Broken Bond by C.J. Primer

34

CALLUM

A gust of warm air whooshes into my face as I push through the door to exit the squad complex, the summer sun beating down relentlessly overhead. We’re in the middle of what feels like an endless heat wave. The grass of the practice field is crunchy underfoot as I step out onto it, dying of thirst and begging for rain, and despite the fact that I just showered off the sweat I worked up while training, my t-shirt is already clinging to my body like a second skin by the time I reach the outer gate to head for the parking lot.

“Yo Cal, wait up!” a voice calls from behind me, and I swivel to see Logan jogging my way, his clunky motorcycle boots thudding against the ground.

I pause to wait for him, idly twirling the keys to my Corvette around a finger.

He flashes me a smile as he approaches, two rows of straight white teeth gleaming and a pair of dimples sinking into his cheeks. Handsome fucker. “Think you can find some time this week to finish my chest piece?” he asks, fingers trailing over his left pec where he’s sporting my ink beneath his shirt.

“Yeah, for sure. My schedule’s wide open these days.” I rake a hand through my hair. ” Just let me know when you’re up for it.”

His eager grin widens. “Shit, I’d do it right now, but I’m headed to Westfield to see Jax and Quinn. Maybe tomorrow?”

“Sure,” I shrug, though truthfully, I’m just as eager as he is. I’ve been fucking around with my tattoo gun on myself for a while now, but the only other person I’ve ever tattooed is Nessa. That is, until Logan and I got to talking about our ink while we were away on the mission. When he found out I’d done it all myself, he asked if I’d do one for him, and I jumped at the chance. There’s

just a certain thrill that comes with seeing my art come to life on someone else’s skin.

Logan claps me on the shoulder and the two of us start toward the parking lot, falling into an easy stride with one another. “So can we count on you for the next mission?” he asks, swinging his gaze to me. “The IT unit

thinks they may have identified another

offshoot of the shadow pack, wants to send a team to investigate.”

“Nah, man,” I grumble. “Think I’m gonna stick around here for a while.”

He arches a brow in surprise, stopping short in front of his motorcycle parked at the curb. I swivel to face him as I palm my keys.

“Any particular reason?” he asks, a knowing smirk pulling at his lips.

Yeah, Logan knows about Ness. He was tasked with leading the mission, and he’s the one person on our team that I really connected with- we’ve got a lot in common.

with our mutual passion for art and ink. He noticed all my sketchbooks lying around the dingy motel rooms we holed up in while we were away, and when he thumbed through one, he happened to see a sketch or two of!!!! my muse. Or fifty. I can’t help that all my recent sketchbooks are full of her face.OTR

He doesn’t wait for me to answer because he

already knows. “You get her back yet?”

“Working on it,” I grunt.

Logan gets a mischievous glint in his eye,

his smirk deepening. “Was that what you were doing at the swimming hole yesterday?” 3

Shit, I’d actually deluded myself into thinking Nessa and I had been discreet. Then again, I can’t remember the last time I drank that much- it’s not exactly like I was firing on all cylinders when I jumped her in the water.

I reach up to rub the back of my neck, wincing. “You saw that?”

“You two all over each other?” he snorts.

Yeah, hard to miss.”

While a natural reaction would probably be to feel something akin to embarrassment, for some reason, I get a surge of smug satisfaction, my wolf preening with pride for publicly staking our claim. Not that I have any right to, not after the way I left.

“I still don’t know where we stand,” I admit, heaving a sigh. “We were both a little drunk yesterday. I have a feeling she might have woken up this morning with second thoughts.”

“Ah, you’ll figure it out,” Logan says with a cavalier grin. “Take her out to a fancy dinner or buy her something nice. Girls love that shit.”

I shake my head, chuckling wryly. If only it were that easy. “Not this girl,” I mumble.

Even if I could afford to do that, Nessa’s not the type to be impressed by flashy presents or fine dining. It’s more about the little things with her. She’d take a scenic view over a stuffy restaurant any day, or a drawing out of my sketchbook over expensive jewelry. The things that make her eyes light up are the ones you can’t put a price tag on.

Logan shrugs, stepping up to his motorcycle and kicking a leg over. “Find another way to get back on her good side, then. You’ll think of something.” He starts the engine, the deep hum vibrating through my body as he revs it a few times. “Flowers usually help, all girls like flowers. There’s a floral shop in Summervale.” I wrinkle my nose at his suggestion and Logan shrugs again.

chance to sit and stew

already damp with sweat after spending ten fucking minutes out in this

from the curb. “Good luck,” he calls,

Corvette

a point. The longer I wait before seeking out Nessa, the longer she’ll have to overanalyze what happened yesterday; the longer she’ll have to decide that she

come up

clutching the edge of the heavy wooden front door of the Norbury packhouse like a shield as she peers out at me from

but it’s all false bravado. I’m nervous as hell about

pounding so hard that it feels like it’s about to burst from my chest

six months ago would slap the shit out of me right now for being such a pussy and getting all awkward and nervous around a girl. This isn’t just any girl, though. Nessa’s my girl. If she’ll have

hand, half hidden behind the back of my thigh. I lift the small bouquet of white flowers, thrusting them toward her in offering.

as she reaches out to take them from me. “Aw, I love carnations,” she breathes, her lips pulling into a bright smile as she fingers the soft white petals.

were peonies, but then again, it’s not like I know much about flowers or have ever bought them for someone before. I didn’t even think to ask the florist at the shop in Summervale what kind they were; I just went in there and asked for the biggest bouquet I could get for the rest of the

flowers I ended up walking out with, I thought I

reminds me, I need to ask Brady if he’s got any work for me at the garage

mine, long lashes fluttering. “They’re beautiful,” she smiles, pulling the door open wider and taking a step backwards. “Just let me put them in

Logan.

inside while Nessa carries the

filling it at the sink. “So where are you taking me?” she asks over her shoulder as

“You’ll see.”

I keep my

bends at the waist to slip them on her feet, giving me a nice view of her ass in the little white pair of denim shorts she’s wearing. She catches me staring when she pops back up, her

glimpse of her ass, but it’s not my fault my gaze immediately drops to drink in another eyeful. It really is a perfect ass, perky and round. I get the flash of a memory of squeezing it in my hands, my fingertips sinking into her flesh as I bent her over and pounded into her. My cock thickens beneath my zipper and I subtly adjust

of us head down the front walk toward the driveway, and Nessa stutters a step as we approach the Corvette, her expression twisting. It doesn’t register at first, but bile crawls up my throat when

had poured so much sweat and effort into. When she climbed in, I remember how she took in every detail of the dilapidated interior, running her fingers over the old leather seats reverently. And when I started it up, I saw her shiver of excitement at the purr of the engine, the delighted smile on her face when we hit top speed on the

admire this car, but now she eyes it with apprehension, all

I reach for Nessa’s hand, lifting it and pressing my

they ping between the set of keys in her hand and

look at the Corvette, her expression slowly shifting from apprehension to excitement. “But this car’s like your baby,” she points out.

bit queasy, but I shove that down because I’m really trying here. It’s a gesture, one that I’ll hope she understands for what

been the problem all along, hasn’t it?” I murmur, looking down at the keys in her hand and closing her fist around them. I lift my gaze to stare into her eyes earnestly. You gave me your trust before, but I didn’t give you mine. I should’ve trusted you with my secrets and let you make your own choice. And I should’ve trusted myself to keep you safe rather than just bailing out on you.” I reach up to touch her face, running my thumb gently along the curve of her jaw. Her throat bobs beneath my knuckles with a hard swallow. “I know I fucked up everything when I left, but I’m trying to make it right. Figured the first step is establishing trust.” I flick my head toward the Corvette. “So whaddya say? Wanna take her for a spin?”

smile slowly, beautifully, spreading across her face. I feel her little tremble of excitement

side of the Corvette. I watch Nessa climb in behind the wheel, her long tan legs slipping inside, her lithe fingers gripping the key as she turns it in the ignition and the engine rumbles to life beneath us. I

I don’t trust her with my car- I do- it’s just that this vehicle is one of the few things in this world that I give a shit about,

isn’t it?” Nessa giggles from beside me, darting me a

smile. I tip my head toward the windshield.” Eyes on

eyes of hers instead, shifting the gear at the end of the driveway

My lungs constrict.

she asks, braking a little too hard at the stop sign.

the left. She takes the turn, and I lean forward to hit the button

for my liking, my hands scrabbling for purchase on the ceiling of the car, which she finds fucking hilarious.

since it’s a narrow one-lane road with sporadic places to pull off to let other cars through. There’s hardly ever any traffic, but the last thing I want is for her to chance it by going too fast and send the Corvette tumbling

appreciate. If we can make

from reaching over and grabbing the

punctuating her words with another eyeroll. She does slow down, though, and when the Corvette finally rolls to a stop and she cuts the engine, I blow out a

“C’mon,” I urge, opening the door

out of the drivers’ side and meeting

been up here before?” I ask, and I grin when she shakes her head,

and I hop up onto the top of the stony plateau, offering her a hand to help her

my gosh,” she breathes, her head on a swivel

in the whole six-pack territory. From this vantage point, you can see the swell of nearby mountaintops and the snow-capped peaks of those in the distance. The lush foliage of the forest is spread out below, teeming with life, and the wide river that borders Stillwater’s territory stands out in contrast, a

focused on her face as she drinks in the view before her.

Nessa murmurs closer

up inching and I re out to grab her arm, tugging her back before she can take another step. “Careful,” I warn,

me with a smirk creasing her lips. “So you didn’t bring

I flinch.

barest of movements, the slightest tic of my jaw. If she blinked, she’d miss it. She doesn’t, though. The smile drops from her face, her cheeks flushing. “Shit, sorry, I didn’t mean …” Nessa rushes out, stumbling over her words. “I was just