Point of Freedom (Nordic Lords MC #3)

by Stacey Lynn

  Lucky for me, as I walked out of the room and into the hall, my nose was instantly hit with the precious smell of caffeine and… bacon?

  I was still fighting a smile when I hit the living room and saw Sophie on the couch, her head propped against the armrest and her eyes focused on the television.

  Animated cartoons filled the room, and she didn’t realize I was in the room until I was right in front of her, scooping her into my arms.

  “Mommy!” She threw her arms around my neck, her legs around my waist, and held on tight as I tickled her side. “Put me down.”

  “Never,” I mock-growled into her ear. “I will never let you go.”

  My sinuses instantly began to burn as she fought out of my hold. Setting her down, I pressed a firm, quick kiss to her cheek and ruffled her hair. “God, I’m glad you’re here.”

  “No cry, mommy. Be happy.”

  I sniffed, wiped away the tear Sophie focused on with a slight frown. “Mommy is happy, pumpkin. So happy.”

  My hands pressed her cheeks together, smushing her face, and I kissed her again.

  She instantly wiped my kiss off her lips and turned to watch TV.

  It was how we started almost every day, and something about the normalcy of it had me pushing down the rest of my tears.

  She was okay. Uninjured. Safe.

  I ruffled her hair one more time and moved away. Far be it from me to mess with a girl’s Dora time.

  When I stood up, intent on getting that coffee, I caught Jaden staring at me from the kitchen. His hands were braced on the counter, spatula in one hand, and his intense gaze on me.

  But this time there was no scowl. Just a look of heated desire that I could feel increasing with every step I took closer to him.

  Damn, she looked good. My shirt fell to Jules’s mid-thigh and my shorts went well past her knees. She looked like a little girl playing dress-up in her father’s grown-up clothes as she shuffled her feet toward me in the kitchen.

  My thoughts were anything but familial as she pushed away a stray strand of her blond hair, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of pink as she reached me in the kitchen.

  Mine. All fucking mine.

  My hands tightened at the edge of the countertop so I didn’t reach out, pull her into my arms, and give her the kind of kiss that was completely inappropriate in front of a two-year-old.

  “Mornin’,” she mumbled on her way past me. Her eyes were trained on the coffee pot in my kitchen, and working hard at avoiding me.

  That wouldn’t do.

  I reached out, snagged an arm around her waist, and pulled her to me.

  She let out a small, quick gasp of surprise before I silenced her with a kiss. My lips pressed against hers firmly and my arm pulled her tight against me.

  Then I let her go, smiled as she rocked back on her heels and her eyes snapped to mine.

  I grinned wider. “Good morning.”

  Her eyes widened, the pink on her cheeks blaring hot red. “Um.”

  I pointed over my shoulder as if we hadn’t just made out like raunchy teenagers in my kitchen with her kid ten feet away. “Coffee’s ready and the bacon’s done. How do you like your eggs?”

  She frowned but headed toward the coffee pot. “Scrambled,” she finally said after she’d poured her coffee, added two drops of milk, and took her first sip.

  Her eyes seemed like they awakened as soon as the coffee hit her throat.

  “Comin’ right up.”

  I worked in silence, scrambling her eggs as Jules snagged two pieces of bacon. She stood at the counter, drinking her coffee and munching on the bacon, keeping her eyes on Sophie the entire time.

  When I slid the plate of eggs in front of her, she looked down, smiled her thanks, and took a bite. “When did she wake up?”

  “Right after I did a couple hours ago.”

  Her eyebrows pulled in. “What time is it?”

  I shrugged and looked at the clock on the microwave. “Eleven.”

  Jules gasped. “Holy crap! Why’d you let me sleep so late?”

  She turned to me, looking aghast at the fact she’d actually slept in. I had almost wanted to wake her as soon as I’d heard Sophie leaving their bedroom this morning. Not knowing what kind of condition the girl would be in after yesterday, I figured she’d want her mom.

  But then she’d walked right up me, crawled into my lap, and murmured, “Miss you, Uncah Jaden.”

  I had figured Jules could use the sleep after the day she’d had yesterday, so I let her sleep, figuring if Sophie needed anything, she was right there to help anyway.

  “Jules.” My head dipped down to the crook of her neck. “You had a shit day yesterday, probably have a couple shitty weeks until we can take care of this Rob shit, and Sophie was fine. I figured you could use your sleep.”

  My lips pulled into a small grin as her pulse along her collarbone sped up.

  I wanted her. Wanted to see her naked, in my bed, writhing beneath me and calling my name as I rode her hard. And deep.

  I cleared my throat, took a step away before I attempted to take her in the kitchen, and watched a soft smile spread across her lip.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” She shook her head, shoved another bite of eggs and bacon into her mouth. “You’re just being nice. I’m not used to it.”

  I deserved that, so I took it. I’d been a complete asshole, but I planned on changing that, too. Not sure how, seeing as how I’d never had to be nice to someone before, but I figured it couldn’t be too hard to not be a dick all the time.

  Instead of letting her see how much it concerned me that I could possibly fail at that, I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her against my chest. I kept my eyes on Sophie, knowing she was totally hypnotized by some bandit fox on the television, and rocked my hips into Jules.

  She groaned. She might have collapsed into the counter if I wasn’t holding her, but damn it, just being near her made me hard. Her in my clothes, in my apartment, sent another thrill straight to my dick, making it try to jump out of my jeans.

  Straight into her.

  “I can show you nice,” I rumbled in her ear. “The question is, how nice do you want me to be? Soft and slow as I make your entire body shake with pleasure? Or do you want it hard and fast so you’re screaming my name until all the neighbors hear you shouting in pure bliss?”

  “Jaden –”

  Her soft moan vibrated down to my dick.

  “Later.” I released her from my arms and smiled with sick satisfaction when she braced herself against the counter. She went back to her coffee and breakfast while I thought of all the things I wanted to do her tight little body.

  When she was done, I cleared her plate. She arched an eyebrow at my gesture.

  “I can be nice, babe.” I tossed her a scowl for good measure, but it was fake—and based on her instantly playful look, she knew it.

  “Ah, there’s the Jaden I know.”

  “Right.” She wanted that Jaden? She’d get it. Because we still had shit to discuss and she wasn’t gonna like it. “How about we go to my room and talk?”

  “Talk?” Her voice was husky and doubtful.

  I bit back a groan. “Fuck, that’s tempting,” I growled, and then schooled my features into seriousness.

  She noticed instantly and her back straightened.

  “Talk. I got shit to tell you.”

  Her eyes darted to Sophie for a second before they came back to mine. She chewed on her bottom lip before nodding.

  “Sophie, keep watching Dora while Uncle Jaden and I talk in another room.”

  The kid didn’t move a muscle until Jules snapped her name again. “Sophie.”

  She looked at her mom, keeping one eye trained on the television. Damn. It was like I could see the show rotting her brain right in front of my face. “Stay here, okay?”

  “Otay,” she mumbled and went back to a slightly zombified state on the couch.

  “Do all shows knock kids out lik
e that?” I asked as I followed her into my room.

  “Just Dora. Which means we have about ten minutes until the show is over and she starts climbing through your cupboards and knocking your bags of sugar and flour all over the place.”

  I didn’t have shit like flour or sugar in my house, but I let the slightly joking comment slide. In about two minutes, Jules wouldn’t be finding anything funny.

  “Here’s the deal,” I started, my hands on my hips, and then thought better. “You might want to sit.”

  Jules frowned at me, but did what I said. I fought back a grin at the thought of her obeying my every command—especially when she was in my bed.

  “That fucker hired a PI to follow you. He knows where you live, where your parents live, and obviously where you work and where Sophie goes to daycare. He even knows about the club and that you hang out there.”

  Jules gasped, but I kept on talking, figuring this shit should be like ripping off a Band-Aid.

  “Why he thought he could take Sophie and not have fallback from us is anyone’s first fuckin’ clue. But you’re not leaving my side until I hear word from our Colorado charter that he’s been dealt with.”

  “Dealt with?” She raised her eyebrows.

  I ignored her and kept talking. “Finn and Tripp headed to your place early this morning, searched the whole place to see if we could find anything, and they found two cameras—one in your kitchen, facing your front door, and one in your bedroom.”

  Jules eyes flew open and she leaped off the bed onto her feet.

  “He had my house bugged.”

  “Yup.” I nodded. “Also had that shit done somehow before you ever moved in, so he’s been watching you for weeks.” I couldn’t help the grin of cocky satisfaction that spread across my lips. “Also means he saw me and you that night.”

  Her cheeks turned dark red and she sucked in a breath. “Oh my God. That’s… that’s sick!”

  “Actually, it’s fuckin’ awesome.”

  Her mouth dropped. “Awesome? You think it’s awesome that my asshole ex, who’s clearly unstable and stalking me, saw me… and… you?” She swallowed. Took her awhile to do it as I watched her remember everything I’d done to her that night.

  God, I’d been out of control. Would have taken her against the floor if Sophie wouldn’t have screamed out. Now, I fuckin’ regretted it.

  “The good thing about it is that I’m guessing he watched you light up in a way you’d never done with him. I figure it pissed him off, and whatever plan he had in place, whatever time he was thinking of taking to get you back, went out the fuckin’ window. He got frantic and sloppy, and because of that—Sophie is sitting in that living room out there, watching fucking cartoons, instead of who knows where and having who in the hell knows what happen to her.”

  I gave her a minute to process all that, and when she did, she huffed, crossed her arms over her chest, and glared at me. “Well, you don’t have to sound so pleased with yourself.”

  “Trust me. I won’t be pleased with myself until I’m buried balls deep inside you, watching you fall apart.”

  “Jesus.” She swiped a hand across her forehead and patted her red cheeks. “Do you have to be so blunt about that?”

  “Only way I can be, babe.”

  When in the hell had I started calling her babe? I shrugged. Who gave a shit? The nickname rolled off my lips and I liked it, so I was going to keep doin’ it.

  A small smile stretched her lips. “Okay, so what does that mean for us?”

  “Us?” I almost choked over the word.

  “Me and Sophie.”

  Right. Not Jules and me. What in the hell was I thinking?

  “Means I’m moving into your place so I can keep an eye on you. I’d make you move in here, but all your shit is there, you got a new lease, and it’s Sophie’s home so I’m figuring she’ll do better if she’s around her own shit.”

  “You’re… what?” She shook her head. “You’re not.”

  I crossed my arms and gave her a look that would usually have her turning away from me, but this time, she straightened her shoulders and propped her hands on her hips, ready to fight me back.

  My dick twitched.

  “Then you’re movin’ here.”

  “I can’t do that! I have a job! And a life.”

  I shrugged, not giving a shit. “Then I’m there, Jules. I’m not fuckin’ kidding. That asshole bugged your apartment and tried to take your kid. How pissed do you think he’s gonna be now that he learned he lost that move?”

  “Probably even more pissed if he sees another man living with me.”

  “Not living,” I sneered. “Staying to keep you and Sophie safe.”

  She scowled, her lips twisted into a furious expression before she finally exhaled. “Fine, but only for Sophie.”

  I took a step forward, watched her breath hitch immediately as my chest brushed against hers. Then I kept walking, forcing her to step back to the bed.

  Her knees hit the mattress and she collapsed.

  I followed her, until my body was completely aligned with hers.

  I bent down, dragged my nose along her throat and back to her ear. She smelled fucking fantastic, and every time I touched her, her pulsed jumped. I fucking loved it.

  “Keep tellin’ yourself it’s just for Sophie. I’ll let you lie to yourself for a little bit longer.”

  Her hands went to my chest and she tried to push. She had the force of a mosquito behind her, and I bent down and nipped her earlobe.

  Her hips arched into mine and I had to bite back a groan.

  “How long do you think it’s going to be until I can finally have you naked beneath me?”

  “Never.”

  How cute. She thought I couldn’t tell she wanted me. This would be fun.

  “Right,” I whispered against her skin, licking the column of her neck down to her collarbone. “I give it a day, with how much you’re showing me right now you want me.”

  Her hand reached out and gripped the front of my shirt. Her scowl matched mine, but then she grinned.

  It lit up her entire damn face, and I loved it.

  “Sophie’s show is going to be done in about two minutes. Why don’t you shut up and kiss me?”

  My pleasure.

  My lips hit hers and my tongue thrust in, not waiting for her to open up. But she did, quickly and willingly, and by the time Jules caught the end of Dora’s theme song playing in the living room with some sort of super-sonic mom hearing, I was well on my way to having blue balls from my dick pressed so hard up against my zipper.

  I relished the feel of my satin cami top sliding over my breasts, down my ribs until it hit my hips. It was a cute pajama set, with white, eyelet trim and a bright teal color that seemed to brighten my skin.

  Today had been long and my shoulders sagged with relief that it was almost finally over.

  I shimmied into my matching teal satin bottoms, loving the cool feel of the fabric on my freshly bathed and shaved skin, before heading into the bathroom.

  Once Jaden had brought me and Sophie home, he hadn’t left. We’d spent the entire day hanging out at my place, being bombarded by Olivia and Faith, and even the girls from the salon had stopped by. They brought us dinner.

  They made us laugh.

  They cried happy tears as all of the women took turns wrapping their arms around Sophie. She’d handled the day remarkably well until it all ended in a temper tantrum to beat all tantrums when I’d told her no chocolate milk after she’d already brushed her teeth.

  Seeing that Jaden was at his maximum capacity of loud and chatty female company, and that my daughter was on the verge of completely losing it, I’d packed everyone up and sent them on their way an hour ago.

  And as soon as the door shut behind them, the thick tension between Jaden and I had shot up to epic proportions. I could feel his eyes everywhere I turned, even when I couldn’t see them.

  So I did the only sane thing I could: ran to my room,
locked myself in my bathroom, and took a bath. A bubble bath. I stayed in there until I began shivering from the cool water and my skin resembled prunes.

  Sophie had acted fine all day, and was now peacefully sleeping back in her bed. I figured she truly didn’t understand the magnitude of yesterday’s reality. Seeing her calm and sweet, loving all the company we’d received that day, had helped me calm down as well. That didn’t mean I was rushing to jump into Jaden’s arms, though.

  Not that I didn’t want it.

  I just didn’t trust it wouldn’t end abruptly again, and after he’d spent the last two days being so oddly nice—but nice in a way that felt comforting and incredible—I was completely lost for him.

  He’d shown me a different side of him, but it didn’t mean I wasn’t waiting for asshole Jaden to return and for the kind, updated version—that made my insides flutter every time he looked at me—to vanish.

  I figured avoiding him when we were left alone was the smartest and most logical choice I could make.

  With the water running as I brushed the teeth, I didn’t hear anyone enter the room until a shadow fell across the doorway to the bathroom.

  I choked on my toothpaste when Jaden’s incredible frame filled the doorway.

  “You scared the hell out of me,” I said, spitting out my toothpaste. Grabbing a rag, I washed off the excess toothpaste and tried not to drool as I looked at Jaden through the mirror’s reflection.

  “Sorry.” He winked and his eyes slowly raked down my back. I felt his eyes touch me everywhere as they slowly descended down my sexy but modest pajama set, fell to my butt, and kept going. “Never mind. Totally not sorry at all.”

  When his eyes met mine in the mirror, I tried to look away.

  Unfortunately, my brain stopped working and my eyes wouldn’t move. No amount of silent cursing as Jaden pushed off the doorframe and entered the small bathroom made them work, either.

  It was as if he silently froze my eyes to his by some imaginary string.

  When he stood behind me, his hand came to my shoulder. With his thumb and forefinger, he gently tugged on the thin, satin strap, slowly running it through his fingertips. He hadn’t touched me at all, except for the brief contact he made when he touched the strap, but the barely-there contact sent a surge of electricity straight to my core.