I smiled and stood, taking a hesitant step on my now cast-free foot.
“Thank you,” I murmured before heading in Apple’s direction.
Today, I’d had three appointments.
One for my OB checkup, stating I was now cleared to have all the sex I wanted. The second to have my cast removed from my leg. And the third was an appointment with my seizure doc who put me on a different regimen of meds.
My phone rang when I was just about to go down the steps, and I glared at it once I read the readout.
“Hello?” I asked shortly.
“Hi, Kitt!” Jake sang. “I noticed you weren’t home, and I was just calling to check on you!”
I gritted my teeth, so close to telling the guy to go fuck himself that it wasn’t even funny.
“I’m fine, Jake,” I growled through clenched teeth. “Bye.”
I hung up and glared at my phone, shoving it back into my pocket in favor of throwing it.
“Who was that?” Apple asked, taking another swing of the axe.
I watched as his body rippled and bunched. Then I watched as he bent over, grabbed the wood that was piled up on either side of his chopping block and tossed it aside to the huge pile that was even further away.
I lost count of how many logs he’d split today.
This morning, I’d looked out the window and had seen what looked like a whole freakin’ tree ready to be cut up.
And I’d arrived back home to it all in sections, and the majority of it cut up into firewood.
“How long have you been going?” I asked him. “Have you taken a break at all?”
He looked at me over his shoulder, his face dripping with sweat.
His beard was curlier than usual due to the moisture on his face, and it made him look even more rugged than I was used to from him.
His gray t-shirt was clinging to the planes of his chest and back, and his jeans had a ring of sweat right around the waist that went down past his ass.
His arms were covered in small slivers of wood, and his glasses had small particles clinging to them, too.
“Since you left,” he panted. “I have two pieces left, and I’m done.”
He indicated the two larger logs that he had left to be split, and I sighed.
Taking one long glance behind me at Perry, I slipped past the house so he couldn’t see anymore but Apple could, and stared at Apple until he turned to me.
Once I had his eyes, I hooked my fingers in the hem of my shirt, and then ripped it up and off my head.
His eyes bugged as he took a quick glance behind him, and then back to me.
“Put it back on,” he ordered gruffly.
I shook my head.
“Can’t,” I disagreed. “The doctor cleared me for sex. Either you give it to me, or I go take care of it myself like old times.”
His eyes narrowed. “I’m almost done. I’ll come up there when I’m finished.”
He was trying hard, I’d give him that.
In fact, he’d been a good boy for going on two months now.
He’d been busting his ass as he tried to make everyone happy.
He helped me with Emily. He helped me out even more when a seizure would knock me down on my ass. He helped Ridley. He helped his father. He helped other game wardens who were sick, picking up the odd shift for other areas here and there.
And then there was the wood splitting when he was home and he wasn’t needed elsewhere.
Needless to say, I was getting sick and tired of him taking care of everyone but himself.
“Apple,” I said, my tone biting.
Apple’s eyes, already focused on me but not my face, snapped up to mine.
“Yeah?” He gasped, chest still heaving.
“You either come up here now, or I’ll go home with Emily and not come back for the night.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Are you giving me an ultimatum here?” He warned.
I nodded.
“Yes,” I nodded sharply. “Either you give me what I want, or I leave.”
“You won’t leave me,” he ordered.
I wanted to laugh.
I wouldn’t leave him. But I’d go home and stop watching his sexy body as he worked his ass off.
Then he’d follow me home later, and I’d already be in bed.
Which he wouldn’t wake me from.
Not if he could help it.
The only way he’d actually wake me was if Emily needed to be fed and I didn’t hear her crying, but I always heard her.
So he wouldn’t have that excuse, and he’d have to leave me alone because he was too scared of being the cause of one of my seizures.
I lifted my finger and watched him watch me.
His eyes staying glued to mine.
I could tell he wanted to drop those eyes and watch my fingers circle my pebbled nipples, but he didn’t.
He kept watching my eyes, intently.
Knowing he’d follow if I left, I turned my back on him and walked to the barn where he no longer lived.
He’d moved in with us mostly. His stuff was still in the barn, but most of his clothes were now housed in my closet.
His shoes took up the underside of my bed.
His guns took up a shelf in my bathroom closet.
I stocked his favorite cookies, Oreos, in my pantry.
For all intents and purposes, he was now moved into the house with me, Emily and Ridley.
Although Ridley rarely saw him.
When Ridley was there, Apple was at work. When Apple was there, Ridley was at work.
I wasn’t even sure if Ridley knew exactly what was going on with Apple and me.
It looked poorly that every time Ridley walked in the door, Apple was walking out of it.
And not all of those times was Apple working.
Sometimes he was chopping wood like he was doing now. Others he was just walking out the door to walk out the door, and I wanted to know why.
Emily had been home with us for a little over four weeks now, and of those four weeks, I might have seen Apple for a whole four hours of it.
He was there, but he wasn’t there.
And I wanted to know why.
Which was why I was ambushing him today.
He either gave me what I wanted, or I went all crazy on him and started making a big deal of it when I really didn’t want to.
I made it to the top of the steps before I heard the barn door creak open below.
I was bending over the bed, my hands on the checkered cotton sheets, when I felt Apple’s hands on my hips, pulling me against his hard erection that was tenting the front of his jeans.
I didn’t even care that those jeans were covered in sweat and wood chips.
I was ecstatic that he was even acknowledging that I was there.
“I’m tired,” he grunted softly.
I looked at him over my shoulder, my brows furrowed.
“You don’t want to do this?” I asked carefully.
His eyes went up my naked body, starting at my bare ass and ending at the top of my shoulder blades.
“Oh, I want this,” he said. “But I want to do this at home, later tonight, in our own bed.”
I was shaking my head before he even finished.
“Absolutely not,” I denied, breaking away from his hold and turning around on the bed. “You’re going to lay there and let me love you.”
His eyes flared.
“I am not,” he contradicted. “We can’t leave Emily with my dad. He can’t take care of her.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“I left my cell phone on the table with him, and a bottle ready to feed her the moment—and that’s a big if since I just fed her not even an hour ago—she wakes up,” I said. “And you need to stop coddling us and let us breathe.”
“I’m not coddling you!” He replied, angry now. “I’m protecting you!”
“Protecting us from what?” I asked, throwing my arms out wide. “Ourselves?”
His eyes narrowed.
“Every time you get excited you have a fucking seizure that knocks you out for half a day. Excuse fucking me if I’m trying to prevent that,” he hissed, backing away from the bed.
I followed him, being careful of my still weak leg when I stepped.
“That sounds like a bitch excuse to me,” I goaded him. “It sounds like you’re keeping me in a goddamned bubble that I can’t fucking breathe inside. Do you know what it’s like to be told to do nothing?”
“Most girls would like that their man takes care of them,” he muttered darkly.
My brows rose again.
“Most girls aren’t me. I’m independent. I like being able to go to places I want to go. Such as the grocery store or Walmart to buy my own goddamned Kotex.”
He crossed his arms.
“I did that for you!” He snapped, instantly upset that I would say he didn’t provide for me.
“I know you did. That’s the problem,” I muttered. “I want to do stuff. Take Emily to a mommy and me class.”
“She’s still too young,” he said instantly.
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“I know that,” I groaned.
“Then why would you just say you wanted to take her to a mommy and me class when you know she’s too young for that?” He questioned.
“It was an example!” I fumed. “I want to go places. On a date. With you! I’ve never even been on a date with you that my brother didn’t orchestrate.”
His eyes went intense.
“What are you talking about?” He hesitated.
I smiled at him and not in a nice way.
“You didn’t think I’d find out that my brother asked you to take me on a date?” I smiled, and not in a good way. “Well, you’d be mistaken.”
I prowled forward, letting him see the hurt in my eyes.
The same hurt that was in my eyes this morning when I heard my brother joking around with Wolf, saying he was the reason Emily was even alive. That if it hadn’t been for him, the most beautiful girl in the world wouldn’t have even been conceived.
“I took you out because I wanted to take you out,” he said stiffly. “Had I not already been planning that event, I wouldn’t have said yes to your brother.”
I glared at him.
“How am I ever supposed to trust that?” I cracked, throwing my hands up in despair. “I was a pity date!”
He was on me before I even finished bringing my hands back down to my sides.
“Pity?” He shook his head, grabbing a hold of my chin with one large hand. “I don’t fucking pity you for what you think I pity you for.”
“What?” I asked in confusion.
The ‘what’ came out sounding more like ‘waft’ since his hand was impeding my ability to speak clearly.
But it got the point across.
“I pity you because you have to deal with me for the rest of your life,” he leveled with me.
I blinked.
“Why would you pity me for that for?” I wondered. “That actually sounds like heaven to me.”
He backed away with disgust.
“How can you say that?” He ran his hands through his sweat slickened hair. “I’ve ruined your fucking life.”
I looked at him with incredulity.
“Ummm. How?” I was lost.
He looked at me like I’d grown a second head and then started pacing.
“Emily is mine and yours. You’ll forever have to deal with me, even when you wise up and decide I’m not worth the trouble,” he muttered, his hands going up to cup the back of his neck.
“I don’t see that happening any time soon. Plus, I thought we discussed this. That you were it for me,” I told him gently, taking a seat on the bed when my noodle leg started to shake from the exertion of standing up for so long.
He turned his head to look at me, then turned back to the wall where he was staring as he paced.
“Why do you think I’m still here?” He questioned. “I made you a promise, and even though I think that promise was stupid on your part, I’ll stay. Because you asked me to. And because I’m too selfish to go.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose again.
“Have you been taking your meds?” I tilted my head slightly, seeing where this was going.
He looked over at me sharply.
“I…ran out.” he confessed. “I have to go get them refilled.”
I sighed in exasperation.
“You’re stupid,” I grunted. “Jesus Christ, you can’t just stop taking those. They’re making you better.”
He shrugged.
“I’ve been too busy.”
Because of me. And Emily.
“I gotta go,” I picked up my clothes from the floor and dropped them on the bed.
Before I could tell him that he was leaving with me, though, Apple was on me, turning me over onto my back and following me down.
“You’re not leaving me,” he declared. “You’re mine. And I never let go of what’s mine.”
I blinked.
“I wasn’t letting you go,” I cupped his face. “You were coming with me.”
He blinked, his beautiful eyes staring deeply into mine.
“I’m not ready to leave just yet.” His voice dropped.
“Then what are you ready to do?” I asked breathlessly.
He ground his erection between my legs, and I blinked at him, then asked cheekily. “You want to dance?”
He growled and reached a hand between us to unbutton and unzip his pants.
Shoving them down, and then kicking them off completely, he came up to his haunches between my legs, and then pushed his erection down on top of my slit.
I arched when his length touched my clit, and then started to moan when he thrust his hips, letting the length rub against me. Coating himself in my juices that’d accumulated while I’d been watching his beautiful body chop wood.
“You’re ready for me,” he observed, bringing his hand that was now covered in the essence of me up to his lips.
Then his tongue slipped out between those perfectly white teeth and he licked his hand clean.
“Jesus Christ,” he groaned. “You taste so good.”
My eyes went molten as I spread my legs wider.
“Fuck me,” I ordered him.
He leaned down and positioned his erection at my entrance, then slowly slid inside.
“Oh, God,” I whispered, my eyes closing as he filled me. “You feel bigger.”
He chuckled darkly as he bent forward and captured my lips with his.
“Not bigger,” he promised. “You’re just tighter.”
“I don’t know why…or how,” I admitted, eyes closing as his strokes started to pick up in speed.
His hands moved to capture my thighs, hooking the backs of my knees over his forearms, as he pulled out and then slammed inside.
I squeaked in surprise as he hit bottom, inside of me.
“Good or bad?” He slowed.
“Good,” I panted. “Hurry. Faster. Now.”
He growled in approval and started the same rhythm back up. All the way out until his cock rested at my entrance, then he thrust inside so fast and hard that I could barely breathe.
The oxygen deprivation was perfectly fucking acceptable, though. At that moment in time, I wouldn’t have noticed a damn thing was happening to me because my body was too focused on what he was doing between my legs.
Between one thrust and the next I was coming, bursting apart into a million tiny pieces of Kitt, as my orgasm took hold.
My eyes closed, as well as crossed, as I felt him stiffen inside of me.
His cock twitched, and I was only aware just enough to hear him curse as his warmth bathed my insides.
My pussy clenched as I came with him, my breath co
ming in short pants.
Needless to say, the previous couple of minutes went about as I’d intended them to—only earlier. I now had him exactly where I wanted him.
Forever.
Sadly, life had a way of intervening into our perfect world as reality came back.
We were lying in the bed, panting and about ready to pass out from the exertion, when I said the words that I didn’t know Apple needed to hear.
“I want to get married.”
“Just say when, and I’ll be there,” he declared. “Do you want your ring now or after we go to the store to refill my prescription?”
I laughed at him.
“Now. Then we need to go do that. And you need to not run out again,” I said. “What would you say if I did the same thing?”
He growled at me.
“Point taken.”
I smiled.
Then we went to the store, where we both refilled our prescriptions.
Yep, perfectly fucked up together.
That night I had another seizure.
And the night after that.
And the night after that.
And the day after that.
Which caused my brother to wreck his new truck, and everyone to begin questioning what exactly was wrong with me, and if I’d ever have a normal life again.
Chapter 19
A king only bows down to his queen.
-Apple to Ridley
Apple
I ran through the hospital doors, Emily in my arms, praying that Kitt would be all right.
Again.
This was beginning to be a habit that I seriously didn’t enjoy.
At least this time I had one less person to worry about seeing as Emily was currently in my arms.
I wasn’t worried about Ridley at all.
He’d been the one to call me to tell me that they’d been in the accident in the first place, so it was natural not to be as worried when he sounded perfectly fine.
The second I passed through the ER doors, I walked immediately to where Kitt and Ridley were in beds next to each other, hurrying to them.
“Here,” I gave Emily to Ridley, not caring that one of his arms was hurt.
I also didn’t care that the movement would likely cause my kid to puke. Something she’d already done in the truck on the way.
Over the last two months we’d been very careful when it came to moving Emily around after she’d been fed. If we weren’t careful, then the movement made Emily puke, and we’d have to feed her all over again.
Bad Apple (The Uncertain Saints MC #4) Page 16