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Reaper's Claim: Satan's Sons MC Romance Series Book 1

Page 23

by Simone Elise


  Reaper had left last week with the Shields to ‘sort’ something out. He didn’t give me the details, and because he left so quickly, there is still a giant question mark hanging over our heads on what we were.

  ***

  “I still can’t believe you talked to me into this.” I grumbled, getting out of the car. Kim couldn’t wipe the grin off her face.

  “Come on, Abby, you know this is the right thing to do.” She grabbed my arm, locking her familiar eyes with mine. “We can’t lock our future down to being a biker’s babe. The money they bring in is dirty, and you and I both know that if they get caught, we will be left high and dry.”

  When did she become the sharp one?

  I still had my eyes locked on her when they widened and flashed over my shoulder. Frowning, I turned to see what caught her attention.

  Sebastian.

  “Hey,” I said as he approached.

  I could see why the girls found him handsome. He had this rough, sexy appeal to him.

  “Thought you didn’t attend university.” He stood next to me with half a grin on his face.

  “I didn’t.” I nodded my head at Kim. “She signed us up, so I wasn’t lying the other night.”

  “Twins.” His eyes flashed between the two of us. “Talk about double trouble.”

  “Trust me. She is here for the books.” I smirked over at Kim, who was giving me a dirty look.

  “Well, you stood me up the other night, so I think it is only fair that I give you the tour of the campus.” He ran a hand through his freshly styled hair.

  Darn, this boy was hot, and that fact hadn’t gone unnoticed by my sister.

  “Seeing as we are both new, do you mind if I come?” Kim fluttered her eyelashes and gave him the classic seductive smirk.

  That boy was going to be putty in her hand soon.

  His eyes locked with mine for a moment, and I swore I saw regret flash across them.

  “Sure, why not.” He nodded his head and began to lead us into the building.

  Kim grabbed my arm and pulled me in close. “Whatever you do, don’t fuck up with him. Sebastian is the king of this place. His dad owns a million hotels or something.” Her grip tightened on my arm. “Don’t get on his bad side, ok?”

  “Ok.” I ripped my arm from her grasp and hissed under my breath back at her. “You’re the one acting like a patient from an insane ward.”

  So what if Sebastian had money and a good reputation? As far as I was concerned, he hadn’t done anything to earn my respect, and I wasn’t going to hand it over to him as Kim had.

  Chapter 47

  Abby

  I would admit, there have been numerous occasions when I have wanted to kill my sister, and right now was one of them.

  I continued to glare at the bald-headed man as he gave his lecture. If the point of his lecture was to bore us to death, he was succeeding.

  ‘‘I would love to say it gets better, but it doesn’t.”

  I turned to look behind me, only to see the handsome face of Sebastian. I hadn’t even realized he was in this lecture. Actually, now that I recall, I don’t remember seeing him again after he gave us a tour.

  “I thought you were in the second year?” I questioned him with a hushed tone, not wanting to score the attention of the rest of the hall.

  “I am.”

  “Then why are you here?” Curiosity stirred within me because I knew if I had a choice, I wouldn’t be here.

  A wide grin captured his lips and charm filled his eyes. “Why do you think?”

  Surely he wouldn’t be hanging around the back of this lecture hall just on the off chance he would run into me. Would he?

  “You’re an odd one to figure out, Sebastian,” I finally said, turning fully in my seat to look up at him. The only good thing about these halls is they are so large, you never get stuck sitting next to someone.

  “Not that hard, babe, if you think about it.” He winked and much to my dislike, I let my cheeks blush red.

  He moved to the edge of his chair, leaning over closer to me. “So are you finished with this lecture or do you want to continue to play flappy bird?”

  If my cheeks weren’t red before, they definitely were now.

  “Depends.” I literally couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  “Come on, admit it, anything would be better than this.”

  He had a point, yet it wasn’t in my nature to just give in. But when it came to him, I felt unsure. Scooping up my handbag off the floor, I stood up quietly and exited the lecture hall, knowing very well I was being followed.

  Chapter 48

  Abby

  Sebastian had trouble written on his forehead. I knew that, yet I continued walking beside him down the empty halls.

  “You don’t seem that interested in social science?” He broke the ice between us.

  “Can someone be interested in social science?” I gave him a pointed look.

  “Point taken.”

  I slowed to a stop, turning to look at him. “So is there a reason why I should have ditched it and taken a stroll of the hallway with you instead?”

  “Always straight to the point.”

  His charming grin wasn’t getting him off the hook.

  “Well?”

  He took a noticeable step forward, entering my personal space, and surprisingly I didn’t mind.

  “You don’t like waiting, do you?” The smirk in his voice was enough to cause me to smile.

  “Waiting for what?” I tilted my head to the side, looking up at him, slowly rising onto my tippy toes.

  Then he did something I didn’t expect nor did I think he was capable of.

  In one flash moment, he gripped each side of my hips, my legs automatically wrapping around him and before I could take a breath, he had my back pressed against the wall.

  His mouth captured mine while he carried all of my weight easily. His tongue slid into my mouth. My chest rose quickly as my heart rate skyrocketed when his hand ran under my shirt, still being able to hold me easily with one arm.

  The man knew what he was doing. Our long kiss broke for a moment as he trailed kisses down my neck, and I couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped my lips.

  I was gasping for breath when he gently placed me back down to the ground, but my mind was still high from the dose he just gave me.

  “Been wanting to do that since I saw you.” He grinned, winked, and just walked off down the hall.

  Leaving me standing here, stunned, confused, and really really turned on.

  ***

  “Dinner.” Kim knocked and opened my bedroom door. “Dad wants us to come down tonight.” She rolled her eyes, and I closed my laptop.

  I climbed off my bed, grabbing a jumper and following her out.

  “You’ve been really quiet since we got back from university.” It seemed my muteness hadn’t gone unnoticed.

  My mind was consumed by that stupid kiss and the way he caused such a reaction out of me.

  A pair of snapping fingers in my face caused me to come back to the moment.

  “Sorry,” I grumbled and followed Kim into the dining room. “Just a lot on my mind.”

  She gave me a ‘not buying it’ look over her shoulder. “Whatever you say.”

  I took a seat next to Kim; I hadn’t meant to do it on purpose, but when I looked up, I was directly across from Reaper.

  Great.

  Wasn’t hungry anymore.

  His eyes were as sharp as razor blades, slicing away the layers I had put up to keep him out.

  Kade had a way of getting under my skin. He had a way of changing my mind but most of all, he had a strong pull on my heart.

  When it came to him, I just melted.

  “How was university, girls?” Dad grunted from the top of the table.

  “Just thrilling,” Kim replied with attitude and a fake smile.

  I just shrugged my shoulders. The only thing that I truly remembered wasn’t something I was bringing up at this
table.

  “Really?” He put his knife down, swallowing a mouthful of food. “Cause I heard one of you broke into office drawers and stole secure test papers and the other was busy playing tongue hockey in the hallway.”

  He knew.

  My eyes flickered to Reaper, and I knew instantly, he knew too.

  Crap. Why did I feel bad? We weren’t a couple. Suddenly a blanket of guilt wrapped around me.

  “I was just making sure the place was up to snuff.” She lowered her voice slightly, smirking at me. “Guess Sebastian’s charm worked on you.”

  I wanted to hit her.

  Right after I hit myself.

  Because she was right, he just wanted me under his thumb, and now he had me.

  I dodged every question and finished my plate as quickly as possible. No way was I hanging around to listen to their grumbles and jokes.

  What I hadn’t counted on was Kade following.

  “You going to pretend like it didn’t happen?” His voice was raw and tainted with anguish.

  I dropped my plate in the sink, turning to look at him. “Depends, are you going to pretend that you aren’t sleeping around on a ride out? I remember you clearly telling me sex was nothing more than a need, and you didn’t care who gave it to you.”

  “Don’t twist my words, Abby.”

  “I’m not.”

  “I told you,” his voice lowered, and he made his way closer to me, “I loved you. That fucking means something, doesn’t it?”

  I slowly nodded my head. “You did say you loved me,” I took a steady breath in. “But that doesn’t mean you have a claim over me. When you’re ready to admit it to the world, I’ll be yours. Till then, guess I’m just one of the whores you use.”

  His hand wrapped around my wrist, “You aren’t a whore.”

  For a moment, there was softness in his eyes.

  “Thanks.”

  His grip loosened and I walked out, leaving Reaper behind me.

  We both knew he would never make a relationship with me official. Because that would give him a weakness and if there was one thing The Reaper couldn’t have, it was a weakness.

  Chapter 49

  Abby

  “You messing around with that Sebastian boy is only going to bring trouble,” Kim spoke smugly while sitting on my bed, watching me get ready.

  I scoffed loudly. “And you messing around with Trigger isn’t going to bring trouble?” I poked my earring in before grabbing my clutch.

  “I can handle Trigger.”

  “And you’re saying I can’t handle a common university boy?”

  “No.” She jumped up off the bed. “I’m saying you won’t be able to handle how Reaper reacts to you dating a common university boy.”

  My lips pressed together. “How he reacts doesn’t get to influence this.”

  She chuckled. “Get a grip, Abby. You wouldn’t even be dangling this university meat in front of Reaper’s face if you had his full attention.”

  “Sebastian is not meat!”

  “You’re right. He’s a dead man walking once he gets involved with you.”

  I huffed loudly and snatched the top she was holding. “Don’t you have your own problems to deal with tonight?”

  By problems, I meant Trigger. She had made the rookie mistake and stayed home when he didn’t go on the run this morning with the rest of the boys.

  Which meant he was in charge.

  Which meant no Dad around.

  Which meant Trigger and Kim had the whole place to themselves once I step out those gates.

  “The prospects are here,” Kim snapped.

  “Yeah, because they are really allowed inside and all.” I rolled my eyes. She was kidding herself. We both knew that her night was heading in one direction, and that was Trigger’s bed.

  “Reaper didn’t go.”

  I froze on the spot and slowly turned back to look at her.

  “Kim, please tell me you are joking?”

  Her grin turned into an evil smirk. “Not joking. He stayed back to straighten out the books or something.”

  “Darn it, Kim! Why are you only mentioning this now?”

  “Because I thought it would be funny to see your reaction, and it was clearly worth it.”

  I groaned immediately. Kim and I couldn’t leave the clubhouse freely at night. It was just a protective thing Dad put in place. The only way we got around it was if we were going out with someone else.

  But it wasn’t like I could go up to Reaper and be like, ‘hey, can you let me out the gate so I can go on a date?’

  “Guess your night plans just got squashed,” Kim smirked at me before leaving the room.

  I groaned again. Not only had I just spent an hour getting ready, but now I had to go and suck up to Reaper to get out.

  Great. Just great.

  The chances of me heading out tonight were zero.

  Chapter 50

  Abby

  I took a sharp breath in, straightened up, and walked into the kitchen where I knew Reaper was.

  I was not letting him ruin my night. I would not let him control me. I repeated this over and over in my head until I laid eyes on him, then my mind just went blank.

  He sat frozen in one of the kitchen chairs, glass in one hand and smoke in the other, and he was just staring at the bottle in front of him.

  Suddenly, if I made it out didn’t seem to matter as much.

  “Are you ok?” I stood across from him.

  His drunk, smoky eyes slowly drifted up in my direction.

  “You look nice,” his alcoholic tongue said while he refilled his glass.

  Had I missed something important that would turn the stone cold Reaper into this mess in front of me?

  “Again, I repeat, are you ok?” I attempted to get eye contact with him, but his eyes were glazed over from the liquor. “Kade?” I dipped my head to his level.

  His expression was distant, but it was the glaze that covered his eyes that concerned me.

  “You’re heading out, Miss Harrison, don’t let me stop you,” he mocked and slid his key to the gate across the table in my direction.

  Still, something within me stopped me from reaching out for it. I had the heels on, the short clingy dress, the beautifully curled hair and makeup were done perfectly. I was ready for a night out. Yet my heart wasn’t ready to leave Kade sitting like this.

  So I pulled out the chair next to him.

  “Tell me what happened.” I turned in the chair to face him, well, his body at least. His eyes hadn’t lifted from the shot glass from when I walked into the room.

  “Leave, Abby.” He poured his glass. “Leave before my ugliness ruins you.”

  Ugliness?

  What was the man talking about?

  He reached for his glass and I was quicker, covering it with my hand.

  “Kade, what is wrong? You know there isn’t anything I can’t handle.”

  I had heard stories darker than the one he was likely to tell me.

  Turning his head to the side, he looked at me, and for a moment, I swore I saw the pain in his eyes.

  “You’re a good girl, Abby. Go have fun.” The corner of his lip twitched up. “Don’t let me stop you.”

  He clearly hadn’t realized, or maybe he didn’t get it, it wasn’t him stopping me; it was me.

  I wouldn’t let myself leave.

  Opening my clutch, I grabbed my phone and sent Sebastian a very respectable cancellation message. When it came to boys like him, me canceling would only turn him on more and make him chase me harder.

  Lifting my hand off Kade’s glass, I reached across the table, grabbing an empty glass and pouring myself a drink.

  “I still remember the first time I met you.” I opened up. “How you and those gray eyes pulled me in. I remember clearly how heartbroken I was when I thought you had left me in the motel room. Then when I saw you at Drake’s that morning,”

  I ran my finger around the edge of the glass while my mind was pull
ed back to memories that could never be forgotten.

  “You’ve always been there. Sometimes in the shadows, other times in my face, but you’ve always been there.” I gently lifted his head and held it in my hands, making his eyes look into mine. “Now it is my turn to be there for you. There isn’t anything you can or could do that would make me turn my back on you. That’s what unconditional love is, Kade, and that is the type of love I have for you. So just tell me, what’s wrong?”

  For a few moments, the glaze lifted from his eyes. “You would understand.”

  I nodded my head.

  “You could justify it for me.”

  Again, I nodded my head.

  “You could give me an excuse out, and I don’t deserve that.” He gulped down the remaining of his glass. “Maybe that is what’s truly fucked up about it.”

  “Kade, you are being very hard on yourself.”

  “This unconditional love you have for me,” He lifted his head from my hands and turned to face me on his own. “It’s the same thing I have for this club.”

  I swallowed sharply. “I know that.”

  “So everything I do for it, to keep the brotherhood together, is out of love.”

  “I suppose.”

  “So the two men that I just put in the ground was out of love.” His eyes hardened, “The fact that I just put a bullet in a man’s head that I’ve known my whole life, that I once faithfully looked up to as a brother, father, leader, is out of love?”

  I opened my mouth then closed it because I knew he wasn’t finished yet. I could see it boiling up inside him.

  “I’m soaked in his blood,” he slightly opened his leather vest, displaying the bloody shirt. “and his brother’s blood.”

  I took a steady breath in, finished the alcohol in my glass, and pushed my chair back.

  I walked around him and then gestured for him to take my hand.

  “Where are we going?” He glanced at my hand then back at me.

  “To handle it.”

  Standing there, I wasn’t sure if he was going to take it. He reached for the bottle first and then took my hand, linking our fingers together. I led him away.

 

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