by Harley Wylde
“Torch and I are working on something,” Wire said. “It’s going to take me a few days to get everything organized. Once it’s all in place, Hillview won’t be an issue anymore. And none of us are going to get our hands dirty. I know you want to take them out, trust me I get it, but I think the Dixie Reapers need to keep some distance from this one. We’re already connected to that place through Janessa and Kalani.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked.
“I’ll tell you after the fact. That way you can deny that you knew anything about it if someone asks. I’ll send a text when it’s time to head to the jet, and I’ll have a car waiting downstairs to take you to the airfield,” Wire said. “And, Tex? You might think about how you’re going to spin this so Kalani doesn’t freak out. You’ve already seen that she’s the type to sacrifice herself. If she thinks turning herself in to Whitby will keep him away from Janessa, then she’ll do it. The man hasn’t made a move for your daughter yet, but I’m sure Kalani is worried about it.”
“I know.”
“Watch for my message,” Wire said, then hung up.
I tossed the phone onto the couch and rubbed my hands up and down my face. This situation was beyond fucked up. I wanted to tear Whitby apart with my bare hands, maybe arrange for him to get some justice behind bars as some big thug’s plaything. But my club wasn’t letting me anywhere near this, and while I appreciated their concern, I fucking hated it. It was my job to take care of my family, and the club wasn’t letting me do that.
I didn’t know how long it would be before Wire sent the car to pick us up, so I went to wake up Kalani. She needed her sleep, but she also needed to stay safe. I slid back under the sheets and pulled her against my chest, running my hand down her hair. The soft floral scent that seemed to cling to her teased my nose. We hadn’t packed anything other than some clothes, and I knew the hotel soap didn’t smell like that. It was just a unique scent that Kalani seemed to always have. Even when I’d carried her out of Hillview I’d noticed it.
She murmured in her sleep and burrowed closer to me. I smiled and wished we could spend the day in bed. I’d have loved to see how much she was willing to experiment, but I wasn’t going to push her. It was a miracle she’d touched me that night, or let me touch her, much less stayed awake until the wee hours making love. We’d spent every night since then tangled up in the sheets with her screaming my name. My heart twisted in my chest as I realized that’s exactly what we’d been doing all this time. I’d fucked plenty of women, but I’d never made love to one before.
“Kalani, we need to get up.” I brushed a kiss on the top of her head. “Come on. Wire is sending the jet for us today.”
I felt her freeze, then she bolted upright, eyes wide and I could see her heart pounding in her chest.
“What’s wrong? Why is he sending for us? Did something happen to Janessa?”
I smoothed her hair behind her ear. “No, baby. Janessa is fine, but we need to go somewhere and lie low for a few days. Maybe a week. Wire said he’d make sure Janessa is brought to us once we reach Florida.”
“Florida?” Her brow furrowed. “Why couldn’t we just stay here?”
“The club has some allies in Florida, and that’s where we’re going. I know you still aren’t used to being around a bunch of bikers, but the VP of this other club is related to one of my Dixie Reapers brothers, and he’s helped the club out before. If Wire thinks we can trust him, I think we need to go.”
“And Janessa will come to us?” she asked.
“That’s the plan.”
“How much time do we have?” she asked.
“I’m not certain. Wire thought it might take a few hours. I thought we could get up and dress. Maybe go somewhere for breakfast? I’d wanted to take you out to a nice dinner and a show tonight, but we’ll have to plan another trip to Vegas sometime in the future.”
“Florida?” she asked again. “It looks sunny in the movies. And the ocean is there. I’ve never seen the ocean.”
“I’m not sure where we’re going in the panhandle, but if the beach is anywhere nearby, I’ll make sure we go at least once. And we can always plan a family vacation once all this is over.” I leaned forward and kissed her softly. “Come on, baby. Let’s enjoy our last little bit of time on our honeymoon. Once Janessa meets us in Florida, it won’t be just the two of us anymore.”
“I miss her,” Kalani said.
I cupped her cheek. “I know you do. I miss her too, but we’ll be seeing her soon. And we’re going to have the rest of our lives with her, right?”
Kalani nodded.
“Now come on, Mrs. Rodriguez. Get your gorgeous ass into the shower.”
She giggled and dashed into the bathroom. I couldn’t help but smile as I thought about how different she was compared to our first day in Vegas. More open, less afraid. I knew us sleeping together was a huge deal, but it seemed to have fixed something that was broken inside Kalani. Or maybe it had just helped us grow even closer over the past two weeks. Whatever it was, I was thankful for that giggle and that smile. It meant she was healing.
Steam was billowing out of the shower, and I leaned against the wall a moment and just watched her. The shower wall and door were glass, and I could see every droplet of water run down Kalani’s body. She was so damn beautiful, it almost hurt to look at her. Over the last month, with regular meals, she’d filled out nicely. She considered herself plump, and maybe she was a little, but I loved it. Her breasts were more than a handful, and so was her ass. Her waist nipped in, but her belly was slightly rounded. She was fucking adorable.
I stepped into the shower and let the door close behind me. My cock pointed straight up and might have scared her in the past, but not anymore. Thank fuck because I got hard every time I was near her. Hell, just thinking about her made me hard. The water soaked me as I reached for the soap and began lathering Kalani from head to toe, taking my time with all my favorite parts of her. Her nipples were hard and there was a flush to her cheeks that told me she was just as turned on as I was. I didn’t know for sure how long we had, but I didn’t think either of us was getting out of this shower without some satisfaction first.
I nuzzled her ear and slowly turned her to face the wall. “Put your hands on the tile and stick that sweet ass out for me.”
Her hands trembled a little but she did as I’d asked. I ran my hands down her side, then slipped one around her hip and dipped my fingers between her legs. I nudged her legs farther apart with my foot, then teased her clit until the tension in her body began to melt away. I hadn’t taken her from behind yet because I’d wanted to make sure she knew it was me that was buried inside her. The way she’d tensed when I turned her around told me that had been the right thing to do, but now I wanted to prove to her that she was safe with me even this way.
I squeezed her breast and tweaked her nipple while I teased her clit. My cock nestled between her ass cheeks and I couldn’t help but thrust between them, rubbing my dick against her. I slid two fingers inside her pussy and groaned at how fucking hot and wet she was. She whimpered and I rubbed her clit some more, wanting to get her as close to coming as possible before I slipped inside her. My cock rubbed against her ass again, and I hoped one day she’d let me take her there too. I could only imagine how fucking tight she’d be.
Kalani trembled and pushed back against me. I lined my cock up with her sweet pussy and plunged inside, going balls deep. She cried out and I felt her channel squeeze my dick so damn good. I knew I wasn’t going to last, so I kept teasing her clit as I stroked in and out of her. The second I felt her coming, I let loose and thrust hard and deep again and again. My balls drew up and I felt a tingle in my spine right before I erupted inside her. I groaned and buried my face in her neck as I plunged into her three more times, not stopping until the last drops of cum had been wrung from me.
She leaned her head against the tiled wall, but didn’t try to pull away. If I could stay buried inside her indefinitely, I’d die
a happy man. Even though I’d just come, my dick was still pretty fucking hard. Only Kalani got that reaction from me. I rubbed her clit again, slowly. She shuddered in my arms, but I felt her spread her thighs a little farther. Oh yeah, my baby wanted more. I held still, my cock buried in her as far as I could go. I circled and pinched her clit until she was screaming out my name and coating my cock in her cream again.
“Fuck yeah, sweetheart. Give me all that cream.”
She moaned.
“You like coming on my cock, don’t you?”
Her cheeks flushed and she shyly nodded. “I never knew it could be like this. I mean, I’d read about it in books, but I didn’t… I thought maybe it was all just made up. But every time with you is amazing.”
“I’d make you come all morning long if we had more time.”
I slipped free of her body and washed her again. We quickly dried off and dressed, then grabbed breakfast in the restaurant downstairs. We didn’t have much to pack since we’d never really unpacked. We’d been living out of our suitcases since we’d arrived. After we ate, we took a short walk and I took a few pictures of her around Vegas, even asked an older couple to take a few of us together.
By the time Wire sent me a text, we were back in the hotel and Kalani was pacing nervously. I knew she was worried about the new bikers, but I’d never let anything happen to her. A car was waiting at the curb when we stepped out of the hotel. The driver took our bags and placed them in the trunk, then held open the back door for us. I would have preferred to sit up front and watch for trouble, but I also wanted to reassure Kalani. The trip to the airfield was uneventful, and soon we were on our way to Florida.
Chapter Eight
Kalani
The men who met us when we landed in Florida were intimidating. Tex assured me that they were going to help us, but a chill skated down my spine as I looked them over. They wore those black leather vest things like Tex and his club had. A cut. That’s what he’d called it. Except this crew had Devil’s Boneyard MC stitched on theirs. The man I assumed was the leader had Scratch -- VP on his cut. His eyes looked hard, and his muscular arms were on display. I couldn’t lie. I was nervous as hell. They outnumbered Tex and could take him out, then I’d be at their mercy.
“Welcome to Devil’s Boneyard territory,” Scratch said, shaking Tex’s hand. His gaze slid to me and I shrank back a little.
“This is my wife, Kalani,” Tex said, putting his arm around my waist. “And my daughter Janessa is coming soon.”
Scratch nodded. “We have a small home on the compound that you can use while you’re here. I made sure it was stocked with groceries to last a few days, but if you need anything, I’ll have a Prospect assigned to you.”
“We appreciate your assistance,” Tex said. “My club thought it best if my family was out of town for a little bit.”
“Wire told me a little about Hillview. Nasty place, but no worries. It will be taken care of soon enough. My daughter is now a Dixie Reaper, and Casper VanHorne’s daughter is also a Dixie Reaper. Between the Dixie Reapers, my club, and Casper, that Dr. Whitby won’t know what hit him,” Scratch said. “Our hacker, Shade, is working with Wire to get some stuff set up. And that’s as much as I’m allowed to tell you.”
My heart stuttered at the name Whitby. I felt like I should have felt something for the man who shared my DNA, but all I could hope was that they made him suffer horribly for what he’d done to my mother and me. Not to mention all those other poor patients. I was certain there was a place reserved for him in hell, and it was my hope he’d be residing there soon enough. He might have provided the sperm that created me, but I wanted nothing to do with him.
I’d learned long ago that fighting made things worse, but being with Tex had given me the courage to fight once more. I didn’t want to go back there, ever, and I never wanted another woman or child to be harmed by Whitby or his staff. I didn’t know what had been planned for Hillview, but I hoped it was truly horrible. Each and every person who worked at Hillview deserved to be tortured, abused, and killed slowly. But I worried about the patients still trapped there. They didn’t deserve to be hurt more than they already had been. Most were innocent. Some were completely crazy, but they didn’t deserve what had been done to them.
“Since you don’t have your bike, we brought an SUV,” Scratch said. He motioned to a man with Prospect stitched on his cut. “This is Seamus. He’ll be the one to take care of you during your stay. Make sure you get his number, and you can call him at any hour of the day. For anything.”
Tex gave Seamus a nod. I couldn’t tell his age very well, but he seemed younger than Tex, but older than me. He had rather striking green eyes, and a smile that set me at ease. His gaze didn’t stay on me for long, but that might have had more to do with the giant man holding onto me. I’d noticed that Tex didn’t like it when men looked at me for very long. I didn’t think he was necessarily possessive, but he probably thought he was protecting me. Even though I’d had a major breakthrough, I was still damaged from my years at Hillview, and I was thankful that he was watching over me.
Seamus led the way to a black SUV, and Tex slid into the backseat with me. His hand gripped mine, and I tuned him and Seamus out as we drove out of the airfield and down a highway. I didn’t see the ocean, but I wondered if it was close enough to visit. It seemed a shame to be so close, yet not get to see something so wonderful. I’d seen pictures of the sun setting over the water on TV and on Tex’s computer, but I doubted it could hold a candle to the real thing. Maybe I’d get a chance to find out before we went home.
The Devil’s Boneyard compound didn’t look much different from the Dixie Reapers. Except their clubhouse looked more like a warehouse and was two stories. We drove past the clubhouse, but all I could see were grass and palm trees. In the distance were small dots that I soon learned were homes. They’d built their houses farther away from the clubhouse than the Dixie Reapers had, and I wondered why they’d done it that way. Not enough to ask, though.
The SUV pulled to a stop in front of a small one-story blue home. There were two palm trees in the front yard and a cobbled walkway that led to the front door. It didn’t have shutters, but had some sort of awning over each window, and the door was painted a bright red. I wondered if someone normally lived here or if it remained vacant for times like this. Had we kicked someone out of their home?
Seamus seemed to read my mind as his gaze clashed with mine.
“We keep a few empty homes for visitors who are here with their families. There are a few rooms at the clubhouse too for single men who stop by. Scratch didn’t think you’d want to stay at the clubhouse, though,” Seamus said.
“Thanks,” Tex said. “I don’t think Kalani could handle what goes on in the clubhouse, and I definitely don’t want my daughter around that shit. She’s only fourteen.”
Seamus nodded. “The Pres would have been here to greet you, but he’s taking care of some business out of state. The house’s unlocked, and you should have everything you need.”
Tex gripped my hand and started leading me to the front door, but Seamus’ voice stopped us.
“Here’s my number, in case you need something. Doesn’t matter what time of day it is,” he said, handing Tex a small piece of paper. His gaze shot toward me again, then he quickly looked away. “We want y’all to be comfortable during your stay.”
At first, I’d thought he wouldn’t look at me for long because of Tex, but now I had to wonder if everyone in the club knew what had happened to me. Did he not want to look at me because he felt I was tainted? I began to feel a little sick to my stomach and hoped that Seamus would move along.
“Appreciate it,” Tex said. “We’ll probably settle in and wait for our daughter to get here.”
Our. Daughter. My heart stuttered and I looked up at him. I knew we were married and that made me Janessa’s stepmom, but he hadn’t called her ours before now. I liked the sound of that. We’d grown close at Hillview, and I hoped she
wouldn’t think I was trying to take her dad from her. We hadn’t had a chance to really talk since Tex had taken me to Vegas. He’d called to check on her a few times, but they had been brief conversations. We’d left for Vegas so suddenly I really had no idea what she thought about all of this.
Tex shut the door and set our bags down. The house wasn’t very big. There was a small tiled section at the front door, then you pretty much stepped into the living room when you entered the house. There was an archway that led to the dining room, and I saw a door off to the right. A door opened on the left of the living room and I saw a square hallway. Tex released my hand and I decided to explore a little. The bathroom was rather tiny with a shower/tub combination, but it was bigger than the bathroom I’d had at Hillview. The other two doors led to bedrooms. One looked out over the front yard and the other had backyard views. I opened one of the doors off the back bedroom and was pleasantly surprised to find a sunroom.
“Is this the room you want?” Tex asked from the bedroom doorway, motioning toward the queen-sized bed.
“That one’s fine.” I ran my hand along the back of the white wicker sofa that faced a wall of windows. “This is nice. I bet it’s a great place to read.”
Tex set our bags on the bed, then joined me, his arm sliding around my waist. “You want a sunroom? I’m sure I could add one off the kitchen. Or we could ask Torch for a bigger home. Three bedrooms is plenty of space right now, but we might want more space later.”
His words made me freeze. I felt every muscle in my body tense as I started counting off the weeks I’d been with Tex. I might not be the smartest person in the world, but I knew I had a period every four weeks and that not having one could mean I was pregnant. I hadn’t had one since two weeks before Tex carried me out of the asylum. My heart started pounding and I wondered if it was too soon to take a pregnancy test. We’d only been sleeping together for two weeks. Tex tightened his hold on me. It wasn’t possible, right? I knew I’d been sterilized. That was a permanent thing, wasn’t it?
