"Yes," Lucky said truthfully.

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure."

"What about Bridge?"

"I'm going to deal with him. You made your promise, and I expect you to keep it," Lucky reminded the enforcer.

"I made that promise to a brother."

Chapter 21.

"I am not going swimming." Willa stared ahead mutinously.

"Yes, you are. It's hot as h.e.l.l today, and where I'm taking you is private."

"Just because I've been seeing you for three months, it doesn't mean I have to listen to you."

Until Lucky sees me naked, I'm not giving him any rights over me, Willa thought to herself.

She cast a quick glance at his hard profile as he drove. The most intimate thing they had done during the time they spent together was the kiss he would place on her lips as he was leaving. It was respectful and chaste, but it was also darn frustrating. Her mother and father would have been happy at his courtly behavior. Her, not so much since she couldn't figure out if it was because he cared for her or if it was because he wasn't attracted to her.

She didn't have any other dating experiences to compare it to, so she would often dissect their dates for hours after he had left as she lay in her lonely bed. They saw each other almost every day, spending hours in each other's company. They would go for walks and watch television, but during all the time they spent together, he had never tried to take their relationship to a more intimate level.

A few times, she had even tried to tempt him, though she was ashamed to admit it. She would part her lips when he kissed her, but he would pull back. One time, she had even been brazen enough to sit down next to him on the couch close enough that the side of her breast had brushed his arm. She had hoped he would turn and give her a pa.s.sionate kiss. However, he had merely scooted over so he was no longer touching her.

She had begun to believe he was going to The Last Riders' clubhouse to see the women there, but he hadn't. She knew this because Lily and Beth, whom she saw at the church store when she stopped in, had told her that he had left the club. When she had mentioned it to him, he had told her that he still saw the men in town and frequently hung out at the diner with them.

She had asked him, "Why did you stop being a Last Rider?"

And he had answered, "If I were to hang out at the clubhouse, would you believe I wasn't with any of the women?"

Willa couldn't answer without lying, so she had remained quiet.

"That's why I didn't want that in your head." He had taken her hand. "The clubhouse isn't about the s.e.x, Willa. It's about the brothers having your back when you need them. That's why people in the military have such a hard time adjusting when they get out. They're used to that camaraderie, being up each other's a.s.s all the time. We're loners, and we respect each other's privacy when we need it, but it's nice to be able to walk into a room and be surrounded by friends just sitting around, shooting the s.h.i.t, drinking a beer."

"I don't want you to give that up because of me," Willa had protested.

"I didn't give it up just for you. I gave it up for the church, too. Do you see the parishioners letting me be pastor while belonging to The Last Riders?"

"But they all know you lived there when you gave the church up."

"That was different. They love to forgive a reformed sinner as long as the sinner doesn't go back for their fix."

Willa had wondered if Lucky knew how telling his statement had been by comparing The Last Riders to an addiction.

Like an addict, Lucky was trying to stay away from the worst part of his addiction-the clubhouse. It was what drew them together and made them whole. It gave them their bonds that would be hard to break. Then again, Lucky seemed to be happy with his choice, and Willa didn't want to keep dwelling on his decision if it was truly what he wanted.

He still spent time with them, and when she saw them around town, they were all friendly, asking how she was doing since the children had left. During the holidays, they had even had a big party at King's restaurant to celebrate, saying it was much easier to cook and fit everyone in there. However, Willa thought it was because they didn't want to leave Lucky out.

Willa blinked back tears, turning her head to look out the window at the pa.s.sing scenery, trying to shake the thoughts from her head.

"What are you thinking?"

Willa gathered her composure before turning back to him. "I was just thinking it's a beautiful day."

Lucky parked his SUV on the private land near the lake. Getting out, he took out the picnic basket she had placed in the backseat before opening her door.

"Are you going to sit there all day?"

His good mood was beginning to get on her nerves.

"I'm thinking about it." She was too embarra.s.sed to tell him she didn't want him to see her in her swimsuit.

"While you're thinking about it, I'm going swimming."

Lucky set the basket down on the picnic table before taking off his T-shirt, already wearing his swim trunks. He walked into the cool water until it was deep enough to dive underneath. When he came up, he shook his hair out of his face.

"What kind of freaking pastor has tattoos?" she said to herself as she slid out of the SUV, tempted to start it with the keys he had left in the ignition and leave his b.u.t.t in the lake. She almost giggled to herself, imagining his expression if she did.

She sat down at the picnic table, taking a bottled water out of the basket. She began to get hot sitting in the sun, wishing the table was in the shade. It was only April, but a hot spell had fallen over Kentucky, and the temperature was reaching the nineties.

Looking at the water, she saw Lucky floating lazily with his face turned up to the sky.

"I hope his nose gets burned." She had plastered a whole bottle of sun block on herself before he had picked her up.

She saw the tats on his shoulder and back as he began swimming. Darn it, was she ever going to be able to see them closely? It was always a flash here or there. He would catch her looking at them and lift a brow, and she would look away quickly, but the jerk knew she had been staring.

"I'm melting." Willa brushed the dampness off her forehead. Glancing back at the water, she was determined to tell Lucky she'd had enough, only to see his body gone. Willa stood up, her eyes searching the lake. When she didn't see him, she yelled out.

"Lucky?"

Willa didn't hear a sound. Becoming more frightened, she began walking closer to the water.

"Lucky?"

The silence made her even more frightened. She began running into the water, searching frantically for him, going deeper and deeper. How long did it take someone to drown? Wouldn't he have called out if he had a leg cramp? Could he have hit his head when he had gone under water?

A hand wrapped around her ankle, pulling her under the water before letting go. Willa gasped when she came up, seeing the mischievous look on Lucky's face.

"You a.s.s!" She hit him on his chest with her fists. "You scared me to death! I thought you drowned!" Furiously, she put her hands on his head, pushing him back underneath. If the a.s.shole wanted to pretend to drown, she would freaking help him.

Arms circled her waist, lifting her up into the air before tossing her backward. Her squeal was cut short when her mouth filled with water. She came up, sputtering water, her eyes narrowed in determination.

Her hands gripped his shoulders, and she used all her weight to sink him to the bottom of the lake. Lucky's body twined with hers, his mouth finding hers in a pa.s.sionate kiss that had her not caring if she drowned. Finally, he pulled them to the surface, releasing her mouth.

"Are you trying to kill me?" she sputtered.

"I'm trying to get you to have some fun."

Willa slung her wet hair back from her face. "You seriously think this is fun? Is our next date at the dentist's office?"

Willa couldn't help joining in with his laughter as he pulled her closer to him. His hands went to her waist, tugging at the large T-shirt she had put over her swimsuit.

"What are you doing?" She tried to wiggle away yet was unable to before she found her T-shirt swimming away.

"Taking off that raft."

"Are you insulting my clothes?"

"Just that T-shirt. It's ugly as s.h.i.t."

Willa hadn't thought the bright yellow shirt was that bad. She had found it on the clearance rack at a high-end store. She hadn't believed her luck when she had found one in her size. Well, it might have been a little too large, she thought to herself, seeing it float away.

"Aren't you going to get it for me?"

"h.e.l.l no. Just think of how many lives it will save," Lucky replied with a grin.

"It's a good thing I'm a good Christian, or I would let you have it," she said, not liking the fixed gleam in his eyes as he moved closer. "Don't you dare."

As his hands went to her waist, tugging at her shorts, she screamed in frustration.

"I'm going to kick your b.u.t.t, and I'm big enough to do it," she threatened to no avail, seeing her black shorts float away seconds later.

His laughter was cut short when she splashed water into his face. Before he could react, she began swimming toward the bank.

"I'm going to see your a.s.s when you get out of the water," Lucky yelled at her back.

She quit swimming.

"Darn it." Her fist hit the water angrily, spraying it into her face.

Lucky's arms circled her waist from behind, pressing his chest against her back. His hand flattened against her stomach. Then she felt it curve around the bulge that several hours on her treadmill wouldn't get rid of, making her self-conscious.

She felt his lips exploring the side of her neck as he pressed even closer to her backside, and her hands clutched his at the wrists, trying to pull them away.

"Siren ... You're so beautiful."

Weakly, her head fell back against his shoulder, wondering which was burning her worse-the sun or Lucky. Both were going to burn her alive and leave their mark if she didn't move away from his touch.

"Lucky..."

The tips of his fingers slid under the band of her swimsuit, not moving farther. The small intimacy made her shake in the shallow water as he tugged her back into the deeper part of the lake before turning her around to face him. His hand glided around to her back, his fingertips brushing at the top of her b.u.t.t.

Her nails dug into the flesh of his shoulder. "I can't-"

"Sh ... Siren, trust me." His lips took hers gently, letting her set the pace of the first kiss they'd shared since the night of her bachelorette party.

The peace of the lake made her feel as if they were the only two people in existence as she parted her lips, letting him explore her mouth with the glide of his tongue. Her own traced his bottom lip, nipping it softly, and a groan sounded from deep within his chest.

"Did I hurt you?"

"Siren, the only thing that hurts is how badly I want you."

"Why do you call me siren?"

"Because your soul calls to mine."

"What does it say?" Willa teased.

"It says, I love you." Revealing that he was more then aware that she was in love with him.

As her face turned serious, she started to turn away from his intent gaze.

"My soul calls to yours, too," he continued.

"It does?"

Lucky nodded his head.

"What does it say?" Willa whispered, her breath catching in her throat.

"It says, I love you, too."

"Lucky..." She didn't know how to respond to his admission, too afraid to believe he really loved her. Doubt began to rear its head, making her believe he couldn't love her ... a woman so different from the other women he had been with.

"Don't, siren. I know exactly what my soul is telling me. My stomach, too."

"What's your stomach saying?"

"Feed me."

"That one, I believe." Willa laughed as Lucky waded out of the water.

She stopped in her tracks, seeing the tats covering his back all the way down to his feet. She swallowed hard as he bent down to pick up his T-shirt, sliding it over his head.

"Dammit." She had missed another opportunity to get a good look at the tats on his chest.

Lucky pulled his cross necklace out from under his T-shirt. "What did you say?"

"I'm hungry, too." Willa consoled herself with the fact that it wasn't technically a lie as she came out of the water, only then remembering her clothes were gone.