Unbreakable: Unrequited Part Two (Fallen Aces MC Book 2) Page 14

  “Tell me one thing,” I ask, inching closer to the edge of my seat. “Tonight, when you leave, where will you go?”

  His head lifts. “Elena . . .”

  “Will it be to deal with Carlos?” I shake my head, frustration ripe at the fact I have to spell this out to him. “I went through hell to get out of there, King, and if you go . . . if you leave here to do something other than finish what we’ve started . . .”

  “Baby.” He lifts both hands to grip the sides of his head. “I will. I promise that it’s not over. I’ll fuckin’ kill the bastard for what he’s done to you.”

  “But?”

  “But I need to do it right. I need to go back to the club and settle the problems in-house before I can spend time away without it being noticed, without it being a problem.”

  The chair scrapes across the floor as I launch to my feet and march toward the kitchen, then hesitate and storm back to stand before him. “Will I ever come first for you?”

  “What do you mean? Of course you fuckin’ come first.” He reaches out to take my arm in his hand.

  I jerk away. “I need you, King. I try to understand, I try to be patient, but fuck it all, I need you tonight. Give me that, please.”

  He swallows, and his hand tugs at his beard. He’s agitated, unsettled. Good. Show me you care, King. Make the right decision. “I’ll stay.”

  The relief is immediate; I could float away with the weight that’s been lifted. “Thank you.”

  “I’ll leave tomorrow.” He smiles and then chuckles. “I’m sure I’d be fuck all use to those assholes anyway with you on my mind.” He turns on the seat to sit side on and pats his knee. “Come here.”

  With a sigh, I round his seat and lower myself to his legs sideways. He places his large hands on one of my hips and a thigh and shunts me closer so our bodies are pressed tightly together. One arm snakes around my middle, the other firmly wrapped up my side to my shoulder. When he pulls me close like this, when I’m trapped in his embrace, how am I supposed to think straight?

  “I missed you so fuckin’ much.” His words are muffled in my shoulder, his face buried against my arm. “I’m sorry if I’ve been distant.”

  I relent and wrap a hand around his thick neck, toying with the ends of his hair. “I didn’t expect fireworks, King. You picked me up in a hell of a situation; we didn’t exactly have time to stop for a romantic dinner for two.”

  He laughs, shaking his head against my side. “True that.”

  “But I am confused,” I admit. “You are distracted by something else, and I guess . . .” How do I say it? How do I convey how I feel without him taking the worst of it and calling me crazy or possessive?

  King pulls back, his eyes searching my own. “Tell me. I can’t make it right if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

  “I wonder if I’ll ever be your first priority.” I close my eyes, certain he’ll simply sigh and push me off to walk away.

  His arms clinch tighter. “I wish I could explain it all, tell you everything. Fuck, it would make life so much easier, but you’re goin’ to have to trust me, baby. Trust me when I tell you that what I’m doin’, this stuff I’m heading off to deal with, it comes back to us in a roundabout kind of way. I sort this out, it makes our life easier too.”

  I nod. His lips twitch in a sad smile as I lift a hand and stroke the side of his face. He’s so torn, so upset that he can’t lay it all out for me. In a way it deepens my love for him, my appreciation for what he has done. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t give my concerns any stock, but he does. He worries about what I worry about, and for that, I love him.

  “I think we’ve talked about enough depressing topics for one night, don’t you?” I say.

  He smiles, and pushes his chin up to ask for a kiss. As if I’d ever say no.

  I lean down and meet him half way, pressing my lips to his lightly. “I love everything about you, even the frustrating bits.”

  “Those are my favorite,” he says with a smile. “Because if I never made you mad, I wouldn’t have a reason to win you over again.”

  “Really?” I chuckle. “And how exactly would you win me over?”

  His fingers trace my cheekbone and then across the arch of my brow. “By proving everything I do is for you.”

  I look away, warmed by his words but also saddened by his sacrifice. He could have been happier without me, without my troubles. He could have lived a different life. “I hope that one day I can show you that it was all worth it.”

  He coaxes my chin up. The pad of his thumb skims across my bottom lip. “Each day I get with you, each hour, every minute we’re together—they’re what makes it worth it.”

  Maybe so, but there has to be more. I understand what he says, I do, but I wish I could do more—I wish I could give him more than a complex shell of a woman.

  He wants to protect me from the evil in my life, but in truth, I wish I could be the one to save him from all of this. I wish that grand gesture could be mine to give him, because damn it all if he isn’t worth every second of pain, every moment of doubt, and every inch of regret that I had.

  TWENTY

  King

  Arms crossed behind my head, I lie back and watch Elena as she fusses in the bathroom across the hall. Only her reflection in the mirror is visible as she brushes her teeth and runs a wet cloth over her face. My breath hitches when she stops and stares at herself, something akin to distress in her eyes. She lifts a hand to press her fingers lightly to her cheek, tilting her chin to move one side of her face closer to the mirror.

  A frustrated sigh drifts across the open space, and she drops her face, bracing both hands on the counter so her shoulders are hunched. Her lips move as though she talks to herself, but I can’t hear what she’s saying. The light goes out, and she crosses over to where I rest, a fake-as-fuck smile plastered on her face.

  “Don’t lie to me,” I say.

  She hesitates beside the bed, hand hesitant over the bedside lamp, and frowns. “What do you mean?”

  “I could see you from here. You’re not happy.”

  She turns and drops her ass to the mattress. “I’m tired, King.”

  “Understandably.”

  “Not tired after a long day.” She shakes her head. “I’m mentally tired; I’m done. I can’t do this day in and day out.” Elena twists to face me, placing a hand beside her to lean her weight on that arm. “How long until this is truly behind us, huh?”

  I shrug. Wish I knew. World would be a lot simpler if I had that kind of foresight. Maybe then I wouldn’t have left her at that motel in the vain hope I could get the club’s backing.

  She doesn’t say any more until she’s stripped her dress and underwear to climb in beside me naked. I lift both eyebrows as she tugs the sheet up over herself. “What? I don’t have any nightwear.”

  It’s going to be a long night. “So I see.” I turn to face her and reach out to place a hand over her stomach. She traps it under her own and skims the curves and hollows of her mid-section with our combined touch.

  “Have you ever thought what you’d name your kids? What this wee one might be called?”

  I laugh and press a kiss to her shoulder. “That’s a girly thing to do, Elena.”

  She chuckles. “I guess it is.”

  “Have you?”

  “Not yet. Been pre-occupied.” I catch the whisper of a smile.

  The gravity of our situation comes down on me like a ton of bricks. “Are you sure he never knew?”

  “Ninety percent.” Her hand stills, keeping mine captive over her bellybutton. “What are you going to do to him?” she whispers.

  I roll to my back and stare up at the ceiling. “I know what I want to do: go in there and torture the asshole so he feels every bit of pain he inflicted on you. Never done that to a man, tortured him, but I’m sure it can’t be that hard for a jaded and angry first-timer.” Visions of Carlos strung up, bleeding, and begging for reprieve flick through my mind.

&nbs
p; “But?” Elena breaks me out of my fantasy.

  “But things are complex. I mess with him, I mess with our club, and another club out of state.”

  “You won’t just let him walk though, will you?”

  Letting the guy get away scot free with what he’s done is not even an option. “I’ll think of something.” I roll toward her and wrap a hand around her side to turn her to face me, also. “Anyway. I thought you’d had enough of talkin’ about this depressin’ shit?”

  She smiles, tracing the lines of my beard with her fingertips. “I had.”

  “So what are wastin’ time for then?” I take her mouth with mine, relishing the small whimpers she makes as I push my tongue inside. Breaking away, I hold her gaze with mine. “I love you, baby. All I want is for you to go to sleep every night knowing that it’s you I wake up for.”

  “I don’t think I need to tell you that I love you too.” She smiles. “Why else would I walk through hell unless it was to reach heaven?”

  We roll together so I’m over the top of her, my arm braced beside her head as I take in the beauty before me. The woman’s been through the wringer, fought for her life in the last twelve hours, and faced more troubles than the average person would in a lifetime. And yet when she smiles there’s this raw honesty to it, this truth that I can’t seem to get enough of.

  “What are you staring at?” she asks with the hint of a laugh.

  “You.” I kiss her again, slower, more meaningful. I want this woman to know that she’s my be all and end all, the reason I choose to fight against what’s wrong in the club. People like her, people who deserve more than the shitty hand life deals them are the reason I want to work harder to make the world around me a better place.

  Her hands roam my back, skimming lines around my shoulder blades, along my spine, and across the top of my butt. She leaves a trail of goose bumps in their wake. I kiss her neck, along her collarbone, and back to her throat, relishing the freshly showered smell of a woman—my woman.

  “I didn’t close the door,” she murmurs as I trail a path between her breasts with my lips.

  “I forgot,” I say against her chest. “Got distracted.”

  Three seconds it takes me to lunge across and close the door, then return to the bed. I strip the sheets back, drinking in the sight of her naked, laid out before me, and mine for the taking. Mine to have. I don’t have to spend another night wondering what another man is doing to her, if he hurts her, or if he touches her in ways that only I should. The thought makes me want to weep with joy.

  “What are you thinking?” She beckons for me to rejoin her.

  I crawl over Elena, my legs between hers and my arms taking my weight. “That I’m fuckin’ happy you’re mine at last, that you’re where you belong.”

  Her palms blaze a path up and down my arms. “Let’s try to keep it that way, huh?” She winks, and fuck me if it’s not my undoing.

  I shimmy down the bed, crouched over the top of her, and stop when my shoulders line up with her hips. She arches her back as I press a kiss to the top of her pelvis, and then sighs as I drag my hot breath lower, skimming over her pussy to run my nose along the length of her.

  “Damn, King.”

  “You like?” I repeat the action, being sure to fan my breath over her sensitive flesh.

  “You’re a tease, aren’t you?” Her fingers knit in my hair.

  “Would you rather I did this?” I rock back and skim my tongue around the very edge of her opening, chuckling when her thighs clamp either side of my head.

  “God, yes.” Her hands urge me back again, and I oblige.

  Elena writhes, unable to keep still as I work her to the brink. I’ve missed her in so many ways: our talks, her laugh as she teases me, the way she can convey so much through a look alone, but of all the things I’ve missed this is what I’ve ached for the most—the connection.

  I slip a finger inside her heat and stoke the fire that burns in her eyes. It doesn’t take long before her hands are clenched in the sheets and I wish it was my cock inside of her, not my finger.

  Her hands tug at my shoulders, urging me upward after she’s come down from the high of her orgasm. I move as commanded, and stop only to lick and suck each nipple in turn, blowing my breath over the peaks to cause them to stiffen more. Such a beautiful sight. Her kiss is desperate, as though she’s hungered for the taste too long. I press my length against her, rubbing through the slick flesh and enjoying the small moans it elicits from her as I do.

  Time isn’t wasted between us; each touch and each caress is given with care and adoration. Her deep brown eyes watch me as I nudge the tip of my erection against her, wanting in equal parts this moment to last forever, and the high that I know comes next.

  Her hips tilt ever so slightly to seek me out, and with my lips to hers, I thrust inside. She murmurs my name over and over as I find my rhythm, desperately holding back from ending things too soon. I’ve never looked at anyone other than her; I’ve stayed true to the woman I love. The time apart has left me desperate for release.

  Turns out neither of us can last. Elena tightens around me, her muscles clenched on my length as she tips her head back and moans. I press my lips to her neck and taste the salty sweat on her flesh as I come apart soon after. My legs are weak, my toes abuzz with the high that fills me.

  It’s only when I lie beside her as she smiles that I realize the best part of making love to her is the afterglow. That sated look, the ease in her smile, all the tiny things that tell me she’s happy, loved, and feeling like a queen. The intimacy of knowing her high comes from my touch, that she hungers for me as badly as I do her—it’s immeasurable. Nothing can compare to this little slice of heaven right now.

  Elena rolls to her side, her head propped up on one hand as the fingers of her other trace lines over my chest and stomach. “I’m glad you stayed.”

  “I don’t know how I thought I couldn’t.” I lean over and press a chaste kiss to her forehead. “Some things are best said without words, don’t you think?”

  “Absolutely.” She sighs and moves closer, resting her head on my outstretched arm. “I think you won me over, handsome.”

  “Better have.” I chuckle.

  She snuggles in closer and wriggles her head around until she finds the perfect spot. “I’m scared, King.”

  “Of Carlos?”

  “Of finding out if our baby’s been harmed with everything I’ve put my body through.” A sigh wracks her body. “If anything’s happened because of what I did to get away . . . I don’t think could live with that guilt.”

  I run a hand over her shoulder and gently stroke her arm. “Mom said while you were in the shower that she’d told you about her friend.”

  Elena nods. “She’s really kind to offer.”

  “Well, she’s phoned her up and she can come check you out tomorrow.”

  Her head pops up. “Did she?”

  “Mm-hmm.” I guide her back to how she was. “Be here before lunch.”

  “You’ll stay, won’t you? You’ll be here for me when she checks me out?”

  It guts me that she’d doubt I would, but it fills me with a dread that’s ten times worse when I realize she’s right: I didn’t intend to stay. The club still sits at the forefront of my mind, nagging away like a dull headache behind my eyes. I don’t say a thing in response; instead, I squeeze her tighter to me, hoping it’ll appease her enough that she won’t press the issue.

  I may have got my princess back from the dragon, but the real fight to keep her is yet to begin.

  ***

  Elena sleeps deeply in the bed upstairs, alone. I slide my feet into my boots and head for the moonlit steps when a sharp clearing of the throat drags my attention to the swing-seat.

  “Stick around for a while, would you?” Mom scolds. Her face is highlighted with shadows cast by the pale light that spills out the front window. “Get the poor woman settled in properly before you go galloping off on your white horse.” Ther
e’s an undertone of bitterness to her words.

  “Mom . . .”

  “Lloyd.” She drops her feet to the porch and stills the seat. “Don’t you start with me, boy. You may have your damn father wrapped around your little finger, but I’m not so easily convinced that what you’re doing is right. Besides, your friend left hours ago.”

  “I know.” Hooch took the truck back to the clubhouse, but what she obviously doesn’t realize is that I had Callum two-up with one of the prospects after he dropped my bike here earlier in the evening.

  “Ask Elena what he did to her, Mom. Ask her what this asshole did to his fuckin’ wife, and then maybe you’ll understand why I have to sort this out.”

  Mom pushes to her feet and squares off with me despite the fact she barely reaches my chin. “You don’t have to sort anything out tonight. I’m aware that this man must be the devil incarnate, but Lloyd, he’ll still be breathing tomorrow. Two angry bulls running at each other will do nothing but harm the both of them. Take the night off to think through what you’re going to do.” She ducks her head and pinches the bridge of her nose as though to stave off tears. “Lord knows I don’t want you to do a thing that’ll put you at risk, but I get it. I’m sure Elena gets it. But don’t act in the heat of the moment.”

  I grit my teeth and grind my jaw as I look straight into my mother’s eyes. “Elena’s husband isn’t the only reason I need to head back tonight.”

  Mom places her hands on her hips and frowns. The look alone is enough to have me want to spill everything I know.

  “Two of our members were killed a few days ago,” I confess.

  The swing seat groans as Mom sits back hard, sending it rocking again.

  “My name’s been put forward to replace one of the officers.” I rub a hand across the nape of my neck. “I need to be there to make sure I’m not vetoed.”

  She laces her hands in her lap as she gently swings. “Why would you be vetoed, son?” Her words are low and quiet, a veritable threat not to say the wrong thing if ever I heard one.

  “You know I can’t say.”

  Her silence slowly sucks the oxygen from around us until my chest is heavy with the need to tell her everything: about the betrayal of our president, about what I’ve started by taking Elena away from Carlos, about how many people are at risk over something that they don’t even know is going on under their noses.