“She’s doing good considering it’s only been three days. She’ll make a good ol’ lady for a president, brother.” Coast was always on duty, his eyes scanning the parking lot as he talked.
“Yeah, just got to get her to believe.” The door to the store opened and Carly and Speed walked out, laughing at something. The passenger door opened and Carly was preparing to use the step to lift herself in when Speed grabbed her waist and hoisted he up as if she weighed nothing.
“You have to stop doing that. I can get in on my own.” She glared at Speed and he glared back.
“I don’t have to do shit, you on the hand need to let people help you. And why didn’t you get out, Crusher, and help her in?”
“‘Cause I knew you would do it, and why should I get the backlash when I could put that on you.” Carly looked between us and buckled her seatbelt.
“Both of you are asses.” Speed closed the door chuckling.
“I’m not sure I like having a sister. Glad she is your problem.”
“Oh please, you are enamored by my greatness.” Speed looked at her and just shook his head, then he reached in the window and rubbed the top of her head.
“Sure, little sis, keep believing that.” I watched as she flipped him off as Speed walked away. Watching the two made me wonder how much would have been different around Black Hawk if those two had grown up together.
“And stop calling me that!” Carly stuck her head out the window and yelled across the parking lot. Speed’s reply was to flip her off.
“Dude, the clubhouse is never going to be the same,” Coast said and, not waiting for a reply, turned toward his bike. Once they were mounted and ready to go, we pulled back on the road for the last leg of the trip.
“Why are we heading to Sami’s old house? I haven’t moved all my stuff there yet,” Carly said as I pulled in the drive. Speed pulled in behind me. Coast had headed back to Black Hawk instead of following to the house.
“The club moved you in and Sami oversaw it. They got your stuff in, put away, and I imagine the ol’ ladies have stocked the refrigerated full with stuff. Probably won’t have to cook for a month.” I got out and walked around as she pushed her door open. I helped her out and when I set her on her feet the door opened and Ally ran out with Sami behind her.
“Aunt Carly, you are my daddy’s sister!”
“Ally cat! Yes, I am.” I caught Ally just before she was going to launch herself at Carly who stood with her arms open to catch her.
“Baby, you can’t do that. Walking is it. No carrying anything that will put extra weigh on your leg.” I hoisted Ally on my shoulders and she laughed.
“Ally, didn’t we have a talk about being watchful around Aunt Carly till she’s healed?” Sami spoke while she and Carly hugged.
“Yep, and I was watching around her and I didn’t see nothin’. Momma, I needs a sister like Daddy.” Speed chuckled and lifted Ally from my shoulders to place her on his. He didn’t catch the look on Sami’s face after Ally spoke but I did.
“Your momma meant watching so you don’t do anything to Aunt Carly because of her leg. No diving on her.” Speed patted Ally’s leg.
“Come on, let’s get you inside, you’re probably tired.” Sami stuck her arm through Carly’s and led her into the house.
“Sami is going to help get her settled and then we are going to head to the house. The trip wore on her, she looks tired.” Speed looked back at the house.
“Yeah, last hour was hard on her. She was fidgety so I figure sitting in the car has that leg pretty painful right now but she never said a word.”
“Did you tell her?” I smiled at Speed.
“Tell what, Daddy?” Ally leaned over Speed’s head to look at him in the upside down position and he grabbed her shoulder and flipped her to the ground. She laughed and took off to the house.
“No, she’ll figure it out soon enough.” Speed smiled and shook his head.
“You know she is going to go off on you, right?” I nodded.
“Yeah, I like it.” Speed groaned and Sami and Ally walked out the front door.
“Aunt Carly is in bed. Momma said she needs sleep to gets better before my party. I’m having a cooksout, you comin’?”
“I’ll be there, Spider. What do you want for your birthday?” I asked.
“I wants a bike.”
“You have a bike, Ally,” Sami answered.
“Nots a bike with pedals. A bike like Daddy’s.” Sami popped Speed on the shoulder and Speed looked down at Ally.
“Baby, we talked about this. Momma said you’re too small for one. Maybe for your sixth birthday. Okay?”
“Alright, but I’m gonna have to tells Uncle Reed, ‘cause I told him I wanted one.” The heavy breath she let out as if saying ‘what a chore’ was too cute. Speed’s groan said this had been a discussion before.
“I will kill him if he buys one,” Sami said and Ally, who had her men wrapped around her finger, always took up for us.
“Buts I would be sad, Momma, if you killed Uncle Reed. He loves me.” Her lips came out in a pout, and she looked up at her mom and her eyes looked as if she were going to cry. This club was so doomed.
“Fine, Uncle Reed lives another day. Let’s go home and let Uncle Crusher and Aunt Carly get settled.” Sami grabbed Ally’s hand after telling me bye and Speed that she would get Ally buckled in.
“Call if you need anything and we will cover you at the shop, take as much time as you need to take care of her. If she needs to get out, bring her to the house to visit. Don’t forget Sue is next door. Rooting for you, brother, and good luck.” Speed gave me a man hug and chuckled. “You could do what I did, give her a deadline.”
“I could, but she will come to me on her own.” He slapped my back and headed to Sami’s car across the street. I watched them pull away and then I pushed Carly’s bike into the small garage before going into the house. Speed and Coast had switched out at the gas station so Coast could take mine to the house.
I checked on Carly and she was sound asleep. She’d already kicked the blankets off, I learned that was her thing at the hospital. We’d start out under them and then I would wake up cold and the blankets would be piled at the bottom of the bed. She was slightly pale but her face was relaxed in sleep and her blond hair was spread out across the pillow.
She was going to be mad when she woke and found me here. But she’d get over it. I looked at her tank top and shorts she wore and wondered if she had put on any panties. I knew for a fact the panties she had in her saddlebags were clean because I had looked in the bag when I brought them into the hospital room. My baby had been horny even dealing with pain, she’d thought I’d been asleep when she backed her ass into me and wiggled until I was flush up against her. But I would never do anything that would put her at risk. I was here to take care of her, I could wait to make her mine.
I put away the stuff from the saddlebags and headed to the shower, she’d sleep for a bit if she had taken the painkillers the doctor subscribed.
Chapter Eleven
Carly
The smell of food had my eyes opening and then I heard the TV playing as I laid in the bed. I just started to rise when the bedroom opened and Crusher walked in, carrying a tray.
“Good, you’re awake. You need to take your pain meds but you need to eat something first.” I listened and watched as he set the tray on the nightstand and grabbed the pill bottle, shaking a couple out and holding out his hand for me to take them.
“How long was I asleep?” I asked, then popped the pills and reached for the glass of water on the tray.
“‘Bout six hours. You were worn out from the drive, your body needed the rest. Now here eat and you will feel better.” He grabbed the tray and held it out to me.
“Hold that thought. Bathroom first.” I gingerly threw my legs over the bed and sat up.
“Let me help you.” He reached down and grabbed my waist, lifting me to a standing position.
“I would hav
e gotten up on my own. Why are you here? Don’t you have a house?” I knew that was bitchy but my thigh was hurting and he was being sweet. I didn’t want sweet, it reminded me of my injury. I wanted the Crusher I could spar with verbally to take my mind off the pain.
“I told you I was going to take care of you. Would have been more convenient at my house but this is what you wanted.” I made my way to the bathroom and entered, closing the door behind me.
Fine. He’d get tired of driving up and down the road and stop coming by. I did my business and on the way out stopped to look in the mirror. I shouldn’t have. There were dark circles under my eyes, my skin was pale, and my hair looked as if birds had made a nest in it. I needed a shower, I felt gross and ugly. Well, that should make him leave. I walked out of the bathroom to Crusher leaning back on the bed, the tray resting on his lap.
“What are you doing?” I asked as I sat on the side of the bed and swung my good leg up, then with care put my hands under my thigh and lifted my other leg onto the bed.
“Sitting here to make sure you eat.”
“I can’t sit that on my leg.” Instead of answering me he reached on the bottom of the tray and pulled the bars down so the tray would sit up over my lap. After positioning it across me he leaned back and turned on the TV.
“Now eat,” he said while flipping channels.
“Bossy much,” I muttered and picked up the spoon and dipped it in the soup.
“Not if you do what I tell you to do.” He turned and winked at me.
I ate and he watched TV, neither of us said a word. When I was done I folded the legs on the tray and set it on the nightstand, then leaned back in bed. We remained that way for a while. I watched Crusher out of the corner of my eye and he looked relaxed as he lounged. He wore gym shorts and nothing else. His chest was tanned and bare, the only hair started just under his belly button and disappeared into the waistband of his pants. Both his arms held tattoos from shoulder to elbow and the only other tattoo I knew was on his body was on his back, it was the Black Hawk emblem. He was muscled and fit and if I closed my eyes I could almost imagine the feel of his skin.
“You getting tired again, baby?” I startled and opened my eyes.
“Umm...a little but I want a shower and to wash my hair. I feel gross.”
“You’re beautiful, baby.” Crusher said and got off the bed and walked around to help me up. This time I put my hand out for him to help me. I lost my balance and he caught me and held me against him, my hands splayed against his chest. When I looked up at him, the brown of his eyes were darker and focused on my mouth. He leaned down and captured my mouth with his and the kiss was tender at first, then his tongue lick across my lower lip and I opened my mouth, his tongue entering, the kiss deepening. One of Crusher’s hands grabbed my waist while the other went into the hair at the back of my head and he held me to him. I was lost in the kiss, lost in him. The pain in my leg forgotten as he took what he wanted but gave me more than I thought I could ever feel. I’d kissed Crusher before but this was different, it was a kiss with a message, one I didn’t know if I was ready to answer.
I moved my hands over his chest, his shoulders and back, again the warmth of his skin was comforting. As my body melted into his and my legs grew weak, he broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against mine. We stared into each other’s eyes while we caught our breathes. He was the first to recover and he steadied me and stepped back.
“The doctor said you could take the bandage off, just don’t rub the area with a cloth or anything, just to let the water flow over it until you get the stitches out. I’ll call the doctor and set up an appointment for the stitches to be removed.” While he talked he got me clothes out of the drawers, then walked in the bathroom and I heard the shower start before I moved out of the spot I was standing in.
“Okay, I can handle it from here.” I got a towel out and put it on the counter.
“I’ll be in the bedroom if you need me. Sit on the bench and use the sprayer so you don’t slip.” Crusher walked out and pulled the door closed behind him.
After taking the bandage off and my clothes, I got in the shower and let the water run over me. I washed and conditioned my hair, then washed my body. Spotting the razor, I looked down at my legs, yeah, they could use it among other parts. After the last few swipes of the razor, I rinsed again and stood and shut the water off.
“You okay in there,” Crusher voice came through the door.
“Yeah, just finishing up,” I yelled back as I stepped out of the shower. I dried off, only patting the skin over the wound. By the time I put my clothes on and wrapped a towel around my wet hair I was exhausted. When I entered the bedroom Crusher sat on the end of the bed with a fresh bandage and the tube of cream the doctor had given me.
“Get comfortable on the bed and I’ll fix you up.” When I was in place he sat on the side and laid the items down in the order he wanted them. “Feel better now?”
“Yes, and the sprayer was nice. When did that get put in?” When Sami had brought in the house I had been shocked even after Crusher had told me the club had moved me in. Everything was put away, not a box in sight, and he had been right about the refrigerator too. The members’ ol’ ladies had it full with food. It humbled me.
“Flirt, he’s good with his hands.” He had the tube open and gently began to apply the cream.
“I heard.” Crusher chuckled at my words. “Women talk.”
“I bet they do.” His head was bent as he concentrated on what he was doing.
“Yeah, I never saw so many happy women around town until you guys started coming home.” I chuckled and his head snapped up and he looked at me and stopped what he was doing.
“Carly, I’ve slept with a lot of women, I’m not going to deny that. But I don’t want to talk about them. You’re the only woman I’ve slept with who had any effect on me, the others never mattered.” He bent his head back down and finished applying the bandage as I watched, speechless. I would think back to this moment later on and realize it was when I fell in love. Just not now, I wanted to remain in my world of denial.
Crusher
After taking the tray down, I made sure the house was locked up and headed back upstairs. When she started talking about the women in town, I couldn’t help but feel a little pissed that we’d been gossiped about but then that quickly passed. It’s not like we didn’t share the info if a woman was easy or had a little kink to her. We’d shared girls growing up. But women had meant one thing to me before, a means to obtain a release. Was I proud of that? No. Do I regret any of it? No. I never forced or hurt a woman I had been with and when I walked away, I left them exhausted, pleasured, and with a smile on their face.
I walked in the bedroom and she was stretched out with her eyes closed. “You take your pills again?” I asked as I moved to the empty side of the bed.
“Uh huh, you can go home now, it’s getting late.” She never opened her eyes, only spoke. I didn’t answer her, I folded back the covers and laid down on the bed. Her head turned and her eyes opened.
“What are you doing?”
“You didn’t want to come to my house so I am staying here.”
“You don’t need to stay here and take care of me.” While she talked I scooted over and slid my arm under her and pulled her to me. She placed her head on my chest and reached down and pulled the covers over us. We’d turned the lamp off while we watched TV earlier so I grabbed the remote I had on the table by me and flipped it off, throwing the room into darkness.
“Told you before, I got you and I’m not going anywhere.”
“You can’t push yourself in my life and make me do what you want.” I could feel her yawn against my chest as she threw her arm across my stomach.
“Carly?”
“Carly?” I still received no response.
“I already have, baby. I already have.” I smiled into the darkness and closed my eyes.
Chapter Twelve
Carly
Ten days! Ten days of touching me, kissing me, rubbing my legs as they were draped over his lap as we sat on the couch. Every night listening to his heart beat as my head rested on his chest. Waking up wrapped in his arms with the feel of his erection pushing up against me, only to have him kiss my forehead and get out of bed. Yeah, it had been the longest ten days of my life and the most frustrating. I had always been active and to have that part taken away had been hard. Add in an insufferable man with his: eat, take your medicine, you can’t lift that, you aren’t supposed to do that, made for long days of nothing. The frustration, I wanted Crusher with everything in me, but no, the man wouldn’t break. If he didn’t fuck me soon, I planned to get my vibrator out and use it while I laid next to him.
“What’s the frown for, your leg hurting?” Like he didn’t know. For the past week I did everything but climb him like a tree. But if I’d done that, he would have only yelled that was too much motion. Crusher sat in the chair across from the exam table I was currently laid out on while we waited for the doctor to come in and remove the stitches from my thigh. He was relaxed and looked comfortable in his skin. I, on the hand, was sure an alien was going to pop out from under mine if someone so much as touched me. The man had me wounded so tight I felt like I could explode any minute.
“No. Just a dull ache,” I answered and then under my breath added, “in my crotch.” I knew Crusher heard me when he chuckled but before I could snap at him the exam room door opened and the doctor walked in.
“How are you doing, Ms. Monroe?”
“Better once these stitches get out and you tell me I can go back to work or at least resume some activities.” See, wound tight.
“Someone’s not been a very good patient?” The doctor would see good if he didn’t get on with it.
“She’s not been too bad, doc. Just suffering some tightness in a couple places,” Crusher said and looked at me and smirked. Asshole.
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