Inked

by Jenika Snow

  He turned his head and stared down at her. The sheet had ridden low on her and now lay around her hips. He lifted his other hand and smoothed it down the dip of her waist. Was he in love with this woman? Yeah, he really was. Just the thought of her being with another guy had rage moving through him fiercely. He tightened his hands into fists and breathed in deeply. Yeah, he was so damn gone for this girl. But Cadeon didn’t want to even think about how fast everything was moving, because honestly it felt right on every level. There weren’t a lot of things in life that happened like that, but this was definitely one of them.

  She shifted beside him and pressed her naked body more firmly against his. His cock sprang to attention even though they had just had sex less than an hour before. It was like he was insatiable for Stella, like all she had to do to get him rock hard was look at him.

  The sound of a couple of Harleys nearing had him sitting up in bed. The jarring motion had Stella groaning beside him. He looked over at her and watched as she roused.

  “What’s wrong?” She pushed herself up in bed, and the sheet and fell away, exposing her big, round breasts. Shit, right now was not the time for this, especially when the Harleys he heard were most likely coming to her house.

  “Baby, you expecting anyone?” He was already out of the bed and grabbing his clothes.

  She rubbed her eyes, still clearly foggy from sleep, but when the bikes came closer her eyes widened. “Is that…”

  He nodded, but she was already out of the bed and getting her clothes on. “Shit, what time is it?”

  He looked at his watch. “Nearly nine.”

  She rushed around the room, and when she was dressed she ran over to her cell and looked at it. “Shit, phone is dead. My dad probably called me, and knowing him since I didn’t answer he is stopping by on his way home to check up on me.” Stella was an adult, but Cadeon knew how protective he was of her. Cadeon supposed if he had lost his wife in the traumatic way Scars had lost his he would be just as protective. But as sad as the situation was, men in any kind of MC knew the kind of life that they immersed themselves in.

  “Stella.”

  She stopped and looked at him, and they stared at each other for several seconds. “I’m sorry, it’s just I certainly don’t want my dad to come here and know I just had sex with a guy,” she said. He could relate, because he certainly didn’t want the confrontation that was surely about to transpire. When they spoke to Scars he’d wanted to be when he hadn’t just slept with his daughter. “I have every intention of telling him about us, because I want him to know that I am happy.” She smiled, and a small amount tension left her, but those bikes were now pulling into her driveway, and she sighed heavily. “God, of course things couldn’t just go the way I see them.” She smoothed her hands down her shirt and looked down her body. “Does it look like I just got fucked really good?” She lifted her head and grinned at him.

  Cadeon couldn’t help it. He chuckled and walked up to her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, still mindful of her healing tattoo. “It does, but it looks really damn good on you.”

  Now it was her turn to chuckle. She pulled back and tilted her head back. “Well, I hope you’re ready to tell my dad about this, because looks like it is about to happen sooner rather than later.”

  He cupped her cheek and leaned down to kiss her. “Stella, I think I can handle a protective father.”

  She lifted a brow. “What about a lot of overprotective bikers, too?”

  Before he could answer the sound of a few deep, loud voices could be heard even in her bedroom, and then there were two hard knocks on the front door.

  “God, I feel like a teenager all over again, trying to not get in trouble with my dad.”

  He smiled again. “Baby, if my dad was the president of The Vicious Bastards, I would be getting freaked out, too.” He kissed her once more for good measure, and swatted her on the ass.

  She grinned and turned to answer the door, and Cadeon followed her, but closed the bedroom door. He wasn’t afraid to let Scars know that he cared for Stella, was going to lay it all out for him, too, but that didn’t mean if he or one of the other members walked past her room that they needed to see the “just screwed in” appearance of it.

  “Stella? You in there, baby girl?” There was the sound of Scars talking softly to someone else, and then Booshie’s voice came through.

  “Scars, man, ain’t that Cadeon’s bike?” Booshie asked. There was a moment of silence, and then Scars was banging on the door again.

  Stella gripped the handle and opened it. Cadeon leaned against the wall in the hallway. Even though he knew he appeared calm, he was ready, because shit was probably about to get crazy.

  ****

  As soon as Stella opened the front door she knew her dad and Booshie saw Cadeon behind her. Her dad looked over at her, and there was this hard look that covered his face.

  “What’s going on?” He stepped inside, and she had to move back so he and Booshie could walk into the foyer.

  She closed the door and glanced at Cadeon. He appeared nonplussed, but she knew he was prepared for whatever was about to happen. She was an adult, yes, but her father acted first and thought later. He didn’t care about repercussions or if he was making a mistake until after he had started the shit and it was all said and done. She saw the way her dad flexed his hands, and she glanced at Booshie. Even through his thick beard and the black bandanna he wore on his head, she could see the rage simmering below the surface.

  “I want to know what the fuck you’re doing at my daughter’s house at this time of night.”

  “Dad…”

  Scars looked at her, and there was this warning in his expression, the kind that said tread carefully because he was in a foul mood.

  “This is my house, and I’m an adult. I can have anyone over at any time I want without having you two busting in here and asking questions.” She looked at Cadeon. He was standing straight and had his eyes on her father. His whole body was tense, and she could tell that he was coiled and ready for a fight.

  “Maybe, but I’m still your father, and when I come to your house and see a man nearly twice your age here, I think I have every right to ask some questions.” He crossed his arms and moved so he could look and her and then at Cadeon.

  She moved over to Cadeon and stood beside him. Well, she might as well spit this out. “I’ve had feelings for Cadeon the last three years.” She stayed silent for a moment, letting that small piece of information sink in before she continued. “I didn’t do anything behind your back, didn’t even think anything would happen between us.”

  “And what exactly happened between you two?” Her father asked, but had his eyes trained on Cadeon.

  “Well, Scars, that is our business seeing as Stella is an adult.”

  Her father made this inhuman sound and took a step forward. She stepped between them.

  “No way in hell is this happening, and certainly not in my house.” Straightening her shoulders and looking at her dad and then Booshie, because it looked like her father’s VP was about to break something, too, Stella knew she had to stand firm on this. “I care about him. I love him, Dad, have for a long time, and I want to see if this works.” She stared into her dad’s face, hoping that he could see past his own anger and protectiveness, and the fear that she would leave him. Her father was a strong man, but he also had a lot of fear inside of him. Although he never actually came out and said he was afraid of losing her in the same manner he had lost her mother, she knew he was.

  “Stella, Cadeon is not the kind of man I want you to be with,” her father growled out.

  “Dad, it isn’t your place to tell me that, at least not anymore.” She stepped up to him. “I know you are worried about losing me. I know that, but you are going to have to let go at some point and trust me in what I decide for my life.”

  “I want to talk to Cadeon,” her father said in a deep voice that showed absolutely no emotion and lef
t no room for argument.

  She looked behind her at Cadeon, and he pulled his attention away from her dad and glanced at her. He nodded and offered her a smile.

  “It’s okay. Scars and I do need to talk.”

  “Come on, Stella, make me something to eat.”

  She looked over at Booshie and narrowed her eyes. He gave her this shit-eating grin, obviously trying to get her to leave. “Please don’t fight,” she said after she looked at Cadeon and then her father again. So far it wasn’t going too badly, because at least they were talking and not killing each other, but that could change at any second.

  “Come on, girl.” Booshie came up to her and placed a hand on the center of her back, but she didn’t miss how he shoulder-checked Cadeon in the process. But before she could say anything her father was asking Cadeon to step outside.

  Lord, she just hoped they didn’t kill each other, because even if she didn’t want them to fight, if they were going to then it was going to happen no matter what.

  The sound of the front door opening and closing somehow made it seem final. “I should be out there talking with them.”

  Booshie shook his head and went over to her fridge. “No, sweetheart. That is between them. You are your dad’s little girl, always will be no matter how old you are.” He looked over his shoulder at her. “Did you have more to say to him?”

  “I mean, no, I guess not. I pretty much said what I was going to say, but I don’t like the fact I feel like they shut me out.”

  “They didn’t shut you out.” Booshie faced the fridge once more and started rummaging through it. “They just have to do that manly bullshit routine, and they don’t want an audience.”

  “So, you’re not going to give me a hard time about Cadeon?” He didn’t answer her for a few minutes as he grabbed a bunch of stuff out of her fridge and placed it on the counter.

  “You love the guy, right?” He didn’t look at her as he started making himself a sandwich.

  She didn’t answer right away, but it wasn’t because she didn’t know how to respond.

  He looked up at her and lifted a brow, but didn’t say anything.

  “Yeah, I love him, Booshie.”

  He made a grunting noise of affirmation and bit into his sandwich. “And he never hurt you?”

  She shook her head.

  For several seconds he didn’t say anything, just watched her. “Good, because that is grounds for an ass kickin’. You know, you may not have ever said anything about wanting Cadeon, but you didn’t have to.” He lifted his hand, and his silver rings glinted under the light as he waved his hand in a circle toward her face. “I could see how you felt every time I looked at you and saw you staring at him.” She had been that transparent? “In fact, I’m not the only one that noticed. Ranger did, and a few of the other guys. If your dad didn’t notice then he has damn blinders on.”

  She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms over her chest. The sound of Booshie chewing seemed loud, but then again she was lost in her thoughts on what he had just said. Was it that surprising that she hadn’t been able to hide how she felt? No, not really, because she remembered the look Ranger had given her when she had been watching Cadeon tattoo one of the guys.

  “Anyways, I am a firm believer in following your heart.”

  That had her lifting a brow and chuckling humorlessly.

  He set down his half eaten sandwich and placed his hands on the counter. “What? You don’t think I am capable of loving someone?”

  “No, I think you are, but I just never saw you as the romantic type.”

  He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I almost married a girl once, but my dumb ass didn’t think I could have an old lady and be in the MC life. All I wanted to was to fuck a bunch of bitches that didn’t want anything more than that. Dumbest move of my life, and I regret it every day.”

  Stella didn’t know what to say in response, so she just kept her mouth shut.

  “But I’ll tell you what, your old man knows what love is. He had one of those once in a lifetime things with your mom.” He walked over to her and wrapped his beefy arms around her in a hug. Booshie had been in her life since she was a little girl, and never had she seen this side of him before. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. Things always have a way of working out.”

  She really hoped so.

  Chapter Nine

  Cadeon and Scars had moved to the side of the house. There weren’t any homes on this part of the property, and so they had a thick patch of forest taking up their view. Scars was pacing, but Cadeon didn’t say anything. If this was about to get violent then no amount of words were going to calm Scars down and make him see that Stella could make up her own mind when it came to men.

  “Why would you do this behind my back?” Scars stopped pacing and faced Cadeon. His voice was low, calm even, but there was definitely a warning.

  “That wasn’t my intention.” Cadeon kept his voice low as well.

  “You come to my club, are welcomed with open arms, and you fuck up on the most important rule I have.” Scars didn’t say anything for several seconds. “Don’t touch my daughter. Anyone associated with the club knows that, and you did good this whole time.” He ground his teeth. “That’s my little girl in there, and she deserves better than men like us.” Scars took a step forward. “Men that have hurt people without regret.”

  Cadeon couldn’t deny what Scars said. He had done a lot of shit when he was younger, but he had since cleaned up his act. Still, being associated with the club meant they looked up backgrounds and found out shit that was meant to stay buried. “I love your daughter, Scars.” Before Cadeon could even prepare himself Scars threw his arm forward and connected his fist with Cadeon’s jaw. His head cocked to the side, and the tangy flavor of blood filled his mouth. He leaned to the side and spit a mouthful out. “Fine, I deserved that, but I still love your daughter and am not going to walk away.”

  “You tell her about all the women you fuck on a weekly basis?”

  Cadeon clenched his teeth together. “That is in the past. Just because I’ve fucked a lot of women doesn’t mean I am incapable of loving Stella.”

  “No?” Scars crossed his arms over his chest. “And how do you see your life going? You think you can still fuck those whores while you profess your love to my daughter?”

  “I have no desire to be with anyone else, and I sure as hell didn’t want to start shit with the club. She is happy, and I intended to do everything in my power to make her stay that way, and protect her.”

  Scars stayed silent for a few seconds, but his expression was unreadable. “And what if some asshole comes sniffing around her, what then?”

  Cadeon tightened his hands into fists. “Then I’ll make it known she is mine. And by making it known that means I’ll bust fucking skulls in and make sure there is a lot of blood spilled.”

  Scars grunted and narrowed his eyes on Cadeon. “Fuck.” He scrubbed a hand over his head and looked away. “I should kill you for going against a club rule, you know that.” It wasn’t phrased as a question. Scars turned around gain, and although there was still anger in his face, there was also part of that hard exterior that he always wore that was cracked slightly.

  “I’m not going to hurt her, Scars.”

  The other man stepped forward and growled low in his throat. That sound seemed suited to some kind of feral animal. “Yeah, you won’t, because if you make her cry one tear you better believe me and my boys will be coming after your ass.” He eyed Cadeon up and down once. “And you don’t want to know what we will do. Trust me when I say The Vicious Bastards know how to hide a body in the Rocky Mountains.”

  Cadeon had no doubts, and although he should have been scared over what Scars was implying, he wasn’t, because he knew he would try with his last breath to make sure Stella was happy, and he would protect her with his life. He didn’t respond to Scars’s threats, and after a few very tense seconds the other man took a step back.

  “Well, y
ou’re serious about my girl, and she is an adult so not much I can do.” Scars scratched his jaw and glanced over at his Harley. “I think this whole shit is moving way too fast. One minute you’re tattooing my daughter, and the next professing you love her.” He didn’t phrase it like a question. “I trust my daughter.” He pointed at Cadeon. “It’s guys like you that I don’t trust. But I’ll be watching, boy, and just waiting for you to fuck up.”

  “Yeah, it is fast, I won’t lie, but I’ve known her for three years. Should I have talked to you about how I felt for Stella? Yeah, out of respect I should have come and told you that I wanted her, but I thought I could stay away. I’m telling you, Scars, Stella means a lot to me, and it took me too damn long to realize that.” Cadeon didn’t say anything for a moment, but Scars didn’t either. “And I’m not a boy,” Cadeon gritted out. “I would never hurt Stella.” This man might be the president of an outlaw MC, but Cadeon wasn’t about to be intimidated either. Scars watched him with a scowl on his face, but finally he nodded once and gave a harsh gruff. Maybe it hadn’t been an all-out brawl, but Cadeon and Scars had come to an understanding, and right now that was good enough. Maybe he wouldn’t ever accept Cadeon, but the fact of the matter was he didn’t have a choice. He wasn’t going anywhere, and Stella was his girl.

  That realization wasn’t much of a shock to him, and he accepted it as if it were his next breath.

  ****

  “Come for a ride with me.”

  Stella looked over at Cadeon. Her father and Booshie had left twenty minutes ago, and she hadn’t realized that there had been a lot of tension that had been coming from her dad until he left. Cadeon had sported a forming bruise on his jaw, but he had waved it off when she asked about it. He was still alive, so her dad hadn’t shot him with the gun she knew he carried on him. She supposed that was a good thing. “It’s late, and dark.”