“Baby, I’m not going to hurt you.” He tread carefully, thinking his reaction had set me off.
“I know.” I whispered, eyes locked to his.
His head jerked with surprise. He gently pushed me back on the bed to cover my body with his. He stroked my face tenderly, like I was made of glass.
“This swine, Jimmy, he got a last name?” Cade asked carefully, his quiet tone still shaking with anger.
“Yup.” I said slowly. “O’Fallhan.” I told him on a slight whisper. Something flashed through Cade’s eyes, something too quick to catch, recognition?
“You know him?” I asked softly.
“No baby.” He said stroking my head. “What prison is he in?”
“Ummm, Attica.” I answered, having memorized all but his prisoner number, needing to know where he was, where he would be for the rest of his miserable life.
“Why?” I added, getting a bad feeling.
“No reason babe, just need to know that fucker is locked up, or else I would hunt him down and kill him. Still might.” His voice was even, too even, like he didn’t trust himself to raise it.
Cade’s reaction rattled me, he was obviously really angry, for me. More importantly, it showed how much he cared about me
“No honey, he doesn’t deserve to die.” I stroked his cheek. Cade directed a dangerous look at me. “A man like that, being locked up for the rest of his life, is exactly what he deserves. Death is too easy for him.” I watched as the look on Cade’s face turned to a sad sort of pride.
“You are the strongest woman I’ve ever met.” Cade’s mouth descended on mine and he kept me distracted, helping to keep the demons at bay.
I was lying on top of Cade, sated from yet another round of love making, tracing my fingertip over the skin on his left pec. I had never really had the time to inspect his tats up close. And man, they were kick ass. He was covered, but not it stupid, poorly done scribbles, he was a work of art. He had a huge tat, spanning his chest, two doves, one on each side, pulling a script, which read ‘keep the faith’. Then above his left pec, he had intertwined a set of scales, with Peace on one side, Order in the other. His full sleeve started at the top of his neck, with a huge angel, sprawled from his shoulder, spanning his back and arm. His forearm became so thick with tats, I was engrossed discovering them all I actually lifted Cades arm to get a better look. I forgot for a second that he was an actual living, breathing man.
“Like what you see baby?” He growled.
I peeked up through my eyelashes at him.
“Your tats are the shit.” I whispered back, and his eyes got that funny intense look they had when I was wearing his tee.
“You hungry babe?”
“What?” I was thrown at the abrupt change in subject.
“Food? You know the stuff we eat to survive?” He asked deadpan.
I burst out laughing and didn’t stop for a wee while. I knew Cade was starting to get pissed off when he hauled me up his body and growled. “Babe.”
“Sorry honey, I think that’s the first time you have actually attempted something resembling a joke.” I wheezed, wiping a tear from underneath my eye dramatically. “I decided to savor in it.”
I smirked and he just stared at me. He then picked me up, walking us to the kitchen before unceremoniously plopping me down on his kitchen counter.
“Cade!” I jumped off the counter as he pulled out bacon and eggs out of the refrigerator.
“What woman?”
“I don’t have any clothes on.” I said stating the obvious.
“Not planning on walking out the door anytime soon babe.” Cade set a fry pan on the stove before walking back up to me and setting me back off the counter. He stayed there, standing between my legs, hands either side of my body.
“Besides, I like the view. And I like knowing, if I feel like it, I can fuck you, no barriers to worry about.” He gave me a quick bite on the breast to make his point, then cupped me between my legs. My eyes rolled back into my head for a bit, that area highly sensitive.
“Yeah but I am sitting naked on your kitchen counter, it’s not very hygienic.” I breathed out.
Cade smirked. “I don’t give a fuck babe, in fact I may never wash that counter again. Now stay.” He ordered before turning back to the stove.
My temper made its appearance.
“Did you just order me like a dog?” I whispered menacingly.
Cade eyed me. “Nope. Dogs listen a fuck of lot more than you.”
I huffed, wide eyed and decided to ignore him. I gave myself a proper look at his kitchen, it was quite big, for a bachelor pad. All the appliances were stainless steel, not brand new, but nothing to sneeze at either. His countertops were white, his cupboards brown. It ran into a sort of dining area at the back of the house, where a cluttered wooden dining table sat, and beyond that a set of French doors looked like they led out to a patio area. Without being able to stop myself, my gaze went back to Cade, putting bread in the toaster. Unlike me, he wasn’t naked. He had put on his jeans, commando, top button undone. He had his back to me, and I got the chance to marvel at the huge tattoo covering his whole back. It was similar to his patch, the grim reaper riding a bike under a road of skulls, with script reading ‘Sons of Templar’ at the bottom. The background was flames and they were so vivid they looked almost real. Even though I wasn’t a big fan of skulls and crossbones, I had to say it was awesome. I realized we had been sitting in silence for quite a while, not uncomfortable, I guessed with the amount of words we had shared throughout the day, silence might be good.
“How old are you?” I asked, curious. He was definitely older than my 25 years but I couldn’t quite figure out how much.
He glanced at me from the stove. “I’m thirty two.”
My eyes popped out. “Seriously? Wow, you are an old man.”
He turned off the heat. “You didn’t seem to mind an old man fucking you ten minutes ago.”
“No, well as long as you don’t put your hip out.” I continued teasing.
“Don’t you want to know how old I am?” I asked after he didn’t reply.
Cade glanced at me. “Already know how old you are Gwen.”
That was a surprise. “What did you do a background check on me or something?” I joked, my brows narrowed when he just looked back at me.
“Did you seriously do a background check on me?” I asked in a sharp tone.
“Babe as soon as I saw you outside your house knew I had to have you. Just had one of the boys look you up so I knew what I was working with. I hardly call looking up your Facebook page a background check.” He replied amusement dancing in his eyes.
I opened my mouth then closed it again, unable to think of a response to this. Cade turned back to our food.
A phone ringing made my jump and Cade heard it too.
“That’s yours babe. Ignore it. I only just got you without interruptions I don’t need drama from your crazy best friend.” He turned back, expecting me to obey.
But I didn’t, of course. After scowling at his back for the comment about Amy, I leapt off the counter and ran in the direction of the ringing. I wouldn’t normally, but that was Ian’s tone! I hadn’t heard from him in months, due to him being in fuck knows where doing fuck knows what. I worried about him all the time and wasn’t going to miss a chance to talk to him. I skidded into the foyer where I found my bag and searched through it as my phone kept ringing.
“I’m coming I’m coming” I chanted hoping it wouldn’t ring off. I grabbed it then put it to my ear. “Hello!” I shouted breathless.
“Ace!” I heard Ian yell. It was slightly fuzzy but man it was good to hear his voice.
“Ian! Thank god I was getting worried! Hold on one second.” I quickly put the phone down and grabbed Cade’s tee which was thankfully at the front door. I felt weird talking to my brother while I was standing here naked.
“I’m back. Ian I have missed you so much. Where are you? When are you coming home? Are
you okay?” I shot at him, thinking I might have inherited my mother’s trait when it came to phone conversations.
Ian read my mind. “Jesus Ace, you’re as bad as Mum.” I heard the laugh in my brother’s voice and smiled.
“Can’t tell you the answer to the first two, but yes I am fine.” He reassured me sounding healthy enough.
I breathed into the phone, letting out the worry I didn’t even know I was carrying. “I’m so glad to hear that Ian, it’s so hard not hearing from you for months at a time, I get so worried!” My voice raised a bit at the end. “I think you should retire, get an office job, something where you don’t have the possibility of getting riddled with bullets.” I ordered voice shaking, I guess I was a bit raw from the days events.
“Bloody hell Gwen, cool it, I’m as tough as an ox, you know that.”
I sniffled, letting out a little laugh.
“Anyway, how are you is the more important question?” He asked with concern. “You settling into your new town alright? Managing everything okay?”
“Yeah Ian, everything’s fine. Great actually.” I told him with a smile in my voice. “This town is perfect, I wish you could see it. Kind of reminds me of home. I just know you’d love it.”
“Well baby sis, was going to surprise you but fuck it. I’ve got leave coming up, just for a few days, and we are currently closer to the U S of A than NZ so I’ll be coming to stay with you for a couple of nights.”
I squealed, yes a full on girl squeal. Loud. I jumped to my feet and bounced up and down like a little kid.
“Ohmigod!” I shouted, smiling wide at Cade who appeared in the doorway, arms crossed.
“Jesus babe, lucky I don’t have neighbors.” He grumbled, scowling at my phone, no doubt pissed off I didn’t obey his orders. I scowled back, shushing him with my finger.
Ian who was laughing at my reaction, stopped abruptly,
“Who’s that Ace?” He asked, voice hard.
He’s very protective of me, with good reason, and I blanched a bit thinking of how the hell I was going to handle his reaction to Cade. And there was definitely going to be a reaction. After seeing his sister almost die at the hands of one biker, I didn’t think he’ll be too impressed I was with another one.
“Who?” I asked innocently.
“The fuckin man in the background.” My brother’s voice had turned hard.
“There’s no one, just the TV, sorry” I lied, hating lying to my brother, hating the scorching look Cade was directing at me.
“You’re lying sis, but I got to go.” He said, sounding pissed. “I will be there in a couple of weeks, call you when I get to the States. Take care of yourself, Love you.”
“See you then Ian. Love you.” I rang off and was immediately confronted by one unhappy biker.
“What the fuck was that babe? Who is Ian? And why in fucks name did you lie?” He asked, voice menacing.
I stared at him, and couldn’t help but smile, rushing into his arms. He caught me, not expecting it though so he went back on one foot.
“Ian’s coming for a visit in two weeks!” I sang, ignoring the grumpy look on his face I kissed him.
“Want to tell me who Ian is babe?” He clipped, still unhappy.
I stared at him confused and realized I hadn’t told him about Ian. I forgot that we hardly knew each other because it felt so right between us. I hopped down, but Cade kept his hands firmly around my waist, face close to mine.
I smiled up at him, giddy with excitement, even in the face of his mood.
“Ian’s my big brother!” I watched as his face changed, but he still seemed pissed, so I elaborated.
“Ian’s in the army, not like run of the mill, but Navy Seal type shit. Or the NZ equivalent.” I waved my hand. “Anyway I don’t know exactly what he does, I know it’s dangerous, I know I never hear from him, hardly ever see him and I miss him like crazy! Worry about him every day.”
Cade’s face softened a bit.
“Can’t tell you how good it was to hear his voice, I haven’t seen him in a year, he managed to get to New York while I was in hospital.” Tears welled in my eyes, I shook my head, forcing myself to think happy thoughts.
“Anyway that doesn’t matter cause I get to see him next week!” I chanted, whipping out of Cade’s arms and darting into the kitchen.
I plonked myself on the counter where I saw Cade had set down two plates of food. I sat in front of the smaller one, obviously meant for me. I reached down for my toast when Cade’s arm snatched my wrist and he turned the stool around to get in my space.
“Real happy for you babe, don’t get me wrong, glad you get to see your brother, since you obviously love him and have been worried. But you haven’t answered my question.” His face was close to mine.
“What question?” I asked, genuinely confused.
“Why did you lie to him, he obviously heard my voice, why didn’t you tell him you had a man?” Cade sounded seriously ticked.
I bit my lip, unsure of how to approach this. Cade reached in and grabbed my lip.
“Don’t try and distract me baby.”
“I wasn’t!” I protested, but he kept glaring at me, I rolled my eyes feeling mildly irritated at this intense man.
“Well we are new and I don’t really know what we are. Plus I didn’t really want to tell my big brother, who saw me lying in a hospital bed half dead at the hands of my biker ex, that I was currently involved with another biker.” I explained, trying to be gentle. The look on Cade’s face says I haven’t been.
“I ain’t him babe, nothing like him. I would never fucking hurt you! I would take a bullet rather than hurt you.” He growled. “As to what we are you fucking know, you fucking know your mine, my Old Lady.” I sat back feeling winded. I didn’t know he thought of me as his Old Lady that was serious. He didn’t feel the love at this moment though.
“And I’m getting fuckin sick of you pigeonholing me into your biker stereotype.” He finished, snatching his plate then storming through the kitchen and out the French doors.
“Shit.” I mumbled under my breath. I played that wrong. I sat forward and started eating my bacon and egg sandwich, partly cause I sensed Cade needed some time alone, partly cause I was starving; I would think about the calories later, or never. I more than worked them off with Cade earlier.
I polished off the last bite of my delicious sandwich, slid off my stool and washed my plate. I decided to clean the kitchen, partly because it needs it, partly because I was putting off talking to Cade. I finished, then made my way out to the backyard. When I stepped outside, I couldn’t help but gasp, the view was amazing. The ocean yawned in front of us, a small pathway lead to the sand. There was tile beneath my feet, a huge barbeque to the left of me, big old picnic table and fire pit in front of me. Some really awesome outdoor chairs were to my left, where Cade was sitting with his feet up. He didn’t glance my way. I gingerly walked over to his chair, standing for a second, then hopped on top of him, straddling him. I was very aware I wasn’t wearing any underwear and my bare female parts were rubbing against his delicious, denim clad male parts, I tried not to let it distract me as I met his eyes.
“Bout fuckin time baby.” He grunted, pulling me down to him, claiming my mouth in a rough kiss. I was slightly surprised but not complaining.
“Sorry I um, didn’t really handle things the best before.” I began.
“No you fuckin didn’t.” Cade stated.
“Let me finish.” I snapped.
Cade smirked, only he could get me pissed off mid apology.
“I was just excited to hear from my brother, and he’s pretty protective of me, was even before everything with Jimmy. We are close, thick as thieves since we were kids. Since he’s older than me, he’s always tried to look out for me. Somehow blames himself for my attack.” I shook my head. “Ridiculous, but I know it affected him, deep, seeing me in that hospital bed. And I just know what his reaction is going to be to you when he meets you, and it just suc
ks cause I want the men in my life to get along.” I pouted.
“Men in your life?” Cade repeated, voice sounding funny.
“Well yeah.” I said, trailing off.
He smiled, like flat out beamed and it was beautiful, but I didn’t get to enjoy it before claimed my mouth for a passionate kiss. He pulled back, resting his head on mine.
“Get why your brothers going to react babe. Seeing you, lying broken in the hospital, at the hands of some sick fucker. That will mark a man. Mark his soul.” His voice was hard, but I saw strong emotion in my mans eyes.
“So I’ll cut him some slack, first time he meets me.” He conceded.
“Thanks.” I muttered, sarcastically.
Cade pulled me back into the recliner chair, and we watched the sun set. Who would’ve thought, watching the sunset with my rough biker.
Chapter 8
Word travelled fast in small towns, everyone seemed to know about Cade and I now we were official. I had constant visitors to the store asking me subtly about my new relationship and they all seemed happy for me. Amy was the happiest she had literally clapped her hands the first time she saw Cade and I together, needless to say my man had gotten the all important best friends approval.
It was Friday, and I was happy, deliriously happy. The past three days with Cade were amazing, a lot of sex, mind blowing sex. The store was great, I had just hired a young girl, Lily to come in part time, while she studied. She was 20 and stunning. Her blonde hair was parted straight down the middle, going to about her mid back. She had blue grey eyes, a slender figure and great style. I hired her on the spot. She was shy, but lovely.
It was just her and me as we were closing in an hour and Rosie and Amy wanted to get ready for the party at the clubhouse. Apparently there was always some kind of party on a Friday. I let them go early because Cade was picking me up and taking me straight there. I was nervous, but had dressed accordingly as I wouldn’t have time to change.
I was wearing tight, I mean made for me tight black skinny jeans, with red sky high spiked heeled sandals. I was also wearing a silk, red camisole, it wasn’t tight, but came into a v between my breasts, had super thin straps, that crossed over at my back where the top dipped, way low. My hair was up, curled with a few strands hanging down. I had just finished redoing my makeup, I decided to go for smoky, kohl rimmed eyes and minimal other makeup, because every classy girl knew, you either did up your eyes or your lips, never both. I kept my jewelry minimal, with some diamond studs and some silver bracelets. I was hoping my outfit was appropriate, I hadn’t been to a biker party before, Jimmy never let me, so I didn’t know what to expect.