His lips crash into mine, shocking the hell out of me. I groan against his lips as the kiss become more desperate and ferocious. His hand travels down my waist, and I feel myself getting wetter with every touch. He grabs my wrists and slams them above my head. I hiss out in pain, the cut on my wrist and hand protesting at the contact. He stops the kiss and looks at my wrist then back down at me. I avoid his scrutinizing gaze. I can’t stand the look on his face.
“Don’t look at me like that. I don’t need your pity,” I snap.
He places his hand on my jaw, moving it around and forcing me to look at him. I don’t see pity in his eyes, I see love. Licking his lips, he takes a deep, shuddering breath.
“I love you, Daria. I’ve always loved you. When I heard you got with Brad, I wanted so bad to come over here and fuck up his pretty boy face with my knife.” His hand clenches into a fist. “I knew he wasn’t good enough for you, but at the same time, I know I’m not the guy for you either. You need someone calming, someone who will treat you like the queen that you are.” He stands, rubbing his hand over his beard. “You need someone who will always be here for you, who won’t cause you so much pain like I have since you screeched back into my life.” Tears fill my eyes. “I’ll tell Nico to call Jess to stay with you for a while.”
He goes to walk out of the door.
“Striker.” I stand on shaky legs, holding onto the bed frame.
“Get back in bed. You’re too weak to stand.” He stands directly in front of me, holding my waist.
“No. Not until you listen to me,” I say weakly. “I don’t want anyone, Striker.” He looks down at me. “I want you. I want all of you. I can see you’re in pain every time you look at me. I see the internal battle you have going on inside. Battling between wanting to kill me or to kiss me.” He’s about to protest, but I hold my hand up. “I see it, Striker. I’ve always seen it. I can see the demons in your eyes you’re constantly fighting. Let me in, please. Let me be the light that chases the monsters away.”
“I can’t. You wouldn’t love me if you see the depths of the demons that hold me down.” He shakes his head. His eyes gloss over. Reaching up, I cup his face; his hands cover mine and he closes his eyes.
“Nothing in this world would stop me from loving you, Striker. I loved you since I stumbled into your room eleven years ago. I couldn’t come in and wreck what you had going on in your life. I’m not like that. I was told you wouldn’t want me or a baby and that you had a whore warming your bed every night.”
“Who told you I had a whore warming my bed every night?” He questions again. Turning away from him, I bite my lip. “I’ll find out, babe. I always find out these things, so you might as well do yourself and the brother that told you this lie a favor.” Turning to face him, my eyes narrow. “When I find to who it was, I will kill him. Slowly. For every year he claimed from me bonding with my daughter.” He growls.
“I’m not going to send someone to the chopping block, so you’ll have to do your own digging.” I won’t be the judge to send him to the executioner.
“Boss.” Chucky knocks on the door. Striker turns his gaze from me to meet Chucky’s eye. They seem to have a conversation with their eyes. No words, just eye contact. It’s weird.
“We need to pack some clothes,” Striker says urgently. I stand; my legs still feel like jello. I stare at him, confused, while he grabs a bag from my walk-in closet and starts throwing clothes in.
“Striker, what’s going on?” He ignores me, and my anxiety shoots higher. I fold my arms across my chest. “Tell me.”
He lets out a long sigh, placing his hands on my shoulders. “It’s just not safe you being here.”
Stepping out of his reach, I back up until I’m against the wall and can go no further. A cold chill washes over me, like all the color has drained from my whole body. Staring ahead, all the fear of the four weeks comes at me like a freight train, smacking me right in the face. My eyes dart all around, looking for an exit.
“Baby.” Striker shakes me a little, causing me to focus on him. “Baby, we need to get you out of here. I need to get you somewhere safe.” Nodding silently, I let him guide me outside.
He’s my safe haven.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Striker
When Chucky came back into the room, breaking the moment between us, I knew from the look in his eyes that there was an issue and I had to get Daria out of there as soon as possible. Maybe I should have explained further about the fact that she and Emily were in danger, but I want to get her to the safety of the clubhouse where we can protect them both better.
Once outside, Daria goes to jump in the car with Blaze, but that doesn’t sit well with me. “No, you’re on the back of my bike, baby.” I throw the bag at Blaze. “Take this. We’ll meet you at the clubhouse.” He nods at me. I pull a still pale and dazed Daria behind me.
“I’m too weak, Striker. It would be safer if I go in the car.” Looking down at her blood-soaked wrapped wrist and hand, then back up to her glazed eyes, I nod, walking back to the car.
“Take Daria straight to the clubhouse,” I snap at Blaze, turning to Daria who’s shaking like a leaf in the wind. I place my hand on her cheek, and she leans into my touch. “I’ll see you there, I’ll be in front of the car all the way, okay?” I reassure her.
She nods, climbing into the passenger seat. Nodding to Blaze, I shut the door and climb on to my bike.
I feel myself becoming calmer whenever she’s near me. I never thought I would find a woman I would love more than the feeling of a knife piercing the skin of someone who has done me wrong; the scent of fear as I drive the knife further in, watching as the crimson blood runs out of their mouth and seeing the life drain from their eyes. Until Daria Denver stumbled back into my life. From then on, my life has been all about her. Everything I touched, I felt like I was touching her. Everything I saw, I saw her. She was always there in my head.
Once parked in the parking lot of the clubhouse, I walk over to where Blaze’s car is parked up and grab the bag from him.
“Church in ten!” Dad shouts from his office. He has taken to Emily and Daria like they’re his own, and like me, anything happens to them and he will rain hell down on anyone who hurts them.
“Baby, I’ll be back. Just stay in here until I come back.” I kiss her head as she sits on the edge of my bed. Just as I’m about to leave, I hear her speak for the first time since we left her house.
“Why does this keep happening to me?”
Kneeling in front of her, I take her trembling hands in mine.
“Baby, nothing is happening to you. I swear, nothing will happen to you while I’m around. You and Emily are everything to me. I’ll be damned if anyone takes either of you from me.”
Just thinking of someone taking them from me has my blood boiling.
She snatches her hands from me and looks at me with such anger. Standing, she walks around me, grabbing her bag, and goes towards the door. “Baby?” I chase after her, catching her arm.
“Mom. Dad.” Emily runs from the kitchen area towards us, throwing her arms around both of us while holding a juice box.
“Sweetie.” Daria kisses her head. “We need to stay here for a little bit.” Thank God.
“Is it because of those men? Are they coming after us again?”
Daria looks up at me with tearful eyes for help.
“Princess. I just want you and Mom to be safe.”
“What about you, Dad? Who makes sure you’re safe?”
Wow, shit. That hit me in the gut. My beautiful little girl is concerned for me.
“We’ll look after your dad, sweetheart.” Dad helps me out. I was speechless.
“Grandpa.” Her face lights up and she runs to him.
“Please, Striker.” Daria looks up at me again. “Please come back to me safely.”
“Don’t worry, baby. Nothing is stopping me coming back to you.” She nods and walks away f
rom me.
“Love you, Dad.” Emily hugs me and runs off to be with Daria, with Blue running behind her.
Those assholes will wish they were never born for touching my family.
“Have we found out who did this yet?” Nico asks. He looks pissed, and dare I say it, murderous.
“The fucker, Brad,” Louis pipes up.
“Detective Pretty Boy?”
“Yup, he, apparently, was just with Daria to get information on runs and any other intel on the club to bring us down. But the only club interest Daria had was in the shape of Striker.” Louis nudges my arm. I give him a hard look, to which he just laughs. “Only telling the truth, man. That asshole didn’t look happy when she stood up to him.”
“We need to find out what she told him!” Blaze snaps. We all turn to look at him. “What? She’s seen where all the weapons and stuff are. The whores. Who knows what lies she could have told him?”
I’m about to fuck him up when Nico beats me to it.
“Fuck you, Blaze. She knows nothing about the ins and outs of the club. She’s not a liar or a rat.” I stare at my best friend. His face is beet red with anger and he’s gritting his teeth.
Tilting my head, I narrow my eyes on him, wondering where the hell that passion has come from. Does he have feelings for Daria? What if he does? I don’t want to kill him for eyeing her when she’s mine.
He worships Jailbait Jess, why would he want Daria too?
“Striker?” I tear my eyes away from Nico, looking to Dad. “Can you go get Daria, please? We need to find out if she said anything.”
“What?” I look at him like he’s lost his damn mind. “She’s been through too much, Dad. She’s not a liar, nor would she ever say anything about the club.” I direct my glare to Blaze, who shrugs. “She doesn’t even know anything about the club.”
“Striker, just get her and we’ll determine that.” I return my focus to Dad, who’s looking at me expectantly. Slapping my hands on the table, I scrape my chair back with such force it almost topples over. Blaze looks at me with a smug look on his face. Dickhead.
Walking into my room, I see Daria’s eyes fixed on my cabinet of knives. I can’t help but worry about what might be going through her head right now. I look at her wrapped up hand and wrist. Fran must have cleaned it up and put a fresh bandage on. Does she want to hurt herself again? Will she take one of those knives and run again like she did eleven years ago? Looking to her lap, I see our daughter asleep, looking like an angel. Blue’s head lifts, sensing my presence, and Daria looks towards me.
“Hey. Dad wants to speak with you,” I whisper, walking closer.
“Me? Why?”
“He just has a couple of questions.” I pat Blue on the head. His tail wags and he places his head back down beside Emily.
“O-okay.” She lifts Emily’s head off her lap, and comes to stand beside me. “Have I done something?”
“No, baby.” I kiss her head, taking her hand that’s not bandaged up in mine.
Walking into the room, all the brothers turn to look at us, and her grip gets tighter. I don’t want her to be in here. I want to keep her as far away from this part of my world as I can.
Bit late and hypocritical of you.
“Daria, how are you feeling?” I lead her to my seat which is to the left of Dad, between Mars and Nico, and I stand behind her. Nico takes her hand and gives it a squeeze. She gives him a small smile.
“Why am I in here? Did I do something wrong?”
“We’ll find out soon,” Blaze snaps, curling his lip.
“No, sweetheart. We just need to ask you about Brad.” Her whole body goes stiff. “It’s okay, he’s still missing. We just need to ask what he knew about the club.”
“Um, I don’t know,” Daria says. Blaze snorts out a laugh. “All I know is that he was using me to get information on you all. I have none.”
“What did he say that night?”
“Um.” She swallows taking a deep breath. “He was in the house when I got home. No idea how he got in. He started being all cryptic and asking about Striker.” She looks up at me then back at Dad. “I told him I only saw Striker when it was something to do with Emily, that’s it. I didn’t know what went on here. As long as Emily is far away from here and the dealings you all do, I didn’t care what you do.”
“Go on,” Dad urges.
“He said I was a liar. That I knew more than I was saying, that I was here every day.” She looks down, ashamed. “He followed me, and has been since Emily disappeared and he was the lead detective on that case. I guess he thought I was the in to get intel on you all.” She looks up at Dad. “I swear, Barron, I didn’t say anything. I had nothing to say to him. I don’t know anything about what goes on here.”
“I know, sweetheart.” He takes her shaky hand in his. “I just need to know what you said at one particular part.” He holds his phone up with the surveillance video. Daria looks up at me with fear in her eyes.
“I don’t want to see this.” She’s begging me with her eyes to not watch it.
“Dad, she said she didn’t say anything.”
“Sweetheart, we just need to get a clear indication of what made him snap the way he did.”
“Dad.”
He gives me a hard look.
“O-okay.”
Dad presses play. The image is clear; his hand wrapped around her neck, looking livid as he sneers in her face, asking her a question we can’t hear, nor can we hear her answer. Daria jumps when we see the knife plunge into her stomach. She looks away. Her cheek lands on my hand that hasn’t left her shoulder.
“What made him snap, sweetheart?”
Daria looks up. Her eyes bore into my Dad’s. “I told him Striker had a bigger dick than him and that he knew how to fuck a woman.”
I wish I had a camera to take a picture of the shocked look on Dad’s face. It was priceless.
“Well.” He coughs. “I think that answers my questions.”
She stands, leaving eleven men shocked at the words she has just spoken. Myself included.
“I’ll see you in a bit.” I lean down to kiss her cheek when we return to my room, but she dodges me. “Baby?”
“I want to go home in the morning.”
“Daria, it’s not safe.”
“I don’t give a shit. Anywhere is better than here with you all thinking I would rat you out.”
“Dee.”
“It’s not up for discussion.”
I storm back into church. “You get the answers you needed?”
“Didn’t need to know my son has a big dick, but yes.”
“Well, she wants out of here first thing. Lack of trust.”
“She still could have told him stuff.”
“Blaze, will you shut the fuck up? She said she didn’t and there was nothing to tell apart from that Striker has a monster cock and knows how to fuck a woman!” Mars shouts.
He has the grace to look down and shut up.
“Anyone else want to question, Daria?” Dad looks around the room. Seems only Blaze has a problem with her. “Good. I’ll talk to Daria in the morning and try to convince her to stay until this blows over.”
Good luck with that one, Pop.
***
I don’t know how Dad did it, but he convinced her to stay. We’ve talked through things and she agreed that she would stay, but Emily isn’t. Daria still doesn’t want her around the club, so she’s been staying with Jess and Nico. Nico said he will keep her safe, but just as a precaution, I put Blair outside too.
Looking down at Daria asleep on my chest, I think back on the last time we were together before Brad pounced on her, the day after Emily’s birthday meal.
I can’t get the images out of my head, and the feeling it gave me when she made the move by pushing me away.
“What are you thinking about?” she whispers against my chest, her voice full of sleep and sexy as hell.
&nb
sp; “You.” Lifting her head, she rests her chin on my sternum. Looking down into her hazel eyes, I smile, playing with her hair. I notice a little red tint her cheeks.
“What about me?”
“How beautiful you are.” The red tint deepens. “Don’t be embarrassed, baby. It’s the truth.”
“It’s hard for me to take compliments.”
“Why?”
Shaking her head, she rolls onto her back. “Doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter.”
“Striker, leave it. Please.” Swinging her legs off the bed, she stands, heading to the bathroom. Sighing, I follow her in to the steaming shower, circling my arms around her waist, her back to my front.
“I’m sorry, baby. I just want to understand,” I whisper against her shoulder, pecking kisses up her neck.
Turning in my arms, she looks up at me. “I can’t. Not yet.”
I move a damp piece of hair away from her eye. “Okay. When you’re ready. I’m here.”
I kiss her softly, and she starts to deepen it. My hand reaches between us, my fingertips stroking up and down the inside of her thigh. Squeezing the soft flesh, a gasp and a moan escapes her mouth and she moves her hips forward. Circling my fingers closer and closer to her pussy, my eyes roam down her beautiful body. Bending forward, I lick the beads of water off her perky breasts, moving my mouth down and taking her nipple into my mouth, grazing my teeth and rolling it in my mouth. She moans louder, holding my head as the water cascades around us. Moving my hips forward, my hard erection brushes against her. Her hips grind forward, hoping to meet me. I can’t take the teasing anymore. I push her back against the wall; Daria gasps at the coldness of the tiles against the heat of her skin. My lips search for hers, claiming her mouth fiercely, my fingers lingering between her legs.
“Please,” she begs against my lips, moving her hips to get a touch of my fingers against her. Arching down slightly, I lift her by the thighs up the wall, still with our lips infused together, adjusting her a little so our bodies mold together completely like a jigsaw. The tip of my dick slides inside her, as if I’m testing something is okay. Her moan is my go ahead to push further inside slowly, my rhythm thoughtful, aware of the way she may be feeling at this moment. Her hands entangle in my wet hair, the water pounding down my shoulders and back, splashing onto her face. Pulling back slightly, I break the kiss to just watch her. I love watching her lose control. It’s the most relaxed I ever see her. My moves become faster and harder the longer I look at her. Shockwaves of pleasure ripple through my spine. I know I’m close and I can feel her walls tightening around me; I know she’s close too. With a loud groan, I release inside of her. Her fingernails dig into my back, scraping down, causing me to hiss out in pain as she moans out her release. My throbbing cock is still inside her as our moves slow down. I kiss her collarbone lazily.
Three Strikes (Demons Disciples MC Book 1) Page 18