Chapter 31
Emerson
A week later the girls were home, I was back at my apartment, and After Hours had re-opened for business. Apparently the other MC that had been causing all the trouble had left town, and now things were back to normal.
I'd had mixed feelings about leaving Ace's home, mainly because it had been my idea and he hadn't fought it. But I hadn't wanted him to think that I was rushing things between us, and I didn't want to put him into the uncomfortable position of having to suggest that it was time for me to go home. That would have been awkward for both of us.
If he’d wanted me to stay he would have voiced it, which told me that he wasn't ready for me to move in with him, either. I didn't know what the future looked like for us. Ace didn't strike me as the dating kind. I knew that I would see him in the mornings when I was scheduled for work, but I doubted that Tanner would appreciate us fraternizing during that time.
I decided not to take anything for granted. We were together, but I wasn't going to wait by the phone for Ace to call. Unless we had plans I could make my own, and I hadn't hesitated to accept Della's invitation to join her and the rest of the girls for a girls' night out. Apparently they needed a break after being on lockdown with small children for a week.
Right now I was at the grocery store picking up some things for the cookout that was planned at Ruby's that Saturday. I'd been informed that the men were in charge of the meat, and the women took care of the sides. I'd volunteered to make macaroni salad, and was reaching for a red bell pepper when I felt a presence move next to me. I automatically looked up, a ready smile spreading across my face as I peered into clear, blue eyes.
"Doyle!"
"Hey, girl."
We exchanged friendly hugs. "What are you doing here?" I took in his casual attire. He was definitely not working that day.
"What, you think the food fairy keeps my fridge stocked?" he joked, and then he leaned in and murmured out of the corner of his mouth, "I have to clean and vacuum once in a while, too."
We both laughed. "Life is so unfair, isn't it?" I began to look around the produce section. "Hey, is Sonnie around? I'd like to meet her."
He shook his head. "No, she's at work. The only day off we have together is Sunday." The disappointment in his tone was obvious.
"How are you two getting along?"
"Great. Really great, Emerson. The break was good for us."
It was nice to hear that he was as happy as he looked. "When will I get to meet her?" I slipped the bell pepper into one of the plastic bags the store provided and dropped it into my basket.
"What are you doing tonight?"
I thought about the girls' night that was planned. My first inclination was to invite Doyle and Sonnie to join us, but I stopped short. The whole idea of girls' night was that there were no men allowed, which was really a joke, considering how early the Sentinel men showed up to whisk their women away. I wasn't going to complain, though, because I knew that I was going to become part of that ritual tonight. I was looking forward to it.
"Sorry, I have plans tonight."
"Oh." His eyebrows danced up and down. "You and that biker?"
Thinking about Ace always put a smile on my face. "Actually no, I’ll be with five other women." I wasn't about to go into what I expected to happen once Ace showed up at JJ's.
His eyes grew big. "Kinky!" He put a bunch of bananas into his cart.
I laughed so loud that heads turned in our direction. "I'm sure that's somebody's fantasy." I pushed my cart toward the cucumbers. "How about this Friday night? You two could come to my place for dinner."
I could tell that he was considering it. "I think that's doable, but I'll need to confirm with Sonnie. You know, once you're a couple you have to take the other person's feelings into consideration." He grabbed a couple of bags of ready-made salad kits.
He was speaking as if he were reciting part of the constitution, his tone stern and serious. I snorted. "I know that. I'll ask Ace to join us."
He laughed. "Is he as scary as he looks?"
"Every bit," I responded. I held up a sweet onion, debating whether I should add it to the salad. Some people didn't like onions, and there was always the issue of stinky onion breath. I loved onions, but put it back with a sigh. "Just in case you two can make it Friday, is there anything that you don't like?"
"Liver and onions," he said without missing a beat. "Sonnie loves the stuff, but I won't touch it."
"A girl after my own heart. I love it, too!"
He made a face. "Meatloaf!" he rushed. "Can you make meatloaf? I love a good meatloaf."
I laughed and picked up the onion again, dropping it into my basket. Everyone knew that a good meatloaf had onions in it. "Sure I can."
"Then I'll be there, with or without Sonnie," he grinned. I knew that Doyle was kidding. "I'm done. I'll get back with you this afternoon for sure, okay?"
"Okay."
He gave me a peck on the cheek and turned toward the cash registers."See you Friday!"
I went back to the meat section to pick up some ground chuck and sausage for Friday night.
Ace
I walked into JJ's with my brothers, my gaze automatically searching out Emerson. She was out on the dance floor, shaking her stuff, looking good enough to eat in a fucking clinging dress that outlined her every curve. Fuck. The woman was killing me. I couldn't get her off my mind. I'd thought it had been a good idea letting her go back to her apartment, realizing that shit was moving too fucking fast for us, but I'd been miserable without her.
I didn't just want her in my bed. I didn't just want her beneath me twenty-four-seven. I didn't just want her in my house, in my fucking space. I wanted her in my life. Completely. In the week that she'd been at my home, she'd engrained herself into my heart and soul with her soothing touch her kindness, with the way that she trusted me and gave me her all when I was fucking her. Without knowing it, she'd claimed me every bit as much as I had her.
Still, I couldn't deny that it was too soon to be thinking about the forever-after-shit that some of my brothers had found with their women. I'd never thought I would find anyone that I would want to spend my life with, much less the rest of it. I hadn't thought there was a woman, a good woman, out there who'd put up with my ugly, cranky ass. I wasn't a good man. I wasn’t what she needed, but damned if I gave a shit. I was selfish enough to want to keep her.
She glanced my way and our eyes locked, a sexy smile spreading slowly across her face. I stood and stared at her, and suddenly she was dancing just for me. Her sexy, sensual moves were designed to suck me in and arouse the monster that I kept locked in the darkness. Emerson knew what she was doing, and she embraced the knowledge with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. She liked when I lost control, and half the fun was getting there.
I grinned, accepting her challenge. Her smile grew wider as she danced her way to me.
"I've been waiting for you." She moved up against me, teasing me with her tits.
I glanced down at the enticing mounds which were threatening to dance their way right out of her dress. I clenched my jaw as lust slammed through me. "You're playing with fire, baby girl."
She laughed, undaunted by the warning in my gruff tone. "Maybe I like getting burned."
She turned away from me, and suddenly her sexy ass was grinding into my hard as fuck dick. Then her arms snaked up and wrapped around my neck, and it was all I could do not to grab the tits she was thrusting out. I leaned down and ran my mouth along the graceful column of her neck.
"You're sexy as fuck, Emerson." She smelled fucking good, too, her light perfume a combination of sweetness and fire. I was going to enjoy licking every inch of her skin.
"All for you," she responded in a husky tone.
"I bet you're turning on every fucker in this room."
"You're the only one I want."
I bit down gently. "I'm going to take you outside and fuck you on my bike." I knew her shivering response wasn't part of her dance. "You want that, baby girl? You want my big dick sliding into your wet pussy?"
"Always," she laughed. She turned back around to face me, wrapping her arms around my neck again. I dropped my hands to cover her ass, pulling her closer against me. "So, what happens after you cavemen show up to claim your women?"
"Depends. Have you been good, or do I need to punish you?"
"Humm. Depends on which one will be the most fun."
I clenched my hands into her fleshy bottom. "I can guarantee you don't want to be punished by me."
Her laughter revealed that I didn't scare her, but then something caught her eye behind me and the humor disappeared instantly. The sparkle in her eyes turned into dark pools of fear. She stiffened against me and gasped sharply, all of it a reaction that she couldn't hope to hide. Not from me. I immediately went into protective mode, swinging my head around to see what had frightened her as I enclosed her into my arms.
"What the fuck?" I snarled, expecting to see something that could draw that kind of frightened reaction out of her. Nothing stood out to me as people entered and left the club. I turned back to Emerson. "What is it, baby?"
I watched her swallow hard as her gaze slowly moved up to mine. I could see it the second that she began to pull herself together. When she began to slowly shake her head, I knew then that she was going to deny that something had spooked her. She was going to fucking lie to me.
"Emerson?" I growled down at her. "What the fuck is going on?"
Her eyes shifted through the room again as if she were looking for something, or someone, before finally coming back to me. "Can we go to the table?"
"Emerson." I glared down at her. She was not going to sweep what had just happened under the fucking table, and I couldn't protect her if I didn't know what I was facing.
Her smile was forced. "It's nothing. I, I thought I saw someone I used to, ah, know." She took my hand and pulled me with her through the crowd. "I need a drink."
With the exception of Della and Skipper who were smooching at the table, the rest of my brothers and their old ladies were out on the dance floor. I let Emerson pull me down with her as she sank down onto one of the chairs, but I was having none of that. I wanted her on my lap. She didn't complain when I arranged her there, trapping her when I placed my hands on the table.
"What's wrong? You look kind of pale," Della noticed when she realized that we'd joined them.
Emerson shook her head. "I'm good," she outright lied.
I leaned in against her ear, taking note of her slight trembling. "I'm not good with you lying, Emerson. You saw someone that scared the shit out of you, and I want to know who it was."
Della looked concerned, but it was Skipper who spoke. "What happened, honey? Is it something we need to know about?"
"No!" Her laugh was nervous, her response a little too forced. "I thought I saw someone, but I'm pretty sure I just imagined it." She was downplaying it now. "I really don't want to talk about it. It was nothing. I'm good now." She purposely looked back at me. "Okay?"
I wasn't going to let her fake smile and false bravado sway me. "Fuck no, it's not okay, baby. You don't want to talk about it? Okay for now. But we will be talking about it. You got demons from your past I should know about?"
"Demons?" Emerson laughed.
"I'm fucking serious, Emerson," I said in a hard tone. "I can't keep you safe if you're hiding something from me. And I have my club to worry about, too. If something from your past affects you, it affects us, too. You're with us now."
I could tell from the press of her lips and the fire filling her eyes that she didn't like my tone. With a huff she turned away from me and attempted to scoot off my lap, but I held her in place with a menacing growl. Emerson was right where I wanted her. Angry or not, she wasn't going anywhere.
Once she realized that she couldn't win against me, she gave in with another huff and settled down.
I returned Skipper's smirk.