We took a quick tour of the house before unloading his car. It was a lot bigger than it looked from the outside, but I got a good deal on it, and it was too late to get a refund anyway. I had chosen this particular house because it had bedrooms on all three levels and each bedroom had an adjoining bathroom. “I thought we could take the bedroom on the third floor and let our siblings choose one of the rooms on the first floor.”
He pulled me in for a hug. “Whatever you want, baby.”
I jolted when someone rang the doorbell, causing Chase to laugh. “Holy shit that was loud. I didn’t hear anyone pull up, did you?”
“Nope. It’s probably my surprise. Stay put,” he threw over his shoulder while he strolled to the front door. I could hear male voices and then, “Harper, I’ll be right back. Stay in there and don’t ruin it by trying to peek!” Damn him for knowing me so well.
What seemed like an extremely long period of time later, Chase yelled for me to come downstairs. I flew down the stairs and didn’t see him anywhere. I heard him laugh and then he yelled for me to come all the way downstairs. Descending to the lowest level of the house, I found Chase standing in the game room. “Follow me.”
He led me through the sliding glass doors, onto an impressive deck, down the paved driveway, to the floating dock, which had a wicked looking boat in it. Chase held up a set of keys and jingled them. “Surprise!”
I squealed and launched myself into his arms. “I can’t believe you rented a boat for the weekend! Thank you!”
He chuckled. “I didn’t rent it, baby; it’s mine.”
Still in his arms, I leaned back so I could see his face. “You bought a boat for a four-day weekend at a lake?”
He shook his head. “I’ve had it for five or six years, but I don’t get to use it as much as I would like. I keep it at a marina at a different lake, but I arranged to have it delivered here for us to use this weekend.”
I held his gaze and murmured. “That was very thoughtful. Thank you.”
It was almost a whisper, “I would do anything for you, baby.” His lips met mine in a deliciously soft and sweet kiss, a rarity from Chase. Our tender moment was short lived due to the sound of a rumbling engine approaching.
By the time Duke, Reese, Ember, and Dash were settled, Chase and I had been at the lake house for well over two hours, but Shaker and Hilarie had yet to arrive. They pulled out right behind us when we left Croftridge. Even if they stopped a few times for food and bathroom breaks, they still should have already been there. Chase didn’t seem the least bit worried, but I was. Something was off with Shaker, and they weren’t on the greatest terms when we left.
Excusing myself to the restroom, I ventured upstairs and grabbed my phone before locking myself in the bathroom. I dialed Hilarie and crossed my fingers. When her phone went straight to voicemail, I debated whether or not to call Shaker for a good five minutes before I said ‘screw it’ and dialed him. When his phone went straight to voicemail, my worry kicked up several notches.
Trying to maintain an even tone, I opened the bedroom door and called out for Chase to come upstairs. Clearly, I was not successful in hiding my trepidation when Chase, Duke, and Dash crashed into the room. “What’s wrong?” the cavemen triplets barked in unison.
Any other time I would have answered with a sarcastic remark, but I was too concerned about Shaker and Hilarie to dispense with my usual smartassiness. “Shaker and Hilarie should have been here by now. I tried to call them, and both of their phones went straight to voicemail. They left when we did, and we’ve been here for over two hours.”
Chase nodded and pulled out his phone. “Yo, need a location on Shaker’s bike.” Chase pulled the phone away from his mouth and used his hand to guide me, “Come on, let’s go back downstairs.”
“Thanks, brother. Send those to my phone,” Chase said before placing his phone in his pocket. He looked to Duke and Dash, “Byte is sending the location of his bike. He said it appears to be stationary. I’m going to go check it out. You two coming or staying?”
Ember rose from the couch. “You boys go. We’ll be fine until you get back.”
The boys looked unsure until Reese added, “Go make sure they are okay. We’ve got Titan, Ember, and two guns. Now go.”
I lightly coughed out, “Three guns.”
Convinced we would be safe in their absence, they piled into Dash’s Hellcat and drove off into the night.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Carbon
The entire time we were driving to the location Byte sent us, I assumed we would roll up to find Hilarie bent over Shaker’s bike while he plowed into her from behind. It wasn’t until the headlights illuminated Shaker’s bike propped up against a tree that a sense of unease set in. His bike didn’t appear to have a scratch on it, but the thing that didn’t sit well with me was its location. Instead of resting on the kickstand, Shaker’s bike was leaned against a tree. Why hadn’t he used the kickstand?
“What the fuck?” Duke uttered to no one in particular.
“Don’t know, but let’s go find out,” I said, pushing open the passenger door.
Surveying the surrounding area and the bike itself, I didn’t see anything that would help clue us in as to what had happened to Shaker and Hilarie. The bike had plenty of gas in the tank, and both tires were fully inflated. Turning to see if Duke or Dash had found anything, I noticed Dash had gone back to the car and had his phone to his ear.
“He’s talking to Phoenix,” Duke answered my unasked question. “I didn’t find shit. You?”
“Nothing.”
We continued to look around while we waited for further instructions from Prez. “Come on, brothers. I’ll explain in the car,” Dash yelled, sliding into the driver’s seat.
I shoved Duke back a step and yelled, “Shotgun!” before sprinting to the car. Immature as it was, my big ass was not riding in the back seat. Granted, Duke wasn’t much smaller than me, but he was smaller.
“They’re both fine, but they’re in jail. Phoenix wants us to go by there and get Shaker’s keys so one of you can ride his bike back to the lake house. After that, he said to go on about enjoying our weekend. They likely won’t be out until later tomorrow, and he said he would take care of getting them from the jail to the lake house,” Dash informed us.
“What were they arrested for?” I asked.
Dash shifted in his seat, “From what Phoenix said, the police said they received a call about a girl being raped on the side of the road. When the cops showed up and found Shaker balls deep in Hilarie bent over his bike, they went nuts.” He started laughing and took a few moments to get himself under control before he could continue. “Sorry. So, Hilarie tells them that it was consensual and that she’s a bit of a screamer. By doing that, she saved Shaker from getting slapped with a rape charge, but her admission got them both arrested for a slew of charges including indecent exposure, committing a lewd act in public, disturbing the peace, something about obstructing the flow of traffic, and littering.”
“Littering?” Duke and I asked in unison.
Dash managed to get out, “The condom wrapper,” between laughs.
When our laughter finally died down, Dash added, “One more thing, Phoenix doesn’t want the girls to know about it unless Hilarie decides to share it with them.”
“Fuck. I was looking forward to a weekend of busting his balls about this,” Duke grumbled from the back seat.
***
Walking into the lake house, the sounds of loud music and boisterous laughter coming from downstairs filled my ears. I quietly retreated and closed the door. “Let’s go around back and see what they’re up to,” I suggested. Peering through the sliding glass doors, words failed me as I took in the scene before me.
Duke hissed, “What the fuck are they doing?”
Dash snickered. “Looks like Harper is teaching Reese and Ember how to give a proper lap dance.”
“Oh fuck no,” Duke spat.
“Hey, my sister is in
there, too. Come on, let them have their fun,” I said, walking back to the front of the house.
Duke dropped into a rocking chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can’t believe my little sister was working as a stripper and I never knew it. If she needed money, she should have come to me.”
I sat in the chair beside him and considered his words. “I don’t know why she was doing it, but I don’t think it was for the money.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because she didn’t do private dances. Hell, I had to pay $2,000 to get one with her. After the second one, she started charging me the standard price. If she was in it for the money, she would have ridden me all the way to the bank.”
Duke growled and narrowed his eyes at me. I held up my hands. “Look, brother, I love your sister. I know how we met was less than conventional, but it all worked out in the end.”
“I still don’t like it,” he grumbled.
“Now you know how I felt.”
We sat outside on the front porch shooting the shit until Harper sent a text to my phone asking if everything was okay and if we would be back soon. We walked around back while I replied telling her we had been back for over an hour and were well aware of what they were up to downstairs. All three girls turned to the sliding glass doors, blushed, and promptly turned away. That was when I saw the red mark on Harper’s arm that looked suspiciously like a hand.
“What happened to your arm?” I asked her, moving into the room to get a better look.
She slapped my hands away when I reached for it. “Calm down, caveman. Ember taught us some self-defense moves, and we were practicing on each other. I’m fine. Anyway, did you find Shaker and Hilarie?”
I grimaced. She was not going to be happy with my answer, but there was nothing I could do about it. “Yes, we did, and they’re fine. They’ll be here sometime tomorrow.”
“What? Where the hell are they?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips.
“It’s club business, Harper,” Duke said, shooting a quick glance at me before stepping closer to his sister.
“Don’t give me that shit. It might be club business for Shaker, but Hilarie is my friend, and I want to know where in the fuck she is,” she yelled.
“Sorry, Sis, she was with him, so that makes her part club business, too. They are safe and will be here tomorrow, I promise. Please don’t let this ruin your weekend. I know how much you’ve been looking forward to it,” he said softly.
She sighed and dropped her shoulders. “Fine. I don’t like not knowing the details, but as long as they are safe, I can let it go for now. But if she tells me that Shaker was still being a complete asshole to her, I will not be held responsible for my actions,” she said, then promptly turned and pranced her sexy little ass to our bedroom.
I clapped Duke on the shoulder. “Thanks for taking the heat off me. I owe you one.”
He shrugged. “No worries, I’m sure I’ll need to be saved from the wrath of Reese at least once over the course of this weekend.”
After making myself something to eat and drinking a beer with the boys, I went upstairs to find Harper soaking in the jetted garden tub, neck deep in bubbles. She slowly opened her eyes when I cleared my throat. “Is there room in there for one more?”
She smirked. “Yes, but your size counts as two.”
I ignored her and began stripping out of my clothes. Glancing up, I caught her intently watching me disrobe. “See something you like?”
She raised one brow and quirked her lips. “Keep going, and I’ll let you know.” She was in the mood to bicker because she was pissed about Hilarie, but I had other plans for us.
I finished removing my clothes, lifted her up, and lowered us both into the water, placing her between my thighs with her back to my front. When she started to protest, I closed my arms around her and trailed kisses down her neck. “Show me what you taught the girls while we were gone.”
“You want a lap dance in the bathtub?”
Sucking her earlobe into my mouth, I nibbled with my teeth before sliding my mouth down her neck. With my lips against her skin, I said, “Mmm-hmm. It’s been a long time since you’ve danced for me.” Switching sides to give her other ear the same attention, I continued, “Some of my favorite memories to jerk myself off to are of you dancing for me at the club.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, now show me what you were teaching them while we were gone.”
She turned around and straddled my lap. “Since I’m already naked, we’ll have to fast forward to that part of the dance.” She then proceeded to seductively rub her body all over mine. I watched with glee as she got herself just as worked up as I was.
“Chase,” she whined as she continued to move her hips against me. I kept my hands by my sides, just like I had to at the club, and she clearly didn’t like it. “Touch me, please.”
When she rose up on her knees, I latched onto her nipple and sucked. Her hands went around my head as she ground herself against me. She could have easily taken what she wanted, but I knew she wouldn’t. She always waited for me to enter her, or for me to tell her to put me inside of her, and I fucking loved it.
“You want my cock?”
“Fuck, yes,” she groaned.
I switched to her other nipple and lifted her hips just enough to line myself up with her entrance. Gently closing my teeth around the hard bud in my mouth, I brought her hips down as I thrust up.
She gasped and writhed against me. “Oh, Chase, please move. I’m coming!”
I let go of her nipple and covered her mouth with mine as I used her hips to move her up and down my shaft. “Fuck, baby,” I rasped against her lips. “I’m not going to last. You feel so fucking good.” With that, I followed her over the edge.
When I returned from bliss, I held her securely against my chest and stood. “I hope you didn’t think we were finished.”
I felt her grin against my skin. “Of course not.”
***
“No fucking way! Your father would kill me if I let you do that,” Dash said to Ember.
She turned away from him and crossed her arms, seeming to accept his decree. She glanced at me, then Duke, and whirled around to face Dash again. “You’ll just have to tell him you couldn’t stop me,” she said before diving off the front of the boat and swimming like an Olympic medalist toward the shore.
“Fuck!” Dash yelled, diving in after her. He was in great shape, but there was no way he was going to catch her in time.
“I can’t wait to show this shit to Phoenix,” Duke said distractedly.
Looking back over my shoulder, I saw him holding up a phone with his hands, aiming it in the direction of Ember and Dash. He chuckled. “I’ve been recording since the second time she said she wanted to go with Harper and Reese.”
We watched as Ember made it to the shore and sprinted uphill toward Harper and Reese, waving her arms and yelling, “Wait for me!”
“You think she’s going to make it?” Duke asked.
“Yep.”
“You think Dash will jump in after her?”
“Not if she pops back up in a few seconds,” I guessed.
She reached Harper and Ember with only 100 feet or so separating her and Dash. We could hear her yelling, “Go! Go! Now!” The three girls held hands and leaped off the 40-foot boulder into the water below. Dash came to a screeching halt, just barely missing her. He stood there with his arms crossed, silently waiting for their heads to pop up. Harper surfaced first, grinning from ear to ear. Reese popped up mere seconds later, but Ember had yet to come up. Dash took a step closer to the edge, and we could see him scanning the water below. Harper and Reese started frantically turning in the water trying to spot her.
We heard a loud curse and looked up to see Dash plunging toward the water. His body entered the water at the same time Ember popped up, alarmingly close to our boat. She heaved in a few deep breaths, then threw her hands in the air and yelled, “Wooooooo! Th
at was fucking awesome!”
“Hope it was worth it,” Duke teased, reaching for her hand to help her into the boat.
Ember turned her head to see Harper and Reese making their way to the boat and a furious Dash just behind them. She pushed past Duke and took a seat in the front of the boat. “It most definitely was.”
Harper and Reese climbed into the boat and knowingly moved to the side. Dash hit the swim platform fuming and stomped his way to his wayward wife. “Have you lost your fucking mind Ember?! What made you think it was okay to jump off a 40-foot rock?”
She jumped to her feet, hands on her hips. “Did you forget that I ran through the woods at night and scaled trees to escape Octavius? Do you remember when we were in the lake and I swam to shore after being shot not once, but twice? Jumping off a freaking rock was a piece of cake.”
“You weren’t fucking pregnant when you did any of those things!” Dash screamed. He obviously realized what he’d just blurted out because his expression and his tone instantly changed. Taking a step closer to her, he murmured, “Sorry, darlin’. You scared me.”
“You’re pregnant?” my little sister asked, her voice an octave higher than usual.
Ember smiled shyly. “I guess we’re telling people now.”
Harper and Reese rushed toward her with their arms outstretched. Duke and I took turns giving Dash a handshake and a slap on the back. “Congratulations, brother! Does Prez know?” I asked.
“Uh, no, he doesn’t. You guys are the first to know besides us…” he said, stumbling over his words.
“Got it. We’ll act like this never happened,” I assured him.
The relief was evident on Dash’s face. “Thanks, brothers. I didn’t mean to disrespect Prez by blurting it out like that, but she scared the shit out of me.”
Duke gave him a sad smile. “Enjoy this time with her. I would give anything to have been able to experience it with Reese.” He would never know it, but that statement earned him a world of respect from me.
Carbon (Blackwings MC Book 4) Page 14
