Ride With Me (Paige and Jace) novel Chapter 43

CHAPTER 27-1

25 Points

CHAPTER 27-1

The first thing I noticed was the blanket. It was heavy enough to be warm without feeling uncomfortable and it smelled faintly of fresh laundry and wood smoke.

For a few sleepy seconds I couldn’t remember where I was.

Then the familiar sounds of quiet conversation drifted through the clubhouse and someone was loading dishes into the kitchen.

A football game played softly on the television in the corner and children laughed somewhere

outside before a car door closed.

I blinked slowly and looked around. I was still stretched across one of the clubhouse couches.

At some point after dinner I’d fallen asleep without even realizing how tired I was.

I sat up carefully and the blanket slipped into my lap as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

“You finally woke up. I was beginning to think we’d have to leave you here overnight.” Someone said and I looked toward the kitchen doorway to see Jace standing there holding two mugs of coffee and I accepted it as he smiled at me.

“And I would’ve charged rent.” He added.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I said.

The coffee was still hot. Exactly how I liked it and I glanced down at the blanket.

“Who covered me up?” I asked.

“I did.” He said.

“You could’ve woken me up.” I said and he leaned against the doorway with his own mug.

“You looked like you needed the sleep.” He said.

I couldn’t argue with that. The past few weeks had been a clur of early mornings, late nightsm overflowing appointment books and everything else that came with trying to keep the garage

running.

Apparently my body had decided enough was enough.

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” I said.

“You don’t have toapologize.” He said.

“I practically invited myself onto your couch.” I said.

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CHAPTER 27 1

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“I don’t remember anyone complaining.” He said as a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“You really weren’t going to wake me?” I asked and he shook his head.

“No.” He said.

“Why?” I asked and his answer came so simply that it caught me off guard.

“You looked peaceful.” He said.

For a moment neither of is said anything. The words settled somewhere deep inside me.

Peaceful.

I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had described me that way.

Growing up I was always expected to be composed and after moving into the apartment above

Lawson Customs, I was always busy.

Eventually when I slept I usually woke once or twice thinking about invoices, parts oders or the

next mortgage payment.

Tonight, I’d fallen asleep in a room full of bikers without giving it a second thought and that

realization should have been ridiculous.

Instead, it felt perfectly natural.

I wrapped both hands around the warm coffee mug and looked around the clubhouse.

The dining table had already been cleared and a couple of club members quietly stacked chairs in

the corner.

Emma was laughing with two of the other women while they packed leftovers into containers for everyone to take home. Nobody seemed to be in a hurry. Nobody acted as though I was in the way.

For the first time in years I’d fallen asleep somewhere that wasn’t behind a locked apartment door

and I’d slept without worrying.

That thought should have comforted me but instead, it scared me. Trust had never come easily.

Not after growing up in the Lawson mansion where every conversation felt like a negotiation and

every mistake somehow became permanent.

Trusting people meant giving them the chance to hurt you. I’d spent years making sure that never

happened again.

Somehow, without noticing, I’d lowered those walls around the Iron Vipers. Especially around Jace

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