by Jamie Begley
“They’re something else, aren’t they?” A man Cade hadn’t seen before stood next to him, drinking a beer. “I’m Skulls, former President of the Destructors.” When the man reached out his hand, Cade shook it.
“You’re Sex Piston’s father?”
“Guilty.” Her father laughed. “She been busting your balls?”
“A couple of times,” Cade admitted.
“Only a couple? Hell, she must like you.” The old man hit him on his back, knocking him forward against the bar.
“Which one’s your old lady?”
“How do you know one of them is mine?”
The man gave a sudden burst of laughter. “From the way you’re glaring at all the brothers thinking of approaching them. Stud’s on the other side of the bar doing the same fucking thing.”
“Jane.”
“Jane?”
“Fat Louise,” Cade said through gritted teeth. He was fast learning where Sex Piston had inherited her abrasive personality from.
“Aw, you’re a lucky man. She’s a sweet girl. Sometimes.” He took a swig of his beer. “You met that cat of hers yet?”
“Yes, I have,” Cade said grimly.
“I need some extra money for Christmas; want me to get rid of it for you?”
Was the man offering to kill Jane’s cat for him? Cade took a drink of his own beer, tempted by the thought. “No, thanks. I kinda like it,” he lied.
“You fucking liar. No one likes that crazy motherfucker. But I can respect a man who will lie to protect his woman’s feelings. Been doing that my whole married life. If my wife invites you over to dinner, run. She can’t cook for shit.” He leaned heavily against the bar. Sex Piston’s father was drunk off his ass. “Didn’t catch your name?”
“Cade.”
“What kind of name is that?”
“I was born with it.”
“The brothers ain’t given you a nickname yet?”
“Other than, ‘hey asshole,’ no, they haven’t.”
“They call him Traveler,” Stud said, taking a seat next to his father-in-law.
“Why they call him that?”
“Because they know he’s not here to stay,” Stud answered. “He’s waiting for me to finish building his bike.”
“I thought you finished that bike a week ago.”
“I did,” Stud answered, meeting Cade’s eyes. “I was trying to get him to stay around until after Christmas.”
“You shouldn’t hold the man up if he wants to leave,” Skulls reproached Stud.
“You can give me the bike. I’m not going anywhere,” Cade told Stud. “I’m done traveling. I’ve gotten weak. The whole time I was moving from town to town and fucking woman after woman, I thought I was happy.” His eyes went around the clubroom, looking at the men he had grown close to over the past few months. His eyes stopped on Jane.
“When I met Jane, I was attracted to her. I planned to fuck her before we left Corpus, but she took off before I could. When I came to Jamestown, I thought I’d fuck her then leave town.” He gave a wry smile. “How I felt about her scared the shit out of me, so I fucked it up. I couldn’t admit even to myself how much I cared until Sex Piston let it spill about the baby.” Cade’s voice went hoarse. “Never thought I wanted a woman and kid until I lost them both. I won’t be making that mistake ever again. Everyone at this fucking clubhouse has become my family, despite me not wanting one. I might not have been born into the family I wanted, but one day, I’ll die in one that was everything I could ever want.”
Stud nodded his head. “Stop by the garage and pick it up tomorrow.”
Cade grinned. “Looking forward to it.”
“What are those girls doing now?”
Cade and Stud both looked toward the dance floor to see Jane and Demie fighting. Sex Piston, Killyama, T.A., and Crazy Bitch were daring anyone to interfere.
When Cade reached the dance floor, Jane had Demie on the floor with her hands buried in her hair. One of her earrings was lying on the floor next to her with a piece of the skin still attached.
“I told you not to bother me. Maybe now you will listen!”
Cade wrapped his arms around Jane, lifting her off Demie.
“What in the hell happened?” Stud yelled.
“Stupid bitch kept taunting Fat Louise about fucking Cade. Said he knocked her up, too!” Sex Piston snarled at the woman trying to get to her feet.
“He did! I’m three months pregnant!” Demie yelled.
Fury hit Cade at Demie’s accusation. “You’re lying, and you know it.”
“Don’t touch me.” Jane tried to get away from Cade, but he held on to her.
He jerked her off the dance floor, taking her to his room despite her flailing arms as she tried to get away. Cade managed to get his door open then pushed her inside before shutting the door behind him.
“You bastard! Did you know?” Cade saw the hurt in her eyes.
Battling back his own anger from her not believing him, Cade told her grimly, “I did not get her pregnant. I haven’t touched her since I started seeing you again.”
“Did you use a condom with her?” Jane shrieked at him.
“Yes. I haven’t fucked anyone but you without a condom.”
“Thank God I made you use one after that one night.” While Jane walked agitatedly around the room in circles, Cade used the time to diffuse his own anger, leaning back against the door.
“Jane, if she’s pregnant, I’m telling you, it’s not mine.”
Jane came to a standstill, and Cade swallowed hard at the heartbreak on her face.
“You could be. You had sex with her.”
“Any brother here could be the baby’s father. Except Stud,” Cade clarified.
“You didn’t know I was pregnant until it was too late, and my baby was gone.” Jane went to her knees on the floor, burying her face in her hands.
“Our baby.” Cade knelt beside her, holding her close as sobs tore through her body. His own eyes watered. “Do you really think that, after losing one baby, I would ever deny a child that was mine?”
Jane looked up at him and saw his anguish at losing that fragile life. She had needed to know he cared, that he, too, had wanted to see their child grow into adulthood. To know that he had experienced the same feelings of loss she had suffered.
“There’s something inside of me that’s broken, and I can’t fix it.”
“We can fix it together, you don’t have to do it alone.” Cade promised.
“What’s broken can’t be pieced together again.” She cried out, her arms holding her stomach as she rocked back and forth.
“No, but it can be made into something new, something stronger, that can’t be broken.”
“All the pieces aren’t there anymore.” He cupped her cheek with the palm of his hand, his thumb wiping away her tears.
“The strong always survives.” Cade told her about his childhood, being forced to beg for money. It wasn’t an easy thing for a man to confess to a woman he loved. Jane’s heart melted taking away the last barricade she had placed to protect herself from him.
Jane’s arms circled his neck, and she hungrily kissed his mouth with all the desire she had been holding back. Cade eagerly took control, parting her lips to give her the passion she was searching for.
She brought her hands to his T-shirt, pulling it off. After she went to his jeans, unsnapping them, she took her mouth away from his to lick his nipple. Cade groaned, feeling the wildness emanating from Jane. She licked his other nipple until it was a tight bead before seductively looking up at him beneath lowered lashes.
“I’m jealous-natured,” she confessed, giving him a hard shove backward.
Cade landed on the floor with her above him. She traced his nipples with the tip of a finger before her hand moved downward, reaching inside his open jeans to pull out his cock.
Some men might not appreciate an aggressive woman; however, Cade didn’t have that problem.
His hips
lifted off the floor as Jane leaned down over him, taking his cock into her mouth.
“No foreplay?” he teased.
Jane let his cock slip from her mouth. “I can do foreplay.” She flicked her tongue against the head of his dick.
His hand went to the back of her head, pushing her back down. “Fuck foreplay. Suck my dick.”
Jane parted her lips as he thrust upward, burying his cock in her warm mouth. She didn’t take her eyes off his face as she sucked him down her throat, watching his reaction as she swallowed while using her tongue to rub the underside of his cock. Her hand delved farther inside his jeans until she was cupping his balls, massaging them with her fingers in a way that sent lightning bolts through his nuts.
“Darlin’, after I come, I’m going to suck on your clit until you come in my mouth. Then I’m going to fuck you until you beg for mercy,” Cade promised between gasping breaths. God, he was glad the brothers couldn’t hear him, because he was making noises like a girl.
Jane swallowed again, using her tongue to press his cock to the roof of her mouth. Cade shouted as he came, holding her head to him.
After his cock quit jerking, she took her mouth away, and he rolled over on the floor, tugging at her until she tumbled backwards. Flipping her skirt to her waist, he tore off her panties seconds before his mouth went down on her. She was already wet.
Cade’s tongue went to her clit, finding the sensitive bud red and swollen. Sucking it into his mouth, he gently bit down, and Jane screamed in pleasure.
Cade then pulled away to reach into his back pocket for a condom. He spread her legs wider, not giving her time to catch her breath, before he plunged inside her to the hilt and began to steadily thrust, building her passion again.
“That bitch didn’t get pregnant by me. My sperm has better sense than finding a home in her pussy.” His mouth found hers. “They were in heaven when I put my dick in you.” Cade jerked her hips up to his, burrowing farther with each stroke. “This daddy is going to love the mother of his children.”
Jane’s eyes widened as she stared up at him. “Are you saying…?”
“I’m saying only one woman is ever going to know what it’s like having my seed in her belly, and that’s you. I love you, Jane.”
Her face softened with a gentle glow. “I love you, too.”
“You sure about that? I’m not going to let you take it back,” Cade threatened as he felt her pussy grip his cock until he couldn’t hold back his own climax. He buried his face in her shoulder, and her hands went to his hair, tugging his head up until their eyes met.
“I’m a bitch. I don’t give up anything that’s mine, either.”
Chapter 26
Jane practically skipped to the hospital doors as soon as she clocked out. Killyama was going to the clubhouse; as a result, she had offered to pick Jane up from work. Jane had texted Cade, but he hadn’t replied. She was sure he was too busy riding his new toy he had been planning to pick up from Stud’s garage today.
Killyama threw her a sour look at the beaming smile Jane gave her once she was seated in the car next to her.
“Work was great today. Ms. Garber said she was going to put me in for a raise.”
“That’s great,” Killyama responded, turning onto the road.
“I’m going to get Cade to take me to the Taco Hut to celebrate.”
Killyama made a gagging noise.
“What’s wrong?”
“All you ever talk about anymore is that man. It makes me want to vomit rainbows and shit gummy bears,” she said snidely.
“You’re just jealous you aren’t getting any.” Jane stuck out her tongue, not letting her friend dampen her mood.
“It sure as fuck isn’t from lack of trying. Every time I look at a dude, they take off running.”
Jane rolled her eyes. “I wonder why.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Killyama snapped as she turned into the clubhouse.
“It means that you fucking shame them. Everyone knows you gave Train hell because he didn’t perform well, and they don’t want the same said about them. Men are sensitive about things like that.”
“I didn’t say he had a small dick.” She shrugged. “It just would have been better if he had lasted longer.”
“His dick was probably too scared. I’m surprised he was even able to get it up.” She laughed, dodging Killyama’s mock threatening fist.
Jumping out of the car, she looked around the parking lot, surprised Cade wasn’t outside with his new bike. She looked up and down the road, searching for him.
Killyama held the door to the clubhouse open for her. “Coming?”
“Yeah.” Jane went inside where there were only a few brothers hanging out and saw Stud sitting at a table with Sex Piston, Crazy Bitch, and T.A.
“What’s up?” she asked as she drew nearer to the table. By the looks on their faces, it wasn’t good news.
“Have a seat,” Sex Piston said, pulling out a chair.
Jane stood still. “Tell me.”
Stud’s voice broke the silence at the table. “Cade’s gone. When I called to see why he hadn’t been in to pick up his bike, Rock went in his room to look. All his things are gone. When I came in, I checked, too. He just left. No word. No note.”
Jane stood numbly. Sex Piston reached out to take her hand, and Jane gripped it tightly, determined not to break down in front of everyone.
“You all expected it, didn’t you?”
Her friends couldn’t meet her eyes.
“He didn’t take his new bike?”
“No.” Stud’s grim voice had her giving him a weak smile.
“Then he must be coming back.” Jane tried to give herself hope. He had told her last night he loved her, and why would he tell her that if it wasn’t true? “He’ll be back,” Jane said more firmly.
“You’re right; he’ll be back.” Sex Piston tried to sound more upbeat, although Jane could tell none of them believed it.
“I’m getting a raise,” Jane told the group then listened to their forced congratulations.
“Want to go to the Taco Hut? I was going to get Cade to go, but…”
“Sounds good. I’ll even pay,” Crazy Bitch said.
As her friends all stood, ready to leave, Jane pushed her hurt back. She would deal with it later when she was in her bedroom alone. Right now, she needed to be with the women who were her sisters in every way except blood. That would make the hurt bearable because, unlike everyone else who swore they loved her, they were always by her side.
* * *
“We’re almost ready to eat,” T.A. said as she passed by with another casserole dish in her hands.
Jane stared at the huge dinner laid out at the clubhouse. They had pulled all the tables together to make a long one, and a huge, twenty-five pound turkey took the place of honor at the head of the table.
“I think I’m going to go back to the apartment,” she told Crazy Bitch, who was balancing several bottles of cheap wine.
“Don’t go. Stay.”
“You can bring me a plate of leftovers.” Her hunger was nonexistent, but she would force herself to eat something when Crazy Bitch came home later. She hadn’t had much of an appetite for the last three weeks that Cade had been gone.
Jane shrugged into her coat, going to the door.
“It’s snowing. You want me to drive you?” Crazy Bitch offered.
“No, my car has four-wheel drive. I’ll be fine.” With her mom still in jail, Jane had bought herself a new car. Stud had offered to go with her to buy it, yet she had refused, wanting to do it on her own.
Cade had left her with a broken heart; however, he had made her more confident during the time they had been together. She didn’t need to lean so heavily on her friends anymore. They might still be adjusting to her newfound independence, but they were enjoying the benefits of riding in a car with a functioning heater.
Outside, the snow was falling heavily. Jane tilted her head back, feeling
the snowflakes land on her cheeks, when the sound of a bike’s motor resonated in the distance.
Jane’s eyes went to the road, seeing a lone biker drive into the lot, barely managing to keep his motorcycle from sliding. Jane recognized him through the snow, and his haggard appearance brought an unwanted lump to her throat.
Cade climbed off his bike and began to walk toward the clubhouse yet came to an abrupt stop when he saw her.
Jane stood still for a heartbeat then took off running toward him, almost slipping in the snow before she was caught up in his arms.
“You came back. You came back!” Her tears mixed with the snow.
“Of course I came back. I said I would.”
“I didn’t know. You left without a word…”
“What are you talking about? I left a fucking note in my room.”
“No one found it. It doesn’t matter now. All that matters is that you’re back.”
“It does matter, Jane. I wouldn’t have left without telling you why.”
“All I care about is that you’re here now. I understand that you wanted some time to think—”
Cade cut her off. “Jane, let’s go to my room. I have something to tell you.”
Was he going to leave again? Had he come back only to pick up his bike and tell her it was over?
When Jane followed him inside the clubhouse, everyone at the table went quiet as they saw Cade. Sex Piston and Killyama both flung back their chairs.
“I’m going to talk to Jane first, and then I’ll explain to the rest of you. But she deserves to hear it alone and in private.” Cade looked at Stud. “My old room still open?”
Stud took a moment before answering, “Always, brother. This is your home as long as you want it.” Stud ignored his wife’s gasp. “Skulls, quick hogging the ham and pass it here.”
Cade took Jane’s cold hand, leading her to his bedroom. The short walk didn’t last long enough for Jane, who was already preparing herself for his goodbye.
He shut the door to the bedroom before releasing her hand.
“Let’s sit down.” Cade’s gruff voice had her following his direction.
Once she took off her coat, laying it on the chair before sitting stiffly on the bed, Cade sat down next to her on the bed, placing his arm around her. “Darlin’, I have some bad news.”
