Looking up at him, she started to ask what he had done and why he was so sure of his plan, but Kane just brought a single finger to her lips and smiled with his eyes. “I came here for you,” Kane said. “And you…you need to trust me, Angel.”
She wanted to. More than anything, she wanted to believe in him and know that the worst was over. Angeline had seen him with Theo again, and she suddenly understood how her son was able to nod off in his protective embrace. Angeline could do that too if given the chance. However, if he was here to look after her and care for her, she needed to start by returning the favor.
“Lie down,” Angeline said.
Kane followed her order and fell to the bed. She stroked his face and kissed his lips before she started to pull away.
“Angel—”
“I’ll be right back,” she said. “I promise.”
Kane curled his hands behind his head and smiled as he waited. She touched his taut chest one more time before flying out of the room. Mindful of her steps, as she passed the sleeping bodies behind closed doors, she poured ice cubes into a bowl, snatched a cloth, and hurried back to his side. All tension left his mouth at the sight of her, and as she sat on her side of the bed, she ran her fingers through his hair and kissed his head.
“Turn over,” Angeline said.
Doing as he was told, Kane shifted to his chest, and Angeline looked away for a moment when Kane gave her the chance to fully absorb the damage to his flesh. It should never have happened, but there was no way of turning back the clock. Kane wanted to live in the present, and Angeline wanted nothing more than to heal him again. It was her first gesture of love—and repeating it was all that she could think of as he lay at her side.
“I want to make you feel better,” she said.
Capturing a few cubes in the cloth, Angeline stared to drag the ice down his battered back. Kane tensed and the cubes melted as soon as they touched his hot flesh; but, Angeline kept going, fighting to heal him and make him whole again. Kane gripped his pillow and moaned when the melting moved to his waist, and his body curled around the bed.
Angeline could sense that the cold water had hit his cock. When he reached behind his head and started to play with her hair, she knew that his lust and his love for her was not dampened in any way. However, she kept cooling him down. “Just rest, Kane,” she said. “I’m taking care of you.”
He collapsed into the sheets, and as he gave over to her ministrations, Angeline focused hard on his flesh. The thought of Noel touching it became something more than a wicked ploy. The son of a bitch had taken what was hers. Angeline’s name on Kane’s shoulder and his body writhing under the ice, made her want to do what he had tried to do for her.
Erase the past. Look to the future.
“Come here,” he said. Angeline let the ice fall to the floor and took his face in her hands. Her kiss stopped just above his lips, and she smiled.
“You need me?” she asked.
Nodding through his longing and his torment, Angeline fell into his kiss again and claimed him. She didn’t stop to ask him if he wanted her lips or her hands. The heat of his breath and the feel of his arms surrounding her was enough. She would heal him with her entire body, and she lifted his bruised back from the bed and held him closer as she kissed his face.
“I need to get past it,” Kane said.
Noel’s face was right there on the horizon of their bliss, and Angeline’s own memories threatened to invade the scene when she looked down at him and kissed him hard. It would take all of her strength to get him past one of the worst moments in his life, and she could not let him down.
Let him up.
Gripping his arms, Angeline let him turn on top of her, and Kane seemed shocked by the feel of her buzzing underneath him. They both knew that such a state could mean nothing but pain if Noel was in command. However, he wasn’t here now.
“I’m not scared,” she said.
“That’s good.”
Kane pushed her blouse away from her body and found her breasts. He started to suckle like a beast possessed, but even as her body longed for his cock inside her, she wanted to give him something more. She wanted to honor his sacrifice and the years that they had lost.
“It’s my turn,” she purred.
Easing Kane to his back, turning every inch of the blanket into a cushion for his bruises, Angeline unzipped his fly and mounted his cock. Now, he felt different inside her—as broken as she was but still strong and craving another chance.
“Kane?”
“Let me have you again,” he said. “You still want me now that you know?”
“Oh, Kane.”
Angeline kissed him quickly and wrapped her arms around his neck. The tips of her nails hit his wounds, but she forgot his injuries when his cock filled her body. She twitched around the throbbing cock, but Kane calmed her with his hands on her shoulders.
“I need it to be sweet again” he said. “Like we were in the woods. Like we always were.”
She got it. The only way to really forget Noel was to do what he never could. And Angeline would do that now.
“Let me,” she began. She lowered her body onto his. The feel of him returning in the light of every truth should have made her body reel and fight. His presence was a brand of danger that she could not risk—not when she had Theo to think of.
“I will keep you safe,” Kane said. “Forever and beyond.”
Putting her own life and the life of her son in his strong hands, Angeline sank deeper and felt his cock expanding inside her. He sought and found her desperate need, and when his cock started to release his lust, her tender pussy swelled to meet all of him. She gripped his ass and lowered her mouth to his. “I’m going to hold you to that,” she said.
Kane nodded up at her and tossed her back to the bed. His body seemed to absorb any lingering pain, and he drove his cock deeper. The feel of his manhood buried in her body caused her to reach back, and she clutched the pillows as he took her. She reveled in the force of his thrusts; but, as she blinked up at him, there was still the hint of pain in his eyes. “Never look at me like that,” she said.
Stretching up to meet him, she held him in her arms, and his lips came close to her ear. “And never be scared with me,” he said. “I’ll always take care of you.”
Angeline settled back and let him fulfill his promise. Kane did that and more, and just when she thought he was finished, Kane pumped all of his need into her before falling into her breasts and kissing her again.
“I swear, Angel,” he said. “I… I just love you.”
That was nearly enough. There was still Theo sleeping in the next room, but Kane could take care of all of them. She loved him for that. Loved that he was back. She responded, “And I love you, too, Kane.”
Suddenly, the door crashed open. Angeline clasped Kane close as she expected the sight of Noel.
“Angie? How could you?”
But it was her father.
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
Brent Wilkins’ limp was nearly non-existent, and while Angeline was grateful for the sight each and every day, it also meant that he was able to bust into her bedroom with fierce speed. His eyes were wild as he pushed towards the bed.
“Dad!” she cried out. “Just wait a—”
But he didn’t hear her; he didn’t even look at her. His furious gaze focused only on Kane. “Get the hell away from her!” Brent bellowed.
Angeline quickly buttoned her blouse and waved her hands frantically in the air; but, her father pushed her back to the bed and drove Kane into the mattress. Her lover struggled against him, but Angeline could tell that even though Kane wasn’t at full strength, he was holding back for her sake.
At least that’s how it felt to her.
“Let him go!” she screamed.
Somehow Angeline pressed her body between them, and she met her father’s stare. The rage in his eyes was replaced by worry tinged with love. She struggled to take hold of his sweating cheeks and
assured him, “It’s okay. I want him here.”
Brent’s concern was swiftly replaced by total disbelief.
“You… you want this… this thing?” Brent said. “Why? So, his goons can aim a gun at you again? Maybe finish the job this time?”
He’d never been able to let it go, the threat of their deaths in their former home, the place that Brent had loved so well but willingly abandoned to look after her and Theo. Angeline started to tell him that this wasn’t the same thing when she felt Kane stumble from the bed, and she saw him shaking off Brent’s attack.
“No one’s after me,” Kane sputtered. “I just… I want my family back.”
It was the right word but the wrong moment. Abandoning Angeline amongst the rumpled sheets, Brent was on his feet, every hair on his neck on edge as he charged forward and yelled, “This is my family, you punk!” Brent’s hands captured his neck, and he slammed him against the wall.
“No, Dad!” she screamed, as she leapt towards him and struggled desperately to pry them apart. Kane winced on impact, and Angeline felt his pain as he groaned and clenched his jaw. “He’s hurt!” Angeline said. “Let him go!”
“He’s going to be in a world of pain when I’m done with him!”
Forming a fist, Brent brought his arm back. Clutching his arm, Angeline tried to stop the impending blow, but her father’s sudden strength was too much for her to her to combat, and his hand smashed into Kane’s chest. She cried out as he nearly doubled over in pain.
“Stop this!” Angeline begged.
“Why the hell are you here?” Brent asked.
Kane started to answer when Brent hit him again, this time in his jaw. A small pool of blood burst through Kane’s groaning lips. Angeline had to look away. He had come to her for comfort and solace, and now he was on the verge of enduring another beating on account of his escape. She could not let it happen—not again. “Enough!” she yelled.
Tugging on her father’s shirt, she maneuvered him away from Kane and protectively pressed her back to his chest. Brent was mid-punch, as she grabbed his hand and glared hard at her father.
“You want to hit him again?” she challenged. “Then, you have to go through me.”
Brent was so keyed up that his fist nearly crashed into her blazing face; but, as soon as he realized what he was about to do, he dialed it back. He was still seething as Angeline stared him down. “Stand aside, Angie,” he said in a thick voice.
When she was a little girl and her father used that tone, Angeline was always quick to stop whatever she was doing and retreat to a quiet corner. Although it worked like a charm when she was a child, she wasn’t a little girl anymore. If Kane was at stake, she would risk her father’s wrath.
“You gonna calm down?” she asked, prepared to take only one answer. Gritting his teeth, Brent was slow to stop the heaving in his chest, but as Angeline held her ground, he finally unfurled his fists and took a step back. She sighed softly at the small victory. “That’s better,” she said. Daring to turn back to Kane, Angeline took his face in her hands and examined the fresh mark on his face. “You okay?” she asked.
Kane nodded and wiped his bleeding mouth with the back of his hand. “It’s nothing,” he whispered.
Knowing what he had so recently endured, Angeline knew that he was speaking the truth. Reaching into a drawer, she still pulled out a clean cloth and wiped what was left of the new blood from his face. “I’ll get more ice,” she said.
Turning back to the bed, Angeline was stopped in her tracks by her father, his rage returning as he gripped her by her arms. “What the hell is wrong with you?” Brent demanded. “You’re helping him?”
“Dad, don’t—”
“We’ve had to live like fugitives when he’s the criminal!”
“No,” Angeline said, as she twisted her head. “That’s not who—”
“His boys brought guns to our home,” Brent said. “And now what? We should just welcome him back with open arms like it was nothing. He’s never brought you anything but tears. He’s a worthless piece of—”
She silenced her father with a sharp slap in the face. Having to hit him hurt her more than him, but she was not about to let him rewrite history. The truth of the matter was that Kane was the club’s golden boy before her desperation turned him to a place where he had to languish behind bars and that was the only reason that Noel questioned his loyalty. Tears? Sure. She wept when she thought he was lost to her and hated the sight of herself in the mirror after submitting to Noel’s lies. But worthless? No—not by a long shot.
And if she could get one thing besides Theo right…
“He’s suffered, too,” Angeline started. “And I’m never going to let anyone hurt him again. Even you, Dad.”
Brent started to object and list the ways in which she was making a colossal mistake simply by bringing him into the house, but Angeline wouldn’t hear it. “You will not touch him,” Angeline vowed. “Because I’ll… I’ll…” Now, she had to hit below the belt to prove her point and said, “Because I’ll take Theo and go with him, and you will never see us again if you don’t stop. Now.”
Her father seemed stunned, and a part of Angeline wished that she hadn’t had to utter those words. She loved her dad; so did Theo. But, could she really deny any of them the family that he had carried on his shattered legs for two long years? However, when Kane shuffled back to her side, zipping up his jeans, he lightly touched her shoulders, and she couldn’t think of losing him again.
No matter what.
“You would really do that?” Brent asked. “Leave to go on the run with him? Looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life?”
She tried to speak when Kane cut her off and said, “It… it won’t be like that.”
Both Brent and Angeline looked into his eyes, as he hung his head and spoke softly. “I’ve fixed it so we’ll be okay,” he continued. “Soon.”
“And how the hell did you manage that?” Brent demanded.
Kane sighed as he turned away from their confrontation and gazed out the window. Angeline shuddered again at the sight of his brutalized back. Out of the corner of her eyes, she even saw her father grimace. A trace of guilt seemed to wash over his face when he saw the state that Kane was truly in, but he asked again, “How can you be so sure?”
Kane kept his eyes on the world beyond the glass. He appeared to be lost in the throes of a recent nightmare, and Angeline started to make a move to hold him when Brent held her back and said, “Let’s hear it.”
His bruised back relaxed, and as Kane peered over his shoulder, a small smiled crossed his lips as he said, “I’m sure because I’m dead.”
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
When Ben told him to not look back, Kane no longer questioned his intentions. He didn’t stop to think if it was a trick or if Ben was playing him. He just hoped that his Blood Brother would honor his word and keep Noel spinning in circles until he could find Angeline, tell her the plan, and bring her deeper into hiding.
“Dead?” Angeline cried. “What do you mean?” She broke free of her father’s hold and gingerly wrapped her arms around his back. “What are you saying?” she asked.
And Kane started to spill.
***
He was driving faster than ever before. Racing away from everything that he had ever known, he nearly stopped at the turnoff for Jeremy’s house. Should he risk it and tell his brother what he was really doing with the address? He nearly made the move when he thought of Jeremy spending the rest of his life worrying where Kane was and if he was still alive. However, letting him in was the wrong call. Noel would seek him out, and Kane could only hope that he would do so at a time when Ellen wasn’t present. His brother might take a beating. Just one more time when Kane left Jeremy holding the bag. But if Jeremy didn’t know where he was, he stood a better chance of surviving—until Noel hit the road again in a useless search. He believed that Ben would make it so that Jeremy got the chance to be a father.
A
chance that Kane was taking, too.
Hitting the highway, Kane smiled, really smiled, for the first time in years. No one was on his tail yet, and every roll of the rubber on the road was bringing him closer to Angeline. The thought of seeing her with his own eyes, smelling her hair, touching her soft flesh caused him to accelerate the bike, and he whispered into the wind, to a vision of her green eyes that he was on his way. Now, it was only a matter of time.
Stopping to refuel, Kane lingered for as long as he dared at a rest stop. As he gassed up his bike, his eyes drifted towards a board of tacked up notices. Lost puppies and used cars like new for sale. And right in the middle, there was a wanted poster for a supposedly dangerous thief. The mugshot seemed to tell a different story, someone so desperate that he had made a bad choice or ten, but the guy’s visage was plastered for everyone to see, and Kane took note of the promised reward.
HANDS OFF MY BRIDE: Scarred Angels MC Page 44