Chapter 5

Emma

It’s 6:30 pm and I can hear Cade’s bike pulling up. When he comes into the house I can tell by the look in his eyes that he’s drained. I know he had a lot of things to take care of before he leaves. I’m sure he spent his entire day making sure all was in order. However, I can tell that something other than tiredness is troubling him. There’s something in his face that looks different.

“Hey, beautiful,” he says as he walks over to me and kisses the top of my head lovingly. “Honey, that smells wonderful. I’m famished.” He adds, “Reb and Hawk should be right behind me. They made a stop at the liquor store on the way. And the rest of the boys are coming behind them.”

“Oh, good,” Honey replies. “Dinner is just about ready.”

“I didn’t fuck things up by inviting the boys, did I?” Cade asks.

“Naw. You know me, Ice, I’m used to cooking for an army. We have plenty,” Honey replies.

Taking the seat next to me, he asks, “How has my girl been today?”

“Good,” I reply as I study his face.

“I’m glad to hear it. Whatcha been doing all day?”

“Well, I tried to help Honey with dinner, but as usual, she would not let me. So, I thought I would try to get some work done.”

“And did you?”

“I did. It was a very productive day,” I say proudly.

“Good.” He leans back into the couch and begins to rub his temples.

“Cade, did something happen today?” I ask.

He waits before answering me and then says, “Naw, babe. Nothing happened. It’s just been a long day. I’m just tired.”

I don’t want to pressure him, especially here where others can hear. So I don’t say anything further. Perhaps I can get him to talk about it later when we’re alone.

I snuggle up against him, enjoying sitting on the couch with him while Honey prepares dinner. I can definitely get used to this.

Not long after Cade returned, in walk Ari, Rebel, and Hawk. Ari had gone into to town to run some errands—she must have returned just as Hawk and Rebel arrived. Rebel has his arm around Ari lovingly … it’s good to see them both happy. Not long after their arrival, the rest of the boys filter in. The house is now full of noise and laughter. Although I enjoyed the quiet moment I had with Cade on the couch, it’s really good to see them all together again. With Cade being home, it’s like all is right in their world.

“Dinner’s ready,” Honey chimes from the kitchen.

“Great, just let me drop these bags in my room and I’ll be right out,” Ari says.

“Honey, that smells amazing,” Hawk says as he strolls into the kitchen.

“I’ll give you a hand.” Rebel says as he follows Ari into her room. Caden looks over at me as if he knows exactly what Rebel is going to help his sister with and I smile. He isn’t smiling, but I think he knows deep down it’s something that he’s gonna have to get used to.

Rebel

I follow Ari to her room and we drop the bags onto her bed. As she turns to leave, I’m standing directly in front of her. I let her pass, but as she does, I grab her around the waist from behind with one hand and pull her toward me, her back to my chest. My free hand wraps around her waist, pulling her even tighter against me. She is perfect.

“Balefire,” she pleads in a whisper that takes my breath away. As much as I hate that name, hearing her say it with such desperation goes directly to my cock. I nuzzle her dark hair away from her neck and begin to kiss her behind her ear while splaying my hand across her belly and holding her even tighter.

She pulls her head back against my shoulder, completely exposing her neck to my lips. I take full advantage of what she is offering to me. God, I love this woman.

She melts into me as I reach up and gently stroke the underside of her breast with my thumb. She sucks in a sharp breath and begs, “Balefire, please.”

“What, babe? Tell me,” I demand.

“Please …” she begs again, but that’s all she says.

My hand slides higher up her ribs, until I hold the full weight of her breast in my palm. “Is this what you want, babe?”

“Yes,” she says breathlessly. I feather kisses along her neck. Her nipples are peeking out from beneath her shirt. I circle one taut nipple with my thumb and she groans. She then wiggles her ass against my erection, which right now is nestled in the crack of her ass cheeks.

“You need to make me stop, baby. I want you so bad right now, I don’t know if I can,” I plead with her. She melts against me with a sigh. Oh fuck, this is not good. I can’t do this now. Not with a house full of people just outside her room. “Ari, please …” I beg. I know I have to stop, but I don’t have the strength. I am counting on her. She is the only one that has the power over me to make me stop.

She signs, moans, and then says, “Rebel, we can’t. Ice is …”

That’s all I needed to hear. A metaphorical bucket of ice drops on my head. My prez is a fucking cock blocker.

Emma

We all proceed into the kitchen and about fifteen minutes later, Rebel and Ari join us, both looking a little flushed. Nobody says anything about it taking so long for them to drop packages off in a room until Hawk starts laughing.

“What?” Rebel asks guiltily.

Hawk doesn’t say a word; he just continues to laugh. I can see that Caden is trying his best to not embarrass his sister by laughing as well, but it’s clear that he’s having a difficult time. The corners of his mouth twitch and begin to form into a smile. I look over at Ari and see that she looks absolutely mortified. I know that Rebel is her first real boyfriend and this dating thing is all new to her. And having her brother as his best friend doesn’t help matters either.

Immediately, I lean over and kiss Caden full on the mouth. I deepen the kiss and allow all my passion for this man to flow from my mouth to his. Before I know it, I’m in his arms and he is kissing me back.

The laughter around the table stops and I know that everyone’s attention is now focused on Caden and me. When I’m done with my kiss, I look around the room to see everyone staring at us in surprise—just as I expected. Mission accomplished.

“Pregnancy hormones,” I say. “I can’t control them sometimes.” Ari looks over at me with thankfulness and relief in her expression. Cade puts his arm around me when he realizes what I have just done. He leans in close and whispers, “Was that a promise of what’s to come?”

I smile back and whisper teasingly, “Maybe.” Sometimes it pays to be observant.

“So Reb, tell us about your mom and dad,” Hawks says abruptly, clearly hoping to ease some of the tension still lingering in the room.

“There’s really not much to tell, they’re my mam and da,” Rebel retorts.

“But they’re IRA!” Hawk exclaims.

Rebel shakes his head. “It’s not glamorous or cool, believe me. Living that life is like always being on edge. You always wonder what the next day will bring and who will die, or worse, who will get arrested. It’s definitely not worth it.”

“Arrested?” Hawk says quizzically, “Why would getting arrested by worse than death?”

“Not sure you want me to go there.” Rebel looks around the room to Ari, Honey and I. “It’s really not something we should discuss right now.”

Caden jumps in and says, “I agree.” And with his words, the topic is muted. He then turns to Ari and says, “So Ari, you excited about getting back to school?”

“Not really, Caden,” she says, her voice low and sad. But then she perks up and adds, “Actually, I was thinking. I would like to take the rest of the semester off and stay here.”

“Hell no!” Cade states, the authority in his voice resonating through the room.

“But Caden, it’s my …”

He doesn’t give her a chance to finish. “Ari, we will not discuss this further. This is your last semester. You are finishing school. End of discussion.”

I can see the frustration on Ari’s face, but she doesn’t argue with him further. She’s learned, as all of us have, that once Cade makes his mind up about something, you can’t change it.

Personally, I don’t think her reluctance to return to school has anything to do with school … I think it has everything to do with Rebel. Maybe it’s a good thing he’s leaving. It will make her return to school much easier on her.

When dinner is over, Ari and I help Honey clean up. The majority of the club leaves, thanking Honey and me for a good meal. I wish I could take some credit for it, but it was all Honey. But she doesn’t say a word and lets them think we did it together. Cade calls out “Doc, Ryder, and Dbag, don’t forget—10 am at Betty’s tomorrow. We have a lot of shit to discuss.”

“Got it,” they say as they walk out the door.

Hawk and Rebel remain with Cade and they all go into the game room with their scotch and cigars. They start a game of pool as they smoke and drink. I’m happy to discover that the cigar smell travels into the kitchen. I never thought I’d like cigar smoke in a million years … but I do.

After the kitchen is spotless, we join the guys and watch Caden and Hawk finish their game. When Hawk wins, he suggests that the girls play the guys. We all agree and frankly, I don’t remember who won because I was too busy laughing throughout the entire game.

After the game ends, Cade sits down on one of the bar stools. I walk over to him and crawl onto his lap, facing him while I straddle him. “I’m ready for bed,” I whisper into his ear. “Join me?” I say teasingly.

He gives me a squeeze as he moves me off his lap. “Well guys, I think Emma and I are going to turn in.”

“Yeah,” Hawk says, “I need to go, too.” He looks over to Honey. “Walk me out?” he asks her, trying to make it so that only she can hear. But I’m standing right next to her and hear every word. She beams and smiles as the two of them walk toward the door.

I smile and think to myself, I really like them together.

Caden and I say goodnight and turn for the stairs. As we’re going up the steps, I observe the peace that has settled over the house. Hawk and Honey are holding hands walking toward the door. Rebel has Ari in his arms and I’m on my way upstairs to show my man how much I love him. All is right.

Honey

My heart soars as I walk out of the house with Hawk. When we get to his bike he just stares at me as he continues to hold onto my hand.

“Is this really gonna happen?” he asks.

I nod and reply, “I hope so.”

“And Ice?”

“I’m not gonna lie to you; I have feelings for Ice. I always have.” I see his expression turn from hopeful to disappointment and it breaks my heart, but he needs to understand. “Baby, look at me.” He does, and I continue. “You, more than anyone, know what a mess I was when I came to this club. Ice is my savior because he gave me a home and a family. I thought I was in love with him. But when Emma came back, I realized that although it may be love, it’s not the kind of love that he has for Emma or that I have always had for you. He may have been my savior, but you were always my confidant, my rock, and my love.”

“I needed to hear that,” he says.

“And I needed to say it.”

He caresses the side of my cheek and then says, “When you hooked up with Ice, I thought we were done. He is my prez and best friend, and there is no way I was going to interfere with that. I couldn’t go against my prez. But then Emma came into the picture and I realized that he had been in love with her all his life. She was the woman for him. As much as I hated seeing you hurting, I was hopeful. But you had already pushed me so far out of your life I didn’t know what to think.”

“I’m sorry, I should never have pushed you away. But I never wanted there to be any trouble between you and Ice. So I felt that keeping my distance would make things easier.”

He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me close against him. “Are you still pushing me away?” he asks breathlessly.

“No,” I reply, feeling his hot breath against my lips as he bends down to kiss me. At first, his lips are soft, hesitant, as if he is afraid that I will push him away. But when a moan escapes my lips, he knows there is no way in hell I’m pushing him away and he deepens the kiss, pulling me closer and ravaging my mouth.

Instinctively, I wrap my arms around his neck and my body molds against him. I can feel his erection pushing against my core as my tongue meets every desperate stroke of his tongue. I want him to take me right here, so I reach for the buckle of his belt. His hand immediately goes to my hand to stop me.

“Oh God, Honey,” he pleads. “I want this, God knows how much I want this, but I’m saying no. Not in Ice’s driveway.”

“But …” I interrupt, but he quickly stops me from saying any more.

“Our first time is gonna be special, as it should be. It’s definitely not happening in Ice’s home, his porch, his yard, or his fucking driveway.”

I giggle at his words as I realize he’s right. I don’t want our first time to be here.

“You’re laughing at me,” he says, surprised.

Smiling, I reply, “No babe, not laughing at you. Laughing ‘cause you are right. Thank you.”

He smiles back. “I gotta go, babe. See you tomorrow.”

“You got it, big guy,” I reply. He kisses me on the cheek and proceeds to mount his bike. Revving the engine and placing his helmet on his head, he waves and drives off.

God, I love that man, I think to myself as I walk back into the house.

Emma

We get to our room and I walk over to Cade and kiss him. He pulls me into his arms as we both fall onto the bed.

The urgency to have him inside of me overwhelms me. I wasn’t kidding earlier when I mentioned that I couldn’t control my hormones. If I don’t get any relief from him right now, I feel as if I will die.

I push him down onto the bed as I climb on top of him, straddling him. I need the friction that only he can provide and I really don’t care that we are both still clothed. Looking down at the man I have loved all my life, I take in the beauty of his body. His erection is bulging through his jeans and the fact that he is straining to get free turns me on more than having him completely exposed. I dip my body down and rub myself against him, needing to feel him more than I ever thought possible. “Stay!” I say to him and I can tell by the look on his face that he knows he better not move.

I climb off him and unzip my jeans. Pulling down my jeans and my panties all at the same time, I shimmy out of them. I climb back up on him. I can tell the fact that he is not in control is killing him. He is still fully clothed as I begin to rub my wetness all over his erection and his jeans. He growls as he moves with me, closing his eyes. The shadow that I saw on his face from earlier is now gone. He needs this as much as I do.

He grabs my hips and continues to move me over his jean-covered erection. Dry humping him is making me crazy and I can’t take any more. Suddenly I realize that I am no longer in control as he holds firm to my hips, orchestrating their movements. My climax is rising as he continues to move me. But then, just before I am about to cum, he stops my movements. NO! I silently beg. I need this. He reaches up to the hem of my shirt and lifts it over my head. He unfastens my bra and begins to fondle my breast. I start to move over him again and he stills my hips.

“Oh no, darling. You are not going to cum like this,” he says. “You will cum when I am balls deeps inside of you and not a minute before.” His words are demanding and erotic and I find myself holding back my orgasm just to please him.

He flips me onto my back. As I lay completely naked underneath him, I want nothing more than to have him inside me. I reach up and lift his shirt over his head. The tattoo on his chiseled chest takes my breath away; every time I see him like this I am rendered speechless.

I start to undo his jeans, pulling at the zipper and greedily reaching in to touch him. He’s velvety soft yet so hard, and the sensation of my touch on his dick is my undoing. He gets up from the bed and removes his jeans and boxers. Without hesitation, he pushes at my entrance. I’m dripping wet, allowing him to slide in easily and fill me completely. Once he is completely sheathed, he hesitates and looks into my eyes. Without words, he asks me how I want it. What I want. My eyes scream at him to take me, to fuck me. I don’t have to say a word to his unspoken question. He knows. He begins to move in and out of me as if his life depends on every thrust. He holds true to his promise and pushes in so deep I can feel his balls against my pussy lips and then he pulls out so far that only the tip is at my entrance. He does this over and over. It is excruciating and pleasurable all at the same time. It’s erotic torture and I can feel my insides begin to constrict around him as my release builds. I can feel him twitch inside me and I know he’s close. A few more thrusts and we both detonate into our orgasms. He continues to thrust into me, pumping me for everything I have to give. And my greedy little pussy sucks his dick for every bit of it.

“God, baby. You’re fucking beautiful!” he says as he leans down to kiss me. “I fucking love you!”

“I love you too, Cade,” I say as I kiss him back. He pulls out of me and rolls over on his back. He reaches his arm up as an invitation to me, and I snuggle up against him as his arm encloses around me. There is no place I would rather be, I think to myself as I contentedly lay in his arms.

We lay like this for several minutes and I can literally feel his tension from earlier returning. I had hoped that I worked it out of him, but obviously it wasn’t permanent. “Cade, what’s wrong?” I ask.

“What makes you think something is wrong, babe? Everything is fine.”

“Caden, the tension radiating off you right now is so thick you can cut it with a knife. Talk to me.”

He is silent for a minute or two and I wait patiently for him to answer. I don’t want to push him, but at the same time, I do. He needs to talk about what’s bothering him. He’s got me worried and I need to know what’s troubling him.

Finally he speaks. “I learned some things today that have me wondering if going to Ireland is the right thing to do.”

“What kind of things?” I ask.

“I really don’t want to worry your pretty little head about that. And don’t push me, ‘cause I’m not telling you,” he says.

“So are you thinking about not going?” I ask eagerly. I had been secretly hoping that he wouldn’t go, but I knew that was just wishful thinking on my part.

“I was, but I realized that I can’t back out now. I promised my brother and I can’t let him down. Everything has been arranged. We leave tomorrow.”

“Oh,” I say. I won’t lie, I’m disappointed. I had really hoped that whatever was perplexing him would be enough to keep him home, but obviously his loyalty to his brothers runs even deeper than I had thought. And as much as I hate it, I admire him for it. He is fiercely loyal; it is one of the many reasons I love him so much.