A New Paige: Stained Souls MC - Book 2

by Zara Teleg

  “I hope you two know what the hell you are doing.” He looked at each of us.

  “Uh…thanks?” Paige looked at him and the cash, confused by his words.

  “I gotta go too. But I will see you tonight.” I gave her a smile that made her blush.

  “Kai, what did Colt mean?” she asked when Colt was out of earshot.

  “He figured us out and wants me to talk to Rage.”

  Paige’s eyes became saucers as my words sank in.

  “Don’t worry. It will be fine.” I squeezed her hand.

  “No, I know,” she said. “I told you before, it’s my life, and no one is going to have any say in the decisions I make.”

  A ruckus turned both our attention to the bar. Doug was embracing a blond, swinging her in a circle. A smile I had not seen in years spread across his face. He placed her down and…

  “Who is that?” Paige’s voice was drowned by the buzzing that filled my ears. The world around me went silent and motionless as the gorgeous woman swept back her hair.

  My body felt limp, and my heart stopped. She was older now, but she hardly aged a bit. She was stunning, curvy, and still had the same effect on me as the first time I saw her.

  “Kai?” Paige said. I could hear her, but I couldn’t respond. Words just wouldn’t come. Instead, I was shot with a cannon of moments from my past. Laughter. Tears. Love. Loneliness. The fight Doug and I had.

  Amber folded her arms as a look of satisfaction and revenge painted her face. I turned to answer Paige, but she had disappeared. The doors of the office were swinging.

  Shit. I wanted to go after her, but the magnet that pulled me toward Daisy was too great. I already hated myself.

  Paige

  I rammed the locker room door open. I wasn’t usually a jealous woman, yet my blood boiled. Otherwise, I could never be with Kai—the man had bedded every decent-looking woman in the tri-county area. He had convinced me that I was special. How could I have been so foolish? Tigers didn’t change their stripes.

  I snatched the pack of cigarettes Angelica had stashed and took one out the back door. I flicked the lighter and sucked in the tobacco, filling my lungs with the nasty burn. I opened and closed my fists. The first new hottie that walked in and Kai turned right back into a dog. He looked at her with longing. Was he already bored of me?

  I heard the sharp squeak of the metal door opening from the kitchen. A smiling Amber strutted to where I stood, a cigarette and lighter in her hand.

  “I was wondering where you went.” She tucked the white stick between her lips and brought the lighter to her face. “I had no idea how many people would remember or be so excited to see my cousin after all this time.” She batted her lashes.

  “What do you mean?” I stomped out the butt of the smoke and turned to her.

  “When Sully had his health scare, I thought it was only right to make sure his favorite niece should know and come see him. Daisy had just gone through a terrible divorce. It was perfect timing.”

  “Daisy?” My heart thumped as I recalled the look on Kai’s face. I could feel the blood draining to my feet.

  “Yeah, Daisy. She lived here one summer and got to know a lot of the locals. She and Kai hooked up—that did not end well, for him, anyway. I feel bad for anyone who is crushing on him right now. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.” Amber looked at her nails as she spoke.

  “Oh, I see.” I swallowed thickly. My eyes burned as I remembered Jenn’s tale.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Amber asked. But I knew she knew exactly what was wrong.

  “Yo! Are you two working or do I need new waitresses?” Johnny’s voice called out the door.

  “Guess we got to get back.” Amber smirked as she sauntered past me.

  Bitch. She was freaking jealous and got Daisy here on purpose. I was no dummy. I could see right through her.

  Dread weighed down my boots as I walked what felt like miles from the kitchen to the dining area. Would Kai even notice I walked out? Would he be standing there in a pool of drool?

  I held my breath as I shakily returned to my station, looking where the bombshell held court. The notoriously miserable Officer Jones was smiling from ear to ear. I didn’t see Kai anywhere.

  Daisy’s laughter was enchanting, drawing in everyone around her. She was stunning. Built like a runway model, she was the epitome of fashion with her duster jacket and crocheted crop sweater that showed off her flat stomach just above her ivory suede skirt. She wore over-the-knee boots, and her bangle bracelets jingled as she spoke. Her flawlessly made-up face showcased high cheekbones and plump lips.

  The pit in my stomach grew with every moment my eyes stayed glued to her. Daisy wasn’t just the girl who broke Kai’s heart, she was now a woman who could bump me right out of the way.

  I went through the motions for the rest of my shift. I caught Amber’s gaze on me several times. My skin crawled when she insisted I meet her cousin before I left. I tried to seem unaffected, not giving her more satisfaction.

  “Daisy, this is Paige. She is new in town, only been here a few months.”

  Daisy extended her professional French-manicured hand and lightly shook mine. She tossed her long, thick blond hair over her shoulder.

  “What on earth made you move here?” she asked. “This place hasn’t changed since I was a little girl. Everything here gets older, but nothing ever changes.”

  “She actually came to live near her sister,” Amber answered for me. “Oh my gosh, you know who her landlord is?” Amber excitedly smiled. “Kai Rhodes. I’m sure you remember him.”

  Daisy bit her lip. “Malakai still lives here, and he owns the property? Wow, I thought he would have just stayed in that biker thing forever.” She waved a hand.

  “Well, he is still in the Stained Souls, but they own a few buildings and businesses in Sugar Maple. You two will have to catch up. He was here earlier, but he must have left in a hurry.”

  Daisy’s eyes grew wicked as she sank her teeth into her smirk. “I would love to see Kai.”

  My stomach revolted. “It was nice meeting you, but I have to go.”

  I clutched my purse to my chest as I hurried to my truck. Needles pricked my eyes as I thought about how Kai must have felt seeing her. I pulled my phone from my purse. The screen displayed three missed calls from Kai. I just turned it off and drove home.

  His bike and car were both parked in the lot. I quietly opened the door, trying to make my way to my apartment without him noticing. What the hell would I say anyway? I wasn’t supposed to know about Daisy and their past. My foot creaked on the old wooden step. Damn.

  I brought my eyes to the landing, where I caught sight of a large black motorcycle boot. The other was kicked up behind him as he leaned against the wall, smoking a cigarette in one hand, scrolling his phone in the other. Our eyes met, and I could see regret in his face.

  “Tink. You didn’t answer my calls.” He pushed his leg off the wall and followed me to my door.

  “I know. I’m just… Look, Kai, I know we haven’t labeled whatever is happening between us, but what am I supposed to think? One hot chick walks in and I lose you.”

  “It’s not like that, Tink. I swear. Ever since New Year’s, I’ve wanted no one else.” He reached out, pulling my hand, forcing me close to him. “You are the one I want.”

  “Well, it sure didn’t feel that way.” I looked at the floor before returning my gaze to his. “I need a shower. Can we talk about this later?” I began discarding the bar clothes from my body. “How about I meet you at your place in an hour?”

  “My place?” He rubbed his scruff.

  “Yeah, your place. We’re always here, and I just like a change.”

  “Okay, whatever. I’ll guess I’ll clean up a little, or I could shower with you, and we can both clean up.” His eyebrows waggled up and down.

  “Go, Kai.” I pushed his back in the direction of the door.

  “Okay, okay. Geez.”

  I needed time to
think while I showered. I felt like even though Kai sounded sincere, his words were empty. The look on his face when he noticed Daisy wasn’t a look that I could ever imagine him having for me.

  I dressed quickly. My favorite torn jeans that hugged my curves were paired with a tank top that scantily covered my breasts. I opted to go braless, hoping the girls would catch his attention. Kai loved fondling my boobs and burying his face in them, and it didn’t seem Daisy had much to offer there. It was petty, but I was feeling desperate. I wished he had told me himself about her, but I guess I had no right to judge, considering I had no intention of telling him about my birth father.

  I slid each arm though my softest flannel before I spritzed my jasmine body spray. I looked in the mirror, smacking a fresh coat of gloss on my lips before adding a swipe of mascara, and headed to Kai’s.

  His apartment door was cracked open. His jeans were slung low, and he was standing shirtless, folding a blanket and tossing it over the back of the sofa. A blues song floated through the air, and the room was only brightened by one small lamp that threw a golden candlelike light in the room.

  Kai smiled as I entered. “See, I cleaned up.” He held up his arms, showing defined muscles as the light cast shadows on them.

  He inhaled deeply. “Tink, you always smell so good.”

  Tugging at my arm, he plopped down on the sofa, sitting me onto his lap. He caressed his finger along my jaw and up my cheek.

  “I’m so sorry about earlier,” he said. He wove his fingers gently through my hair, pushing it off my face. “Are you still mad?”

  “I wasn’t mad. I was… Okay, maybe I was a little mad. I felt like a fool standing there talking to you, then your jaw hits the ground and your tongue rolls out when Barbie walks in.”

  “Before you get all wound up, let me explain.” Kai closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Daisy was the last person I ever expected to see again. It’s been almost fourteen years. I was just in shock, I guess you could say. Daisy was my one and only relationship.”

  I pulled my hand away from him.

  “Tink, I didn’t mean it that way.”

  Shaking my head, I closed my eyes. “Kai, just tell me about her.”

  He drew circles on my palm as he spoke, just looking at our hands. “Daisy came to Sugar Maple for the summer before starting college. She was like no other girl from around here. Her mom came from money and married Sully’s brother just to piss her parents off. She was from a big city. She was a daredevil, beautiful, and of course, every guy wanted her. She was the new girl, the talk of the town. She wouldn’t give me the time of day.”

  I wrinkled my forehead at the tone of surprise in his voice.

  “I know, can you believe it?” he asked so sincerely, I almost laughed.

  “God, you are full of yourself.” I hit him with a pillow.

  “So, one night, I was out with…uh, someone…and Daisy and her date break down. We stopped to help her. We started talking as I fixed the vehicle. It was like instant chemistry. After that night, we didn’t spend a minute apart for the rest of the summer.”

  I could feel him reliving the memories. I could see his eyes, hear his tone—there was no denying he still cared for her. My chest felt tight as disappointment and sadness constricted it. Just like she had stolen him from Amber, I could just feel it was going to happen to me.

  “And seeing her now?” I asked the question I didn’t know I wanted an answer to.

  He ran his hand through his long brown hair. His smile turned into a frown. “Nothing. I was just shocked to see her.”

  Bullshit.

  “I see.”

  “Tink, she left here, she left me. She had no intention of us going any further. At the time, I thought I was in love, but I was fooled, blinded by infatuation.”

  “So, you haven’t had another relationship since because you were so broken by infatuation? I may be young, but I’m not buying that. You are fooling yourself if you believe that’s true.”

  “You’re right,” he confessed, taking both my hands into his.

  His admission was like a punch to the gut.

  “It wasn’t until I met you, until I got to know you, until I fell for you, that I realized what I had all those years ago was nothing.”

  He placed both his hands on my face and planted kisses across my forehead, then down one cheek and then the other until he got to my lips. His kiss was forceful and conveyed what words couldn’t.

  He set me on fire as he devoured my lips, my tongue, my soul. My hands ran down his warm skin to the top of his jeans before reaching down to unbutton them.

  “Not here,” he whispered before his hands scooped under my knees as he lifted me off the sofa.

  “What?” I was confused and drunk on his taste.

  “I want you in my room.”

  He carried me to the door that was always shut. He turned its knob and pushed the door open. My face was buried in his hair as I sucked and nibbled his neck. He placed me down onto the mattress. I opened my eyes and scanned the room. It was perfect, clean, and cozy, nothing like the rest of his messy bachelor pad.

  “What?” he smirked.

  “Your room, I have never seen it. I’m just surprised. It’s so…neat.”

  “Well, this is my personal space. I don’t allow anyone in here. It’s where I sleep. Alone.”

  “You mean all those playlist romps don’t happen here?” I patted the soft black comforter.

  “Nope.” He took off my shoes and kicked off his boots. He crawled onto the bed, pushing me back.

  “So all those women,” I furrowed my brows, “have not been in here?”

  “No, and don’t you ever think you are one of those women.” His hands landed on my waist, pulling me under him before he descended his lips on mine again.

  I don’t know if it was his words or his touch, but my body was set ablaze. He pulled my flannel off, tossing it to the floor before reaching for the hem of my tank top.

  “I love that you didn’t wear a bra,” he said.

  He pulled the tank over my head. The chilly air had my nipples at attention as he cupped them, running his tongue down my chest and around each breast before taking them in his mouth and sucking one at a time. My back arched as I let out a moan. He worked his way down to my stomach. His tongue swirling around my belly button before peppering kisses across the top of my jeans. I felt like I was going to explode when he flicked open the button to my jeans and ripped them down my legs. My body wept, and I cried out at the touch of his fingers to my core. I yanked on his jeans; he pulled them off, throwing them to the floor. His fingers rubbed on the outside of my panties, and I gripped his hardness through his boxers. The lace was soaked in seconds when he pulled the black thong off.

  “Take off your boxers,” I demanded as I took in this god before me. Kai removed them and covered my body with his. His hands touched me everywhere. His hardness was slick at my entrance.

  “Kai, I need you inside me.”

  “Not yet.”

  He kissed his way back down my body, not missing an inch. He licked his way from my ankles, up my calves, up one thigh and then the other.

  “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”

  His eyes blazed with hunger as he sucked me. Every nerve was a live wire as I dug my hands into the blankets, crying out. His tongue was magical. My insides pulsed as a wave of pleasure ignited in my body. Tiny sparklers set off a frenzy of fireworks as he brought me over the edge with his mouth before his finger pushed inside me, hitting the spot that was pure ecstasy. I screamed his name, my hands weaving through his long hair, pulling it as the euphoria spread from my head to my toes.

  “Now, I want to be inside you,” he whispered into my ear, biting it as he aligned his body over mine, rubbing himself against me as I fluttered back down from space.

  He reached for a condom and slid it on.

  “Paige, I want to make love to you. I want to own this.” His words were comm
anding as he placed his hand between my legs. “You are the only one I want. I need you to know that. I need you to believe me. No one else. Paige, I shared more with you the last few months than I have with anyone, ever.”

  As the plea in his voice penetrated my brain, tears filled my eyes. This man, the man that no one took seriously, he wanted me. Me.

  “Say it, Paige. Say you are mine.”

  “I’m yours,” I choked out, tears sliding from the corners of my eyes.

  With those words, he thrust in me. Filling me, taking me, owning me. I wrapped my legs around his hips, squeezing him. Our bodies were so close, moving in a single rhythm. Our eyes were wide open with each thrust. He moved his body over me, in and out, until we were both on the verge of exploding.

  “Kai, oh my God.” My fingers scratched down his back, which was damp with a sheen of sweat. The last thrust had my insides convulsing as we found release together.

  I rolled onto Kai’s chest, panting, numb, and shocked. I felt like I was dreaming. Neither of us said a word for what seemed like hours but was only minutes.

  “Tink?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You know I meant what I said, right?” His arm tightened around me.

  “Sure, I do.”

  “I’m going to make this right. I’m going to talk to the club, to Rage. I’m going to tell them you are mine.”

  I sat up, pulling my legs into my chest. “What does that even mean?”

  “It means you’re my woman. No one will make a move on you, or hurt you, and everyone in the club will protect you. It means I’m your man, and I won’t be hanging at the club with any woman but you.”

  His hand wrapped around my neck and pulled it back, lifting my chin, then he kissed me with a claiming kiss that sent electricity through me again.

  “And what about Daisy?” I asked in a hushed voice.

  “What about her?”

  “Well, you seemed to have some unfinished business. And I’m afraid you may be saying all this because you are transferring the old feeling you had today with what we have going. I just don’t want to get hurt, Kai. I don’t want your unresolved feelings to come between us.” I rubbed his leg as I spoke.