“I don’t know how long we have until Adley comes back down, sugar, so I think I better step back, and we can again pick this up later tonight.”
He was right. We shouldn’t be doing this with Adley so close.
“Sure.” My voice cracked, and my breathing was short.
Slayer’s hand cupped my chin, and his lips lingered above mine. “Just one more kiss.”
The kiss was short, but I have come to find out quickly that even a short kiss from Slayer was amazing.
“I’m gonna clean up while you go upstairs.”
I blinked cluelessly. “I’m going upstairs?”
Jesus, a kiss from Slayer sapped every thought from my head except for wanting to keep kissing him.
He chuckled and took a step away from me. “You are, because if you don’t, I’m going to have you laid out on this couch in five seconds, and then, I know I won’t be able to stop even with Adley just a few short feet away.
For a split second, I almost dove onto the couch hoping Slayer would follow, but I knew I needed to get a grip.
I hitched my thumb over my shoulder toward the stairs and cleared my throat. “I’ll just be upstairs…uh…” I blinked rapidly. “I don’t know what I’ll be doing, but I’ll be doing it upstairs.”
Slayer’s bark of laughter followed me up the stairs, and I couldn’t help but smile.
Last night when I had fallen asleep, I had no idea what was going on with Slayer and me. Now, while I didn’t know specifically what was happening between us, I knew Slayer wanted me.
At least, for more than just a quick kiss in the kitchen.
Hopefully, he wanted me for a whole lot more than that.
*
Chapter Thirteen
Slayer
“How in the hell did we not know about Brinks and Cora?”
“Probably because they didn’t want us to know?” I shrugged and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.
“Water?” Nickel asked.
I twisted the cap off and chucked it at his face. “I gotta drive later.”
Adley was chomping at the bit to head to dinner so I hoped whatever Wrecker had to say didn’t take all night.
I had finally gotten a grip after kissing Wendy, and we all showered and headed to the clubhouse. As soon as we walked in, Adley had told everyone that she was officially my daughter. I had planned on letting everyone know, just not the second we got through the door.
Wendy and Adley were camped out on the couch in front of the TV with the rest of the ol’ ladies gabbing about God knows what.
Nickel and I headed down the hallway toward church. I was surprised to see everyone there when we walked in.
“About time you fuckers got in here.”
Nickel held up his hands. “Hey, how were we supposed to know you guys were ready to go?”
“Yeah,” I laughed. “We were waiting for Wrecker to bellow church.” I sat down next to Maniac and leaned back in my chair.
“Congrats on Adley, brother.” Maniac held out his fist.
I bumped my fist against his and smiled wide. “Thanks, man.”
Wrecker nodded to me and sat down. “Told you that girl was not a problem.”
“You may have been right,” I conceded.
“Though that is probably going to be the easiest thing you’re going to have to deal with in the next twenty years or so,” Pipe laughed.
“You keep giving out parenting advice like you have five kids at home or something.” Nickel slugged him on the arm. “Last I checked, I’m the only one who has a kid.” Nickel nodded at me. “Well, now Slayer can say that, too.”
I held up my hands. “Hey, I’ve only been doing this dad thing for a couple of weeks. If I didn’t have Wendy, I would be fucking clueless.”
“Wendy, huh?” Freak asked. He wiggled his eyebrows and shook his head. “I should have known as soon as I heard that she was going to live with you, it wouldn’t take long before you had her in your bed.”
“Whoa,” I laughed. “No one said anything about her being in my bed.”
Clash raised his voice. “I don’t know what I would do without Wendy,” he mimicked me. “Swear to God, man, we’ve all been there before. Not the exact same path, but we’ve all got ol’ ladies. You might as well just stop denying it and get her pregnant already.”
“Are you trying to tell me Raven is pregnant?” Wrecker bellowed.
Clash jumped in his chair. “What?” He shook his head. “Raven is not pregnant. I was just… uh…”
Apparently, Wrecker was still struggling a bit with Clash dating his sister.
Wrecker held up his hand to silence Clash. “Let’s just get down to why we are here.”
Now that sounded like a good fucking idea to me. The sooner we discussed Cora and Brinks, the sooner I could head to dinner with Wendy and Adley.
“We all heard Brinks was shacking up with Cora, right?” Wrecker asked.
We all nodded. I think most of us were in shock that not only were they hooking up, but the fact that they kept it secret from everyone.
“I kind of knew he was hooking up with someone, but I had no fucking clue that it was Cora.” Clash shook his head. “It was when Raven and I were trying to figure out what the hell we were doing.”
“Are we really talking about my sister again?” Wrecker growled. He pierced Clash with his gaze, and even I never wanted to say Raven’s name out loud again. Wrecker stroked his beard and took a deep breath. “Back to Brinks and Cora.”
“I get that it’s pretty crazy they were able to sneak around right underneath our noses, but does that really have anything to do with the fact that Brinks is missing?” Maniac asked.
“Yes and no,” Wrecker replied. “Cora had been talking to Brinks while he was snooping around in River Valley.”
“Weren’t you keeping in touch with him?” Pipe asked.
Wrecker nodded his head. “Yeah, I was, but I wasn’t calling him every day to fucking chit chat.” Wrecker pulled out a piece of paper. “Cora told me the last time she talked to Brinks was the day before Adley appeared. She said they basically just talked about all the drama that is always going on with the club.” Wrecker rolled his eyes. “Apparently, we’re all good fodder for others to laugh and talk about.”
“So the only thing we learned from Cora and Brinks hooking up is he went missing nine or ten days ago.” Pipe shook his head. “Which we basically already knew.”
“We need to go back to River Valley.” Freak slammed his hand down on the table. “Wrecker could have picked any one of us. Someone in River Valley has to know what the hell happened to Brinks and where the hell he is.”
“You volunteering to go there and possibly disappear, too?” Wrecker growled. “We have fucking families and ol’ ladies. I’m not letting anyone go there without two other guys with him.” Wrecker looked around the table. “Yes, someone there has to know what happened to Brinks, but they’re not talking. At least, not to us.”
“I can’t really fucking believe that you want us to sit here when Brinks is missing.” Clash shook his head. “We gotta do something, man.”
Wrecker nodded to Freak. “Go get Cora.”
Freak huffed when he stood up, but he didn’t protest.
Everyone was stuck in their own thoughts and didn’t speak while Freak was gone.
Cora walked into church in front of Freak. She stood off to the side of the doorway, and Freak sat back down.
Her arms hung loosely at her side, and she looked tired.
She looked worried. “Ask me, Wrecker.” She also had an air about her that seemed like she was pissed.
Wrecker stared at her, a grim expression on his face. “I don’t want to have to go there with you.”
The same flat laugh from the night before fell from her lips. “There is a part of me that always knew it would come to this. He never really left me much choice.” She closed her eyes and sighed. “Betrayal was how our relationship was always going to end.”
“Tell me where he is, Cora.” Wrecker’s tone was deadly, and there had only been a handful of times I had heard him sound that way before.
All eyes were on Cora.
“Tell me where Jenkins is,” Wrecker ordered.
Cora’s eyes open, a tear streaked down her cheek, but she didn’t wipe it away. Wrecker had asked her to betray her only family to find Brinks.
This was where we found out where Cora’s loyalty lied.
*
Chapter Fourteen
Wendy
“Oh, my God,” I sighed. “I’m so glad I only ate half of my steak and saved room for more ice cream toppings.”
Adley’s sweet giggle fell from her lips, and she beamed up at me. “I can’t believe I can put Oreos, gummy worms, caramel, and nerds on my ice cream!”
Slayer wrinkled his nose at the strange combination. He held a cup of vanilla ice cream in his hand and shook his head. “And here I thought I was getting a little crazy by thinking of putting hot fudge and strawberry sauce on mine.”
Adley raced to the other side of the toppings and poured a spoonful of sprinkles on top of her already overflowing cup.
We had enjoyed dinner at a chain steak restaurant and had wound up at a soft serve place that had ten different flavors of ice cream and hundreds of different combinations of toppings. I hadn’t seen Adley smile so wide before she had walked in. Her eyes lit up as she filled her cup with a blob of vanilla and chocolate ice cream, then turned to mound on toppings.
I cranked on the handle for the vanilla ice cream and laughed. “You really do live on the edge, Dwayne.”
Slayer growled at me calling him his real name. He moved close to my side and lowered his voice so only I could hear him. “You’re gonna pay for that later, sugar.”
I tipped my head back to look at him. “Is that a threat?”
He leaned down, and I felt his breath against my skin. “It’s a promise.”
“Dad!” Adley called.
“Uh, oh,” I laughed. “You better go see what Adley needs.”
Slayer boldly pressed a kiss to my neck. “You can see what I need later.”
His lips were gone as quickly as they appeared, and all I was left with was a shiver running up my spine. One small touch from Slayer, and I was basically a puddle on the floor.
The three of us wound up by the register to pay, and I had to laugh at the difference of each of our cups.
Slayer had boringly put hot fudge on one half of his ice cream and strawberry sauce on the other.
Adley’s cup was filled to its limit with at least four kinds of candy, three sauces, sprinkles and a cherry on top. I couldn’t even see her ice cream anymore.
“Oh, that looks good!” Adley licked her lips and nodded at my cup.
While Slayer was a minimalist with his cup and Adley had went overboard, I tended to fall in the middle.
A squirt of vanilla ice cream topped with a swirl of chocolate. Hot fudge and caramel cover my toppings choice of bananas, chopped pretzels, and a few cookie dough bits. Rainbow sprinkles over the whole thing, and of course, topped off with a cherry.
“You’re making mine next time,” Slayer grunted. “I’ll just wait in the truck.”
“Do I look like a carhop ready to wait on you?” I bumped my shoulder into him and couldn’t hold back my giggle.
Slayer set his cup down and pulled out his wallet. “You won’t be giggling when I steal your ice cream in two minutes.”
I held my hand over my cup and stepped back from him. “You wouldn’t dare,” I gasped.
Slayer handed some bills over to the cashier and shrugged. “I guess you’re gonna have to wait and find out.”
Adley peeled off into a fit of giggles. “Knock it off, Dad.” She shook her head and walked over to a table by the front door.
“Did she just...” Slayer’s words trailed off, and he grabbed the change from the cashier. He dropped a five dollar bill into the tip jar and grabbed two spoons.
“Uh, yeah.” I grabbed a spoon from him and smiled wide. “Now that really makes it official.”
“How the hell did I get so lucky, Wen?” he asked softly.
I shook my head and tried not to get choked up. “I think you both needed each other, and it happened at the right time.” It had only been about two weeks since Adley had come into Slayer’s life, but I truly believed that happened at just the right time. Sometimes in life, things just happened like they should and the pieces fell into place. “Though, I think you need to be warned.”
Slayer shoveled a spoonful of his boring ice cream into his mouth and stopped in his tracks. “What is it?”
“You have all of her teenage years in front of you, and well, this moment might be a fluke.”
Three seconds later, Slayer threw his head back and burst out laughing. “I’m sure you are more than right, sugar.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the table where Adley was sitting.
At least Slayer wasn’t delusional thinking that this was going to be his life. As much as I wanted ice cream and giggles for him, I knew it was more than likely going to be mood swings, boy crushes, and slamming doors.
Adley babbled on about things that Slayer and I really had no idea about, but we both listened and enjoyed being together.
If Adley had taught me one thing, it was to just sit back and live in the moment. You never knew when things were going to change.
*
Chapter Fifteen
Slayer
“Uh, Wendy?” I called up the stairs.
“Yeah?” she yelled from her room.
The doorbell rang, and I glanced at the door. My gut told me to make a run for it and not come back for at least ten hours. I had spotted the maroon SUV pull into the driveway through the living room window and had watched the three women unload with bags and totes filled to the brim.
Female chatter and laughter sounded from the other side of the door a minute later, and my desire to run grew.
“Is that them?” Adley appeared at the top of the stairs with a huge smile on her face. “Is it time?”
The doorbell rang again, and Wendy appeared behind Adley. “Well, are you going to answer the door, Slim, or are you going to make my family stand on the stoop all day?”
Was that an option? “Can I seriously do that?”
Adley flew down the stairs and beelined straight to the door. “I’ll get it, Dad,” she called.
I still wasn’t used to that.
Dad was one name I never thought I would be called.
There were times I would get upset remembering that I had actually been a dad for a while, but Adley’s mom had made the decision to not tell me.
I didn’t think I would ever forgive her for taking my daughter away from me those twelve years even if she thought it was for the best. That decision should have been mine to make.
Adley threw open the door, and Wendy’s mom, aunt, and sister descended upon us. I had, of course, met them all before, and I knew Carnie the most since she was with Freak, but this felt different.
They were seeing me as someone other than just a member of a motorcycle club.
“I’m surprised you’re still here.”
I turned back to the stairs and was face to face with Wendy. “I was just about to leave and then the doorbell rang.”
“Foolish man. I told you they would rope you into cookie duty if you were here.” Wendy stood one stair up from me, and it made her my exact height.
Also the perfect height for me to kiss her, which I did a hell of a lot lately.
It had been a few days since the paternity results had come back, and I was settling into a pretty fucking awesome routine with Adley and Wendy.
Breakfast with my two girls, most of the day spent at the clubhouse trying to figure out where Brinks was, and then back home to end the day with Adley and Wendy.
“Need anything before I leave?”
She shook her head. “Pretty sure if I don
’t have it, they’ll have it.”
I glanced over my shoulder and couldn’t help but smile.
Wendy had mentioned to Adley a couple of days ago that they should have a cookie making party. Adley had, of course, thought that was the best idea ever. Now it was Saturday and it was time to kick off the cookie making party.
Agnes, Wendy and Carnie’s mom, was hugging Adley close, and she whispered something in her ear.
“That didn’t take long for your mom to win over Adley.” I turned back to Wendy and slid my arms around her waist.
“Your daughter just has to smile and people fall in love with her.” Wendy brushed her fingers through my hair. “That might be a problem with boys when she gets older.”
“It's a damn good thing that she is homeschooled so I can keep all of the boys away.”
Wendy rolled her eyes. “You’re such a man,” she mumbled. “You really think you’re going to keep the boys away from your beautiful daughter?”
I shrugged. “Yes, but I don’t really want to think about that.” I had already missed so much of Adley’s childhood. I didn’t want what was left to pass any faster than it should. “Give me a kiss so I can get out of here.”
Wendy pressed a kiss to my lips without hesitation, and I held her close. “Be good while I’m gone,” I whispered against her lips.
“Hurry back,” she replied. “I love my family more than anything, but by the time you come home, I’m going to need a stiff drink and a few minutes of silence.”
“Is that for code to come home with the biggest bottle of wine I can find?”
Wendy nodded. “Yes. I finished the bottle last night.”
I pressed another kiss to her lips and stepped back. “You got it, sugar.”
I managed to make it out of the house with only a few words from Carnie’s family and a quick hug from Adley.
My phone buzzed as I shifted the truck into drive after backing out of the driveway.
Make that two bottles.
I typed a quick reply to Wendy and headed to the clubhouse.
Slayer (Fallen Lords MC Book 8) Page 9