Dirty Ride (Wind Dragons MC #3.5)(16)

He chuckles deeply, lifting the blanket to cover me.

“You can’t stay a little longer?” I ask when he doesn’t get in next to me.

“If I do, then I’ll never leave.”

A long, lingering kiss, and then he heads to the clubhouse, while I fall asleep.





NINE




WHEN Ardan cancels on our plans again, I get a bad feeling in my stomach. He said he was needed by the Wind Dragons and that the second he could, he would be back to see me. Trying not to think about it too much, I keep myself busy on my day off by tidying up the apartment.

When Jess texts to see if I want to go to dinner and a movie with her, I take her up on the offer. It’s the first time I’ll be seeing her outside of work, but I’m happy she invited me. When I think about it, because I’ve been spending most of my time with Ardan, I haven’t really made any other friends here, apart from the girls at work, which is stupid of me. I should be out meeting new people and seeing what this city has to offer. I dress casually in a pair of jeans, a black V-neck top, and flats, and then drive to the theater Jess asked me to meet her at. I find her standing in the lobby, looking down at her phone. She’s wearing all black, a Harley tank top, and jeans.

She glances up as I approach and smiles.

“Hey,” I say, smiling back at her.

“Hey, yourself. I got our tickets but I didn’t know what snacks you wanted, so I thought I’d wait for you.”

“What would you like? I’ll get it,” I say, pulling out my purse. “I’m just going to get some popcorn and a drink.”

“Sounds good,” she agrees as we walk toward the counter.

I pause and grin. “Maybe some chocolate too.”

I don’t want to ruin dinner afterward, but I’m kind of hungry.

She laughs and says, “My kind of girl.”

I buy the snacks and we go into the movie. After it’s over, we have dinner together before I head home. I really enjoy the night and tell myself I need to do this again. I need to have balance in my life; not everything can be about Ardan, because then when he’s busy I get bored and don’t know what to do with myself, and I don’t want to be that girl. I send him a quick message before I go to sleep, telling him I hope he had a good night and that I’m going to bed.

I fall asleep before I get a reply.



“Hotline Bling” by Drake plays over and over as my phone rings. Half asleep, I reach around for it in the dark, finally finding it under the pillow next to me. I press the green button and say in a sleepy voice, “Hello.”

“Valentina, open the door,” Ardan says, making me sit up in bed.

“You’re here?” I ask, confused.

“Yeah, open the door, darlin’.”

I hang up and rush to the front door, unlocking and opening it. When I see him standing there, his face looking paler than usual, a bad feeling settles in my gut.

“What happened?” I ask, closing and locking the door behind him.

“What makes you think something happened?” he replies, stepping inside and wrapping his strong arms around me. “Fuck, I just need to be in bed with you right now.”

I hug him tighter, and when he flinches, I pull back and study him. “What the f*ck?”

He winces and pulls up his T-shirt. I check over his abs, which look delicious but fine, then farther up until I reach his chest. I yank my hand back at the feel of new stitches. “Oh my god!”

“I’m fine, Valentina,” he says, putting up his hands as if to calm me down. “I just got a little stabbed.”

I freeze. “You just got a little stabbed ?” I yell, making air quotes with my fingers. “What the hell, Ardan? Why are you not in the hospital?”

He sighs and runs his hand through his hair. “One of my brothers, his woman was in some shit. He was gone on a run up north and I was keeping an eye on her just in case anything happened. Well, shit f*ckin’ happened, and I got stabbed in the chest trying to fix the problem.”

I place my arm on his shoulder and look at where the wound is, now covered up. “Can I get you anything or do anything to help?”

He shakes his head. “Right now I just need you and sleep.”

I swallow and nod my head quickly. “Come on.”

We walk hand in hand to bed, and I slide in first, lifting the blanket up for him. When he gets comfortable and pulls me closer to him, I resist a little because I don’t want to hurt him.

“It’s on the other side, darlin’. You can hug me; it’s fine,” he says softly, his accent sounding more prominent than usual.

“Are you sure you’re okay? What did the doctor say?” I ask him in the darkness. “You did see a doctor, right?” My voice turns high-pitched by the end of the sentence.

He runs his hand over my stomach and says, “The club doc came and saw me, just stitched me up a little, but it’s not too deep, so it’s all right. Just said to keep an eye on it.”

“Does stuff like this happen a lot?” I ask, closing my eyes and trying not to worry about him so much.

“Not all the time,” he says softly, clearing his throat. “But sometimes, yes. If my brothers need me, I have their back, and they have mine if I need them. Sometimes we win; sometimes we lose.” I can hear the smile in his voice when he adds, “But we usually win.”