Reaching her quickly, I gathered her in a tight embrace, her arm with the sling trapped between our bodies. I should have been more careful, I still had no idea just how hurt her arm injury was, or if there was anything else hurt. My only thought was to wrap her up and protect her, fuck I was even considering bubble wrapping her. Kelsey had a knack of putting herself in dangerous situations without knowing it.
Fuck this woman is going to put me in an early grave, I silently thought, running my hands gently up and down her back, my mouth on the top of her head kissing her there.
Looking over at the Ford, I saw Memphis tense slightly then wilt when she heard the load roaring of her name. Her husband had arrived and he did not sound happy.
Creed appeared and immediately whisked his wife off the tailgate and crushed her to his chest, her legs wrapping around his waist clinging to him.
I turned my eyes from the couple, but not before Creed eyeballed me with a look that said, ‘You ready to kill someone’. Answering with my own ‘Fuck yes’ glare, I turned my attention back to my woman.
“Baby what the hell happened?” I asked when she started to relax against my body.
“Acarnearlyhitmeandmemphis.” Her muffled response made me laugh, the tension from the radio call and the drive here finally easing slightly. Once we found the idiot behind this shit and put him or her away, then I would relax more.
“Yeah, I got that part from Jobe, now I want to hear from you how?”
Kelsey pulled away from me, and I instantly brought her back into my arms. “Here, you can tell me while you are right here,” I murmured, not willing or ready to have her away from me. Unmitigated relief poured through me when Kelsey giggled then kissed my pec through my shirt. She was okay, a little roughed up and scared, which pissed me off, but she was here, alive and in my arms.
“It was my fault really, Memphis and I decided to take a walk, we got talking and I guess I led us out onto the road without realising it,” Kelsey confessed upset, “Creed is going to be so mad at me for this.” Her teeth worried on her bottom lip when we heard Creed yelling out for answers on how this happened, then yelling for a paramedic to check over his pregnant wife.
“Creed is not mad at you,” I growled at her, “and if he is, which he is not, then I will knock his head off his shoulders.” I joked, trying to reassure her. “The only person to blame here is the fucker driving the car.”
“I am so glad you’re here honey,” Kelsey whispered looking up at me, her eyes bright with tears but also love. Damn, that look was all for me, all mine. I loved the way she looked at me, like I hung the bloody moon just for her.
“Baby, don’t you get it? You need me, I’m there. When Jobe radioed me… fuck Mermaid, I was so damn scared,” I admitted, leaning my forehead on hers, loving our closeness and needing it.
“Hey Kels, how you feeling darlin’?” Deck asked, coming up behind us, his voice soft for Kelsey’s sake but I could hear the underlining anger in his tone.
“Hey Deck, I am a bit sore, but nothing a nice hot bath won’t fix,” she answered him, giving me a peck on the lips. I desperately wanted to deepen the kiss but, this was not the time nor the place. First answers, then I would take my woman home and look after her starting with a bath for two.
“If you are alright, I need to ask you some questions, then Jason can get you home for that bath,” Deck said with a wink in my direction, his smirk saying it all. The fucker knew what I was planning in my head, most times our twin thing was way off, but there had been times when we synced. Not many but it did happen.
“Sure, I can tell you what I know,” Kelsey answered, sounding concerned.
“Hey Mermaid, just what you can remember. This isn’t an interrogation; the police will want to talk to you too. Jobe will probably do the questioning, I am just your man now, not a cop.” Leading her back to the tailgate of the Ford, I lifted her onto it carefully and stood in between her legs, my hands on either side of her waist. I made a mental note to ask the paramedics for the details of her injuries, Kelsey would just sugar-coat them if I questioned her about them.
Booth and Hoove joined Deck, circling in around the back of the ute, Creed still had Memphis in his arms, her legs still wrapped around him. Her colour was a little pale, but at least she was smiling. If anything had happened to her or their baby, there wouldn’t be a corner big enough for the driver of the car to hide.
Reaching across Kelsey, I shook Hoove’s hand. “Mate, did you see much at all?” I asked the massive firefighter. For him to be here he must be involved in some way, hopefully he saw the whole thing and the investigation was going to be easy.
“Nope, sorry Jay, we were coming out from the garage just as the girls went down,” he said regretfully, blowing my hopes.
“Although, I did get a partial plate and the make of the car, not the year, I also noted a dint in the rear quarter panel,” Hoove informed us, my hope resurfacing.
“Good, can you give that information to Ford? We are getting him to tap into the cameras from the stations and from the bookstore, he will be able to go from there,” Booth said, then turned to Kelsey. “Okay gorgeous, what else can you tell us?”
Kelsey’s brow furrowed in concentration, she wasn’t a stupid woman, she grew up in a house where she had to be smart, be observant. I knew just from the way her face scrunched up, she was trying to remember any detail that might help lead us to the culprit quicker.
“Okay, Memphis and I were talking about— stuff, when I heard tyres squealing and the roaring of a motor,” Kelsey looked up at me, he eyes widening, “You know like how when you want to burn your tyres before you take off,” she said excitedly. She meant when I performed a burnout, but I was more stuck on what she could mean by talking about ‘stuff’. What stuff? And why wasn’t she sharing that stuff?
“Hang on, the car’s motor was gunning before it was on the road,” Booth asked carefully, his face not giving away anything about what he was thinking, or why he asked that question in particular.
But I knew.
“Yeah, I smelled the burning rubber before the car got to us, the engine was really working hard,” Kelsey said, looking confused.
My hands that were resting on her waist, pulled her closer to me, her bottom slipped easily on the metal. Fuck I was never going to let her go ever again.
“It was deliberate,” I surmised correctly, given the dark expressions on my brothers’ faces.
“I would bet on it, yes,” Deck clipped.
“What? Why?” Kelsey cried out in shock, the worry back.
“Exactly what we are going to find out,” Creed said, joining in for the first time, his dark black eyes dangerous. His first wife had been killed because of something similar, and I knew this was not going to do his darker, dangerous side any favours.
“Booth, I’m going to take Kelsey back to the compound, stay there for tonight. Think Squid would mind going to Kelsey’s, check on the animals and stay with Sassy?” I asked Booth, but his attention was no longer on our group, but over the road on a lone figure standing back from the chaos of the crowd, her eyes riveted on her husband. Booth and Stella’s intensity always amused me, that was until Kelsey became more to me. Zoe and I were in love, deeply, but she never leaned on me the way Stella does Booth and him on her. She could deal with things on her own and did, often. She loved me, she wanted me, but she didn’t need me.
Kelsey needed me, and I had the same affliction when it came to her.
“No worries, I can do that,” Squid himself answered, Ford was behind him and his man Lucky. All three men looked pissed off as hell, the Wounded Souls took the safety of their family seriously. Kelsey was part of that family now, she was under our protection.
“Oh Jason, do you think that is necessary? Can’t we just go to your place?” Kelsey whined, pouting cutely at me.
“Not going to work Kelsey so quit with the cuteness,” I told her with a stern glare. “Thanks Squid, here,” I took one hand off Kelsey
and reached into my pocket for my keys, “Sassy will need to be fed, and Peter and the chooks. You already know the security code, do me a favour and change it in the morning. We can’t be too careful, at least until we find out what the hell is going on with this driver.” In the back of my mind, my visit with Belinda gave me a thought. Could it have been someone she knows? Was she behind it as an act of revenge for me threatening her? Did my need to be an alpha when it came to my woman put her in more danger? Fuck me, I was going to drive myself crazy if I kept up this train of thinking. Mentally I went through a list of possible suspects, the douche who kidnapped Kelsey was out, the prick was dead after all, and the two teens had done their time and had been released to another state. Those two idiots had been nothing but incompetent fools, just pawns used to do the dirty work. Their time in prison gave them a life lesson in being better people. I made sure of that, my connections in the system helped them see the light and strive for rehabilitation.
My sources kept me updated on their progress, and so far, so good. They were definitely not suspects. Nope, my money was on Belinda. She might have been scared when I went and saw her, but maybe she didn’t quite get my message completely. Messing with my woman even by association was still messing, including another man’s wife- Creed’s wife, and I was not going to let her thirst to hurt her own daughter go one more step.
“I have to go talk to Jobe for a minute sweetheart, stay here with Booth and Deck.” Cupping Kelsey’s cheeks in my hands, I pressed my forehead to hers, settling my inner rage with her touch. “Do. Not. Move. From. The. Ute.” I punctuated each word with a kiss to her lips, made sure she got my message with her stunned nod, then turned and stalked off towards the throng of police officers standing a respectful distance back from the circle of bikers.
Even though the Wounded Souls weren’t an outlaw gang, Booth’s reputation carried respect around the town. So, even though the police would take over the investigation, giving the club time to see to the women, meant the police could come in and ask their own questions with much calmer bikers.
If I was being honest, I needed a minute or two myself. Since Kelsey and I became a thing she had turned my hair greyer more than once. It wasn’t just the arguments over walking, the heatstroke incident and finding out about the incident which led to her inability to have kids. While I felt selfishly relieved that we weren’t going to have discussions over that, the big issue that kept me awake at night was the fact I was falling in love with my Mermaid. To be truthful, I think I already was, but so far stomping down that truth and living in happy denial was, or had been working for me.
If I take that leap, if I allow myself to love again—
Fuck! I was doing my head in with this mental bickering, it all came down to one decision.
Was Kelsey worth the risk– of the universe taking it all from me again.
Never did I wish more for the answer to be yes.
Chapter 18
KELSEY
“Oh god Jason, no more please, no more,” I moaned, but my hands were holding Jason’s head firmly between my thighs encouraging him to continue with the delicious torture his tongue and finger was reeking on my swollen and very wet pussy despite my words to the contrary.
“One more baby, give me your sweet cream once more,” Jason begged, almost franticly. The gravelly sound of his voice vibrating right through me, add in the pressure of his tongue on my clit and the bossy man got exactly what he wanted. Stars burst behind my eyelids as another orgasm rippled my core muscles around his thick finger.
“Fucking hell Kelsey, seeing you in the throes of an orgasm makes me so hard,” Jason purred, his tongue lapping at my release. Straining my neck forward to watch him, because my shoulder and elbow refused to let me use them for support, my eyes hooded at the sight before me.
Jason’s eyes were fixed on my opening, his thumbs still prying it opening while he licked lazily. He always looked so fascinated when he went down on me, like it was his favourite thing to do. I know it was my favourite thing for him to do, his attention to detail was both appreciated and sweet torment.
“You really like licking me there, don’t you babe?” I asked without thinking. Well I was thinking, I was thinking how much I loved his tongue.
“Sweetheart, I could live on your taste alone, but if I did just that—” Jason climbed up my body, his lips and mouth glistening with my arousal, turning me on even more.
Settling his big frame between my open thighs, he smiled wickedly at me.
“Then I would be missing out on doing this.” Reaching between our naked bodies, Jason guided the head of his cock through my sensitive folds and slowly, tortuously pushed inside me, emitting a low desire-filled growl from him.
God, I loved it when he growled. The deep richness of the noise always made me wet, and ready. If I could make a recording of all the noises Jason made when he and I make love I guarantee it would be a bestseller on Amazon.
Keeping my injured arm on the mattress because it still hurt like a bitch, the sling somewhere on the floor with the rest of my clothes Jason had peeled from my body seconds after he locked the door of his room at the compound, I used my free arm and wound it around his neck, my hand digging into the short hair at his nape.
Pushing all the way into me, I gasped at the beautiful feeling of being filled by the man I loved so much. Every nerve ending in my body went on sensory overload, the out of control rhythmic beating of my heart pounding in my ears.
Our pants mingled, his mouth millimetres from mine, his blue eyes boring into my green ones as our bodies danced the steps of lovemaking. Over and over I took him into my body, each thrust in and out dragging luscious moans from him.
Jason’s bright blue eyes held me captivated, he didn’t need to growl his usual demand to look at him, I could not have dragged them off him even if I tried. In them I saw, lust, desire, passion and something else. Something I dreamed of at night when I was in his arms, our bodies so close, almost one.
Lifting my hips form the mattress, I held myself still, grinding my pelvis on his and feeling the tingle of my next release.
“I love you,” I whispered against his lips, the words spilling out on their own accord. He knew I loved him, I told him I would love enough for the both of us. Saying it now seemed more important to me, the physical urge to say it and for it be said back to me, just once. Maybe it was the scare Memphis and I’d had earlier, or maybe it was the rollercoaster of emotions running rampant in me lately, whatever the reason there was definitely something new in the way Jason was looking at me.
His cock swelled more in me, his hips grinding deeper into mine and I felt the twitch and jump his cock always made in me just before his release exploded inside my walls.
“Fuck Kelsey, fuck.” Jason clenched his jaw, the veins in his neck popping. He was a visual feast for my eyes just before he came, powerful and dangerous and I loved it.
Spine-tingling goodness so extraordinarily consuming struck me so hard, tears leaked from my eyes falling down the sides of my face and into my hair.
“Jason,” I moaned, losing myself in my climax and my love.
“Oh, I’m coming sweetheart, oh sweetheart I love you too. Fucking love you!” Jason’s declaration of love, as he let out a growl shocked me silent in the middle of my orgasm. My mouth dropped open with a silent gasp of surprise at the same time my core spasmed confusing me as to which one I should concentrate on more.
Warmth and muscles suddenly enveloped me, the small pain from Jason’s embrace around my shoulder didn’t concern me.
“Jason?” My voice choked with tears, uncertainty and a whole lot of happiness.
“I do Mermaid, I didn’t know this kind of love existed until you. I have been in love, real love, but Kelsey—” Jason’s nose rested on mine, his breath coming out in pants. “You have shown me a whole new level, I am consumed with you. You are never off my mind, I wonder what you are doing, if you are missing me. You are my one true constant, my t
rue north. Everything.”
Again, my mouth gaped open, my response stuck behind the lump in my throat. All I could manage was a husky ‘huh?’.
“Kelsey I could have lost you tonight. You could have been taken away from me and I would have had to live the rest of my life with the knowledge I played things safe in our relationship, didn’t take that leap. Well baby, this is me leaping, wanna spend the rest of your life with me? Just the two of us forever?”
I hoped the smile I gave him was the biggest smile I had ever smiled. I hoped my eyes shined bright with love, but just in case he didn’t get those two clues, I made it even clearer.
“Bring on the rest of our lives honey.”
Jason’s mouth crushed to mine, the kiss was aggressive, possessive… a claiming. My dreams just came true, everything I ever wanted was on top of me, kissing me with abandon, all the barriers he put up now smashed down.
My life just got a whole lot better, and nothing could make me believe otherwise.
Chapter 19
JASON
“What we got Pres?” I asked, the second I stormed into the war room. Deck, Steel, Mannix, and Creed were already in their appointed seats. Being officers that held a position in the club, they sat at one end. The other seats were taken up by Lucky, Seb, Squid and me. One seat remained empty, as a sign of respect to our fallen brother.
“Just waiting on Ford mate, then we can start to figure out where we will go and how far we go without the police,” Booth answered, his eyes firmly on Creed then me.
I didn’t flinch at the reference to the force, I knew Booth didn’t mean it in a derogatory way. Simply, that we as a club would do as much leg work as we could before we turned the information over, or before I would turn it over.
Lines blurred sometimes dealing with each party, and once they crossed, but usually we worked in harmony. I say we, because when I had on the patch and was in this room, I was a loyal brother of the Souls. My partner on the force knew this, Jobe trusted me and had my back. If Ford found anything on the cameras placed at the bookshop or Stella’s shop once we reviewed them, they would be handed over for the official investigation.
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