Happy. A happy family.
“You’ll get there Sweet Cheeks, because I’m not taking no for an answer,” I whispered almost silently, watching her closely for any indication she heard me. A tiny movement from her shoulder and the smallest intake of breath brought a smile to my face.
Gotcha baby. Now, phase two starts.
Make sure Addy knows she is the most important person in my world.
And believes it.
***
“Are you sure this is going to be okay? This is a family get together isn’t it?” Addy asked me, while she twisted her hands nervously in her lap. My girl had quite a few nervous ticks, and since we got into the car and started the short drive to the Wounded Souls’ compound, she had used at least three of them. Twisting her hands, biting her bottom lip, and the cutest one of all, pulling on her earlobe. She did it often; in fact, she did it the night at the campground before we retired to my cabin.
“Sweet Cheeks, trust me when I say Booth and Stella will love you turning up. My aunt was invited too, but she can’t make it. Hopefully, you will meet her soon; I texted her to pick a night so we can have dinner with her. She is the only living relative our baby has, I want her to know you and the baby,” I explained, turning into the industrial street where the compound was located at the end.
“I know Wren and Stella, and I met Booth once briefly.” Something in Addy’s tone had me worried. Did she like Booth? Find him attractive? Or maybe she was afraid of him. For a man in his sixties, he didn’t look older than forty; he kept himself fit and trained. Over the years, I had been in Team FIVE, and thus part of the club family, I had gotten in the ring with Booth more than once. The man had unbelievable control of his temper and his mind, but he also had fucking hard fists. Caught me off guard many a time.
“You don’t like Booth?” I asked her, carefully watching her in my peripheral vision for any tells for lies.
“Ah, no. I have no reason to dislike him; actually, he was nothing but kind to me. He is just very … intense. It was a little off-putting, to tell you the truth he kind of reminds me a little of you.”
I balked at the thought that Addy found me off-putting. What did she mean by that? Booth told me about helping her in Stella’s shop when she fell because of her shoes. He also told me she acted a little weird around him.
“You find me off-putting?”
“What? No! I didn’t mean that I meant he made me feel at ease when he helped me up. He called me pet names like you do, but he also looked at me like he was trying to get inside my head like you do,” she replied, giving me an eye roll, then a tug on her lobe.
“So, I’m intense and kind?” I teased her, calming myself. Hell, the last thing I wanted Addy to be was frightened of me, and to not trust me. I already determined trust was a big issue with my girl, love being a close second.
“You could say that, but I’m getting used to it.” Addy laid a hand on my thigh, the warmth from her small hand sent a zing straight to my dick. Goddamn, I had patience, but my mate in my pants wasn’t as controlled as I. He demanded action, to feel that silky wrap of Addy’s pussy, the tight glove fit and the near-impossible ecstasy of being inside her. Only once in my life had I experienced that incredible feeling of pure and utter rightness, and that had been with the brunette beside me busy chewing on her bottom lip. Fuck, I craved to suck on that plump morsel, preferably as I was sliding in and out of her tight channel, pulling those sexy moans that starred in my dreams from her just before she milks the cum from my dick but not before she creams all over me giving me all of herself.
Fuck! A low groan left my throat, smashing my palm on my bulging crotch; I guided my car one handed into the driveway of the compound, nodding at Seb, who was manning the gate.
“Are you okay, Marshall?” Addy squeaked out, her eyes glued to what my hand was doing, her eyes wide with shock but also … longing. She wanted me; I would stake my life on it. Maybe I should test my theory just a little.
“Fine, just dreaming about being inside you, hearing those moans you make when I hit that spot deep inside you. Then just before I pull an orgasm from you, your tight as fuck pussy clamps down hard and strangles the fuck out of me, sucking all my essence out of me and into you.” Winking at her, I yanked the hand brake on and turned off the motor. “Ready?”
“Huh, what? Um … you think my … you know … is tight?” she stammered, a deep red blush staining her cheeks. I stopped myself from laughing out loud but damn if she wasn’t adorable.
“Tight, hot and wet. Perfection,” I growled, the temptation to lean over and take her mouth in a bruising kiss powerful, but instead, I clicked the release for my belt then did the same to Addy’s.
“Stay there, Sweet Cheeks, I will come around and help you,” I ordered, brushing my thumb over her ruddy cheeks, loving that I was the reason for her blush. Soon I was going to be the reason for a lot more from her.
Jumping out of the car, I quickly walked around the bonnet to reach the door before Addy could get out on her own. As proud as I was of her determination to remain independent, it messed with my natural instinct to protect. I wanted to be her everything and that meant being the one to care for her too. With my job and the unknown of when I would get called away, my time with her was very important to me– seeing to her every need, no matter how small, like opening a door for her.
“Marshall, I can open a car door, I am a DVM ya know,” Addy reminded me in a droll tone, but her eyes darted around the car park landing on the row of Harley motorcycles. Was she worried about being around bikers? Maybe had contact with some growing up? There was still so much of her story I was yet to uncover, sometimes I felt like I pulled back one layer only to have that replaced with another one. So far, our week living together consisted of small talk, schools we went to, her practice, but mostly we talked about me. I had no problem talking about my past, and Addy seemed genuinely interested in hearing about me, but whenever I directed the questions back to her, she clammed up.
“You know they are just bikes Addy, the men that ride them are good men. I wouldn’t bring you here if I didn’t trust each and every one of them with my life.” I rushed to reassure her. “And I wouldn’t bring my unborn child here if bad things went down inside that building.”
Addy laughed nervously, but then surprised me by lacing her fingers around mine.
“I’m sorry, it’s silly, I know, but when I was eleven, I was placed with a husband and wife that belonged to a biker club in Melton. They had no children of their own and they were really great people, but some of their friends weren’t all that nice. After a month, they had to end the foster agreement and send me back into the system.”
My heart soared with sudden hope. Finally, something more personal than getting a perfect ATAR score in school or why she hated tofu, but her admission also raised a red flag.
“Did one of them do something to you?” I asked, gritting my teeth, my fist clenching at my thigh.
“No, Jules and Bobby stepped in as soon as they figured out one the members had taken more than a friendly interest in me. That’s why they sent me back; the life meant more to them than me.” Addy’s shoulders lifted in a shrug, but I was getting good at reading my girl now, that decision hurt her.
Another reason for her to believe she was unlovable.
“Well trust me when I tell you nothing like that is going to happen here. All the original members raised their kids on these grounds, Deck’s grandkids live here too. There is no safer place than under the wings of the Wounded Souls.”
“Okay, I trust you,” Addy breathed out, her fingers flexing in my hand, then went back to holding tightly. “Let’s go.”
Pulling her in close to me, I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She was so small, so fragile yet so amazingly strong. I was proud as fuck that she fought her fears and wouldn’t let them take over. Some of them anyway, I still had some work to do, but the walls were starting to fall.
“I got you, Sweet Ch
eeks, always.” The promise iron clad, Addy had no reason to not believe me and in time she would come to that same conclusion.
CHAPTER TWELVE
ADELINE
“This is nothing like I have seen before,” I marvelled, as I looked around the large room full of laughing people, dancing and generally having a fun time. A little girl about eight-years-old ran around the legs of the adults, hiding behind them then giggling when they looked down at her, taking off for the next set of legs. Each person smiled at her as if she hung the moon, the older men watched her with guarded eyes, but nothing in their stares made me uncomfortable about their attention on her. They simply looked like they were keeping an eye on her.
“You sound surprised, Addy,” Stella commented, smiling at one of the men walking past the couch where we were sitting. “Hey there, pretty boy, looking for someone?”
The man Stella referred to as pretty boy growled dangerously. “Anyone seen Doc? He disappeared twenty minutes ago, about the same time Meagan did.”
“Ah, nope, I never saw the good lookin’ tatted strangely private biker or your drop-dead beautiful daughter leave. Anyone here see them leave together out the side door?” Charlotte, who I learned was the mother of Bastian, one of Marshall’s teammates and the president of the Wounded Souls, Shiloh. Judging from the groans and eye rolls from the other women sitting with me, Charlotte had said the wrong thing.
“I’m going to fucking rip his dick off,” the blond man roared, catching the attention of several men standing nearby, one of them being Marshall. Immediately, he dropped his drink to the table beside him, taking a step forward, but I stopped him with a slight nod of my head and a smile. He was looking out for me like he promised, but surprisingly I wasn’t scared despite the loud, crass comment from the biker.
“Now Steel, you know Charlotte is only kidding with you, aren’t you Charlotte,” Rainn, an absolutely stunning woman with ruby red hair, prompted her friend with a perfectly shaped raised brow.
“Bullshit Rainn, Teach is the only one in the flock that can’t lie worth a damn,” Steel shouted, bringing more attention to the commotion he was making. A man covered in tattoos who had been standing by the pool table let out a loud whistle between his teeth, he had a pool cue in his hand which he tossed onto the velvet-covered table. One eye was covered with a patch; he had a fierceness about him. His eye darted from Steel then to the redhead, his face softening when he looked at her.
Another man, whose body could only be described as an overload of muscles, stalked over to us and stood behind the couch where Charlotte was sitting. His large paw of a hand caressed the back of her neck in an intimate gesture, but the scowl on his face was nothing short of pissed off.
“We got a problem here?” muscles asked Steel, his voice calm but his body language anything but. During the short time I lived with Jules and Bobby, I witnessed quite a few altercations at their club between the brothers, and they scared me. This one didn’t for some reason; instead, I sat there fascinated.
My attention turned back to the blond biker; he was very good looking, longish blond hair his fingers shoved in it pushing it back from his face.
“Fuck, I’m sorry Rainny, I didn’t mean to shout. This isn’t the first time Meagan has gone off with Doc; if something is going on there, I need to know.” Steel leaned down and placed a kiss on Rainn’s cheek. “What I don’t need is my brother coming over and thinking he can kick my arse for yelling at his wife.”
Ah, so Steel was scary patchman’s brother, who was married to the sexy redhead. This really was an interesting family.
“I can kick your arse however brother, so you need to calm down,” muscles growled. Bloody hell all the men in this club were so intense, so primal and fierce, so … masculine.
“Honey don’t threaten Cooper; he is worried about his little girl, that’s all. You of all people should understand that,” Charlotte admonished her husband, ignoring his low growl. By the way his hand had slipped around to the front of her long graceful neck gripping her gently, I assumed he was her husband.
“You know Cooper, Meagan is plenty old enough for a boyfriend. She is the same age as Bastian and he is about to be a father. Don’t you think it’s time to let her live her own life, sweetheart?” Charlotte told Steel in a placating tone. She had a real softness about her, her voice gentle her eyes shone with kindness even when her beefy husband kept growling at her while she spoke.
“Sweetness,” muscles growled, but Charlotte didn’t seem worried by the danger radiating off her husband, in fact everyone ignored it as if they were used to it.
“He is a biker, he has a past and he is obviously broken,” Steel argued immediately.
“So, he is just like you were thirty years ago, hey Stud?” a beautiful brunette asked, coming up to join the group. My god, was it a requirement here to be stunningly beautiful? These women were all gorgeous, friendly and lots of fun.
Steel’s demeanour instantly switched from anger to something softer, when he turned to face the woman, devotion showed so powerfully on his face.
“Beauty, I don’t want her going through what you did,” Steel whispered, his hands grabbing her by the hips and pulling her close against his body.
“And if I had given up on you?” she asked.
“Don’t! Don’t … don’t even think that,” Steel pleaded, his face going into her neck, I heard him take a deep breath in, as his arms wrapped around her.
“Meagan is a smart woman babe, and her daddy raised her to protect herself and those she loves. You have to trust that she knows what she is doing.” This was such a private moment, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the scene playing out in front of me. Even though I had no idea what they were discussing, I was completely invested in what they were saying.
“She’s my baby girl, I worry about her Mia. She has so much of you in her; she is so sweet and loyal and trusting. I just don’t want her to get hurt.”
“And she has you in her too babe, she will be fine and if she needs help, I know you will be the first person she will go to.”
“What did I tell you, Sweet Cheeks, this is a family who loves and cares, nothing to be scared of,” Marshall suddenly whispered in my ear, making me jump in my seat.
“Good golly Marshall, you scared the poop out of me!” I squeaked out, my hands flying to my chest.
Marshall let out a loud chuckle. “Poop? Really?”
“Hey! They didn’t like us swearing in the home, and most of my foster parents felt the same way. I guess I never saw the value in it. No amount of cursing changed anything.” I defended myself, then winked at him over my shoulder. It surprised me how relaxing I found this place, how relaxed I felt being here.
“You ready to head home, baby? We have that ultrasound appointment early tomorrow, remember,” Marshall asked me, already helping me up from the couch. Mia and Steel had now moved away to a corner of the room; both of them wrapped tightly in an embrace.
“How can I forget? You remind me every hour on the hour,” I huffed at him, but inside the warmth, his protectiveness gathered like it always did, heating me up from the inside out. Slowly but surely, I was starting to depend on Marshall, and that scared me. What if he leaves once he finds out what a waste of his time I really am, would he run or stay out of duty to his child? Either one didn’t appeal to me at all.
“Where are you going, Sweet Cheeks?” Marshall whispered so only I could hear him. The music was back up to a louder volume, but someone close enough could hear us if they wanted to.
“Nowhere, I was just being silly,” I evaded his question. Marshall was like a pit bull at times, especially when it came to finding out more about me. He told me he wanted to know what made me tick, now that scared the shit out of me. The last thing he needed was to get inside my head; then he would run.
Marshall watched me closely, his brown eyes resembling melted chocolate.
“Don’t shut me out, Addy, please. I’m here for you in every way; it�
�s more than just our baby. Everything, baby, remember?” Marshall’s tone sounded panicked. Was he unsure of himself? The thought was laughable; the man oozed confidence, his swagger when he walked spoke volumes about the man he was. He didn’t need anyone to build up his self-esteem; he didn’t care what people thought about him. Whenever he came to the clinic to bring lunch or to make sure I was taking breaks, he gave no attention to Olivia when he first walked in, his eyes always found me before anything or anyone else. He was never rude to my nurse/receptionist, but he didn’t feel the need to hide his possessive, caring side to make himself look manly. There was no flirting, no subterfuge about him.
He was perfect. He spoke his mind, didn’t pussyfoot around any subject, he said what was on his mind and quite magnificently too, I thought, remembering what he said in the car when we arrived at the compound.
“Do you really dream about my … you know … tight pussy?” I asked, feeling my face and neck heat up.
Hands gripped my hips, and I found myself pulled tight against his hard body, my short stature compared to Marshall meant my stomach came face to face, so to speak, with his thick bulge. My natural instinct was to move away, but Marshall’s grip on my hip and waist wouldn’t allow it, and I found that I didn’t want to move. Sleeping in the same bed last night, I felt his presence the whole night. I couldn’t tell if he actually slept, but he never moved from his side, he never ‘accidentally’ copped a feel, disappointingly. Sometimes I couldn’t figure myself out; one minute, I was determined to keep him at arm’s length, insisting I didn’t need him in my life, and the next I craved his touch, his sweet innocent caresses while watching TV. I was certainly a good candidate for a study into the female mind, and a shrink could definitely make a fortune off me.
Simply put, I was horny, and because I was a coward and emotionally retarded, I had no shame hiding behind blaming pregnancy hormones; at least that way, I didn’t have to admit to using my heart.
Grill (The Wounded Sons Book 3) Page 10
