by Amelia Shea
Kase took a sip from his drink, feeling the burn down his throat. “Cade.”
“Yeah, it was Caden.” Jack snorted and then paused for a few seconds. “Think he’ll take Cora fishing?”
Kase glanced up to see his dad staring at the pit. Caden would, same as he’d done with Trevor all those years. A few times Kase had tagged along. A few with Jack too. Little did they know it would be their last.
“Had some good times. Just us boys.”
They were few and far between, but memorable when they happened. Growing up in the club with Jack as president left little family time. There was some, though.
“You take your pills?” Kase asked.
Jack stared down at the fire, lifting his glass in silence. If not for Marissa’s text reminding him, he would have forgotten too.
“Later.”
Kase sighed. “Pop, ya gotta fucking take ’em.”
Jack smirked and side glanced Kase. “They ain’t the good ones. Back in my day, we had good shit.” He shifted in his seat, slinking down. “Better women, better club.”
Kase cracked his neck.
“You remember that game, football. It was the last fucking game of the season, playoffs or some shit. Whole fucking town closed down. You remember that?”
Kase cocked his brow with a slow nod. “Cade’s senior year.”
Jack smiled. “That boy could play.”
Kase sighed and sipped his whiskey. Cade was a star on the field. No one could touch him. Set records in their old high school, only to be broken by Trevor years later. It was where the two of them shined. He’d been a full-fledged member at the time. A huge party, one of their biggest. Women, fights, drinking, fucking; some members still talked about it.
Not me. Kase had opted to go to Caden’s last game with his Pop.
Jack shot up in his seat and slapped his leg. “The next night, we went on a run. Stopped at that little bar.” He grinned. “Locals thought they’d stretch their fucking muscle. One of us took on three guys that night, showed ’em who we were.” Jack laughed, settling in his seat. “Then we took the ride out by the canyon. Camped out. That was a good night, Kase.”
“Yeah.” Kase smirked. That was me. He’d taken on three guys, beat the shit out of all of them single- handedly. It had been forever since he thought of that night. He’d been trying to impress the club, mainly his dad. The assholes had gotten a few good shots at him, but he’d taken care of them. He set them straight. No one fucked with the Ghosttown Riders.
The silence lingered. It was welcomed for Kase.
“You didn’t swipe my cash, did ya?”
Kase angled his head toward Jack, who was staring back at him. Some days when his father looked at him, it was as though he was looking into the eyes of a stranger. Tonight? It was his Pop at present day, recognizing his own demise.
“I did it enough times as a kid, I was overdue you calling me out for it today. We’re good, Pop.”
Pop nodded slowly, his lips tugging into a frown, and the lines between his brows creased. His father may not have won any award for Father of the Year, but he gave it his best, even when his best was shitty. He stayed. When his mother left, Jack stepped in. He was away a lot, left Kase to watch over Caden, but both brothers became independent fairly quick. Jack wasn’t always the best, but he never deserted them.
“I like that one.”
Kase glanced over and found Jack resting back in the chair, staring down at the flames in the pit. A serene and soft glow shadowed his face. This was Jack now. One minute he was raising hell, the next he was being taken over by his past, and finally, he was just Pop. Kase didn’t bother asking who he was referring to. Kase suspected he knew who.
“Great ass on her.”
The corner of Kase’s mouth perked up. Now, he definitely knew who his Pop was talking about. It was apparently the consensus. Phoebe had a great ass.
“Sexy as hell.”
“You had a lot of women, Pop.”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “Something about her, though. Met her years back, would have done my hardest to get her to stay, I think.”
There was something about Phoebe even Kase couldn’t shake. It went beyond his virile need to fuck her. She proved to be the first woman he’d had a connection with outside of anything sexual. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d voluntarily hung out with a female with no plans to bed her. Until Phoebe.
“You got something with her?”
Kase drew in a breath, tightening his grip on his glass. “No.”
Jack snorted. “Bet ya wish you did.” He shook his head. “The good ones, Kase. You don’t let them get away ‘cause you spend the rest of your fucking life wondering how different it all woulda been if you had kept her.”
“She ain’t mine to keep.” He gritted his teeth, wondering why the admission pissed him off.
Jack laughed and settled into his seat, staring at the orange glow of the flames. “Yeah, a woman like that, a little wild, speaks her mind, you gotta be something to be her man,” Jack paused with a somber sigh. “Gotta know what ya got, respect it, and have the strength to be who she needs. That girl’s a little broken, probably ’cause of a man. She ain’t tell me nothing, but I can see it.”
His dad may not be all there all the time, but he still had the gift of reading people. He’d nailed it with Phoebe. A man had broken her, yet she kept on going. Even today in the store, he’d struck hard with purpose. The anger from seeing his father breaking in front of him, he’d turned on Phoebe. She was giving him an out, but Kase, doing what he does, kept pushing and pushing, delivering a nasty blow. Then she came out swinging, calling him out.
Jack chuckled, catching Kase’s attention once again.
“But a fighter. The strong ones are always the hardest to keep but worth it. They’ll test ya, make ya see fucking red at every corner, and hell, ya can’t tame ’em. You gotta let them be who they are, gotta go all in and ride the waves ’cause there’s sure gonna be a fucking lot with someone like her.” Jack smiled softly. “Worth it, though, I think.” It was as if his dad had gotten inside his head.
“Regret is a shitty thing to live with, Kase.” Jack scooted up from his seat and stood, stretching his arms over his head.
It was. Kase had very few regrets, but one shined brighter than most. He should have let her walk out with a word. Instead, he was a motherfucker, cutting her every fucking chance he had.
“I’m heading in.”
“Take the pills, Pop.”
Jack snapped. “I’ll take the fucking pills.”
Kase lifted his beer to his lips, hiding his smile as he watched his dad toss the bottle in the trash and circle the fire.
“Wanna a good woman, ya gotta be a good man.” Jack walked past him and whispered, “’Night.” He headed back inside without another word. There was nothing left to say. Jack had laid it all out for Kase whether he realized it or not.
The problem was, Kase wasn’t a good man, never had been. He wasn’t built to be what Phoebe wanted or needed. It was cut and dry, black and white. That fact alone should have him never thinking of her again. Yet he sat at the fire, alone, with all his thoughts on her.
Chapter Eleven
The last night had been a blur. Everything that had gone down with Kase and Jack at the store mounted, as her need to pay back her asshole brother and sell the house had catapulted into a stress-induced somber two days where she vegged on her couch feeling sorry for herself. It was pitiful.
I showered and I brushed my teeth, as good as I’m gonna get. Peace out, motherfuckers. When had she fallen so low and so damn fast? I’m better than this. Was she? At the moment she was feeling fairly comfortable at rock bottom. It was ironic. She would have sworn at Jared’s funeral and the days following they would have been her lowest point. But here I am at the bottom of the barrel, killing it.
The harsh knock sounded and startled her from her self-loathing. She angled her head at her open bedroom door. Again, it was
rare for anyone to come over unannounced. She sat up, resting on her elbows as the knock became hurried and aggressive.
“Go away!”
The response was immediate and ear deafening. The pounding was constant, and she pushed off her bed, glaring as she stumbled to the door. Through the sheer curtain there was no mistaking who it was. She gripped the knob tightly and opened it wide. She should have left his ass standing at her door. She cocked her head to the side.
“What do ya want?”
Kase’s brow cocked, and his eyes gazed down her body. He was certainly getting an eyeful. Since she wasn’t expecting company, she was dressed in tiny athletic shorts and a one-size-too-small tank top. She clucked her tongue, gaining his attention. She smirked.
“I got nothing you want, remember?” She grinned and slowly twisted her lips into a hateful glare. “Besides, I’m just a cunt, right?” She swiftly closed the door but wasn’t quick enough. His foot shot out, blocking the closure, and he pushed it back open.
His eyes darkened, and his cheeks hollowed. “Need to talk.”
She eyed him carefully. Whatever he had to say had Kase on edge. It was a different look on him. She licked her lips and dropped her own gaze to peruse his body. God, the man was fit. She had caught a glimpse of him without a shirt and knew his sculpted abs and defined chest remained hidden by his shirt. If he didn’t open his mouth, he’d be perfect.
“Fuck. No.” She smiled.
“Phoebe,” he growled. She ignored the spike in her chest when he said her name. The man was an asshole, no matter how sexy her name on his lips sounded. She sucked in a breath and shook her head.
“You have nothing to say I want to hear.” She sighed and glanced over her shoulder into her tiny living room and then back to him. “I don’t have a desire to hear ya speak. In fact, if I go the rest of my life without your voice? I’ll die happy.” She grasped the door to close it again, but he grabbed wood pane.
“I’m coming in, and you’re gonna sit your ass down and listen.”
She laughed and stepped back away from the door. “If you step one foot in this house, I will get my gun and shoot you.”
He stepped forward, and she spun around. “You were warned.”
“Get your ass over here.”
She turned and twisted her lips. “You suck with the opposite sex. Do you even grasp how much you suck? Don’t you dare come into my house and start barking orders. Your power is shit in my domain, Kase.”
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me Carter was your brother?”
This is what he wants to talk about? If ever there was a subject off limits, it would be her brother. Even the sound of his name was a buzzkill.
She scoffed. “I don’t have to tell you shit about me or my family, Kase. I don’t owe you anything.” It was true, she didn’t. But a thought popped in her head, and she smirked. “But I am willing to listen if you’ve got dirt on my big brother.”
He remained stoic.
“Your property. Why ya need to sell now?”
She snorted and shook her head. “Nope, none of your business. I’ve moved on to other avenues.”
“Phoebe,” he snarled.
She squeezed her eyes together and burst. “No!” she shouted. She whipped around and pointed at him. “You don’t get to come in my house and demand anything. Unless you’re here to apologize, get the fuck out.”
He remained silent as his shoulders bunched and his jaw locked.
“You yelled at me, called me a cunt, then outed me for wanting to have sex with you.” Just repeating it all made her cheeks burn. “You purposely tried to hurt and embarrass me when all I did was have lunch with Jack, pay for his meal, then try to calm him when he started to lose it. I deserved a thank you,” she paused, “not a fuck you.”
His chest rose, and he folded his arms over his chest, staring back at her. She snorted and turned her back, heading toward the kitchen. It was so faint she almost didn’t hear him.
“I fucked up.”
She slowly turned, facing him again.
Kase dragged his hand over the top of his head. She expected him to glance away, but he didn’t. His eyes remained locked on her.
“I got a lot of shit going on, and then I got Jack. Took that out on you. It wasn’t right.” He drove his hand through his hair and sighed. “I’m sorry.”
Did he just sincerely apologize? She didn’t think he had it in him to admit any kind of fault. She snorted and arched her brow. “I don’t know what to say. I didn’t think you’d actually apologize.” Her lips curled, and she moved forward with only inches separating them.
“I fucked up. I own my shit.”
She nodded in a slight daze. “I was just trying to help, Kase.”
He cleared his throat and sighed. “I know.”
She licked her lips. “Okay, so where does that leave us, then?”
He stared at her with an intense, uncertain gaze. He seemed caught in an internal struggle. She bit her lip, and his gaze dropped to her mouth, his eyes darkening.
“Fuck it.” He took two long strides, and he was towering over her.
When his hands curled under her arms, she gasped, stepping back. She didn’t get very far. His grip tightened, and he lifted her off the ground, tugging her body against his. She widened her eyes as he curved his neck and pressed his lips against hers.
It wasn’t sweet or gentle, it was exactly what she’d expect from him. It was hard and rough and demanding and had her wrapping her legs around his waist and knotting her feet together. His tongue breached her lips and tangled against hers. She was slightly aware of her body moving, but she kept her eyes closed, completely entranced in their kiss. His tongue penetrated her lips, and she opened for him. Between his hands gripping her ass and his tongue sliding into her mouth, she heard the faint slam of her door closing.
Yes! It was better than any fantasy she’d ever had. The anger and feuding from minutes ago were a memory. What fight? All she wanted was him.
“Kase,” she breathed. “I want you inside me.”
A soft growl vibrating through his chest was the only response she’d gotten.
His grip tightened over her hips with his fingers digging into her flesh. She was completely lost in the kiss to comprehend anything beyond their lips fused together. She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, tightening her own grip over him. This moment had been weeks in the making. She grasped his shoulders, digging her fingers into him, and angled her head to get closer. She slid her tongue over his lips in a tracing motion. He stilled his movement, and she continued, all the while feeling his heated breath filter into her mouth.
She had no concept of time or where he was taking her. Her house was too small to pose many options. When she felt her soft mattress brush against her back, she sighed. She had no objections to him taking her anywhere. Her counter, her couch, hell, he could have taken her against her kitchen wall, and she wouldn’t have cared. All she wanted was him.
His body pressed against hers, sending her back into the mattress. She was slightly aware of his hands caressing down her, though, and easing her strong grip. Her shaky hands slid down his chest and gripped the buckle of his jeans, tearing it open and not bothering with the zipper. She plunged her hand down his pants. He wanted this as much as her. She gripped his hard cock in her palm and felt his groan against her lips.
“Too many clothes, Kase,” she whispered.
Phoebe felt the loss of his heat and flicked her gaze open. Kase stood at the edge of the bed, ripping off his shirt and lowering the zipper of his jeans. She eyed his cock when it came into full view. Her urge to reach out and touch him was obstructed by his hand tugging at her shorts. Had he even taken off his jeans, or were they hanging out at his ankles? She curled her lips when she caught his heated stare.
“Want you naked. Now,” he snarled, and she shimmied out of her shorts. She hitched forward, ripping off her shirt, leaving her red bra the only piece of clothing on her body. He ey
ed her breasts.
“You like it?”
His eyes darted up and caught her gaze. She smirked, and for the first time she could remember, Kase’s eyes softened. It changed his face. Without a sharp glare and scowl, his features were accentuated into a smooth, handsome face. How had she not seen him this way before? She brushed her hand against his cheek, and he curled his face into her palm. There was a connection between them. Maybe it was purely sexual, but it seemed almost hypnotic on both sides.
He leaned forward, taking her lips, and slid his hand around her back. She gripped his shoulders, pressing her breasts against his chest. His hand bunched against her back, and she felt the release of her bra and his hand skimming her stomach before palming her breast. His lips fused against hers.
She’d been with other men since Jared, but none of them came close to the desire Kase evoked from her. She grasped at his hips, wanting him inside her. He shifted his body and wrapped his hand around her waist, tugging her up on the mattress.
For as spontaneous as it was, she wasn’t so out of sorts as to not demand he wear something. His tongue curled against hers, and she almost forgot her last thought. God, he can kiss. She grazed her teeth against his lip, tugging at his bottom lip with a small bite. His growl rumbled through his chest, and his hand locked into her hair, pulling her away and stretching her neck against the pillow. His mouth suctioned onto her neck as she dug her nails into his ribs.
“Kase.” It sounded like a plea, though she wasn’t sure what she was asking for. She needed some relief to the building pressure at her core. His cock lined up with her pussy, and her breath hitched from wanting him to slide inside her.
Then she felt the cool air breeze over her lower region, and she blinked, finding him leaning over the bed with his cock as hard as a rod. She reached out, grasped his dick, and smirked when she heard the gasp in his breath. His hand balled into a fist as he clenched his pants pulling out a foil square between his fingers. She continued to palm his cock in a slow methodical jerk. She was throwing him off his game. He ripped open the condom, swatted her hand away, and then sheathed himself. She snuggled into the mattress waiting on him. She didn’t have to wait long. His body folded over hers, his cock at her entrance. There was no foreplay or hesitation. The crown of his cock nudged at her lips and pushed inside with wet welcome. He gripped her thighs, spreading her open, and plunged deep inside her body. She clutched his shoulders as the thick intrusion penetrated her core. She jolted forward and arched her back.
