by Addy Archer
“Good riddance,” Dani mutters.
Her reply makes me snort. “She has a steel plate in front of her head as thick as her fake boobs, making everything bounce right off. Mark my words, she’ll be back here tonight, sucking dick and swinging her tits, because everyone swallows her shit since she willingly offers a good time.”
Ulser shakes his head. “She’d better not, because I’m going to let my VP and my pres know what she said, and they won’t be happy.”
By the look on Dani’s face, Jace will stay unhappy for a very long time, that’s for sure. I mean, the whole wig thing? How is he going to get out of that without a long discussion?
The door of the clubhouse swings open, and Stone strolls inside, Jace hot on his heels along with the other bikers.
“Why the fuck did you leave? Not to mention you ditched Bellick,” Jace growls.
Stone’s eyes are locked on me, letting Jace take the lead. I should be angry and lash out, but in this situation, they’re underestimating Dani. She holds all the anger for both of us and is about to unleash her wrath on Jace. I cross my arms in front of my chest and wait for Dani to explode.
Ulser tries to jump in between. “Wait a sec, VP. Lala just—”
“Don’t bother, Ulser,” Dani snaps. “Jace is aware he used Lala to get off. Hell, he was probably the one who bought her the wig to make her look like me. That’s it, right? Don’t worry, my fat ass is walking out the door, but you’re all set, because you have your replacements all lined up and ready. And Ry—the ‘short fat chick’ for those of you who don’t know who she is—she’ll roll out right after me, right, Ry? Seeing as Lala thinks she can handle Stone’s pierced dick better.” Dani turns to me. “And why didn’t you mention he was pierced? You could have mentioned something all these weeks, you know. Damn. How many? One? Wait, where is—”
“For fuck’s sake,” Stone growls and steps closer.
“Shut up,” I tell him and point in his direction. “You don’t have the right to be angry. The whole thing with Thomas seems fishy and you know it. Was everything a lie? Is it still a possibility that you’re keeping me here to secure your property? Seeing I now own the surrounding area? And like you used to say, ‘You’re mine,’ meaning everything is yours, right? Think again, asshole. I’m my own person. No one owns me, so you better start explaining what the whole ‘you agreed’ thing means, or like Dani said, my fat ass will roll right out the door.”
Jace and Stone glance at each other and jump into action simultaneously. Dani squeals, but I’ve faced many threats in my life, and Stone is one I’m sure would never hurt me physically.
He’s standing in front of me, glancing down with his piercing eyes, and I know he sees the fact that I hold no fear for him. Jace is dragging Dani over his lap as he sits down on the couch. Stone moves me so I’m standing in front of him, making me witness Jace, who pulls off Dani’s pants in one swoop and covers her bare ass with his hand as he rapidly rains down smack after smack.
Dani is growling and trying to bite his ankle, but Jace is the picture of utter calm when he says, “Did you really think I could forget you? You’ve controlled my every damn thought since I was escorted out of that fucking hospital all those months ago. I couldn’t bear letting another cunt touch my cock. And believe me when I say I fucking tried to forget you. The only time I found relief was when I ordered Lala to dance for me, her fucking back to me and a wig on her head so I could jerk off. Get it? No one came near my cock, just my own damn hand. Along with those black lace panties I had to remember you by. I knew she wasn’t you. No one could ever be you,” Jace croaks, and Dani is sobbing hard as he pulls her into his arms and gently rocks them back and forth.
I inhale a shuddering breath and feel Stone pull me against his chest, his hot breath flowing by my ear. “Jace experienced lust at first sight and was addicted once he shoved his cock inside her. I didn’t understand it back then, even though I saw the same thing happen before with both my sisters and the guys who fell hard for them. But I can’t deny I was… intrigued the first time I saw you. I always fucked to get off, but it was the first time my body and mind wanted to possess a woman completely.” He trails his nose up and down my neck, making me shiver. “You’ve earned the same spanking, but I can’t get myself to show others your perfect ass. That honor only belongs to me. I’m angry as hell, but more about the fact that you put yourself at risk. I’ve told you how we have enemies who won’t think twice about hurting you to get to me.”
That makes my blood boil. I spin around and place my palms against his chest, pushing him away as I snarl, “Why would they take me? You’ve kept me in here most of the time. Hiding? Keeping me prisoner because you have some kind of an agreement with Thomas? I’m just a possession, right? An insurance that the property next door is secured?”
My heart is beating in my throat, and for the first time I witness fury swirling in his eyes that’s openly directed at me. I take a step back from the mere force of it, doubting my sanity for lashing out.
“You really think that? Do you have such a low fucking opinion about me?” Stone thunders.
I jerk my arms over my head in protection as I shrink back and brace myself, waiting for the blows to rain down on my body.
C H A P T E R E I G H T
– S T O N E –
All the anger consuming my body immediately washes away when I see the strong woman before me crumble and brace for impact. As if there’s a knife in her hands, lifting it up to plunge it deep inside my heart over and over with each breath she expels.
I’ve never once hurt her nor have any intention of doing so. For fuck’s sake, I did everything in my power to prevent her from getting hurt.
Without another thought, I wrap the tiny woman who’s worked herself underneath my skin into my arms. She’s fucking shaking and still expecting pain.
My voice is strained when I start to explain. “I was protecting you, Ry. Not just from danger that comes from you being the president’s old lady but from the fact that Thomas fucking Carlisle is your uncle. He’s drawn too much attention with buying up businesses and properties, firing people along the way. It angers a lot of people, and he’s drawing heat upon himself that could easily reflect on you if they knew you were his niece.”
She’s still rigid in my damn arms.
Ram’s voice flows through the clubhouse as he bellows, “Everyone out. Let’s give them the room.” When no one moved, he shouted, “Now, dammit.”
Everyone files out, some of them grumbling along the way.
Once the room is completely empty, thanks to Ram, I pick her up and sit down on the couch before I pull her into my lap.
“I’m so fucking sorry to tell you this, darlin’. Your father… he didn’t kill your mother, and yet he did.”
Ry pulls her head back and stares into my eyes, utter shock washing over her face. I can’t help myself, reaching out to cup her face with both hands, pulling her close to place a kiss on her forehead. I release a deep breath and guide her head to my chest, needing to feel her close and relishing in the fact that she lets me as I start to explain.
“You were just a kid when it happened. Your father beat the shit out of your mother, and she barely managed to escape. Due to the blows to the head, she only managed to drive to the next town over. She was found alongside the road in the driver seat, unconscious and unable to explain to anyone who she was or what happened. Bad fucking timing: happened in the middle of the night, in a car without any registration or a way to backtrack where she was from, since the car was stolen and half torn apart. It all happened around Christmastime, and it was cold as hell too, but I guess that saved her life when she slipped into a coma. Hell, I have no clue about any other details or what happened all the years between then and now, but Thomas told me he didn’t even know his sister had a daughter. He only managed to find your mother by accident.”
Her fingers dig into my leather cut, fisting it as if she’s bracing herself to process everyth
ing I tell her. I keep sliding my fingers through her hair as I spill the rest.
“You see, both of them went into the system when their parents died, and since his sister was younger, she was adopted by a family who didn’t want a teenage boy along with it. Once Thomas was able to, he searched for his sister and finally found her in the hospital, where an unknown woman in a coma fit the description he gave his PI. When she died, Thomas swore he would find out what happened, and when he came here, he learned about you.”
Ry shifts on my lap, and to my surprise, she snuggles closer as she asks, “What did you two agree to?”
Fuck.
“This might seem as if I took the decision out of your hands, but enough is e-fucking-nough. You had the shit beaten out of you, endured it for many years. Then what happened with Keith, your father showing up at the clubhouse and shit… I didn’t want Thomas barging in to take over and force you to come with him. And like I said, he’s making waves—buying up businesses and properties, firing people. This town is getting anxious, and it reflects on our business too. Like the strip joint, or the bars where folks go to blow off steam, though now they don’t have the extra cash to spend. Fights break out, and those who cause trouble aren’t allowed back in. See how we’re not the only ones with someone wanting to torch our business and shit? I want you to have time and space to breathe, not deal with any aftermath going on with me, or your uncle for that matter.”
She gives a slight nod, her eyes staring off into the distance.
“I’m fucking this up, aren’t I? Dammit. I’ve never done this, okay? I’ve mentioned my two sisters and how I failed to protect them right underneath my damn nose. My father was a mean motherfucker who also cheated on my mother every chance he got and flaunted bitches in front of her face at every turn. I didn’t want to hide anything, because Dani flipped out too when Jace failed to mention what goes on inside this clubhouse from time to time. Once you were healed, I showed you the dynamics of the club. And then I had a taste of your pussy, and I knew you were mine. I claimed you on the spot, and I wanted to protect you even more from that moment on. I shouldn’t have kept you at my side and away from everything.”
“I don’t know how to do this either.” She sighs, giving me a spark of hope, until her green eyes land on me and she asks, “What really happened with my father? It wasn’t an accident, was it?”
I swallow hard, my mind screaming at me to lie or make something up that’s close to the truth, but she adds a little more to my guilt when she says, “Please tell me the truth. I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t want to know.”
“It was part of the agreement,” I reluctantly admit. “When Carlisle realized I was fighting him to protect you, he gave in, stepping aside and waiting to give you time. In return, Carlisle wanted me to hand over your father. He wanted revenge for what your father did to his sister, to your mother. But you do have to realize that if your father didn’t search me out, he wouldn’t have lived to see another day. He deserved what he got because of what he put you through all your life along with the life he took. It was years later when your mother died, but it was his beating that put her into the coma that led to her death.”
She sags into my embrace and doesn’t say another word. Minutes go by, but there’s no emotion coming from her. Not one single tear, sob, tightening of her shoulders due to anger, nothing. If I had to describe the look on her face, I would eventually have to settle for defeat.
A deep sigh rips from my chest. I can’t even fucking blame her. She’s never had a safe place to give her comfort or allow her to catch her damn breath. I was dead set to give her what she needed, but I was suffocating her while shielding her from my own damn life and the world around us.
“I regret that I took away your ability to choose. Like everyone else. I get that now, and I’m sorry,” I whisper, mainly to myself.
Her head jerks up, and her confused gaze pins me in place. It swirls to torment, almost tipping her over to a breaking point as she says, “Don’t.”
Now I’m the one confused, until it hits me and anger starts flaring up. The life she’s led, there wasn’t anyone who ever fucking apologized. I’m sure of it, because the emotion in her gaze is killing me. I’m about to give her the words again, but she slams her mouth over mine, preventing me from doing so.
Her tongue swirls around mine, plunging forward to deepen our kiss. Her hands are frantically roaming my body, clawing at my clothes. I should stop her, but I’m too damn selfish; I long to feel her naked body against mine.
She jumps off my lap, toes off her shoes, and shoves her pants down, kicking everything away. Her fingers instantly pull on my belt, then my zipper, opening it enough to take my cock in her hands. Her thumb plays with my piercing, making me groan as my head falls back against the couch.
A string of curses falls from my lips as she impales herself on my cock. My hands instantly dig into her hips in an effort to slow her down. Except there isn’t a way to stop a runaway train. That’s how she’s fucking me: frantic, full speed, bound to crash, but it’s unavoidable.
The feeling of my cock thrusting deep inside her body is ripping all sanity away until there’s only lust left, bound to explode. Her pussy is hot, clenching the fuck out of me, and the friction of her bouncing up and down has my balls already tightening.
“Stone,” she pants.
I grit my teeth, needing to hold back. “Ry, come for me, darlin’. That’s what you need, right?”
“No,” she croaks.
My hips falter, and I drag my gaze away from the erotic sight of my cock, slick with her juices, appearing and disappearing inside her tight pussy.
“What do you need, sweetheart?” I ask at the sight of every fucking emotion written plainly on her face, as if she’s opening her heart to someone for the first time in her life to show the ultimate treasure that’s Rylee Warringtens.
“You,” she whispers. “I need you, Stone.”
I slam her hips down and keep her pinned as my cock pulses, filling her up with everything I have to give while at the same time she screams out her orgasm. She crashes forward, and my arms wrap around her to keep her tightly pressed against my chest. My heart is beating out of control, and it’s not just from the intense orgasm she milked from me.
“I’m yours, Ry,” I whisper against her hair.
Dammit. In the few weeks she’s been here, she’s not only managed to worm herself underneath my skin, she’s also made me soften and accept there’s no way out but to surrender to everything she unleashes inside me, to let her take root inside my heart.
The protectiveness overwhelms me, along with the desire to possess her completely. To make her happy and show her all the good things life can give us. I don’t even care about the dangers she could face, because I now know for sure that she’s tough enough to face it right alongside me.
Standing, I pick her up and carry her up the stairs and into my room. Setting her on her feet, I shed the rest of our clothes and carry her into the shower. I take a deep breath as I try to engage her in a discussion about the matters at hand.
“Did you want my brothers to stop helping out at the junkyard? I can understand if you want to keep the MC and the junkyard separate. It’s your business, and I don’t want to overstep any boundaries. Maybe you could hire some other men?”
She reads every word from my lips before she tilts her head toward the water, and I watch her gorgeous face enjoy the warmth of every drop hitting her skin. She brings both her hands toward her head, steps back, and rubs the water from her face.
“No. I’m thankful for your help, along with all of the others who have stepped in and taken shifts to keep the junkyard up and running. Besides, I’m the one who handles the office part of the business. I only know how to take care of the administrative side, nothing outside of it. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”
She gives me a soft smile and adds, “But I also don’t want to sell it, if that makes sense. I don’t know. I should
hate it, and I don’t want to go there anytime soon, I just… I don’t know.” Her face looks pained, and I hate myself for bringing it up.
“All the time in the world, Ry. It’s your life, your company, your decision. My guys will help out, so don’t worry about anything until you’re ready to face shit, okay?” I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her naked body flush against mine.
“Okay,” she says, her words flowing over my skin.
We stay in each other’s embrace while the water crashes down on us. In here, there’s nothing pulling at our attention, no obligations, just me and the woman who gave me reason to believe opening up doesn’t make you weak. It just heightens everything. Not just your senses but the urge for survival, to fight for a fucking future where you don’t let anything or anyone cross your road to fucking happiness.
This woman learned to adapt—flawlessly reading words off the lips of people and their body language—and is stronger than anyone could give her curvy little ass credit for.
She is the woman who was made to be mine.
Once we’re dressed and stroll into the crowded main room of the clubhouse, I see how perfectly she fits into my world. Her head is held high, though I do narrow my eyes at the way I notice her scanning the room as if she’s on a warpath.
I bury my head in the crook of her neck as I murmur, “You won’t find who you’re looking for. She won’t ever step foot inside this building again or she won’t be able to take another breath to regret it.”
Ry’s body relaxes against me, her arms circling my neck. “I was expecting her to come back as if nothing happened. I looked forward to grabbing Lala’s hair and dragging her out of the clubhouse. With a little help from Dani, of course.”
“Of course.” I can’t help but chuckle. “But I read the text Ulser sent me when we came out of the shower. He made sure Lala knows she’s not allowed to come back here. Besides, her friend who was sitting next to Ulser witnessed Daniela’s outburst along with mine and Jace’s. She knows the damage she’s done and how pissed we are. She won’t be bothering you or Daniela ever again.”
