Kincaid: Cerberus Mc Book 1 (16 page)

He smiles. “If you’re here, I’m here, Em.”

The minute I go upstairs and close the bedroom door behind me, I grab the phone Diego gave me and turn it on. I’d turned it off almost immediately after leaving the clubhouse yesterday. It buzzes with several text messages and a voicemail.

Ignoring the voicemail, knowing I couldn’t bear to hear his voice and not go to him, I look at the texts. There are several from last night before he came over and another one after he left simply telling me goodnight.

The most recent one was from fifteen minutes ago, telling me good morning. Unable to resist the pull, I text him back.

Emmalyn: Good morning.

His response is immediate.

Diego: How did you sleep?

Emmalyn: Terribly, I’m still exhausted
.

Diego: You work tonight?

Emmalyn: Yes, I go in at five.

Diego: You should try to get a nap before work.

Emmalyn: That’s a great idea. If only I can turn my mind off and relax.

I wait for his response, but it never comes. I pull off the jeans and sweatshirt I put on to go down and get coffee earlier and crawl back under the covers. I run through last night’s events in my head for what seems like the hundredth time, but I refuse to discount my emotions and the pain it caused me to see that despicable woman in his bed.

The roar of a motorcycle tells me that Doc and Rose must be back from wherever they went this morning. I know I should go downstairs and be social since they’re gracious enough to let me stay in their home, but I just don’t have it in me today.

The soft click of the doorknob turning has my spine stiffening, and I whip my head around to the door, unsure of who I’d find invading this space. I almost cry when I see Diego closing the door behind him as he steps further into the room.

I’m going to ask him what he’s doing here, but he holds a finger to his lips.

“Shhh.”

He takes his vest off, reaches down and unlaces his boots, kicking them to the side. He pulls his t-shirt over his head and tosses it on top of his vest on the dresser as he approaches the bed. I watch all of this in awe and reckless appreciation, and it’s not until he pulls the edge of the blankets back that I realize his intentions.

I begin to shift my weight, but he’s too fast and before I know it he’s lying beside me in the bed. My eyes flutter at the feeling of his warm body against my skin. His hot chest and abdomen feel perfect against the thin fabric of my tank top.

“What are you doing?” I finally manage to whisper. He’s turned me slightly so I’m on my side, and he’s lined up behind me.

“You said you didn’t sleep well.” I feel the heat from his breath on my shoulder and goosebumps race down my arms. He must notice the tremor and assume I’m cold because he pulls me tighter to his chest. “I didn’t sleep well either,” he admits. “I know I would’ve slept better if you were in my arms; I’m hoping it’s true for you too.”

“Diego, I can’t…” I don’t even know what to tell him.

“Shhh, Em. No expectations, just get some rest,” He says gently, almost as if he’s already so relaxed he’s near sleep himself.

I let my eyes close and listen to his rhythmic breathing, and before anything else makes sense I drift into a calming sleep.

***

I don’t know how long we managed to sleep, a few hours maybe, but I wake rested as if I’d slept all night. I smile at the feel of Diego’s thumb tracing circles leisurely on my stomach. I sigh contentedly at the action which feels natural. Even in this situation, one that can turn sexual any second, the action feels comforting rather than a prelude to a more erotic ending.

“Was I right?” he asks before gently kissing my shoulder.

“Hmm?” I’m slightly dazed, a combination from just waking up and the feel of his mouth on my skin.

I moan softly when his tongue traces down my neck and follows the line of my shoulder. “Did you sleep well?”

“I did,” I answer more breathily than I’d intended.

“Me too,” he whispers quietly in my ear. “I knew you’d fit against me perfectly.”

I smile and turn my head so I can at least see him with one eye over my shoulder. “Perfectly, huh?”

He pushes against my stomach at the same time his hips rotate at my back. “Every soft inch of your amazing body fits fully against every hard inch of mine.”

I bite my lip to keep the moan from escaping when I feel his erection lined up between the cheeks of my ass. The comfortable moment I woke to has suddenly taken the erotic turn that wasn’t there only moments before. The erratic beat of my heart and the fluttering of the butterflies in my stomach make me want to stay in this bed for the rest of my life.

I know that’s not possible. I have work, and the last thing I need right now is to get lost in Diego Anderson, especially when I haven’t fully found myself yet. I wiggle out of his arms and slide off the edge of the bed. It’s not until I feel the cold draft on my legs and hear the hiss from Diego’s lips that I remember I’d taken my jeans off before climbing in bed.

I’m standing in the middle of the room in nothing but a tank top and a slinky black thong. The very thong I had Kid take me shopping for yesterday. The one that was supposed to stay hidden under my clothes and make me feel sexy, not be on full display for his eyes to drink in.

I turn around to apologize to him for what I’m sure seems like teasing, but when I face him, his eyes go straight to my tank top which is stretched over my breasts so snuggly. I’m sure the outline of my nipples are blatantly apparent. He groans and flops back on the bed, covering his eyes with his arms.

I smile, loving that I can get such a reaction out of him.

“Get a shower, beautiful, and I’ll take you to work.” He doesn’t remove his hand as I gather clothes to take with me into the bathroom. His words were strained, but I didn’t hear anger or frustration in his voice; it makes me even fonder of him.

“Since you kissed and made up does that mean I get to stay at the clubhouse tonight?” I turn my attention from Em as she flits around the bar like she’s worked here her entire life, and look at Kid, who has a hopeful look on his face.

“I hate to burst your bubble, but so long as she’s at Doc’s, that’s where you will be.” He sighs, loudly. “What?”

“I just figured since you guys,” he does this weird side pump with his hand at his waist, “you know… I figured you’d be staying there with her.”

“I told you we took a nap.” I tilt my already warm beer to my lips and take a sip.

“Really? I thought that was code for getting laid or something.” Shadow laughs boisterously beside him.

Slapping Kid on the back, “Sorry Kid, if the Prez isn’t getting pussy, it looks like you’re not getting pussy either.”

I grin when Kid’s face falls and realizes that what Shadow just said is a pretty accurate analysis of the situation.

“If you’re having trouble sealing the deal, Prez, I can give you a few pointers.” The scrape of Shadow’s chair as he moves away from Kid makes my lip twitch in an almost smile.

Shadow’s reaction would be fitting almost any time one of the guys made some dumb ass remark about me not being able to handle any type of situation. Kid is lucky I was able to wrap my arms around Emmalyn for a few hours this afternoon, or his ass would be laid out on the nasty bar floor by now.

“First off,” I say putting my beer down on the table, “I don’t need any pointers from you.” I tap his chest with my finger. “Second, if Em was just some other piece of pussy to me, I’d have already had my one and done.” I lean in closer, so he knows how serious I am. “You don’t need to worry about my dick and what it’s doing or not doing with Emmalyn.”

He reaches up and rubs his chest where my finger hit it. “I’m not worried about your dick, Prez. I’m worried about mine.”

Shadow laughs again, and I can’t help but join in at the wimpy sound of Kid’s admission.

I hit the side button on my phone to check the time. “You have three hours until I take her home. If you need to get your dick wet, you better do it in a hurry. I expect you back at Doc’s no later than one-thirty.”

He jumps with an ear to ear grin, slaps me on the back, and whistles loudly to a blonde across the room. I watch as she downs her drink, grabs her purse, and heads to the front door.

“Thanks, Dad,” Kid whispers in my ear as he heads in the direction of his all-too-willing conquest of the night.

I go back to watching Emmalyn as she serves drinks, noticing how Jake keeps their interaction on a professional level. Kid told me he had been overly friendly her first night working, but Jake took his warning and hasn’t been inappropriate since.

“You guys alright?” Shadow asks as he watches me watch her.

“I think we’re better than we were last night.”

It’s the most I can give him because it’s all I know. By the time she got out of her shower, it was time for her to be at work. We didn’t have the chance to really talk; she was five minutes late as it was. Jake wasn’t upset at all; he’s a pretty laid back type of guy, but she was not happy about it.

I haven’t even had the chance to get my mouth on hers again. It’s been weeks since that kiss in the hallway back at the clubhouse, and my lips tingle at the anticipation of kissing her when I drop her off this evening. I have it all worked out in my head. I plan to date her, seduce her, and make sure she knows she’s safe. I know she has to trust me in her heart before she can trust me inside her body.

I watch her eyes light up as she walks toward us. Without hesitation, she steps into the space I quickly make between my legs. This is the third or fourth time she’s checked on us since she got to work and quickly learned I wanted her as close to me as I could get her. I trail my finger down her arms as she asks Shadow if he wants another beer.

Finally, she turns her undivided attention to me. I watch her mouth with barely harnessed restraint as she asks if I need another beer. My hand, which somehow has ended up on her hip, grips tighter when she sweeps her tongue along her lower lip, and I have no idea what she said or why we’re even in this damn bar.

The sound of a gruff line of cuss words and a breaking glass bottle pulls my attention away from her mouth. I look over at Shadow whose attention is on a scuffle across the bar.

“Why don’t you go grab us one more beer, beautiful. I think we’re going to go deal with these assholes before they ruin everyone’s night.” I run my nose up her neck before I let her walk away.

“Be safe,” she whispers in my ear before I pull away.

***

Just like any other night at
Jake’s
, Shadow and I had to handle two separate altercations. I think Jake lets us drink for free because we save him so much money on damages from stopping fights before they can get too terribly destructive.

Pulling up outside of Doc’s house, I grin at the sight of Kid’s bike already parked out front. We took Rose’s car this afternoon when we left because I didn’t want Em on the back of the bike late at night after a long shift.

“Will you or one of your guys always be at
Jake’s
when I work?” Emmalyn asks from the passenger seat, but makes no motion to get out of the car even though we’re parked and I’ve turned it off. It seems she’s not ready for the night to end either.

“Do you not want us there?” I shift in my seat so I can give her my undivided attention.

“No, it’s not that. I like knowing that one of the guys is there. I just don’t want to get used to it, and then one day no one is there.” She shifts her purse in her lap. “I feel safer.”

I reach my hand out, cup her cheek, and run my thumb over her bottom lip. “If you want us there, we’re there.”

“I think it may be best if it were one of your guys there instead of you.” The smile on her face doesn’t match the rejection she just dealt. “I messed up three drink orders tonight. Each one right after I left your table.” She lowers her voice, so it has a seductive rasp to it. “You distract me to the point of not being able to do my job.”

“For a second there I thought you were telling me to get lost, and you didn’t want to see me anymore.”

She shakes her head slightly, and her eyes glance down at my mouth. I can feel my body’s reaction to her attention in my pants, beginning to strain against the zipper of my jeans.

“I missed you while I was away,” I admit to her.

“I missed…”

I seal my mouth over hers before she can finish her admission. I stroke my tongue against hers, swallowing her moans as they escape the back of her throat. I can feel her hands on the back of my neck as she tries to pull me in closer. The bite of her nails on my skin as I keep myself from falling into her sends shivers over my entire body. The restraint I’ve built all evening, in order to be able to walk away rather than take her back to my place, is slipping with a simple kiss.

Scratch that, there is nothing simple about this kiss. The passion and greed I can feel from her matches mine. I no longer want this woman. Need is a more accurate word. The thought scares me enough to keep me grounded and sticking to my original plan.

“Em,” I whisper against her lips as I pull away.