“Your family is here,” I said, moving closer and setting the bags on the bed. “Your mom picked up some clothes for you. Guess she had good timing. Or not, depending on how you look at it.”
“You just wanted an excuse for me to run around naked,” she said, humor glinting in her eyes.
“Pretty sure I can think of some good reasons.”
She reached out and whacked me on the arm before digging through the sacks her mom had brought. I couldn’t help myself and moved in closer, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her tight against me. I loved the scent of her, the way she felt. Despite the fact her family was in the house, I was growing hard just being this close to her.
“Didn’t you say my parents were here?” she asked, looking at me over her shoulder, a coy smile on her lips.
“Yep. The brain in my head doesn’t seem to be communicating that very well to other parts of my body.”
She giggled and rubbed her ass against me.
“Nessa.” I growled at her in warning. “If you don’t stop, then I’ll forget you’re sore and I’ll take you right here and now.”
“And that would be bad because why?”
She tugged the towel free and tossed it aside. With my arms full of naked woman -- my woman -- I knew I was lost. She reached back and wedged her hand between our bodies, rubbing my cock through my jeans.
“We can be quick,” she said.
“Nessa, we shouldn’t.”
She rubbed a little harder and my eyes closed. Damn but she wasn’t playing fair. I slid my hand down and noticed that she was already incredibly wet. I tried to pull away. I didn’t know if I was trying to get some distance and clear my head, or go get a condom. Nessa seemed to be a few steps ahead of me, though. She reached over to the nightstand and slid open the drawer. I saw she’d shoved a bunch of condoms in there, as well as the lube I kept in the bathroom.
“Baby, are you sure?” I asked.
“Positive. If you don’t take care of the ache that’s building inside me, then I’ll have to do it myself.”
Fuck if that didn’t make my cock jerk, the thought of her fingers sliding in and out of her pussy, bringing herself pleasure. I put just enough space between us to unzip my pants and shove them down. Reaching for a condom and the lube, I sheathed my cock, then squirted some of the gel onto my fingers. Even if she said she wanted me again, I knew she had to be sore from before.
I slowly eased my fingers inside her, feeling her stretch around them. When I hoped she was slick enough I wouldn’t hurt her, I pressed a hand to the center of her back and bent her over the bed. I placed my lips near her ear and teased the shell with the tip of my tongue.
“Do you want me like this?” I asked softly.
“Yes, please! Seamus, I need… I want to experience everything with you. Every position, every…” She gasped as I slid in deep. “Oh, God!”
I leaned back and placed my hand on her smooth skin again, holding her down as I fucked her with slow strokes. I wanted to make it last, to make it good, but I knew her family was waiting.
“I’ll make it better next time,” I promised.
She gave a squeak of surprise when I slammed into her harder and faster. I angled my hips so that I’d stroke her just the right way. Leaning over her, I reached between her and the bed, rubbing her clit. She buried her face in the bed to muffle her cries and as she came, I let go. My hips slapped against her in jerky thrusts as I chased my orgasm. When I came, I had to bite my lip so I didn’t make any noise. My chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath. I slipped from her body and grabbed the condom to keep it from slipping off.
“Damn,” I said, then leaned over and trailed kisses across her shoulders.
Nessa sighed and had a dreamy look on her face. I gave her a swat on her ass, making her yelp and jolt upright.
“I have breakfast ready. It’s on the kitchen table,” I said.
“I’ll be there in a minute.”
I got rid of the condom and cleaned up, then went into the bedroom and kissed my woman. Nessa pulled away and dug through the sack of clothes, taking out a bra and panties that were probably meant to preserve her innocence. Plain cotton in bland colors with no embellishments. Unfortunately for her parents, that was long gone now, and I’d honestly find her sexy in anything. I grabbed a T-shirt out of the dresser and pulled it on, then ran a brush through my hair before going back out to her family. I didn’t know how long it would take her to get ready, and I didn’t want to leave them out there alone for too long. When a woman said she’d just be a minute, I’d learned it sometimes meant more like a half hour or longer.
Kalani was in the living room with the two boys. They seemed to be occupied so I kept moving and found Tex in the kitchen. He’d poured himself a cup of coffee and was leaning against the counter, his gaze locked on the doorway. He didn’t say anything as I stepped into the room, just watched and waited. If he thought he would make me nervous, he was wrong. I didn’t plan on letting Janessa walk out of my life, which meant Tex and I were going to be family. I had a feeling we might have to come to an understanding at some point.
He turned and got a cup from the cabinet behind him, poured another mug of coffee, and handed it to me. I accepted it, then sat at the table in front of the plate I’d fixed myself, food that was quickly going cold. I wasn’t eating until Janessa joined us. I’d just pop the plates into the microwave whenever she was ready.
“So. You’re sleeping with my daughter,” Tex said, then took another swallow of coffee, his gaze locked on me. As calm as he looked, it was almost as if he were just discussing the weather and not his daughter’s virginity. I wasn’t fooled. The man was anything but calm and cool.
I rubbed at the scruff along my jaw. I could deny it, but what would be the point? Tex wasn’t stupid. The second he saw me with Janessa, he’d know something had happened between us. And I’d taken longer than I should have when I’d gone to the bedroom.
“I’m claiming her,” I said. “I should have done it a year ago.”
He stayed silent for a moment, contemplating me. The man looked like a coiled snake, ready to strike at a moment’s provocation and I knew I would have to word everything carefully or risk setting him off. The last thing my club needed was an issue with the Dixie Reapers.
“Why didn’t you?” Tex finally asked.
“Didn’t think you’d like it too much.”
Tex smiled a little. “You’re not wrong. What’s changed? Because I still don’t like it, but something tells me you don’t care what I think anymore.”
“After watching her flatline, I decided I didn’t give a shit. She wants me. I want her. I don’t really see how that’s any of your business. She may be your daughter, but she’s an adult and you don’t fucking own her.”
Tex arched his eyebrows and tried to stare me down. I wasn’t flinching, though, and I wasn’t backing off. The man might be older than me, but he didn’t hold any higher rank in his club than I did in mine. It would take much more than that to scare me off. Janessa was mine. Tex would have to get used to it sooner or later. Something told me Kalani would be more accepting. Of course, she wasn’t in here to back me up. If she was all right with Janessa being with me, then I knew Tex would be as well. Or maybe he’d at least stop glaring at me.
“You think you deserve my little girl?” he asked after a few minutes.
“No,” I answered without hesitation. “I’m nowhere near good enough for her. She deserves some college graduate with an office job, a house in the suburbs, and a flashy car. What she’s got is a biker with not-so-clean hands who will treat her right and will do anything possible to make her happy. I also plan to take care of the men who hurt her, and any others who come along and think they can put hands on her.”
“Fair enough.”
“I know I haven’t made the best impression, haven’t earned the right to be with someone like her, but I want to be the reason she smiles when she wakes up. I want to hold her hand th
rough the tough times, and laugh with her during the best of times. I love her, whether you want to hear that or not.”
I heard footsteps come up behind me.
“Houston, leave him alone. Stop doing the papa bear thing. Janessa knows what she wants, and I think she made that abundantly clear when she came here,” Kalani said. She went to her husband and hugged him. “Let her be happy.”
“You know better than to use my name outside the house,” he told her gruffly, but I could see there was no bite to his words. It was clear he adored his wife.
Kalani waved a hand at me. “He’s as good as family. Doesn’t count.”
I hid my smile behind my coffee cup.
“You left the boys unattended in a strange house,” Tex said. “You know how Clayton gets.”
I cleared my throat. “I noticed he seemed… different from his brother. Wouldn’t look directly at me. If he’s uncomfortable here, I can bring Janessa to you after we’ve eaten.”
“It’s just how Clayton is,” Kalani said. “Janessa thinks we should have him tested, that he could be on the autism spectrum, but I still can’t stand psychiatrists. I’m better when it comes to regular doctors, thanks largely in part to Dr. Myron.”
Janessa had reminded me about enough of Kalani’s past not to dig any deeper on the subject. The woman would likely never trust someone in a white lab coat, and I couldn’t blame her. I could tell by looking at Tex and the way he held his wife that he wouldn’t take the kid behind her back. At one point, I’d have laughed and said the man was whipped, but I’d have been wrong. It was clear that Kalani was his entire world.
Tex pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Better get back in there with them. I promise not to shoot Irish in your absence.”
“Probably a good idea,” Kalani said. “Our daughter would probably kill you in your sleep if you did.”
Speaking of their darling daughter, I’d been correct in assuming her few minutes would be quite a bit longer. Unless her mom had also bought bathroom products, I didn’t have a clue what could be taking her so long. I was about to get up and go check on her when Janessa walked into the room, but she looked a little pale. I got up and went to her, wrapping an arm around her waist.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“I turned on the bedroom TV while I was getting ready. It was already on a news station so I just left it there, and now I wish I hadn’t. There was another woman attacked, but she didn’t make it. I think it was the same men who attacked me. They said a little about what happened to her and it sounded too familiar. What if they find me, Seamus? What if they come back for me?”
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” I tipped her chin up. “You have an entire club standing behind you, more than one. They have to get through a lot of men to get anywhere near you.”
“But it can happen. Rin thought she was safe, so did my mom, and Delphine, and…” She bit her lip. “The bad guys always seem to find a way, Seamus. I can’t stick my head in the sand and pretend everything is fine, that they can’t reach me, because club history tells me that they can and they will.”
“I’ll meet with Scratch and Cinder today,” Tex said. “Then I’ll call Torch and Venom, see if we can spare any guys. If we need to, we can always call in the other clubs. Seamus is right, sweetheart. We’re going to do everything we can to keep you safe, but that means you have to do your part too.”
Janessa took a breath and let it out, then nodded. “I know. I can’t leave the compound without protection, if I can leave at all. Make sure I’m armed if I’m alone, and don’t trust anyone I don’t know.”
“Your daddy taught you well,” I said. “What exactly do you mean by armed?”
“My dad taught me to shoot and throw knives,” Janessa said. “I’ve never used anything but paper targets or tree trunks, but I think I could hit someone if I needed to. Honestly, I’m glad I don’t know for sure because it means I’ve been safe.”
“Until you weren’t,” Tex pointed out. “And if you’d been carrying, then you might have had a better chance at getting away. Even if you’d just fired in their general direction, they may have decided you weren’t worth the effort.”
“You have a carry permit?” I asked, my brow furrowed. What else did I not know about her? Obviously, a lot. I’d never have imagined my sweet Janessa knowing a damn thing about weapons. I was glad to hear that she could take care of herself, though. Those assholes on the highway might have gotten the drop on her, but I’d make sure she had whatever weapons she wanted or needed to ensure it didn’t happen again.
“Yeah. Dad made sure I got one when I turned eighteen,” she said. “When I turned nineteen, I got a conceal and carry permit, but I left my gun at home when I came here.”
Tex growled.
“I know, Daddy. You don’t have to say it. It was stupid and it could have cost me my life. I couldn’t remember if Florida was a reciprocity state with Alabama and I didn’t want to take a chance on getting arrested or something.”
“What kind of gun did you have?” I asked.
“Bought her a Ruger LC9s, but it works better when she has it on her,” Tex said, obviously still pissed she hadn’t packed her gun. Couldn’t blame him. I wasn’t too happy that she knew how to defend herself but had left her weapon at home, a weapon she could legally carry in her purse or on her body. It wouldn’t have taken her but a few minutes on a phone or at a computer to find out she could bring it with her across the state line.
“Let it go, Daddy,” Janessa said. “I can’t change the past.”
“I don’t have anything that small,” I said, “but I might be able to get my hands on a Kahr CW9 rather quick. Not quite the same, but they’ll be similar in size and power. Close enough anyway without getting the exact same gun.”
“Where can she practice with it?” Tex asked. “She’ll need to get comfortable, since she’s only ever used the Ruger.”
“There’s a shooting range in town that we typically use. If we go, I think we need to make sure we have at least a half dozen guys with us just to make sure Janessa stays protected the entire time,” I said.
“Don’t I get any say in any of this?” Janessa asked.
“No,” I said. “Not when it comes to your safety. I will ask your opinion on a lot of things, Nessa, but not when it could mean the difference between you breathing or lying in a coffin.”
She nodded and clung to me a little more. I hated to scare her, and I still didn’t have all the facts, but I knew we weren’t dealing with random events. The guys who had attacked her had things too well planned. The gator across the road had obviously been a decoy to ensure someone ran off the road. And the emblem she’d described was enough to confirm my thoughts that shit was about to get bad. Well, worse than it already was. I hadn’t had a chance to discuss it with anyone yet, but I knew Cinder and Scratch were aware of the club that used a flaming skull for their colors. I’d been too preoccupied with Janessa and making sure she was healthy to follow up on the lead. New players in our state who were spreading like locusts across the south, and I wasn’t happy about it. No one was.
“You know something,” Janessa said. “About the men who attacked me.”
“Nothing one hundred percent, but yeah. You were right when you said they were bikers, and their club is bad news. They’re starting to infiltrate the south, or they’re attempting to. If they didn’t have road names or even the word Prospect on their cuts, then I think the attacks are part of an initiation of sorts,” I said. “The plain cut with just the club colors is probably their way of making sure The Inferno gets credit for the crimes. They’re a bunch of sadistic bastards.”
“Originally out of California, they’ve recently been trying to claim territory in other areas, especially in the southern part of the country. I think they want a foothold in the coastal states because of easy access to traffic in drugs and women. Torch has called a few meetings about them, but I didn’t realize they’d gotten s
o close to the Devil’s Boneyard territory,” Tex said.
He cast an accusing glare my way, like I had any say in the matter.
“We knew they were in Florida, but we hadn’t realized they were pretty much at our back door until the incident with Janessa. Scratch and Jackal keep their families in town, outside the compound. If those assholes are this close, then security will need to be increased at their homes and here,” I said.
“Call Scratch,” Janessa said. “You get me a handgun and some ammo and I can handle myself. The clubs need to take care of this before it gets even worse. What if they start attacking children next? Killing women is bad enough, but what if they decide to start selling kids?”
She wasn’t wrong, and the thought had crossed my mind. I just didn’t like the thought of leaving her alone, even behind a locked gate.
“I’ll stay here with them,” Tex said. “Do whatever you need to. I’ll contact Torch and Venom, see if we can get things moving. Havoc’s woman is related to Devil’s Fury, right?”
“Yep. Her brother was a prospect for them. He just patched in a month or two ago. He goes by Dingo now because I’ve heard he’s a crazy motherfucker, just like those wild Aussie dogs,” I said. “I’ve only met him a few times, and he’s on his best behavior when he’s in our territory, but if he thinks his baby sister could be in danger? All bets are probably off on him behaving.”
“Sounds like the kind of guy we need in on this,” Tex said.
“I’ll bring it up.”
Despite our audience, I gave Janessa a kiss, though not nearly as hot of one as I’d have liked, then I pulled on my boots and left to find her a gun so she could defend herself if necessary. I’d drop by Scratch’s place on the way. I hated to go, even though I knew her dad wouldn’t let anything bad happen. After watching her die, I didn’t think I’d be able to leave her for any length of time without my chest feeling tight.
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