thirteen
Angel was relieved. The nurse, Sable, had done her thing, inspecting her arm with the same professionalism and know-how than any doctor she’d ever encountered. It didn’t take long for her to surmise that she was suffering from a minor sprain and helped to bandage it before walking her through a quick and easy process of caring for her arm until it healed.
Angel was just glad that it wasn’t broken. She couldn’t afford the medical bills, nor could she want to take the time off work. She might be able to afford a comfortable living waitressing at the club, but she wasn’t rich. Being put out of commission for any length of time could easily put her straight into the poorhouse, like any blue-collar family in America. She was a few paychecks away from losing it all.
Well, she’d dodged that bullet, no thanks to that stupid deer that didn’t know how to look both ways before crossing. If only Mother Nature was a touch more intelligent.
Now, Angel was merely dealing with a nuisance rather than a real nightmare.
She looked over at Moose, who had been fairly quiet all evening. “What are you thinking about?”
Never taking his eyes off the television, he said, “Oh no, you’re not going to be one of those women, are you?”
He said it like he was joking, but she suspected otherwise. “Yes, I am, so answer the question. You’ve been quiet all day.”
“Just watching TV.”
She didn’t believe him. “It’s more than that. You haven’t said much of anything since we left the clubhouse.”
“Just thinking, Mouse. Nothing serious.”
“Why do I get the feeling that’s not true?”
“Because you’re a woman and women always think that.”
Growing impatient, she said, “That’s not true. Women sense stuff, and I’m sensing that something is wrong. So tell me what it is that has you thinking so hard.”
It took him a few beats before he turned his face toward hers and regarded her seriously. “That accident fucked up my head.”
She frowned. “How exactly?”
Moose looked off, pulling together the right words. “If it’d just been me on that bike, no problem. I’ve wiped out before, took my licks, and just kept on going. But this time, you went down with me.” He lifted a shoulder in a mild shrug. “Just fucked with my head is all.”
“You mean because I got hurt?” When he nodded, her frown deepened. It wasn’t even that big of a deal. She’d received mild injuries, nearly the same as he had. If she hadn’t landed on her arm the way she had, she would have walked away with minor bruises and scrapes to match his. “You know I’m fine though,” she pointed out.
“It’s not that. I’m glad you’re okay. It’s knowing that it could have been worse that’s stuck in my head.”
She shifted her body to face him fully. “Kade—”
“I already know what you’re going to say, and I get it. I don’t need to hear what I already know, so let’s just drop it. It’s something I need to work out for myself.”
“But—”
He shut her up with a finger on her lips. “How about instead of words, we argue about this in the bedroom. I have a couple of new moves I’ve been wanting to work out on you, and this is the perfect time to try it.”
Heat suddenly engulfed Angel’s insides, like a wildfire burning out of control. Any pain she felt from her injury vanished in an instant, her thoughts completely consumed with ideas of what he might have in store for her.
“I might be down for some experimentation tonight,” she hedged.
“Might?”
“I mean am.”
“Then what are we still sitting around here for?” Moose stood and flicked off the television, then held out his hand for her to take. His white smile flashed in the dark. “Ready to take a walk on the dark side, Mouse?”
Fitting her good hand in his, she let him help pull her to her feet. “Depends. Do you mean that literally or figuratively?”
“Maybe both. I guess you’ll have to wait and see.”
Angel kept hold of Kade’s hand and allowed him to tow her back to her bedroom. Remembering that she now had Rena as a roommate, he closed the door behind them then backed her up to the bed.
With the kind of care she’d only seen him use on rare occasions, Kade quietly undressed her—careful of her bandaged arm—and himself, then eased her back onto the bed before climbing up and settling himself on top of her.
Unlike his usual, frenzied efforts, Kade placed sweet kisses on the tip of her nose, mouth, chin, and jaw, working his way lower to her neck, each shoulder, and finally back up again to her mouth where he stayed the longest, kissing her languidly, as if time itself was standing still just for them.
Running her nails lightly up and down his back as he feathered his lips down the side of her neck again, Angel began to wonder in earnest what his plans for her were. “What are you up to Kade Hunter?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Eyes closed, she took a moment to focus on the heat of his breath on her skin, the weight of his body on hers, and the feeling of contentment washing over and through her like ocean waves. “I don’t know…” she breathed. But that wasn’t entirely true. She knew what it felt like he was doing, but she didn’t dare assume.
“Well, if you don’t know yet, then let me be a little clearer.”
Bracing himself on his forearms, Kade looked into her eyes as he slid slowly inside of her. A soft gasp left Angel’s lips as he filled her, allowing her to feel every inch of his girth. When she was full, he began to slowly and gently rock his hips, gliding into her body and back out again in a tortuous rhythm that had her moaning her praises.
Judging by the cocky glimmer in his eye as he watched her climb toward a violent climax, screaming his name and the Lord’s in kind and embedding her nails into his skin like a cat climbing a tree, Kade was very pleased with himself.
Reduced to a sweaty, trembling, wrung out shell of her former self, Angel clung to Kade as best she could while avoiding aggravating her injury further while she took a moment to pull herself together.
“You okay, Mouse?”
Hearing the amusement in his voice, she nodded into his shoulder where she’d tucked her face, hiding her embarrassment for having reacted so insanely.
He waited for her to finally show her face before kissing her soundly on the mouth. “I’m going to take a wild guess, but I think you liked my little experiment.”
God, he was going to lord this over her forever, she was sure of it. Trying to play it off, she sighed and said, “It was nice.”
“Nice? Nice?” Withdrawing, Kade’s goofy, mischievous smile was the only warning she got. “I’ll show you nice.”
With a growl, he began tickling her. Going from tired and satiated to full-defense mode as all of her senses were assaulted, Angel cackled through a mixture of happiness and agony. There was something about being tickled that sucked so much ass while at the same time brought so much joy.
“Stop! Oh my God, stop, please!” she begged.
“Was it still nice?” he taunted.
“It was better than nice,” she squealed, wiggling and flopping around on the bed, grasping the linens while she searched for an escape route.
“Better explain, baby, or you’re going to get more of this.” He went from her ribs to her knees, grabbing the same way she and Rena used to do when they were kids to see if either of them liked boys, which was, to her, a new height in his torturous methods.
“It was amazing. Fantastic. Kade, I’m gonna pee!”
He stopped immediately, although she could tell by the glint in his eye and the persistent smile that he was doing so reluctantly.
“I’m glad you finally decided to come clean, Mouse. Remember that so there won’t be a next time.”
She scoffed but didn’t press her luck.
“I’m hungry,” Kade blurted as he suddenly rolled over and leaped out of bed. “Get dressed, babe. Let’s go grab something to eat.”
Angel frowned as she did just that while issuing a weak protest. “There’s plenty of food here. Why do we have to go out?”
“Because you don’t have what I want here.”
She couldn’t argue that, since Kade didn’t exactly say what it was he was in the mood for. Pulling on a pair of skinny jeans, Angel had to admit she wasn’t only not tired, but she was curious about this mystery food and place he had in mind.
It wasn’t too late, and a little adventure sounded exciting. Plus, she was ready to get back on the back of his bike.
“We’ll take your car,” Kade said, shattering her desirous thoughts. “Where are your keys?”
As she retrieved them and handed them over, she asked, “You don’t want to take your bike?”
He looked at her as if her head had come unscrewed and rolled away. “Not with your arm like that.”
“It doesn’t even hurt,” she protested. For now, thanks to their amorous lovemaking, she was still riding the painkillers provided by her brain’s flood of hormones.
“Be that as it may, the answer is a big, fat no, Mouse. Until you’re healed, and maybe not for a time afterward until I stop seeing you skidding across the asphalt every time I close my damn eyes, the only vehicle you’re riding in will have four wheels. At least.”
She scowled, but there was no sense arguing. The set of his jaw and the no-nonsense look in his eyes warned her to keep her mouth shut. Angel knew a brick wall when she saw one.
“Fine, whatever. Have it your way. But this isn’t the last you’re going to hear about it,” she warned him.
“I didn’t expect it was, but Mouse,” he said, leaning closer, “I don’t back down from a fight. Ever. You need to remember that too.”
Then he dropped a quick kiss on her mouth and opened the door, standing back for her to pass. She did, giving him the evil eye as she went so he understood just how irritated she was with him.
Angel was going to get back on that bike, sooner than he thought, come hell or high water. He wasn’t her daddy, and he certainly wasn’t her boss. He’d better remember that.
Ha! she thought, feeling better about the situation already.