When we reach the doors to exit the clubhouse, one of the prospects is standing there with a giant umbrella in his hands. “Make sure she doesn’t get wet,” Loki demands as we walk through to where his truck is sitting. Because it’s a bit cooler outside, he left it idling so I wouldn’t get chilled. The prospect opens my door, holding the umbrella in such a way that I’m able to get in without so much as a drop of rain hitting me. Once I’m inside, he closes the door so I can buckle up. “You ready, sweetheart?” Loki questions. I glance at him and nod.
“Let’s do this, honey. We’ve got plans to do nothing this afternoon except just be.”
“Yeah, we do,” he replies, smirking at me, which causes me to blush.
He drives us across town to a state-run hospice. When I found out where she was, I wondered if it would be drab but as he pulls into the parking lot, I see that it looks like a large, one-story ranch house, not a place where people go to spend their last days. He pulls underneath the canopy that’s over the front doors, gets out and comes around then helps me out. “Wait here, I’ll go park,” he instructs.
He quickly parks then runs through the rain until he’s by my side. “Thank you for bringing me today.”
“I’ll always be by your side whenever possible, Angel,” he replies, lacing our fingers together. “Now, let’s go inside so you can slay this last dragon.”
We had to wait since it was shift change but finally, a nurse is leading us to her room. As we breach the doorway, I see her and feel my breath stall in my chest. She barely resembles the woman I remember as a child, much less the one I saw five years ago. Her hair is limp, her body is painfully thin. Despite the atrocities she committed against me, I feel compassion well up inside. It’s one thing for me to wish bad things on her, but to see it actually happening is eye-opening. “Well, look here, Beatrice, your daughter has come to visit,” the nurse says in a chirpy tone.
I watch my mother’s eyes open, her gaze unfocused at first until she blinks a few times. Then, I feel as though I’m pinned to the spot, unable to take one step forward. “What the hell are you doing here?” she rasps out, her bony finger pointing at me. “Did you come to gloat?”
“Why would I gloat?” I ask, keeping my tone even and face impassive. I will not allow her to get under my skin.
“Because I’m dying, you stupid whore.” I feel Loki tense at my side but shake my head almost imperceptibly to let him know it’s okay. For now, at least.
“Still doesn’t explain why I would gloat,” I reply. “Although I will say that we tend to reap what we sow. I guess that’s what’s happening to you.”
“Stupid little waste of space,” she mutters. “Should’ve aborted you when I had the chance.” Those words slice through me, but I hide my reaction from her. Loki, however, must notice, because he goes rigid.
“You know, when I first met CeeCee and saw what was done to her when she was a little girl, I was appalled. Then I got to know her and found a kind, generous, loving woman who had healed from the abuse you heaped on her. You never deserved her, Beatrice,” he spits out, “and despite the fact you’re facing imminent death and should be begging for her forgiveness, you’re still spewing vile, horrible stuff to your own flesh and blood.”
“Not sure who the fuck you are but what I say or do to my daughter is none of your business,” she states.
“I’m the man who loves her, flaws and all, so yes, it is my business,” Loki asserts.
“Well, if you’re looking for an inheritance, don’t bother.”
“Honestly? I don’t want anything from you at all,” I reply. “When I found out where you were, I decided to see you one last time. You haven’t been a part of my life for longer than I’ve been alive now which is perfectly fine with me. My mom is Momma M, not you, that’s for damn sure.”
“Then why did you come?”
“To tell you that you didn’t win, Mother,” I emphatically state. “You tried to make me feel as though I was less than, stupid, useless, a waste of space. But I’m not and while it won’t make a difference to you, I have a life I love now, with people who genuinely care about me. I feel sorry for you in a way, though, because you’re a bitter woman who is going to die all alone. I won’t be back. As far as I’m concerned, you’re already dead to me.”
With that, I turn and head back through the door, ignoring her demands for me to come back. Loki wraps his arm around me and pulls me close as we walk back to the truck, uncaring that it’s still pouring outside. Once he gets me into the truck then goes to the driver’s side, I allow the emotions I held in check to pour forth. Without saying a word, he maneuvers me so I’m in his arms then softly murmurs as I break down. “She never loved me, Loki. Why is that so hard for me to accept? I knew it then; I knew it five years ago. Why does it hurt so bad?” I wail, clutching his shirt in my hands. “I don’t understand, I couldn’t treat my worst enemy the way she’s treated me.”
“It hurts so bad because she’s your mother and she should’ve loved and cared for you unconditionally,” he quietly says, his hands gently rubbing my back in a soothing manner. “But you did have a mom, CeeCee. Momma M adores you as if she gave birth to you. It sucks that Beatrice didn’t treat you as a parent should, but you were right, she didn’t win, sweetheart. You won. You’re brave, beautiful, a survivor. A woman I’m so fucking proud to not only know, but love for the rest of my days.”
Loki
She doesn’t cry for long, not that it ultimately matters to me. I want her to get any last vestiges of pain that may have been festering out of her. She tries to pull away, but I stop her, taking the tissues that are in the side pocket of my truck then cleaning her face. “Love you, Angel,” I whisper against her lips.
“I love you too, even though right now, I must look like a hot mess,” she replies, grinning at me. Her smile is still a bit shaky, but if I’ve learned anything about her, she’s made of stronger stuff than she realizes. The evidence practically oozes from her.
“My beautiful hot mess,” I emphatically state before helping her back into her seat. Once we’re both buckled up, I start the truck then head to the local ice cream place.
“Where are we going?” she curiously asks. “I figured we were heading back to the clubhouse.”
I glance at her, smirking, then say, “When I was growing up, whenever bad shit happened, one or both of my parents would take me to get ice cream. We had it other times, of course, but my mom swore that a bad day can always be made better with a bowl of ice cream.”
“Oh, that sounds good.”
“Glad you think so, sweetheart, because they’ve got a dish there I’ve been dying to try for a long time now,” I admit.
“What is it?”
“Well, it’s a custom-made sundae of sorts but it’s designed for couples.” I see her eyes light up before she begins to giggle.
“Honey, you could probably eat it all by yourself. I’ve seen how much all of y’all put away when we eat.”
I shake my head before saying, “Think of the biggest mixing bowl you have, Angel. That’s about the size of the container they use for this concoction.”
“Holy crap,” she exclaims, her hand covering her mouth. “We might not be able to eat all of it either.”
“We’ll do our best,” I tease.
I pull into the parking lot of Sassy’s Sweet Treats and Emporium, excited to see CeeCee’s reaction when we get inside. Half of the building is like an old timey store, with candies in barrels that you can buy by the bag, along with unique knick-knacks. The other half resembles what I imagine a diner from the fifties looked like, complete with black and white checked linoleum, cozy booths along the walls, and a counter that is shaped like an L that has stools every few feet. There’s a jukebox in the corner that plays love songs and ballads from years gone by, and the waitresses have uniforms with frilly aprons. I hear her gasp when we enter the building. “Oh, this is like a blast from the past,” she states. “Can… will we have time to chec
k out all this stuff too?” she asks, waving her hand to show all the shelves.
“We’ve got all the time in the world, CeeCee,” I reply. “Today’s our day, remember?”
“Yes, it is. Come on, let’s go order one of those monstrosities.” I pull her into my side, wrapping my arm around her shoulder as we enter the ice cream shop itself. A waitress motions for us to take a seat so I lead us to a booth then slide in next to her.
“Hi, welcome to Sassy’s Sweet Treats, what can I get for you two?” a bubbly waitress asks.
“We’d like the couples conglomeration, please,” I advise.
“Okay, what flavors of ice cream would you like?” she inquires.
At CeeCee’s raised brow, I say, “We can pick three different flavors or have three servings of one.”
“Hmm, okay, we have to get chocolate, vanilla and strawberry,” she replies, looking at the back of the menu where the flavors offered are listed. “Unless you want something else?” she queries, looking at me.
“Nope, I’m good with those. Not only that, but we’ll come back again and can try different combinations.”
Her giggle has me asking, “What’s so funny?”
“Well, I see all these awesome flavors. I’ve even tried some in those little pint-sized things before. But when push comes to shove, I always fall back on the old faithfuls.”
“Ah, gotcha. Okay, what kind of sauce? Caramel, hot fudge or chocolate?”
“Is the chocolate syrupy?” she asks the waitress, who nods. “Okay, chocolate please.”
“Sliced bananas?”
“You mean like a banana split? Oh yes, please.” Her enthusiasm has me chuckling as the waitress writes it all down.
“Would y’all like something to drink as well?” she questions.
“Can I get some ice water, please?” CeeCee queries.
“Make that two, please,” I advise.
“Okay, be back in a few while your dish is being prepared.”
“I can’t believe we ate it all,” she says as we walk out to the truck, holding two bags of things that she just ‘had to have’.
“I’ve got the certificate and picture to prove it,” I tease. Apparently, if you manage to eat the whole thing, you get your picture taken as well as a certificate. One of the other employees used my phone to take our picture so I’d have a copy since we’ll go up on their Hall of Fame wall.
“I’m glad you brought me here,” she says when we finally reach the truck. Unlocking the doors, I toss the bags in the back then cup her face in my hands before gently kissing her.
“So am I, Angel. I’ll always do whatever I can to bring that smile back to your beautiful eyes.”
“Sweet talker,” she whispers before leaning up and kissing me. It quickly gets heated, a fact I realize when I hear wolf whistles nearby.
“Let’s go back to the clubhouse so we can get on with the rest of our plans for today.”
“Naked Netflix?” she teases, keeping her voice low since we seem to have gained an audience.
“Fuck yeah,” I reply.
Chapter Twenty
Loki
Once we get back to the clubhouse, I realize that it might be a bit longer before Naked Netflix commences because everyone’s hanging in the main room, pizza boxes scattered across the bar top. Since I plan to wear us out, I move toward the boxes, CeeCee in tow. “Let’s grab some food, Angel,” I state, handing her a paper plate. “You’re going to need the energy, after all.” We may have just gorged ourselves on ice cream, but we can always take some upstairs for later if she declines.
She blushes while shoving at my shoulder. “Shh, they might hear you,” she mumbles.
“Hear what?” Trident asks, coming up on her other side. “It’s a shitty day outside, for some reason all of us are actually not working for a change, so the women decided it was a Netflix kind of day or some shit.” CeeCee’s eyes grow wide when she hears Netflix then she giggles when she catches Gia wiggling her brows at her man. Seems like my brothers with old ladies are on our wavelength, which means the likelihood that the prospects will be holding down the fort is probable. Of course, not all of us have old ladies, but that won’t stop the others from going into town if they feel the need for some affection.
“Yeah, we were going to start a new series,” I reply, smirking when CeeCee smacks my shoulder again. “Gotta make sure the birds learn plenty of new words, after all.”
“I’d appreciate not hearing ‘Harder, Loki’ so get on that, would ya?” Poseidon teases, causing my woman’s face to turn blood red in embarrassment as the room breaks into laughter.
“I actually choked when I heard one of them say something about a ‘ho, which one did that?” Atlas asks.
“Are you fuckers hanging out around my suite?” I question, glaring at them.
“Why not? Your pets are fucking awesome. The dragons watch the birds fly around, chirping and of course, those two birds are hysterical when they talk. We just don’t wanna hear about your alleged prowess is all,” Atlas retorts, causing the laughter to ramp up even louder. I see the women glaring at their men as CeeCee attempts to hide her face.
“Stop embarrassing CeeCee,” Lilli commands, causing the laughter to stop. “You know this is all new to her; she doesn’t realize this is how you men are, for fuck’s sake! Behave or for some, Netflix and chill will take on a whole new meaning.” She glares at Poseidon who holds his hands up while the women giggle at how stern she’s trying to be.
“Now, Lilli, no need to be so drastic,” Poseidon states. “She knows we’re teasing, don’t you, darling?” he asks CeeCee, who nods. “There, see? No harm, no foul. Now, are you done eating, woman? Because Chelsea said she’s watching Winnie until tomorrow morning and I’ve got plans.” I watch Lilli’s face flush when she realizes what her day will be without a little one to distract her.
With lunch finally over, Chelsea and Tessie basically shoo everyone away, the single brothers except for the prospects head out and I take my old lady to our sanctuary. “Hello, boys,” CeeCee murmurs once we’re inside. “You two need to learn to keep your voices down.”
“Naked Netflix,” Squirrel says. “Harder, Loki. Yes, right there.”
“Can we find bird headphones?” she asks me, causing me to double over in laughter.
“Yes, Loki, do that again,” Moose adds, which makes her cover her face.
I pull her into my arms then kiss her senseless. “Sweetheart, at least they’re not making those delectable noises that you do when you’re lost in what we’re doing.”
“Oh my God, we’re never having sex again,” she whispers. “I can’t handle it knowing these two knuckleheads are listening, then giving a play-by-play to your brothers!” Her voice is a hiss that turns into a yelp when I scoop her up then carry her into the bathroom, shutting the door to keep the birds out. It’s a bit unnerving to have them watching me in the shower.
“We most certainly are having sex again, Angel,” I advise once I set her back on her feet. “In fact, it’ll be happening a lot today so buckle up because things are going to be a bit wild around here.”
CeeCee
No matter how many times I see him naked, I still feel as though it’s the first time. Standing in front of him as he slowly yet lovingly undresses me, my mouth waters. “So damn lucky,” I whisper, reaching out and touching one of his many tattoos.
“Yeah, I am,” he replies, his hands stroking down my sides to remove my jeans. “Shower or bath?” he asks.
“After this morning, can we make it a bath?” I hesitatingly question. It’s probably more symbolic than anything, but I need to wash that experience away.
“Absofuckinglutely,” he replies. “Let’s clip your hair up.” I smile when he grabs the brush and one of my hair ties, then quickly yet efficiently pulls it into a messy bun. I watch in amazement as he gets the water going then tosses in some of my bath salts. When he sees me, he states, “Angel, whatever’s in those salts is fucking awesome.
Definitely relaxing, although I plan to keep you on your toes too.”
He helps me into the tub then climbs in behind me, pulling me into his warm embrace. “I love you, Loki,” I tell him, my hands gliding over his thighs. “And if I didn’t say it earlier, thank you for not only going with me to see her, but also for shutting her up. You’re the first person who has ever stood up for me like that with her.”
“I was telling her the truth, Angel. I don’t know how a woman who clearly hates her life gave birth to you because despite everything she did to you, you’re a loving, kind woman.”
“I think a lot of that is Momma M’s influence,” I reply.
“Probably so, but I think most of it is you,” he states.
He starts washing me, his hands steady as they smooth over my body. As he strokes, I feel a fire of a different kind start low in my belly and soon, I’m moaning. “Are we to the Naked Netflix part of the day yet?” I tease, my hand slipping behind me to cup his dick. It’s like hot, velvet steel would feel, at least in my vivid imagination. He hisses when my thumb swipes across the head, before I tighten my grip.
“Yes, we are,” he grunts out, standing then helping me up before grabbing a towel to dry me off. He barely swipes the towel across himself before I find myself over his shoulder, my head hanging down watching the most delectable ass walk determinedly toward the bed. “No, boys, y’all aren’t invited,” he firmly announces as he shuts the door. I hear Moose and Squirrel start squawking as he tosses me onto the bed. “Now, where were we?” he asks as he joins me on the bed.
“Right here,” I sass, reaching out to grab him again. I know I surprise him when I manage to flip us so he’s on his back, his dick jutting out proudly. “Mmmm, I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now,” I murmur before leaning down to take him into my mouth. I can’t get him in all the way, so I use my hands to stroke while I suck and lick.
Loki's Angel: A Poseidon's Warriors MC novel - Book 3 Page 15