said you didn’t, but I worry about you. I don’t want you to be falling asleep on the back of your bike because you’re exhausted. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you.”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to say she was used to taking care of her babies by herself. She’d done it with Drew and Mandy. It was much easier to take care of one than a set of twins.

  “I see what you’re thinking.” She clenched her teeth and firmed her jaw. “And you’re not like him. You never could be, Liam. This is me taking the decision out of your hands, not you shirking responsibility.”

  Pushing a breath out of his tight lungs, he swallowed roughly. It was a feeling he hadn’t had since William had gone to jail—it was one of not being in control. She’d taken that away from him, without even meaning to. He reached across the distance between them, grabbing her by the chin. His voice was controlled and calm when he spoke, but there was a steel to the tone she hadn’t heard in months. “That’s my problem, baby. You don’t take the decisions out of the pres’ hands, do you?” He reminded her who he was, what he did, and the respect he had earned. “Even if you think it’s for the greater good. No matter how much I love you and you have my heart, I’m not gonna let you save me the trouble of being tired. Tatum’s my daughter too, and I’ll be damned if I miss out on any of the moments I could be awake and present for—even if I am so tired I could sleep for a year and not be caught up.”

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered against the lump in her throat. It never occurred to her that taking the decision away from him would piss him off. “I was trying to be thoughtful,” she spoke around the tightness.

  “It’s not about that.” He cupped his palm around her jaw, rubbing a thumb over her bottom lip. “It’s about me being the man and father that mine wasn’t. I don’t want either one of you to ever question my commitment.

  “Trust me, neither one of us will ever do that.” She leaned in and pressed her lips against his.

  “So then why don’t you let me decide what I can handle and what I can’t?”

  “I promise to never do it again,” she vowed against his lips. There was nothing she wouldn’t promise this man. He’d saved her and given her everything. She owed her life to him, and she’d be damned if she ever disappointed him.

  The bike hit a hard bump in the asphalt, jolting her out of her memories. Grasping him tighter around the waist, she made she sure she wasn’t dead weight against him. As she glanced around them, she saw they were hitting the exit that read Knoxville. Had she really been lost in memories that long? Either way, she couldn’t wait to see what he had in store for them here.

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  Chapter Seven

  “You got some sun today.”

  Denise glanced at the arm she was putting lotion on, noticing the red tinge to it. She had gotten some, but luckily she wasn’t sunburnt. “It was nice to be on the bike and not have to worry about what time we need to get home or having to check in with anyone,” she admitted.

  Liam watched as she bent over, grabbing stuff from her bag. His eyes lingered on her ass, and he felt himself harden as she bent down even further. A groan slipped from his lips, and she turned her head over her shoulder, giving him a grin. “Like what you see?”

  How did he answer that question? He loved what he saw. There wasn’t a woman in the world who could turn him on the way she did—had never been a woman who could. Trying to talk around the arousal that had tightened his throat was difficult, but he managed to push through it. “Always.”

  She winked, throwing another look back at him. “What should I wear tonight? Where are you taking me?”

  It was on the tip of his tongue to say straight to bed, but he couldn’t. They had plans, whether she knew it or not. Didn’t mean he couldn’t alter those plans. His eyes never left hers as he grabbed his cell phone out of his jeans pocket. He held them until he broke contact to look down at the screen in order to type out his message.

  Change of plans. We won’t be at the expo tonight, but we’ll definitely meet you for dinner. I’m assuming 9 is still a go?

  He didn’t wait for the response, because in all honesty, it didn’t fuckin’ matter. This had been brewing all day, and he’d be damned if he waited any longer to have his woman in his arms. She stood up, facing him, waiting on his answer. Throwing the phone down on the bed, he advanced on her, silently stalking his prey.

  “Liam.” Her voice was breathless as he approached. “Do we have time for this?” Her feet took her away from him until her back hit the wall of the hotel room they were staying in.

  As he continued to advance, she realized there was nowhere else for her to go. Her heart beat a fast cadence in her chest, but it wasn’t fear, it was excitement. She ran her tongue along her bottom lip, an almost reflexive reaction to him. His eyes didn’t miss the movement, as she saw desire flare there. When he approached her, he boxed her in with his hands, resting them against the wall; one beside her head, the other beside her hip.

  “One thing you may have missed, baby doll, we’re on my time frame here. No one else’s.”

  She closed her eyes, letting his rich, dark, southern-tinged voice wash over her. There was nothing she loved more than his voice. Sometimes, when they were talking and doing nothing else, she’d get goosebumps. His tone could turn her on, especially if she knew they had time to follow through with the promise of entwined limbs and slow kisses.

  He leaned in so that their lips almost touched. She could feel his breath, could almost taste the kiss, before he pulled away. She gave a whimper of distress, missing what she’d almost had. “Patience,” he taunted as he took his cut off, draping it on a chair. Patience her ass. He’d teased her with the one thing she wanted most in the world. Him.

  He cupped her hip with his hand, finally touching her, and pulled her off the wall. He directed them towards the bathroom, stopping before they crossed the threshold. Crisscrossing his arms over his abs, he lifted the hem of his shirt up and over his torso before pulling it over his head. He still hadn’t spoken to her, and she hadn’t wanted to break the spell. Her eyes traveled down the lean expanse of skin, making note of the new tattoos he’d gotten since they’d come into each other’s lives, noticing they now went from his arms to a breastplate on his chest. His abs were now also more defined than they’d been when they first got together t
oo—the result of working out with Tyler and Drew every once in a while. She watched as his fingers trailed down his abs to the buckle of the belt he wore. With agitated movements, he unhooked the buckle before pushing the edges to the side and going to work on the buttons and zipper of his jeans. At some point, he’d gotten rid of his boots, and it made for an easy slide of his clothes, allowing him to step out of the restrictive apparel.

  Following his movements, Denise went to take her shirt off too, but his hand on her wrist stopped her.

  “Nah, babe.” He gave her a wicked grin. One she could feel all the way to her core. “The pleasure of revealing your body is all mine.”

  It had been a long time since she’d seen the hunger his eyes displayed at this moment. Her tongue was so heavy she couldn’t even answer him, couldn’t make her mouth form the words to speak. She dropped her hands from where her fingers had gripped the edge of her T-shirt.

  “That’s it,” he praised as he again advanced on her, slowly making his way to where she stood in front of the vanity. When he finally touched her, he turned her so that she faced the mirror. “You see us?” he spoke in her ear, his voice dark and raspy.

  She nodded, because there was nothing else she could do.

  “Eyes forward and watch. I think you’re gonna like it.”

  *

  Denise’s breath came in short, shallow gasps as his hands cupped her hips. She waited for him to do something, to touch her where she needed to be touched, but instead, his dark head bent forward and lightly dropped at kiss at her neck. It was enough to tighten her nipples against the lace bra she wore. His palms moved across the expanse of her stomach, pausing where the button of her jeans stopped his progression. With a flick of his thumb and forefinger, he had the material separated and had pushed it down, leaving her matching lace panties on. When the material pooled around her ankles, she kicked it free before straightening, every muscle in her body tense, waiting to see what he would do to her next.