Back to the Beginning: A Duet (6 page)

Her eyes lit up, because that was another thing she’d always wanted to see but assumed she’d never be able to. If it was indeed the right time of year for a moonbow, she knew it would be busy, and Liam didn’t exactly enjoy crowds. He got twitchy, and sometimes the people who saw him in the crowds did too, just because he was uncomfortable. “Are you sure?”

He stopped their forward movement and pulled her so that they stood so close together a feather wouldn’t be able to fit between them. “There’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do for you, and I planned this whole thing around that moonbow. If that’s what you want to see, then by God, you will see it.”

Throwing her arms around him, she hugged him tightly to her. There were things in this life he did that weren’t always on the up and up. Sometimes he was a dangerous motherfucker who would do what he needed to in order to survive or to protect those he cared about. Every once in a while that meant doing things he couldn’t ever tell anyone about, but she knew she’d never find a more devoted husband or father. She’d hit the jackpot on that. “I can’t tell you how much I love you.”

He pulled back, pushing her hair out of her face. “It won’t ever be as much as I love you. You’ve made me do things I always swore I wouldn’t do, taken me places I swore I wouldn’t go, and opened up a part of my heart I assumed was locked away forever. No matter what’s happened, you’ve always made me a better man, and there’s no amount of love that can replace or change that.”

She wanted to argue, wanted to tell him he’d taken her from a barely surviving existence and shown her there was light in the world. There were good people (even if they didn’t do exactly legal things), there was such a thing as family (even if they weren’t blood related), there was love. She’d never had any of that until Liam Walker had come barging into her life telling her what she was going to do and when she was going to do it.

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.

‡
Chapter Six

A
s 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.”

*