Before long, we’re out of the truck and inside the diner. The waitress comes over and we order our drinks while we look at the menus. Typical diner fare, but from my experience, the cooks are awesome. “Big breakfast and we split it?” he asks. I look at what comes with the big breakfast and nod. There’s more than enough for two people and it feels somewhat intimate that we’re sharing a meal.
“Yeah. I don’t like grits though,” I affirm.
“I’ll eat the grits, sweetheart,” he replies, giving me a grin. I feel a warmth steal over me at his look; he’s been nothing but attentive since I dropped into his life, and I’m looking forward to seeing what else is in store for the two of us.
Lilli
I fell asleep once we got back on the road and didn't wake up until the truck came to a complete stop. “Are we here?” I hazily question, rubbing my eyes with the balls of my fists.
“Yeah, Lilli, we’re here.” I stretch out my sore limbs; I slept in an awkward position and my neck is feeling a bit stiff. Tilting my head from one side to the other, I feel it pop and groan out in relief from the satisfaction from it moving with ease. “Why don’t you get out and stretch while I gather all of our things?” he requests, but it feels more like an unverbalized command.
Not letting that deter me and really wanting to do as he suggests I speak, “That sounds heavenly.” I admit to him as I reach over and grab the door handle.
“Wait on me to get your door for you, Lilli,” he issues and I look over at him with wonderment in my eyes. It’s been a long time since someone got a door for me. I think that stopped happening halfway through my relationship with Anson.
“Um… okay,” I reluctantly stammer out, and am secretly giddy inside while watching him walk around the hood of the truck. A smile stretches across my lips as I look down and fiddle with the hem of my top. I like knowing that despite his badass persona, he still has manners.
He opens the door for me, and before I know what’s happening, he lifts me out, and once I’m steady on my feet, he leans down and kisses my forehead. Such a simple act, yet, it sends a shiver of delight strumming through me. I’ve always wanted what my parents had in their relationship. Not just the physical intimacy aspect, but the emotional connection they had with each other. Somehow, even though we’re barely started, I suspect I’ll have that with this intense man. “On second thought, I’ll get a prospect to carry our stuff in; let me get you inside.” He laces our hands together and I realize again how well we fit. I hate comparing him to Anson because no two men could be any more different, but despite his overall demeanor, he has treated me with such care since we first met, that I find myself excited by the future and all that entails with regard to being his. As we approach the door, it opens and I see Trident standing there front and center.
“You look a helluva lot better than you did the last time I saw you, Lilli. How are you feeling?” Trident asks me as his eyes go down to mine and Poseidon’s locked fingers. A smirk forms on his face as his eyes light with mischief.
I glance up at him and reply, “Still have a bit of a cough, but I feel tons better than I did last week!”
“Are you still doing your daily breathing treatments as prescribed by your sexy nurse?” he questions, holding the door wider so we can enter.
“Unfortunately, yes,” I admit, giggling a bit at his description of himself. I hate doing the breathing treatments because they make me cough, but he explained to me that it was important to get all the nasty mucus out of my lungs, especially since he had no way to take any X-rays.
“Keep them up so you don’t relapse,” he advises. I nod even though that’s the last thing I wanna do.
“How much longer do you think?” I query. I wasn’t lying to him; I do feel better even though I still get fatigued easily. And, of course, the damn cough drives me crazy!
“Now that you’re back, we’ll get you in to the clinic for a chest X-ray and go from there, okay? Like I told y’all when I was up there, I definitely think you had pneumonia. The X-ray will make sure that it’s not still hanging around,” he replies. “We need to have church once you get her settled,” Trident says to Poseidon. Church? I wrack my memories of all the books I’ve read and shows I’ve watched and realize he’s talking about a club meeting.
“Give us thirty minutes,” Poseidon replies. “Need to make sure my new sheets are on the bed and get my woman settled. Meet you in there.” He places his hand at the small of my back as he escorts me through the clubhouse. I follow his lead, allowing him to steer me in the direction he wants me to go in. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of opportunity to explore my new surroundings later. Once we’re at, what I’m presuming is his room, he unlocks the door leading us into his sanctuary and ushers me inside.
I gaze around in some amazement because I wasn’t expecting anything more than a bed in a room with a television set. Except… “What is this place? I mean, the whole building?” I ask.
“We bought an old abandoned hotel when we started up the MC. It was one that had suites for rooms, so each room has a small living space and eating area like this, along with its own bathroom and of course, the sleeping quarter,” he replies. I look around again and realize it’s quite cozy. They obviously did some renovations since there’s flooring down instead of carpet, and the furnishings actually look inviting and comfortable. He stands there, saying nothing as I look around, taking in my fill before nodding his head toward the door in the back of the room. “That’s the bedroom through there, the bathroom is across from the kitchenette.” I see the small sink, microwave, mini fridge, and coffee pot and start giggling.
“Somehow, I don’t see you cooking masterpieces in here,” I pronounce.
“Nope. We took the area that used to be a restaurant and use that as our kitchen and dining area now,” he replies.
“Who cooks?” I ask, curiosity about my new surroundings causing me to want to know everything.
“The prospects. Thankfully, one of them was a cook in the military, so they haven’t killed us off yet,” he states, a smirk kicking up one side of his face. I nod but I hope that I can get into the kitchen as well, because I enjoy cooking and baking.
“How big is this place, Poseidon? I mean, your club isn’t that large, is it?”
“We’ve got eight full-patched members, three prospects, and two club girls who live here,” he admits. Club girls? Fucking awesome. He sees the look on my face and says, “They’ll know soon enough that I’m off limits, Lilli. They have a function within the club and we make sure that they have what they need. They get free room and board, as well as spending money.”
My nose wrinkles at his words. “You pay them?”
Laughing he shakes his head. “Not like you’re thinking. While the prospects take care of the shit jobs around here, the club girls are responsible for the other stuff, like laundry and cleaning the suites. They make sure the kitchen is always stocked, even though the prospects are the ones who do the shopping. In a way, they’re like maids.”
Without thinking, I retort, “Maids who put out.” He laughs as he pulls me toward him, kissing my forehead.
“I promise, they’re not that bad.” I’ll be the judge of that; I don’t see how women who are used to having access to all the men here will be amenable with one of them suddenly being off the market. A knock on the door keeps me from saying anything and when he opens it, I see a prospect holding our bags. Not like I’ve got much, just what I had in my car, but it’s enough for right now. He nods at the prospect who leaves without saying a word and then looks over at me. “Why don’t you get settled while I take care of some things.”
“Okay. Um, I’ll need to get my things from Anson’s too, Poseidon. That is, unless he’s tossed it already.” I don’t really have much there but it’s still mine and I can hopefully get it back.
“Oh, I don’t think he’s done that, not with him being so vocal in the media the way he has about you ‘missing’, Lilli. But we’ll get that handled
for you. You’re not facing him on your own.”
I release the breath I didn’t realize I was holding at his words. His betrayal aside, realizing that he and Kassidy were poisoning me has me not wanting to face either of them by myself. Granted, I don’t know how the results panned out, but I suspect during their meeting that Trident will have that information. Hearing Poseidon tell me that he and his brothers will be with me when I go to get my stuff gives me a sense of peace. I know it’s not over yet, of course, but I’m one step closer to being free. “Good. I don’t trust that I wouldn’t try to hurt the two of them. Not just for the cheating, although that’s bad enough. But for the fact they were apparently poisoning me.”
“Hopefully, Trident has gotten the test results back. I’ll find out in church.” I nod to him in understanding. “You still need to rest, Lilli. Why don’t you get comfortable and take a nap while I go handle things? If you want a shower, there should be clean towels underneath the cabinet in the bathroom. Hmm, wait, I’m not sure if you should be by yourself. What if you fall?”
“I should be fine, Poseidon,” I murmur. I mean, I fell asleep on the way back, so I should have sufficient energy now to take a shower, right?
“Jesse. Call me Jesse when we’re alone, Lilli.” I test his name in my head and find that I like how it sounds.
“Okay, Jesse. I should be just fine since I’m not washing my hair. Just want to get the road grime off, so to speak. You go do your biker thing and I’ll rest up.”
His laughter rings out as he pulls me close and kisses the top of my head. Despite the minimal amount of contact, I feel my insides begin to heat up. I’ve spent the past two weeks with him, and while he’s made it very clear that he’s attracted to me, he’s held to the promise he made that nothing would start up until the ‘Anson situation’ has been resolved. That doesn’t stop him from hugging me or dropping kisses on top of my head or forehead. Those little touches remind me so much of my parents and their relationship, especially since I’ve never before had those comforting touches. “I’ll rustle up some food for us when we wrap up church,” he states, matter of factly.
“That works for me. I could eat,” I reply in giddiness at the aspect of being taken care of the way he does where it concerns me. “Now, shoo, your brothers are probably waiting on you. Don’t wanna be late, seeing as you’re the president and all.”
“You’re gonna make a great first lady,” he murmurs before stepping back. “I’ll send a prospect up to watch over you. He’ll be outside the door so if you need anything, you just let him know.”
I resist rolling my eyes, barely, just barely, and instead nod in acquaintance. I don’t anticipate needing anything, but I know it’s part of his personality to ensure that everyone around him is well taken care of, just as if he were doing it himself. “I’ve got this, Jesse,” I state.
“I like hearing the way my name falls from your lips, Lilli.”
“Go to work, Mr. President,” I reply, grinning at him. Maybe I’m wrong to ‘poke the badass’ but during our time at the cabin, I got to know the man himself, not the MC president.
“Someday, you’re going to be shouting out my name when I make you come,” he whispers before kissing my forehead and heading toward the door. “Now, get your shower and then get some rest. Consider it an order,” he expresses, winking at me before he leaves the room.
“I’m so fucked,” I murmur to myself as I watch the door close. I really am; he’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met before and despite the circumstances that brought us together, I find myself falling for him.
Poseidon
I’m still chuckling to myself as I make my way down to the main area, where everyone is sitting around, drinking beer and shooting the shit. Seeing that everyone is here, I bellow out, “Church!” before I grab my own bottle of beer and head into the room we’ve designated for our club meetings. As I step inside, I glance around at my surroundings and smile. When I started this MC with the guys who had been in my Navy SEAL unit, it was with the understanding that we weren’t going to be a large in numbers MC. And while we’re not exactly one percenters per se, we will not hesitate to take care of things if needed without involving the legalities of the law. We refuse to be strangled by a man's word written on some pieces of paper. The businesses we started are all legit, that was something I wasn’t willing to compromise on. One by one, I watch my men stroll in and take their seats.
“How’s Lillianna doing?” Trident asks as he settles into his chair. “I wasn’t kidding about getting her to the clinic for an X-ray, though. I want to make sure that what I gave her took care of the infection and that she doesn’t end up relapsing. That would not be a good thing, brother.”
“She still gets tired easily. I’ll run her over tomorrow; right now, she’s getting cleaned up and taking a nap. Have the test results come back? And if so, what was the outcome?” I question.
“I did get the results back earlier today, and it was thallium poisoning, brother,” Trident states. “She’s going to need treatment, although the levels weren’t too high. She wasn’t toxic yet, but if they had continued, she would have died.” I nod my head despite the anger that rages through me at the thought of what they did to her was in an effort to end her life. It’s a good thing that she could taste there was something off with the soup they were providing her; otherwise, things might have turned out differently.
“Okay, let’s get that treatment set up then,” I reply, barely controlling the rage that’s built up in me. He nods, then pulls out his phone and sends out a text message. What is only mere seconds later, he receives a response, and I wait for him to talk to me.
“They can do it at the clinic; they’ll get the stuff she needs to take and have it in by tomorrow.” He puts his phone away so that we can continue on with the agenda at today's meeting.
“Thanks, brother. Orion? How are the businesses doing?” I turn my attention to him as I ask this.
I listen with half an ear as Orion, our treasurer, goes over the numbers for each of our businesses. Since we’re a small motorcycle club, we do hire the local town’s citizens, but the bulk of the work is done by us. Loki runs our tattoo shop, Trident manages our bar, when he’s not on duty at the hospital as a trauma nurse, Atlas and Reef run our auto and bike repair shop, and I oversee our security company with Brooks, while Specks takes care of all of our IT needs, with the rest of the guys pitching in whenever needed. It means we’re all busy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Once he’s done, I inform my brothers, “I’m making Lillianna, Lilli, my old lady. Before that can happen, however, we need to decide what to do about her fiancé and best friend as they’re the ones who tried to kill her.” The room around me is full of growls, none of us take kindly to harming a woman in any capacity.
“I vote we take them out,” Trident grumbles. His irritation is palpable to my ears.
I shoot him a disgruntled look. While we dabble on the other side of the law at times with some of the security contracts we take, we’re not in the habit of killing people. No matter what they’ve done. Not that we couldn’t do it; one thing that the Navy did for us was turn us into humanized weapons. “I’d rather that be a last resort. They’ve both been in the news so much talking about how ‘Lillianna Rose’ is missing that if they disappeared, it would bring down unwanted attention from the law.” We get enough of that despite the fact that each of our businesses have all of the appropriate licensing and shit, I don’t want them hassling us when it becomes known that Lilli is staying with us. We’d be their first stop, on top of their list of suspects, to come barging in, looking for evidence. We’d be their number one suspects with the disappearance of Anson and Kassidy and you know it.”
“What if we bring them in for questioning and then turn them over to the cops? I mean, y’all have the proof that they were doing something to her, right?” Brooks curiously asks.
“We do have the proof of poisoning, yes,” Trident replies. “But ho
w far are we willing to go with the questioning? Personally, I’d like to beat the shit out of the ex, but I don’t feel right touching a woman like that.”
“She’s not a woman, she’s a cunt,” Loki states. “You told us that the chick involved was her best friend, but friends don’t fuck their friends’ men and they sure as hell don’t try to kill them!” I grin although I’m sure it’s not a pleasant one, because my brothers are already rallying around my woman and except for Trident, none of them have met her yet.
“We could get her treated and with that documentation as well as her own testimony, go in and file a complaint,” Specks suggests. “Because there’s a missing person alert out on her, we’re going to need to take her in anyway so that the cops don’t think we had something to do with her so-called disappearance.”
“Fuck, you make a good point, brother,” I grumble. On the one hand, I want to eradicate Anson and Kassidy from this earth for what they attempted to do to Lilli. But, I also want her to get justice and us ‘taking care of business’ won’t give that to her. “I want her living safe and breathing free,” I advise my brothers. “While I wish we could do what Trident suggested, none of us would be comfortable taking out a woman, so, I think we need to consider what Specks said.”
“I agree. Let’s get her to the clinic first, brother, so we have a paper trail. Then you take her in to the police department so she can let them know she’s not missing and file a formal complaint. We can protect her, so she’ll be safe,” Trident says.
“Tomorrow. Right now, if we’ve got nothing else, I’m going to go and grab my woman something to eat, then hit the hay,” I announce. I then, bang the gavel and follow my brothers out, where I head into the kitchen to find us some food. Once I have everything I need, I head back to my suite, where the prospect opens the door for me. “I’ve got it now, Prospect. Go see what needs doing around the club,” I order him. He nods, then takes off in such a hurry I see smoke under his feet, I chuckle at his quick departure. We only have three prospects at this time, and they’re all busting their asses to become part of the club.
Poseidon's Lady (Poseidon's Warriors MC) Page 6
