by Harley Wylde
“I’m taking you to the doctor,” Dad said. “Your chin is still bleeding, and I want to make sure that asshole didn’t fracture your cheekbone.”
“I’ll be fine,” I assured him.
“No arguments, Adalia.”
He led me outside, and we walked the short distance to his house. When I’d come to live with him and May, he’d bought an SUV. Even when I got older, and after May died, he’d kept it. Dad opened the passenger door and helped me inside, making sure I’d buckled up before he shut the door. The ride to Dr. Larkin’s office was short, and the minute we stepped inside, a nurse led me into the back. I’d always wondered why we never had to wait like everyone else, and as I’d gotten older, I’d come to realize that Dad paid Dr. Larkin to always be available to the club.
“I hope the other guy looks worse,” Dr. Larkin said as he checked me over.
“It was Twister,” I said.
Dr. Larkin shook his head sadly. “I’m sorry to hear that, Adalia. I know you considered him a friend.”
He pressed on my cheek and I cried out. Tears gathered in my eyes again, but I blinked them back. He also used a light to check my eyes.
“Not broken, but it’s going to look nasty for a while. You don’t need stitches in your chin. It’s going to be sore, and will scab over. Don’t pick at it. Just keep some triple antibiotic on it and make sure it stays clean. I think you have a slight concussion. The concussion should get better in the next few days, but you could feel the effects for a few months.”
He pulled a prescription pad from his pocket, then stopped.
“Any chance you could be pregnant?” he asked. “I know you have endometriosis, but is it at all possible?”
I started to say no, then thought about the shower this morning with Badger.
“Maybe? It’s too soon to know,” I said. “I had unprotected sex this morning. It wasn’t planned.”
Dr. Larkin studied me, and I knew he wondered why after all this time I’d chosen to have sex, and not use a condom. We’d talked in the past about birth control, and he knew I hadn’t been seeing anyone.
“I heard Badger came home,” he said after a few minutes. “Be careful, Adalia. He’s not the kind of man to give you a happily ever after.”
I didn’t say anything, not knowing how to respond. Did I want Badger to fall in love with me? Of course. Did I think he actually would? Not really. A man had never loved me, not the romantic kind of love, and I didn’t think anyone ever would. My past had tainted me, and if that wasn’t bad enough, there was my endometriosis and the possibility I would never have children.
“I can’t give you pain medication if there’s a chance you could be pregnant,” Dr. Larkin said. “Ice your cheek for thirty minutes, then remove the ice for an hour. You can ice it again for another half hour after that, if it’s still bothering you. Tylenol would be all right in moderation.”
“Thank you, Dr. Larkin.”
“If the pain worsens over the next few days, you can come back and we’ll check it again. Until then, try to get some rest.”
Dr. Larkin left, and I went back to the front of the office. My dad was sitting in the waiting room and smiled when he saw me. I didn’t know why he was so happy, until I saw him out of the corner of my eye. Badger. He came toward me, slowly, as if he were afraid he’d scare me. When he saw the damage to my face, there was a look of devastation in his eyes. I didn’t move, didn’t speak. Why was he here? How had he known to come to Dr. Larkin’s office?
“If I had known…” He stopped and pulled me into his arms. “I’m so fucking sorry, Adalia. When you told me to stop, I thought you were protecting him. I thought you’d chosen him over me. I never would have left if I thought he would hurt you.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said, wrapping my arms around his waist. “I didn’t know he was capable of hurting me. If I didn’t know it, then how could you?”
“What do you need from me?” he asked.
“She needs you to man the fuck up,” my dad said. “Adalia isn’t a one-night stand. If that’s all you wanted, you should have stuck with the club pussy we offered you last night.”
Badger tightened his arms around me before facing my dad. “I know. I only went to talk to her. I never intended for things to go further.”
“But they did,” my dad said. “Your bike was seen outside her home all night and early this morning. If you tell me you were talking that entire time, I won’t believe you.”
“Daddy, leave it alone,” I said. “I’m a grown woman.”
My dad grumbled and held up his hands, backing off.
“You should ride with your dad,” Badger said. “It’s probably not a good idea for you to be on the back of a bike right now.”
“The doctor said I have a slight concussion.”
He reached out and gently touched my cheek, then tipped my head up so he could see my chin. A low growl rumbled out of him and his jaw tightened. Badger looked at my dad and they did that silent communication thing again.
“I’ll take you home,” Dad said.
“I need to pick up a few things, then I’ll come sit with her,” Badger said. “I need new clothes and the essentials.”
“You won’t be able to carry much on your bike,” my dad said. “Follow us to Adalia’s house. You can write down what you need, and I’ll have a Prospect pick it up for you.”
Badger looked into my eyes, his touch gentle as he caressed the cheek that wasn’t bruised. Slowly, he lowered his head, and kissed me. It was a quick brush of his lips against mine, but it gave me comfort.
“I won’t leave your side,” he promised. “If there’s anything you need, I’ll get it for you.”
“I’m fine, Badger.”
He blamed himself for what happened to me, and I hated that. I didn’t want him to act differently around me. Yes, I’d been hurt, but I was still me. I was still the woman he’d been with all night. I might be banged up now, but nothing else had changed about me. I wanted the man back who had made me his in every way last night, the man who had lost control in the shower this morning.
“I’ll take you home,” my dad said, motioning for me to go out to the car.
“I have one stop to make,” Badger said. “I have an appointment with my parole officer.”
“David Brant?” my dad asked.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll call and talk to him,” Dad said. “Go straight to Adalia’s house. Your appointment will be rescheduled. It’s fucking ridiculous they sentenced you to twenty years to begin with, and they damn well know it. Let me handle it.”
I felt Badger at my back as I stepped out into the sunlight. His bike was parked next to my dad’s SUV. Badger opened the passenger door for me, and I climbed inside, then buckled my seatbelt. After he shut the door, he stared at me through the window a moment before getting onto his bike. I hoped he wasn’t going to act like this all the time now. I wasn’t broken, and I wouldn’t break.
As my dad drove me home, I could hear Badger’s bike behind us, and he stayed close until we pulled into my driveway. Dad called the parole officer while we were in the car, but I only half listened. I was far more interested in watching the bike behind us through the side-view mirror. Badger stopped next to the SUV outside my house, and had my door open before I had unfastened my seatbelt. Gently, he reached in and lifted me, holding me close to his chest as he walked up the porch steps. My dad was beside us and pushed open the door to my house, but he didn’t enter.
“I’ll leave her in your capable hands. Your parole officer said to give him a call later today or tomorrow to reschedule,” Dad said. “I’ll have a Prospect come by in the next half hour to pick up that list of things you need. If you leave, give me a call. I’ll have someone else stay with Adalia. I don’t want her left alone for the next twenty-four hours.”
Badger nodded, then carried me into the living room. I heard the front door shut as he eased me down onto the couch. When he turned to leave, I reached
out and grabbed his hand. We needed to talk, to figure out what was going on in his head. I didn’t like the version of Badger that I was seeing right now.
“Talk to me,” I said. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “I left you. Abandoned you with that asshole. You’re hurt because of me.”
“Colton, you didn’t do this to me.”
He snorted. “So now I’m Colton again.”
Was that what was bothering him? “I didn’t think you’d want me to call you that in front of my dad, or any other Devil’s Fury member. I was trying to be respectful and call you by the name you’d earned.”
He knelt by the couch and took my hand in his. “Sweet girl, no one has used the name Colton in a really long time. Not until you did last night. I like hearing my name. From you. Anyone else would get their ass kicked. But you’re not just anyone.”
“I don’t want you to treat me differently because of what happened today,” I said. “I’m still the woman you took to bed last night.”
“Last night, I’d decided I was going to leave, that we would just have the one night together.” His hand tightened on mine. “But this morning, I’d decided to stay. I’m not a good man, Adalia, never will be. I don’t deserve someone as sweet, or as good as you.”
“Shouldn’t that be my decision?” I asked. “If I think you’re good enough, isn’t that what matters?”
“You think I’m some sort of hero. I think I proved otherwise this morning,” he said.
“You proved that you’re human.”
His gaze softened as he looked at me, and I hoped that meant he would give us a chance. He might not think he was good enough, but I knew better. Badger was the only one I’d ever wanted, and being with him last night and this morning had been amazing. I wanted more time with him. Not just the intimate moments, but even sharing a meal together, or curling up on the couch to enjoy a movie.
“I should make that list so it’s ready when the Prospect comes by,” he said, releasing my hand.
“There’s paper in the kitchen. I have a tablet and pen in the drawer next to the fridge. I use them to make my grocery lists.”
Badger left the room and I reached for the remote, finding something to watch that I thought might interest the both of us. He came back a few minutes later, set his list down on the coffee table, then disappeared again. When he returned a second time, he had a glass of sweet tea in each hand.
“Thought you might be thirsty,” he said. “I didn’t see any soda in the fridge.”
“I usually drink tea or water during the day. I have juice or coffee for breakfast, and sometimes have a cup of hot tea at night before bed.”
“I think I drank enough water the last ten years to last me a lifetime,” he said.
I glanced at the list on the table and wondered if I should add some groceries. I didn’t know what Badger liked, or what he’d missed while being locked away. If he was going to stay here, I wanted to make sure I had the things he liked or wanted.
“You can add soda to your list, and anything else I don’t have that you want to eat or drink. I know you’ve missed out on a lot the last ten years.”
Badger left the room and came back with the pen. He added some more items to his list, and just in time. The odd knock at the door was familiar. I smiled and called out for the Prospect to enter.
Badger glared at me. “You just welcome people into your home without seeing who’s there?”
“It’s Max. He’s the only one who knocks like that.”
When Max came to the living room, I could tell that Badger was looking him over and sizing him up. Max wasn’t as tall as Badger, nor as broad, but he was far from weak. He’d asked to join the Devil’s Fury when he’d been released from the military. An IED had taken the lower part of his left leg and he’d been medically discharged, not that anyone could tell when he was wearing jeans. We’d talked when he’d shown up at the gates that first night, and I’d learned a lot about him. I admired Max, and I knew he was a good guy. A little rough around the edges, but so were the other Devil’s Fury.
“Max, this is Badger,” I said.
Max held out his hand to shake, and Badger took it. The tense lines around Max’s mouth told me Badger was giving him more than a simple handshake. I rolled my eyes, wondering why men felt the need to act so childish.
“Will the two of you stop?” I asked. “Why can’t men greet each other without getting into a pissing contest?”
Max smirked, and Badger released his hand.
“I’m not after your girl,” Max said. “Anyone who talks to her for five minutes knows she’s taken. You’re about all she’s talked about as long as I’ve known her.”
Badger glanced at me before focusing on Max again. “My girl?”
Max shrugged.
“The list is on the table,” I said. “Feel free to make yourself scarce, Max.”
He chuckled, grabbed the list, gave me a salute, then walked out.
“The two of you are close?” Badger asked.
“He’s a nice guy. He started prospecting here about six months ago. I have no doubt that he’ll be patched in. I think Dad already has a name picked out for him.”
“That didn’t answer my question.”
“I consider him a friend,” I said. “Max is easy to talk to. I think you’d like him if you gave him a chance.”
He stared at me, but I could see he was considering it.
“Would it make a difference if I told you that I’ve never been romantically interested in Max?” I asked. “I’ve never once pictured him naked, or wished he was lying in bed with me. I save those thoughts for you.”
He smiled a little and sat next to me. “Good to know.”
“I thought you might like this movie. It’s on Netflix so we can stop and start it if we need to. Did you have Netflix before…”
“No. It was around, but I didn’t have it.”
“Then you’re in for a treat,” I said with a smile. “You can watch hundreds of movies or TV shows without having to buy DVDs or pay for cable. I’ve gotten rather spoiled with all the streaming services around now. I have Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, so we have tons of choices. Although, I admit I have a slight online shopping addiction so I really have Prime to save on shipping.”
“I’m amazed you ever leave the house.”
I glanced his way. “I could think of other reasons to stay home.”
“Sweet girl, if you think I’m taking advantage of you hours after you were attacked, then you’d be wrong. I might be an asshole, but I’m not that much of one. What you need is rest.”
“You’re really going to sit here and watch TV with me, and not touch me?” I asked.
“That’s the plan.”
Great. I wondered what it would take to change his mind. Yes, my face hurt, but surely an orgasm or two would take my mind off the pain. It was a good theory anyway. Now that I’d had a taste of Badger I wanted more. I didn’t know how long he’d stay with me, but I was going to enjoy every last minute of our time together. And hoped a lot of that time would be spent in the bedroom, or anywhere else he wanted to get naked.
Chapter Five
Badger
I didn’t think much of it the first time Adalia’s hand drifted up my thigh. The second time, I began to suspect it wasn’t an accident. By the third time, I knew she was trying to cause trouble. How she could possibly want sex after that asshole Twister had hit her face and she’d cut her chin open? She needed to rest, and heal, but it seemed Adalia had something else on her mind. And I was only human. Every brush of her hand against my cock made me harder. Hell, sitting next to her had me semi-hard before she’d started touching me.
I wasn’t used to fighting temptation. I’d always been the guy to take whatever I wanted, but I didn’t want to treat Adalia like a club slut. And fucking her while she was injured was an asshole thing to do, even if she was asking for it. There were two choices. Either give in and fu
ck her, or put some space between us. Knowing I needed to do what was best for her, I got up and took a few steps away. She looked confused and a little hurt, her brow furrowed and her mouth tipped down at the corners.
“Colton? What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I need to make some calls. I should reschedule my meeting with my parole officer. It’s one of the conditions of my release, and not reporting could send me back to prison.”
Her gaze softened. “I hadn’t thought of that. You know where I keep the cordless phone. If you want some quiet to make your calls, I won’t be offended if you sit in the kitchen.”
I breathed a little easier, knowing she wasn’t mad, even if I hadn’t been completely honest with her. Yeah, I did need to make that call, but the other call was just as important. If I was even going to think about having sex with her, I needed to find out from her doctor whether or not it was safe. Just because she said she was okay didn’t mean she really was. I’d had a concussion before and knew the side effects could be a pain in the ass. She might not realize just how badly she needed rest right now, but I did.
My parole officer wasn’t as much of a dick as I’d feared he would be. He actually seemed nice and wasn’t upset that I was rescheduling. He’d even given me an extra three days to come in, even though my parole agreement stated I needed to meet him today. It made me wonder just how well he knew Griz and what the story was there. I knew the club had people they relied on, like my lawyer, Dr. Larkin, and even a warden at one of the state prisons. Unfortunately for me, it hadn’t been the prison I was sent to. Hell, I thought even our town mayor was one of Griz’s contacts. Griz had tried to get in good with the local judges, but it hadn’t happened, at least not that I knew of. A lot had probably changed over the last ten years.
I hated to call Adalia’s doctor behind her back, but I needed to know for sure if I would hurt her if we had sex. I wasn’t going to take any risks with her.
“Dr. Larkin’s office,” a chipper woman said as she answered.