by Levine, Nina
I’d picked up King’s gun. I’d been completely focused on my goal. I’d killed a man. Something I never imagined doing.
That moment had winded me, and I was sure it was going to take a long time for me to breathe properly again.
Devil had driven us to my place, and King hadn’t let go of me until we were there safely. He’d told me to go inside while he went over some stuff with Devil. Brynn had gone out for the day with Jamie, so the house was quiet as I slowly made my way to my bedroom. My legs felt heavy, my heart, too. And my head was filled with a non-stop replay of that man’s gun pressed to my head. I felt the gun still now. Every time I saw it in my head, I felt it like it was still digging into my skin. It continued to make my heart race with fear. And as much as tears threatened, I refused to allow them. I refused to allow his actions today to make me run or hide away from the world. I was stronger than that.
I had just sat down on the edge of my bed when the front door slammed closed. I jumped at the noise in a way I didn’t usually jump, but I closed my eyes and breathed through it.
And then King stalked into the room, a rush of wild, angry energy that completely threw me.
Coming at me, his eyes ferocious, he roared, “Don’t you ever put yourself in harm’s way like you did today!”
My heart banged against my chest at his outburst, and I shot up off the bed. “What the hell, King? What’s gotten into you?”
“You!” he barked, jabbing his finger in the air at me. “You’ve fucking gotten into me. If you are ever in a situation like that again, Lily, you fucking run when you can. You do not fucking hang around and pick my fucking gun up and shoot someone. You get your ass out of there as fast as you can and you save your fucking life. You do not think about me.”
His anger bled into me. It combined with the adrenaline racing through me, and I slammed me hands against his chest and yelled, “I will never not think about you! And don’t you ask me not to. If your life is being threatened, I will do anything and everything I can to save you.”
He gripped one of my wrists, squeezing it tightly as he pulled me to him. If I thought his eyes looked ferocious before, I wasn’t sure what I’d call them now, because they blazed with more fire than I’d ever seen from him. “This is not something up for negotiation. You have never held a gun before. You have never shot a gun before. That situation could have turned out a whole lot fucking differently than it did today. You could have been killed. Do you fucking understand that?”
I glared at him. “Do you fucking understand that you could have died?”
His other hand snapped around my neck and his eyes bored into mine. “I live with that fucking understanding every day of my life. You do not. And I’ll be fucked if you’re going to start now.”
“So teach me how to use a gun. Teach me how to defend myself. Make me as fucking indestructible as you, King, but don’t you ever dare take away my ability or right to defend my man’s life. I won’t stand for it. I’m your woman, and I have your back just as much as you have mine.”
His nostrils flared as his fingers dug into my neck. “Fucking hell,” he rasped before his mouth crashed down on mine and he kissed me so savagely it hurt. But I wanted that pain. I needed it. And I gave it back to him just as savagely, and when we finally came apart, we were both breathless with desire.
We tore at each other’s clothes until we were both naked. His hands then came to my body with the same brutal energy his mouth had, and he wrestled me to the ground. When he had me pinned under him, his hands holding mine down, he thrust his dick inside me harder than he ever had and growled, “I cannot fucking lose you.”
He pulled out and slammed back in.
I put my legs around him while trying to struggle out of the hold he had on my hands. He kept pounding into me as I demanded, “Let me go. I need my hands on you.”
He didn’t let me go.
He bent his face to mine and bit my bottom lip before kissing me.
He then bossed, “Stop fucking arguing with me.”
“Stop fucking bossing me.”
“Jesus fuck,” he said, steam practically billowing from him. He thrust in hard again. “You’re gonna spend the rest of your life fucking challenging me, aren’t you?”
“Yes, because you’re gonna spend the rest of your life not listening to me.”
He tightened his hold on my hands even though his hold was already hard as hell. On another thrust, he ordered, “Tell me you won’t put yourself in danger.”
“Let me go first.”
“Fuck, Lily, fucking tell me and then I’ll think about it.”
“Fine, I’m not gonna put myself in danger, but that’s because you’re gonna show me how to use your gun.”
He stopped all movement and stared down at me. Shaking his head as he let my hands go, he said, “I fucking love you, woman, but you are gonna cause me no fucking end of headaches.”
I stilled, all previous thoughts whooshing out of my mind. Gripping his biceps, I said, “You cannot tell me you fucking love me while shaking your head at me, King. If you really mean it, you need to tell me while not shaking your head.”
He continued staring down at me, silently now. And then he angled his face so he could kiss me. This time it wasn’t as savage or as urgent. This time it felt like he had all the time in the world to devote to my mouth. I lost myself in this kiss. I never wanted it to end. When King took it upon himself to give a girl a kiss she would never forget, he outdid himself. And when he did finally let my lips go, I felt every ounce of his hesitation to do so. “I fucking love you, and I’ll show you how to use my gun, but I will do everything in my fucking power to ensure you never need to use it like you did today.”
All my fight disappeared as I smiled up at him. “I love you, too, baby,” I said softly.
“Fuck,” he muttered as he thrust in again. “You fucking kill me.”
He then spent the next two hours fucking me before wrapping me in his arms in bed and holding me close. We didn’t speak for a long time until I finally said, “I’ve listened to everything you’ve had to say about me not trying to protect you, and you need to know something. Your job is to worry and protect. My job is to nurture. And sometimes, part of nurturing is protecting. Just so you know.”
His lips twitched ever so slightly and then he kissed me before saying, “Are you good if I get back to the clubhouse and take care of some shit?” He watched me intently for my answer, almost like he wasn’t convinced leaving me was a good idea.
I nodded. “I’m made of some tough stuff, dude. Today was hard and it sucked and I’m not keen to ever have another day like it, but I’m okay. My kids and sister are going to be home soon, and I’m gonna spend the afternoon hugging them tightly and loving on them. And then you’re gonna come over tonight and love on me. So yeah, I’m good.”
He lifted a brow. “Dude?”
I grinned. “Yeah. Dude.”
He kissed me one last time before leaving the bed and dressing.
After he’d left, I thought about what I’d said to him. I did feel like I was made of tough stuff, but I was shaken by the events of the day. I wouldn’t make a huge song and dance about that, though. King had enough on his plate, and if I believed one thing, it was that while I would share my life with him, I would do what I could not to add to his worries. Life was never easy, but every hardship built a little more strength and a little more character. And I had the grit to weather any storm so long as I had him by my side. He could do the worrying. I would do the nurturing. And together we could protect and look out for each other.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
King
“You want a beer, King?” Kree asked late Friday afternoon as the boys started rolling in after taking care of business for the day.
I shook my head. “I’m heading over to Lily’s soon.”
She smiled as she wiped the top of the bar. “She’s good for you.” At the lift of my brow, she said, “I saw you smile today. Sh
e’s good for you.”
Kick sat on the stool next to me, grinning as he overheard what Kree said. “I saw him smile yesterday, too.”
“Fucking hell,” I muttered. After Kree had moved on to take someone else’s order, I said to Kick, “You sort Brian out?”
“Yeah, I gave him that cash and took care of the repairs that needed doing around the place. And he said to tell you Ivy has found a job.”
“Good.”
Hyde joined us, a pissed off look on his face. “I just heard the news report on Gambarro. We should have moved sooner on him before they arrested the asshole.”
“Yeah, brother,” I agreed. “But we’ve waited this fucking long to get to him, we can be patient for a while longer.”
Hyde frowned. “What the fuck, King? Did you take some happy fucking pills or some shit today?”
I moved off my stool and grinned. “Think about it, Hyde. Gambarro fucked a lot of people off who are in prison because of him. Way I see it is that now he gets fucked over in there while they all take their turn with him, and then we can either have him taken care of inside or we can wait our turn and take care of him ourselves when he gets out. Either way, he’s gonna get a lot of what’s coming to him and we won’t have to work as hard to make that shit happen.”
The feds had arrested the motherfucker this morning. He’d been my first gift to Isabel Stark. I’d thought long and hard about whether to hand shit over to her so she knew where to look for her evidence, but in the end, I decided my club had been through enough. We were finally beginning to get back to normal business; I didn’t wanna put them through another hard battle. I’d let Gambarro go to prison and see where the dust settled. Patience might not have ever been a strength of mine, but a man could fucking change.
A text came through on my phone.
Lily: I think I’m about to take up smoking again.
Me: Why
Lily: Zara.
Me: Fuck
Lily: My thoughts exactly. She has a new boyfriend. God let me down.
I had no fucking idea what she meant about God letting her down, and I wasn’t about to get into it with her.
Me: I’m on my way
Lily: Hurry. And have a smoke on the way so you smell like cigarettes. You may save me from taking them up again.
Jesus, this woman.
* * *
“Lily,” Hannah was saying as I entered Lily’s kitchen an hour later, “do you have another dress I can borrow tomorrow?”
Lily had her ass in the air while she bent over searching the cupboard for a container. I settled against the counter, crossed my arms and enjoyed the view.
“Are you seeing the library dude again?” Lily asked while she rummaged. I could tell by the way her actions were becoming jerky that she was growing impatient trying to locate the container. Without waiting for her mother’s response, she muttered, “Ma, have you taken my red Tupperware container home? I could have sworn it was in here the other day.”
Hannah, who had her back to me, moved to another cupboard and opened it to search in there. “No,” she said, and then, catching sight of me, she stopped and hit me with a smile. “Hello, King. I didn’t see you standing there. Have you seen that red Tupperware container Lily always insists on using?”
Lily straightened and turned to me. Her eyes went wide and she pulled the face she used when her mother was driving her crazy. She then said to her mother in a snappy tone, “I don’t always use it, but it’s the best one I have.”
I jerked my chin at the cupboard next to the one where the glasses lived. “It’s in there.”
Lily located the container and shot me a smile and a “Thank you” before saying to her mother, “Ma, why don’t you go and hang with Brynn? I’ve got everything under control in here.”
Her mother lifted her brows. “I really don’t think you do, darling.”
As Lily pulled another face, I pushed off from the counter and said, “Hannah, I’ll help Lily.”
A smile spread across her face. “Oh, you are a good man, King. Thank you.” With that, she exited the kitchen, leaving us in peace.
Lily came straight to me, gripping my jacket. She leant in close and inhaled deeply. “Oh, good God, you smell good.” She then face-planted against my chest and said, “Between her and Zara, I’m not sure I’ll survive this weekend.” She lifted her head and met my gaze. “You’re free tomorrow, right?”
I curled my hand around her neck. “What for?”
“Ah, smart man. Don’t agree to shit until you know what it is. So, Zara has a date with this new boy, and I was thinking you could get eyes on her.” She bit her bottom lip waiting for my reply.
My lips twitched and I let her neck go. “Get eyes on her? When the fuck did you start talking like that?”
She smacked my chest lightly. “Since I met you I’m saying all kinds of shit I never used to say, thank you very much. You’re a very bad influence.” She paused. “So is that a yes?”
“Where are they going?”
“To the movies. I’m dropping her off and picking her up, and I’ve told her only one-hour extra time after the movie finishes. It’s that hour I’m concerned about.”
I didn’t tell her she should have been worried about a fuck of a lot more than that hour. I tipped her chin up. “Is this how you want every date she goes on to go down?”
Her eyes widened. “You were the one who told me you wouldn’t let a daughter out without eyes on her.”
“Yeah, but just because I would do shit a certain way doesn’t mean it’s how you would do it.”
“You don’t think I should do this with Zara?”
“You’ve started talking to her about this shit. You’ve got open lines with her. Don’t fuck that trust up.”
She thought about that for a moment. “That was totally not what I was expecting from you. You were supposed to be my go-to guy for this heavy work.”
I grinned. “I never said I wouldn’t take on the job of sorting out the kid she’s dating.”
Frowning, she said, “You’ve lost me.”
“I’ll drop her off, and while I’m there, I’ll find the kid and have a chat to him. I’ll lay the fucking law down with him. And if you’re not happy with how something goes down, I’ll handle it.”
She moved close, pressing her body against mine. “Now we’re talking. This sounds like a good deal.”
I placed my hand on her ass and bent to kiss her. “Fuck,” I murmured after I’d had her lips, “I’ve been thinking about that for hours.”
Pushing me away, she said, “Okay, you need to take your ass out of here so I can finish getting dinner ready.”
I watched her for a few moments while she located a saucepan and filled it with water. Fuck, I could watch her for hours and never grow bored, but I needed to leave the kitchen so we had half a chance at eating dinner tonight. My need for her body was intense tonight.
I grabbed a beer out of the fridge and headed into the lounge room.
Jamie was on his way out as I entered. He grinned at me. “Hey, man.”
I jerked my chin at him as he walked past, and sucked back some beer. I then took a seat on the couch next to Robbie who sat watching his favourite show on his iPad.
He glanced at me. “You wanna watch?”
I smiled and shook my head. “I’m gonna check out the footy.”
“It hasn’t started yet.”
“Who’s playing?”
“The Bulldogs and Raiders.”
“You gonna watch with me?”
He nodded. “Yeah.” He went back to his show for a few moments before looking at me again. “We should get a movie tomorrow night.”
“Yeah. Your pick.”
He grinned. “Cool.” And then he was back to his show, and I flicked through the channels on the TV until I found what I was looking for.
Our peace was shattered when the girls all came in about fifteen minutes later. The couches filled with Lily, her sister, mother, and da
ughters, and the noise of their conversation drowned out the television. Robbie looked at me with a frustrated expression, and I nodded my agreement while taking a swig of beer.
Lily snuggled up to me on my other side, her hand curling over my thigh dangerously fucking close to my dick. The woman was lethal in her moves when she wanted to be.
“I’m just saying that maybe you should give the library dude another chance, Ma,” Brynn said.
It had been just over a month since she’d been shot, and she was doing well with her recovery. Lily had told me yesterday she was going back to work part-time next week.
“No,” Hannah said, “he didn’t open doors for me. You know I’m fussy about that.”
“God, Mum, I’m concerned you’re going to be single for the rest of your life with all the requirements you have,” Lily said.
Her mother’s lips pursed before she said, “Well, if you can find a man like King who looks after you the way he does, I can certainly keep searching until I do, too.”
Lily’s hand squeezed my thigh as she chuckled. “King doesn’t open doors. In fact, I doubt he would satisfy any of your requirements, so that just shows you that men can still be right for you even if they don’t tick boxes.”
I stretched my arm across the back of the couch as I ran my eyes over Lily’s body. She had on the tightest fucking T-shirt, and I struggled to keep my eyes off her tits.
“What do you think, King?” Brynn asked, drawing my attention to her. “Do you think Mum should hold out for her perfect man or acknowledge that perfection doesn’t exist?”
Fuck, how had I been wrangled into this conversation? “Check out how he is with his family. That’ll tell you a lot about how he’s likely to treat you down the track.”
Lily fucking squeezed my thigh again. That was after she slid it even fucking closer to my dick. And before she pressed a kiss to my lips and murmured, “I love you.”