Castle of Kings: (A Kings MC Romance)

by Betty Shreffler

  “Anything you need, use it. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Jake’s thumb caressed my cheek, then his warmth left me. I watched him walk out of the room and remained there until I heard the front door close.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  ___

  JAKE

  OUTSIDE MY HOUSE, my muscles tensed as my boots pounded the ground on the way to my Harley. “Where’s he at?”

  Behind me, Angela’s footsteps hurried to catch up. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Apparently you do want me to worry about it,” I stopped walking toward my bike and locked my eyes on Angela’s, “or you wouldn’t have showed up at my house.”

  “Jake, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your night. You were the only one I could think of who would help and not turn me away.”

  As the tears started down her cheeks, I turned toward my bike. I stopped being a sucker for tears years ago, and Angela was too accustomed to using them to her advantage.

  “Tell me where he’s at.”

  “He’s a Wild Royal. You can’t take that on, Jake.”

  I handed her my helmet and nodded for her to get on. “If you want my help, tell me where’s he at.” Straddling the bike, I waited for her to climb on and take hold of my waist. I glanced back waiting for her response. My ride wasn’t going anywhere until she told me where the piece of shit who tore up her face was.

  “He went to Spitzer’s, outside of town.”

  “He alone or with his brothers?”

  “I don’t know. He might have a couple of them with him.”

  My boot hit the clutch, and I fired her up. I drove Angela to the Kings Club. The party had died out, save for a couple stragglers too drunk to notice anything unusual about me walking in with her. I kept Angela out of their sight and led her upstairs to one of the offices turned sleeping quarters.

  “I’m gonna have to tell Nix you’re here.”

  “Please don’t.” Angela’s eyes widened and she let out a whimper. “I can be out of here before he comes in. I just need a place to crash for tonight until Rex cools off. I’ll call a friend to come get me in the morning.”

  My eyes narrowed in on hers. “That friend better not be your ol’ man, cuz he’s not gonna be able to ride when I’m done with him.”

  “Don’t, Jake. He didn’t mean it.”

  “That’s what they all say.” My jawed tightened. I turned my back to her and walked out. Her black and blue face was plenty enough reason for me to hunt the bastard down. I hopped on my bike and headed to Spitzer’s. When I rolled up to the bar, I assumed he was still there when I saw a couple of Harleys sitting outside. I looked at my watch, it was one-fifty-seven a.m. The bar would be closing at two.

  I leaned against my bike and waited for the coward to come out. His drunken ass came walking out six minutes later with his arm draped around a woman dressed like a one-night-stand. His buddy came out behind him, stumbling with a beer in one hand and the other groping the woman Rex had his arm around. Their intentions with her were evident. Too bad for them I was about to ruin it.

  “You Rex?”

  The man’s dark eyes lifted to mine. Annoyance and curiosity filled them. “Who the fuck wants to know?”

  “Who I am doesn’t matter, but the name of the woman you beat like a punching bag does.”

  He raised his chin. “How the fuck do you know Angela?”

  “Old friend.”

  Rex removed his arm from around the woman and squared his shoulders. Just like I hoped, he wanted a fight. “You fucking my ol’ lady?”

  A smirk lifted the corner of my mouth. Being an asshole and a drunk was too easy to antagonize. “No, but I used to.”

  His arm came swinging and I quickly moved off my bike and dodged his fist. His movements were quicker than I expected. Repeated drinking had turned him into a functioning alcoholic. His buddy decided to jump in on the fun, only his ass was too far gone for a good fight. I slammed my fist into his face and he dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

  The click of a knife whipped my attention back to Rex. It was too late. The blade was already slicing through my t-shirt, splitting my skin in two. A dull ache and wetness filled the area. The scent of copper reached my nostrils when the blade came at my face. I grabbed his hand and used it as leverage to turn his arm and shove it down until his shoulder was twisting out of the socket, then slammed the side of my palm down on his elbow with the intention of breaking it. He bellowed and writhed beneath me. The woman started screaming at me that she was going to call the police.

  “If you’re gonna do it, get to it.”

  I buried my fist into Rex’s face and blood spattered onto the sidewalk from his busted lip and probably broken teeth. My fist gripped Rex’s shirt and jacket and dragged him toward me, so I could look him in the eye.

  “I don’t like fuckers who get off on hitting women. Be grateful I didn’t kill you. Hit Angela again and next time, I will.”

  Before shoving him to the ground, I rammed my fist into his face, giving him the same black eye he gave Angela. He fell to the ground, and I kicked the blade down the sidewalk, out of his reach. I looked up at the woman whose eyes were wide with a mixture of shock and terror.

  “Need me to call you a cab?”

  She slowly shook her head. “I drove myself.”

  “All right then.” I turned my back on her, still high on adrenaline, and needing the road under my wheels to cool me down. After climbing on my bike, I glanced over at the woman and was relieved to see her getting in a car parked outside the bar. I waited until she pulled out, then did the same.

  The adrenaline dump took its toll on the way back to my house. The relentless throbbing reminded me of the cut in my side. Blood had soaked into my shirt and jeans and the skin on my knuckles were busted open and covered in dried blood.

  Pulling into my drive, Liz was the first thing on my mind. I hoped she wouldn’t freak when she saw me. Her trust of me was already thin, but if she ever truly wanted to be with me, she’d have to learn I was impulsive.

  When I walked in the door, all the lights were out. With only the bit of moonlight streaming through the living room window, I went to Rocky’s crate and soothed his whimpers, so he wouldn’t wake Liz who I assumed was sleeping. I walked to my bedroom and sure enough, she was lying in my bed, wrapped under the blanket, sound asleep. Seeing her lying there in my bed, waiting for me filled me with more satisfaction than I expected.

  Needing to patch up my knife wound, I went into the bathroom and stripped down to my briefs. After cleaning out the wound and dousing it in alcohol, I covered it up with gauze and tape. I cleaned up my knuckles and face, took a few aspirins, then returned to my room. When I raised the blanket, my cock jumped at the sight of Liz in her thong and one of my t-shirts. Her ass was perfectly round and had enough curve I could squeeze her cheeks firmly in my hands. Damn, if I didn’t want to wake her and finish what we started. The throbbing wound in my side reminded me it would have to wait. I slid in behind her, wrapping my arm around her.

  She mumbled in her sleep, and the sound of her sweet and sleepy voice coming out of those full, pink lips had the hard shit around my heart crumbling. I pulled her body into my chest, resting my hand on the softest part of her, right between her thighs. She let out a drowsy moan and nuzzled her ass into my cock before falling fast sleep. I kissed her neck, then let sleep roll in once my head hit the pillow.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ___

  LIZ

  I WOKE TO the warmth of Jake’s heavy arm caging me against his body. I lifted his hand and noticed his busted knuckles. I turned in his arms to get a look at him, but his face was fine. He looked peaceful and content and as sexy asleep as he was awake. I ran my hand over his shoulders and chest, admiring his puzzle of tattoos. My eyes caught something bright white. Looking down, I saw the bandage. I immediately shook him awake.

  “Jake, what happened to you? Were you in a fight?”

  H
is eyes opened slowly and he grinned as he looked me in the eyes. “You sound worried.”

  “I am. What happened to you?”

  His hand went to my waist and raised his t-shirt out of the way, so he could run his hands along my stomach before dipping his hand inside my thong. His fingers gently caressed up and back down, slipping me into a daze.

  “Jake,” I whimpered, before placing my hand over his, stopping him. “What happened?”

  He inched toward me, putting his hand around my waist, pulling me the rest of the way toward him. “Let’s talk about it later.” He took hold of my hand, sliding it inside his briefs. He was rock hard and clearly eager for release. My curiosity got the best of me. I placed my hand around his shaft, shocked by the full length and width of it.

  “I’m pretty sure you’re required to register this kind of weapon.”

  The corner of his mouth raised into a sexy, mischievous grin. “I’m past registering. It’s fully loaded, and I’m ready to use it.”

  I laughed so hard my sides began to hurt. Jake laughed too, then stopped when his side caused him obvious pain.

  “Maybe not as ready as you think you are.” I glanced down and saw blood had begun to soak through the bandage. “Let me look at it.”

  He laid back and put his arms behind his head, giving me complete access to his wound. I pulled back the bandage to find a knife had split him open several inches.

  “You need stitches to close this up.”

  “Can you do it?”

  I looked at him, surprised. “Yes, but I don’t have the tools. You need to see a doctor.”

  “I have what you need.”

  I gathered the alcohol and fresh bandages while Jake dug a box out of his cabinet filled with surgical thread, a curved needle, holder, and forceps.

  “Should I be concerned you have surgical tools on hand like a first aid kit?”

  Jake shrugged. “It’s easier to have my own.” Without explanation, he walked out of the bathroom and into his bedroom. I followed him, setting the alcohol and bandages on the night stand next to the stitching tools.

  “Got any numbing cream?”

  “Don’t need it.” Jake laid back and put his arms behind his head again.

  “Of course, you don’t.” Apparently, this wasn’t his first time getting stitches. After cleaning his wound, I got the needle and thread ready and began the first stitch. I glanced at Jake to make sure I wasn’t hurting him. He laid there without flinching.

  “You gonna tell me how this happened and who that woman was?”

  “You probably won’t let it go if I don’t, will you?”

  “You’re figuring me out already.”

  As I waited for him to share the information he didn’t want to, I noticed several scars on his torso. They were easily missed when your eyes were drawn to his tattoos. It was concerning how many scars he had, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask about something so personal.

  “There’s thirteen of them.”

  “What?”

  “Thirteen scars.”

  My stomach knotted. He’d noticed me looking at them.

  “My father was an abusive alcoholic. Would beat on my mom regularly. When I was about eleven, I started defending her, taking the hits, so she didn’t. He didn’t like his son getting in his way, so he tied me to a chair and cut me eleven times—one for each year of my birth he said. My mother managed to get a call out to 911. If she hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t be alive.”

  I stopped suturing his wound as my body went numb. “What happened to him?”

  “He went to prison.”

  “And the other two scars?”

  “Both were fights. One was a broken bottle, the other a knife.”

  Holding the needle holder and forceps in my hands, I stared at him, still absorbing what he’d just shared.

  “I’ve never told another woman how I got the scars.”

  “Why’d you tell me?”

  “Last night, I left a man with broken bones because of what he did to the woman you saw in my living room.”

  “That’s how you got this?”

  He nodded.

  I looked back down at his wound and finished the last few sutures.

  “And the woman from last night, she means something to you?” I swallowed the lump in my throat and waited for him to answer.

  “A little more than I normally care for a woman.”

  “Did you love her?” I stared down at the stitches, focusing on the last knot, avoiding his eyes. There was a pause and my chest tightened.

  “No.”

  A surprising amount of relief filled me. Not that there was anything wrong with Jake having loved her, but a selfish part of me wanted to know what it was like to be the only woman to have Jake’s love.

  “I need to clean these.” I set the tools back in the box.

  Jake’s gaze followed me out of the room. I could feel his eyes burning my ass cheeks peeking out beneath his t-shirt. As I sanitized the tools in the bathroom, he walked past and seconds later, I heard him letting Rocky out of his crate, followed by large paws smacking the floor, then the back door opened and closed.

  I went back into the bedroom after putting the box away to check my phone. Nerves bunched in my gut when I saw a list of text messages from Nix. Each text was angrier than the last. I immediately dialed him.

  “What’s going on? Why are you blowing up my phone?”

  “Are you with Jake?” His tone was cross and disapproving.

  “I am.”

  “Have him bring you to the club. Now!” Nix hung up on me without an explanation. I hurried to get dressed and met Jake in the kitchen. Rocky ran to me and sat down, wagging his tail with trembling enthusiasm. I patted his head and scratched along his ear, making his leg kick like it did the night before.

  “I just spoke with Nix. He wants you to bring me to the club. He’s angry about something.”

  “We’ll get there when we do.” Jake stretched his arm and rubbed the back of his head as he let out a sigh. “I want you taken care of first. You hungry?”

  “I am, but we shouldn’t keep him waiting.”

  Jake opened the refrigerator and pulled out orange juice. After opening the lid, he chugged for several seconds before closing the jug and placing it back in the fridge.

  “Whatever your brother is pissed about isn’t going away. It’d be better if he has time to cool off. Take a shower. I’ll get us something.”

  There was no point in arguing, Jake’s expression had deadpanned. I’d have to leave on my own, and I knew that’d only upset him.

  “I’m gonna smell like whatever body wash you got in the shower. Hope you like it.”

  “I want more than just the scent of my body wash on you.” The corner of his mouth raised.

  I couldn’t help smiling at that innuendo as I walked to his bathroom.

  I heard his bike rumble outside several minutes later. By the time I was out of the shower, dressed, and done using his toothpaste and my finger to scrub my teeth, he pulled up the drive. The smell of sausage wafted through the house as he entered. I joined him at the island and stood on my tippy toes to see what was in the bag. My stomach was growling, and I was appreciative he’d made me eat before going to see Nix. He wrapped one arm around me, pulling me close to his side. He leaned down and kissed me on the temple.

  “You did good patching me up. I didn’t thank you earlier and I should have.”

  Looking up at him while he dug containers out of the bag with one hand and held me with the other was causing my affection for him to grow. “Thank you for breakfast.”

  His hand wound through the loose strands of my hair, then caressed my back.

  “Let’s eat.”

  Jake had gone to a local hole in the wall diner. I knew the place. They made the best pancakes, and apparently, Jake knew that too. He’d ordered some for both of us.

  “Can I give him a piece?” I looked down at Rocky’s puppy dog eyes watching me eat my s
ausage.

  Jake chuckled. “No, Peach. Don’t spoil him.”

  “Aww, but Jake, look at those eyes.”

  “I like the way you sound when you beg me, Peach,” Jake rubbed his hand along my thigh and eyed me with his masculine authority, “but the answer is still no.”

  “Fine.” I jutted my bottom lip out at him.

  A smile spread his lips. “You like him?”

  “Yes, he’s adorable and so well behaved.”

  “He likes you too.” Jake squeezed my thigh before grabbing his empty container and tossing it into the trash. “You about ready to find out what got stuck up Nix’s ass?”

  I let out a breath. “I think I already know.”

  Jake folded his arms and leaned against the fridge waiting for me to explain.

  “He told me to stay away from you. I didn’t come home last night, then told him I was with you. He’s obviously pissed about it.”

  “That why you didn’t come home with me the first night?”

  “It’s not the only reason.”

  “Nix told you to stay away from me?”

  Apprehensively, I nodded.

  Jake looked off in thought, his face emotionless.

  “Let’s go.”

  Twenty minutes later, we pulled up to the Kings Clubhouse. A couple motorcycles were outside, including Nix’s; my stomach tightened. Was Nix going to threaten Jake to stay away from me? Was he being overly protective or was there something between them neither one was telling me? Part of me didn’t want to walk into the club. I felt a storm was brewing, and I was the eye of the storm.

  I climbed off Jake’s bike and sat his helmet on the back. Jake took hold of my arm, pulling me onto his lap. His hand gripped my hip and the other wrapped around me as his lips pressed into mine. His tongue slipped in, coaxing our morning arousal back to the surface. The hand on my hip gradually moved between my thighs and caressed me, making me wet with need.