She asked Slade over her shoulder, “You heard enough?” Because she sure had.
“Yeah,” was his low, tight answer.
She lowered her voice enough she hoped her father couldn’t hear her. “Want to tell him?”
“Not sure that’s a good idea, princess.”
She agreed. It may not be the best idea. At least not now.
The door buzzed behind her father. Their time must be up.
As he got to his feet, Rocky said, “Tell your sister to come visit her old man. Tell ‘er to bring that ball an’ chain of ‘ers, too.”
Di had hoped the visit today would clear things up. Unfortunately, it just made things a whole lot messier.
* * *
Slade eyeballed Diamond as she sat in the passenger seat of her small sports car. His cut was draped over her lap and her fingers incessantly ran over the patches on the back. He doubted she was even aware that she was doing it.
She had cleaned his cut up as best as she could after the Warriors stomped all over it. She’d make someone a good ol’ lady, just for the fact alone that she knew the life and how important his colors were to him and the club.
He looked beyond her through the passenger side window at the prison as he shoved her 370Z into first gear and released the clutch.
She’d hardly said a word to him after her little shit fit this morning and she was saying even less now that they were leaving SCI Greene.
As he drove out of the visitors parking lot, she finally whispered, “He called me baby doll.”
“Yeah?”
“That’s what Crow calls me.”
He really wanted to tell her that Crow needed to stop calling her that, but he was already in the dog house with their conversation earlier about Crow touching her. Maybe he’d pull the brother aside and have a little conversation with him about boundaries. “So?”
“You don’t think that means anything?”
“Said Crow visits ‘im, maybe when your pop asks ‘bout you Crow calls you baby doll.”
His eyes slid to her. She stared straight out of the windshield, chewing on her bottom lip.
He bit back a sigh. Whenever she bit her bottom lip he now knew she was thinking way too hard. “Princess, your pop callin’ you baby doll is the least of our problems right now.”
She turned wide eyes to him. “No shit. What a fucking mess.”
That it was. “Ain’t gonna say nothin’ to no one, got me?”
Her blue eyes got even wider. “What?”
“Gonna let it go.”
“You mean not tell Crow what we know?”
“No. Might already know, anyhow.” He pulled out onto the highway and pointed the car towards Shadow Valley.
“Think D knows what your father did? Not only killing Bear, but Coyote and Crow’s mother? And not just killing her, raping her first.”
He understood the bitterness in her voice, he was feeling it himself. “Guessin’ he don’t know everythin’. Otherwise, might be filetin’ the colors off my back.”
He heard Diamond suck in a sharp breath next to him.
“Princess, that shit happened decades ago. Not sure who all knows the details at this point. If anyone, Grizz. Maybe Ace. Possibly Pierce. An’ they might not be puttin’ two an’ two together. Everyone knows a Warrior killed your grandpop. Everyone knows Rocky killed a Warrior for payback. An’ if you never heard about Coyote an’ his ol’ lady, then most likely it’s never talked about.”
“Maybe no one talks about it to shield Crow from living that horror all over again.”
“Could be. But there’s plenty of times Crow ain’t around an’ no one’s talked about the past.”
“Everyone’s trying to move forward, that’s why. Fucking Warriors are the ones...”
As her words faded off, his jaw got tight. Rocky was right. Buzz was a piece of fucking shit. A no-good piece of dog shit. It was bad enough that Slade was DAMC and had Warrior blood in his veins, but a Warrior of the lowest kind. A bottom feeder.
“Glad he did it.”
From the corner of his eye, he saw Diamond’s head spin toward him. “Glad who did what?”
Slade hadn’t even realized he’d said it out loud. “Glad your pop killed mine.”
“Slade,” she breathed, reached over and laid a warm hand on his thigh.
Releasing the shifter, he curled his fingers around hers. “No, princess. Man was a monster. Not glad you had to live without your pop your whole life. Not glad I was left on my own. Not glad Crow was left the same way. But glad Buzz ain’t walkin’ this earth. Glad I never knew ‘im.”
“You forget my father’s a murderer, too.”
“Know it. But did this world a favor, that’s how I see it.”
He had no idea what his sperm donor looked like except for that old, ratty photo he still had in his wallet. Even so, he couldn’t wipe the vision of Buzz raping a woman, a young mother, and then extinguishing her life her right in front of her kid.
From what Slade knew, this whole beef started when the Shadow Warriors wanted Shadow Valley, the DAMC’s territory. All that killing and violence over a town when there were plenty of others available, not only in Pennsylvania, but around the country. The nomads could’ve moved on and gone anywhere. They didn’t. They decided they wanted what DAMC had and they weren’t taking no for an answer.
So now in this car sat two people thirty-something years later affected because of a bullshit beef. One with SWMC blood, and one with DAMC blood.
Slade jerked the wheel sharply and pulled over into the lot of an abandoned business. He slammed his palms on the steering wheel, then covered his face and bellowed into his hands as his chest heaved.
He couldn’t look at Diamond. He couldn’t. Not until he got his shit together. He took deep breaths in an attempt to calm his racing thoughts.
It didn’t help much because all that kept running through his mind was how he was tainted. “That poison runs through my veins.”
“What?” she asked in a whisper, her hand squeezing his thigh.
“His toxic blood. It runs through my fuckin’ veins.”
“You’re nothing like him, Slade. Don’t even think like that.”
“How do you know?”
He dropped his hands and she immediately grabbed one to pressed it over her heart. “Baby, I know it here.”
He shook his head. She could be wrong. Maybe he’d turn out to be a monster just like his father.
He thought about why he had enjoyed boxing so much. He found nothing more satisfying than to pound the shit out of someone. To be the victor. Maybe that violent tendency was hereditary. Could it get worse?
He would never want to hurt the woman sitting in the car next to him. And he was afraid, now that he knew what he knew about his father, that it could very well happen. He could possibly snap.
“If you have toxic poison in your veins, then so do I. My father was no better.”
“No, Diamond, your father evened the score for murders the Warriors did. The Warriors killed first. Doc an’ Rocky an’ whoever else only went after the Warriors after they tore the DAMC apart. Or tried to.” He reached out and gripped her jaw, pulling her closer. Even though the car was small, and the shifter prevented them from getting too close, he leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers before saying, “Princess, if anyone did you wrong like that, you better believe I’d be sittin’ in a cell right next to those two men. Don’t ever doubt that.”
Because that was the fucking truth. If anyone tried to hurt a hair on her head, he would make sure that person was no longer breathing. And he would do it himself. His hands, his justice. No way would one of D’s Shadows to do it for him.
No fucking way.
Nobody was touching his ol’ lady and getting away with it.
Chapter Seventeen
Slade leaned back against the bathroom counter and twisted to look over his shoulder into the mirror. He studied the large tattoo Crow had inked onto his back a few months ago.
/> The black and grey DAMC rockers and logo on his skin had meaning.
A purpose.
Wearing those colors on his back and on his cut created a bond with his DAMC brothers. A bond he didn’t want to break. Now that he knew the truth about his father, there was no reason to keep moving, no reason to hop on his sled and move on.
None at all.
Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t leave right now anyway. His Harley hadn’t been found. He had no idea what the Warriors did with it, but he suspected it was either trashed or dismantled for parts.
He tried not to think about it because it made him want to go out there and join D’s crew on the hunt for any remaining Warriors. That sled had been his pride and joy, his baby. It had been in his life longer than anything else or even anyone else. Even though it was metal, leather, and rubber, it meant something to him.
Whether he stayed or moved on, he needed to get another sled. He’d have to talk to Jag to see what the man could come up with. Diamond’s brother had a skill customizing bikes like no other Slade had ever seen. If he had to take more shifts at The Iron Horse to pay for it, so be it. Whatever he needed to do. He couldn’t be a biker... Hell, he couldn’t be a part of an MC without a sled.
He took a last glance at the tattoo. His colors didn’t just represent that bond or and his membership in the DAMC, it also represented...
Home.
Family.
Even after finding out his father was a Warrior who had killed some of DAMC’s own, they still came and saved his ass from the rival outlaw club.
Knowing what she knew now, Diamond didn’t look at him any differently, either.
It had been a week since they visited Rocky, and she hadn’t asked him to move back to church, even though he was back to work and getting around just fine. There was no reason he needed to stay in Diamond’s cabin anymore. Okay, there was one...
Diamond.
This past week he’d been doing a lot of thinking. About what this club meant to him. About what Diamond meant to him. And one thing became clear...
He was here to stay.
He was now DAMC. He was now home in Shadow Valley.
He also wanted to remain in Diamond’s bed.
Shutting off the light, he stepped out into the bedroom to watch her sleep. Her hair surrounded her relaxed face like a dark cloud, and she looked peaceful as her breath went softly in and out of her parted lips.
He was glad that she could sleep, because, for fuck’s sake, he sure couldn’t. He had too much shit on his mind.
Last week before they had gone to visit Rocky, she’d asked if he was going to claim her. He hadn’t answered.
Mostly because he didn’t have an answer at the time. However, during his drive back to her cabin tonight, after an exhausting shift at The Iron Horse, he realized he finally had one.
He knew what he wanted.
He knew who he wanted. In his bed. On the back of his bike. As a permanent part of his life. She knew his secrets now. She accepted them. She accepted him.
She was one badass biker bitch. Knock her down, she got right back up swinging. He loved that about her. Her tenacity, her strength.
Life had dealt them both a shitty hand. And crazy enough, instead of pulling the two of them apart, the past couple of weeks had brought them closer together.
It surprised him that he was actually thinking about claiming her at the table. Hell, making it official. Did it make his heart thump a little faster and a bead of sweat pop out on his forehead? Fuck yeah, it did.
And that wasn’t the only thing he was going to ask the Executive Committee for. He didn’t want to tend bar or bounce drunks for the rest of his life. If he was going to put down roots in this town, in this club, then he wanted to do it right.
He’d not only been thinking about his future with Diamond, but how he could help the club out. And it hit him how to do just that. It would not only benefit the club, but him and Diamond.
Diamond shifted, sat up, blinking at him, then ran a hand over her eyes. “What are you doing?”
“Nothin’.” He moved closer to the bed.
She covered her yawn. “When did you get in?”
“A little bit ago.”
She glanced over at the digital clock on her nightstand. “It’s late.”
Yeah, it was and he hadn’t wanted to wake her. “Had to close the bar.”
“Was it busy?”
With a sigh, he shoved his boxers down his legs and, when she lifted the covers, he slid in beside her. “Yeah. Probably gonna start bein’ late every night. Gotta earn some extra scratch to get another sled as soon as possible.”
When she didn’t say anything, he turned onto his side to face her. “Can understand it if you don’t want me climbin’ in your bed late every night. Can move back into church.”
“I didn’t know you moved out of church.”
“Haven’t slept there in a while.” Not that he needed to remind her of that. She knew quite well where he’d been sleeping.
“True, but you still have your room and most of your stuff is still there. You only keep enough clothes here to get by.” She paused, then turned her soul-piercing blue eyes to him. “I don’t like sleeping without you next to me.”
“Me neither, princess.”
“Then why don’t you move in? Officially.”
“Said it before, when I work late, it’s hard to come all the way out here.”
“We can move into town.”
His head jerked back and his brows furrowed. “Why would you wanna do that?” She had turned that suggestion down when he had brought it up weeks ago about her cabin being too isolated.
“To make it easier on you.”
Jesus Christ. She was willing to move out of her great cabin in the woods just to be with him. “What about you?”
She lifted a pale shoulder and let it drop. “I want what’s best for both of us.”
“Think livin’ together would be best for us?”
“Don’t you?”
“Princess, asked me a week ago ‘bout claimin’ you.” He pulled a deep breath through his nostrils before asking, “Still want that?”
She turned on her side, so they faced each other. “Do you?” The surprise in her voice bothered him.
“Want what’s best for the both of us,” he echoed her. And that was damn true.
Her mouth dropped open, a little sound escaped, and he suddenly found himself tackled to the bed. She covered his body with hers and took his mouth. He chuckled, which broke the kiss, but her mouth was on him once again, her tongue dipping between his lips.
Fuck, did she taste good.
She felt good, too. She was as naked as him, the hard tips of her nipples pressing into his chest, her fingers holding his head still, and her warm, soft pussy pressed to his dick, which was now wide awake.
Slade dug his hands in her hair and pulled her head back. “Guessin’ that’s a yes.”
She gave him a smug grin. “That’s a fucking hell yes!”
He smiled and with a twist of his body, rolled them both over, because right now he needed to be on top of his woman. Hell, he needed to be inside her.
“Gonna fuck you.”
Her grin turned into a wicked smile. “What are you waiting for?”
He lined himself up and took her hard, glad she was ready for him. But then that was his woman, that was his Diamond. Always ready and willing for him. He met his match when it came to sex, that was for damn sure.
Everything he gave her, she could give back twofold. Hell, even threefold.
He released a hiss as her cunt squeezed him so tightly that it made his body shudder. Hot silk surrounded him, making his balls pull tight. He wasn’t going to last long. Not tonight. But just long enough to claim his woman.
To make Diamond his. Now. And again later in front of the club. He’d take his claim to the table, to the Executive Committee, and ask for a vote.
He couldn’t imagine any of them wou
ld cast a negative one. They’d probably all sigh in relief that someone was stepping forward to keep her in line. Not that he planned on discouraging her spark. He loved that fire inside her now that he recognized it for what it was.
“Babe...”
“Yeah?” she breathed.
“Fuckin’ squeeze me hard... Yeah, like that. That’s it, princess.”
Her nails raked down his back and she arched beneath him, driving him deeper. Her heels dug into the backs of his thighs, her legs hugged his hips tightly.
He closed his eyes when she began to make her music, the sounds that drove him crazy, drove him to the end before he was ready. She threw her head back and let out a long, loud wail as her body convulsed around his. He cursed as he tried to keep his shit together, but it was a lost cause.
He was done. Toast.
With a grunt, he thrust hard and came deep inside her.
That had to be the quickest fuck he ever had. And he sure as hell didn’t want to make that a habit. But she came before he did so she couldn’t bitch too much. Or at least he hoped she couldn’t.
He drew in a breath to slow his pounding heart and stared down into her blue eyes. “Sorry, princess. Didn’t mean to bust a nut so quickly.”
He jerked forward when she slapped his ass hard. He grinned, savoring the sting.
“Don’t worry, you’ll make it up to me. I need to get up for work early anyway.”
He fell to her side with a groan and she rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom. His eyes tracked her as she moved across the room, naked and full of his cum.
Within minutes, she was back, crawling under the covers with him. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against him, sweeping her long, dark hair out of the way, so he could press his lips against her forehead.
“So, are you really going to claim me?”
“Yeah, babe, gonna claim you.”
“So... does that mean...” she whispered.
He should be panicked right now, ready to roll out of her bed, out of her place. But he wasn’t. An amazing sense of calm came over him instead. “Yeah, babe, it does.”
A slow smile crossed her face. “I love you, too, Slade.”
Down & Dirty: Books 4-6: Dirty Angels MC Box Set 2 Page 61
