“And now you have me and my brothers,” he replies. “Now, let’s eat some queso.”
Again, he defers to me, waiting until I’ve loaded up one of the chips before he does the same. “Oh my God, this is the best ever,” I mumble around a mouth full of cheesy goodness. “Geraldo has outdone himself for sure.”
“Fucking awesome,” Loki says after eating a chip. “I know we’ve got food coming, but seriously, this could be a meal in and of itself.” I don’t answer, too focused on eating more chips. “Hey now, don’t be hogging it all for yourself,” he teases, snatching a chip away from me that I had loaded just right.
“You know that’s a felony,” I reply, grabbing another chip.
“I highly doubt me stealing your chip is a felony. Besides, I didn’t take it, we’re sharing.”
“We are?” I raise my eyebrow at him, causing him to chuckle.
“Most definitely, sweetheart.”
The rest of our meal is much of the same, teasing back and forth while we enjoy the food that Jorge and his family made. When Loki asks for the check, Jorge advises that family doesn’t pay, which is what he does to us every time we come in. So, Loki pulls out some bills and tosses them on the table then tells him to tip the cooks if he’s not willing to accept payment for the meal itself.
We walk out to my car, my hand in his with our fingers laced. “Thank you for today,” I say, smiling up at him.
He tucks a stray hair behind my ear then kisses my forehead. “I enjoyed it as well, Angel. Now, when you get home, take a cool shower then have Patsy apply some of the lotion.”
I nod. His instructions were very thorough plus he gave me a printout as well. “I can’t wait to see it when it’s all finished.”
“Well, as long as you heal up without any issues, we’ll keep going so it hopefully won’t take forever,” he replies. “However, I’ll see you before then.”
“You will?”
“Did you miss the conversation we had where I said I wanted to see where this went with us?” he retorts. “Because as memory serves, we sealed it with a kiss.” I can feel my face heating at his words as he chuckles.
“I remember.” My voice is barely above a whisper; I’ve read enough romances to know that men like him typically don’t go for women like me. The shy, reticent ones. Of course, part of me coming into my own so I will be braver is getting this tattoo, so there’s that for me to consider as well.
“Kiss me, CeeCee,” he commands.
Loki
I watch her take in a deep breath but don’t say anything else. I know there’s a fire inside of her, she just needs to realize that as well. She moves in closer, and I feel the swell of her breasts pressing against my chest. It takes everything in me not to crush her to me, but I know patience is key right now, so I wait. Her hand reaches up to graze my face before she leans up and hesitantly touches her lips to mine. The innocence radiating off of her envelopes me as a soft sigh of breath caresses me. Her arms wind around my shoulders and I feel her deepen the kiss, her tongue reaching out to run along my lower lip. She’s going to be my undoing; I know it yet don’t particularly care at this point. A soft breathy moan reaches my ears, causing my control to waver a little more.
“Loki.” It’s barely a whisper, yet I hear her and take over, slanting my head slightly so that I can deepen the kiss. My hands want to roam yet a small part of me remembers that we’re in public, standing next to her vehicle. Not in my room at the clubhouse. Not in the living room at her place. My body hardens as images of us intertwined with each other flashes through with me teaching her while we enjoy one another. I know we’re nowhere near that point in our relationship, but my dick doesn’t, and it takes everything in me to rein in that desire, so I don’t scare her off.
When my lungs are screaming at me, I pull back and take in her rosy cheeks, hooded eyelids and swollen lips. My heart is pounding as if I ran ten miles with full gear, like we used to do when we were active duty. Brushing some stray hair back from her face, I say, “Drive safely, Angel. Text me when you get home.”
“It’s not that far, Loki,” she replies, grinning at me.
“Doesn’t matter, CeeCee. Anything could happen between here and there. Just humor me, okay?”
She shakes her head but says, “I will, I promise.”
“Good. Now, if you have any questions or concerns, let me know, okay?”
“Trust me, if anything happens or I’m worried, you’re the first person I’ll reach out to.”
“Smarty pants,” I tease before leaning down to kiss her forehead.
Shrugging, she says, “I’m serious. Neither Patsy nor Momma M have ever had a tattoo, so they wouldn’t know what to do.”
I lean in and kiss her again. She’s captivated me from the first time I saw her, and now that I’ve had a taste, I want more. So much more. “Go on, Angel. I’ll wait to hear from you, okay?”
“Okay, Loki. Thank you for today.”
“You’re more than welcome.”
I watch as she gets into her car then pulls away. She has no clue that part of my heart is already hers.
Chapter Eleven
CeeCee
“That’s going to look so badass when it’s done,” Patsy says as she smoothes the lotion on my back.
“I think so too,” I state. “What are your plans this week?” I ask. She’s been gone more than home lately and quite honestly, I miss my best friend.
“I’ve got a thing out of town. I leave tomorrow and will be gone for a few weeks.”
“Weeks?”
“Yeah, we’re setting up a new office, so I’m needed to help with training, that kind of thing.”
“Oh, okay. Do you need me to help you pack?” I know I enjoy my solitude but now I’m wondering how I’ll handle weeks of being all alone and I’m suddenly glad I got my pets to keep me company.
“Nah, I’m pretty much ready. Just need to pack up my bathroom things is all. Can you take me to the airport tomorrow?”
“Uh, yeah, won’t be a problem.”
“Good. And I went ahead and paid my bills then transferred money into your account for the house stuff, okay?” she questions.
“That’s fine, Patsy. You could’ve waited, I’ve got enough.”
“This way, I can shop,” she teases.
I roll my eyes at her and ask, “You gonna have it shipped here?”
“Probably.” She giggles. “I know I haven’t been around a lot lately and I’m sorry for that.”
“Patsy, you’ve got every right to have a life. You don’t need to worry about me, I’m fine.”
“You know I’m going to worry, Cee. You’re my best friend; we’ve been through a lot together, remember?”
“I know. Now, you need to go do whatever it is you have to before you’re gone. Chinese tonight?” I inquire.
“That sounds good. If you call it in, I’ll pick it up on my way home.”
“Okay, text me before you leave and I’ll call it in,” I reply.
She pulls me into a quick hug and says, “Will do.”
Once she leaves, I head into the office to see what I need to do. Opening up their cage, I let the boys out then refill their food and water dishes. “Okay, boys, I think I’m gonna go for a run.” I leave them and head into my bedroom where I quickly change into my sports bra, a t-shirt and some leggings. With my identification and phone in my side pocket, I grab my Bluetooth earbuds, house keys and a bottle of water. We’re not far from some trails so after stretching, I start out in a light jog.
I’ve already completed two rounds of the trails, sweat is flowing freely and I’m debating a third circuit when my way is suddenly blocked by two men. “What do we have here?” one asks. My gut is telling me they’re trouble, so I try to back away slowly. “Where are you going?” the first one questions, moving closer. “We just want to talk.”
“Yeah, talk,” the second one snickers out.
My phone chooses to ring, which they can’t hear since it
’s on silent and without thinking, I hit the answer button on my earbuds. “You don’t look like you want to talk,” I state, readying myself to run. I’m silently praying that I still have enough energy to get away from them. Feet don’t fail me now.
“Why wouldn’t we want to talk to a pretty girl such as yourself?” Jerkface one asks. I see a glint of something and spin around to take off. I can hear Loki in my ear yelling for me to give him a hint as to where I am, but my focus is on getting away.
“Because neither of you are dressed to run on these trails,” I spit out. “Hey, that hurt,” I cry when I feel a shove in the middle of my back. I hit the ground with a bone-jarring thud, Loki’s voice telling me he’s on his way. I hope he gets here but am not holding out high hopes since there are two of them and one of me. “Get off me,” I scream, rolling to my back in an effort to dislodge the one who landed on me. I might not be the strongest woman around, but the adrenaline coursing through me right now has me feeling like I’m Wonder Woman as I kick, scratch and punch. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep them from raping me, which is something I’m not sure I could come back from.
Loki
“CeeCee, Angel, hold on, I’m coming,” I command, already headed to my bike. I have no clue if she can hear me, so I send up a silent prayer that whatever is happening, she fights with everything she has. I’ll deal with the aftermath if it comes to that. I see movement out of my peripheral and realize that several of my brothers are right behind me. My focus, though, is the woman on the other end of the phone who is obviously being assaulted. I know where she’s at, well, I have a vague idea anyhow, since we’ve run together a few times now. She’s a creature of habit with her runs, which right now, is a good thing.
As I weave in and out of traffic, my mind is racing, worried about what I’ll find when we get there. “C’mon, get the fuck out of my way,” I seethe as a slow-moving car pulls from a driveway, barely missing me. “You fucker, you should’ve seen me.” He gets the one-finger salute as I accelerate past him, determined to find my woman.
Pulling into the opening of the trails, I’m off my bike almost before I have the stand down and my keys in hand. “CeeCee,” I yell, running in the direction that we’ve gone before. I can hear my brothers behind me, and I’m grateful that despite the fact we’re in boots, we know how to maneuver quickly because time is of the essence. I guess you can take the man out of the military, but you can’t take the military out of the man. My brothers spread out around me as we quickly make our way down the trail.
Through my own Bluetooth, I hear the unmistakable sounds of flesh hitting flesh, then a male voice bites out, “You fucking cunt, you’re going to pay for that one.” Pushing the fear for her back down, I focus on the mission at hand.
Find her.
Protect her.
Decimate the men who thought they could touch her.
“You’re a worm, you piece of shit,” my woman says. “Preying on a woman because you think she’s weaker? Sucks to be you, doesn’t it?” I hear a scream then realize that it’s not from her and a grin lifts my lips even though fear has a grip on my heart.
Don’t taunt them, I think, my feet moving even faster. Please, baby, don’t taunt them.
Her shrill scream of pain nearly causes me to stumble, especially when I hear the hitch in her voice as she says, “You may think we’re the weaker sex, but I’m not going down without a fight, you bastard.” Once again, I hear the sounds of a struggle as flesh meets flesh, her cries of pain ringing in my ear.
“Where are you, Angel?” I mutter, my eyes moving in all directions. I see movement slightly off the trail and veer off the path, my brothers following behind.
“Get your woman,” Poseidon commands. “We’ve got these two pussies.” I run to her crumpled form as Poseidon and Dutch grab the two punks. Briefly glancing at them, I notice that both are worse for the wear.
I drop to her side, my hands roaming over her to see where she’s hurt. When she moans, I feel as though I can once again breathe. “CeeCee? Sweetheart, I’m here,” I murmur.
“L-l-loki?” Her voice is hoarse sounding, evidence of her screams, but other than some superficial scratches, a torn shirt and scuffed knees, she appears to be okay. “H-h-how did you know where to find me?”
I know she’s stuttering because of the stress, something she finally broke down and shared with me. “We’ve run together remember, Angel?” I help her sit up, barely holding in my hiss when I see her bloodied back.
“She okay?” Poseidon calls out.
“Yeah, brother,” I reply, helping her stand. She winces when she puts weight on her leg, but I’m not sure if it’s because she’s injured, or her adrenaline is crashing. Right now, I wish Trident was here or Atlas, but Trident’s pulling a shift at the hospital and Atlas is out with Orion on the skip trace. “Let’s get you home, CeeCee.”
“S-s-should we call the cops?”
“Poseidon and Dutch have it under control, sweetheart. I need to get you home so we can see where you’re hurt,” I reply, scooping her into my arms. The walk back to my bike doesn’t take as long as I thought it would and soon, I’m setting her back on her feet. “You okay to ride?” I ask as she shakily runs her hand across her head.
“I-i-t’s not far, I’ll just hold on,” she replies. “I don’t even know how you found me.”
“You answered the phone, Angel,” I say as I fasten my helmet on her head. I need to get her one of her own and lament the fact that our first ride together is under these conditions. “Then you mentioned the trails.”
I help her on, unable to stop myself from kissing her forehead. “T-t-thank you for finding me,” she stammers out. I swipe an errant tear from her cheek then gently kiss her lips.
“I’ll always find you, Angel,” I promise. “If it’s in my power to do so, I’ll always find you.”
Back at her house, I take the keys from her shaking hands and lead her inside. “Let’s get you cleaned up so I can see how badly you’re hurt,” I instruct. “Come on, baby,” I urge when she hesitates to go further than the foyer. “I’m right behind you.”
Chapter Twelve
Loki
I walk her to her room then into the bathroom. Turning on the shower, I set the temperature for her then go to leave so she has privacy. “No, stay, please,” she says, placing her hand on my bicep. “I don’t want to be alone.”
“Okay, sweetheart, whatever you need,” I reply. She strips down and steps into the shower, her lush, beautiful body on full display, which has me hardening, despite the circumstances. She’s got grass and twigs in her hair, a bruise coming up on her cheek, scratches on her arms and back, yet she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I quickly undress, leaving my boxers on and step into the shower as well. “Here, let me,” I soothe when she bites back a cry of pain raising her arms. “You just let the water run over you, baby, I’ll get you clean.”
As the water sluices over her body, I carefully remove the twigs from her hair then unbind the braid she had it in. Turning her so her face is away from the stream, I run my fingers through to get it wet. Grabbing her shampoo, I work it into her hair and spend long minutes massaging her scalp. Her moan of approval has me hardening impossibly further. “That feels good,” she admits, turning to rinse out the suds. Once she’s done that, I condition her hair then reach for the soap, my goal now to clean the scratches and examine the possible damage to her tattoo. I’m hoping the blood is simply from being brushed against since it’s so fresh. Regardless, if the assault caused any damage, I can fix it once she heals.
“Turn,” I instruct. “I need to clean these scratches.”
“D-did they ruin the tattoo?” she asks.
“I’ll check but don’t worry, I suspect it’s from you scrubbing against the ground.”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“This. You being here, saving me then taking care of me.”
“You’re my woman, CeeCee,
so I’ll spend the rest of my life taking care of you.”
“Oh really?” she asks.
“Definitely,” I reply, leaning in to kiss behind her ear. I feel the shiver that runs through her and bite back a grin. “Now, let me check your back, sweetheart.” She turns and I hold back the hiss that tries to escape when I see how red her back looks. Being extremely careful, I run my soapy hand across her shoulders. She cries out but doesn’t move as I wash her, grateful to see that despite what was done, the scrapes are superficial and didn’t compromise the integrity of the tattoo. “Okay, CeeCee, it looks good. Let’s get you dried off so I can treat your bumps and scratches.”
She shuts the water off then steps out of the shower with me following her. I take the towel from her hand and gently begin drying her off as she flushes bright red. “I, um, I can do that,” she murmurs.
“Baby, you’re beautiful,” I reply, continuing to pat at her exposed skin. I know my dick is in plain sight through my boxers, but right now, I’m ignoring him as well as the urge to pick her up and carry her into the bedroom.
“I think all those hours squinting over tattoos has ruined your eyes,” she teases, giggling a bit. “Because there’s no way I could be considered beautiful with these.” She waves her hand across her upper body where her scars reside.
“You know what those represent to me?” I ask, keeping my tone light. Before she can respond, I continue. “They show me that you’re a survivor. They tell me that despite how you were treated, your life with your foster mom was enough to teach you how to be kind, generous, loving.”
“I’m also shy, socially awkward, and a bit introverted,” she sasses, her hands on her hips.
“I happen to like shy, socially awkward introverts,” I reply, leaning in and softly kissing her. “So there.” I quickly dry off, slipping my wet boxers down. I realize I’m naked, but there’s no helping that right now. She’s my first priority. “Come on, go get on the bed. Where’s your first aid kit?”
Loki's Angel: A Poseidon's Warriors MC novel - Book 3 Page 9