Kincaid: Cerberus Mc Book 1 (24 page)

She reaches up and kisses my cheek softly. “Thank you for saving me. I thank God for you every day that I get to hold him in my arms,” she whispers in my ear.

Right this very second it is exactly what I need to hear. I wrap my arms around her and hug her tight against my chest. I wasn’t the only one involved in her rescue. Hell, I wasn’t even the one in charge of the mission, but knowing I helped save a woman, my cousin’s woman, means everything to me.

“Trouble?” Kaleb asks as he opens the front door and notices the two additional bikers that weren’t there just a little bit ago.

“Nothing we can’t handle,” I tell him and make my way down the front steps to my waiting bike. Kaleb has followed me down, no doubt to make sure there isn’t something he needs to get involved in.

I climb on and balance the machine between my legs so Emmalyn can climb on behind me. She works to get her helmet on, and I immediately feel like an ass for just handing it to her and not helping her put it on. I’m distracted, but not seeing to her needs is unacceptable. I grip her thigh gently in apology.

Before he can even ask again, I speak. “Any word on the leak in your department?”

“Nothing yet,” he says and looks back to the front door. “I’ve just gotten back in the good graces of the department. My focus has been on my wife.”

“I understand that,” I tell him truthfully. “Let us know if they need any real help.”

He laughs, waves goodbye, and heads back into the house, no doubt missing the feel of Josie by his side already. “I understand that too,” I say to myself, my words hidden by the roar of my engine coming to life.

I turn out of Ian’s subdivision on full alert. I know this is going to be the longest ride of my life. For the first time in Cerberus MC history, I’m not riding point, and I’m livid that Wrench has put me in this position.

The ride back from Colorado was miserable. I could feel the tension in Diego’s back as we rode straight through, with only one stop for gas. My back and ass are killing me by the time we pull up to the clubhouse, and I can still feel the vibration of the bike in my thighs as I climb off and hand Diego the helmet.

Something has been off since we woke up this morning. I was deliciously sore all over from his thorough attention to my body, but I woke with a hunger inside me that only he’d be able to satisfy. I’d stretched and pressed my naked flesh against his, somewhat disappointed to see that he’d already been up and was fully dressed except for his boots.

He ignored every attempt I made at flirting. At first, for some reason, I felt shy, especially when he didn’t touch me like he normally does. The shyness turned to worry when he brushed my hand away when I began to lower it to the front of his jeans. My worry turned to utter uncertainty about everything we did last night when he climbed out of the bed and insisted I go shower alone while he made some phone calls.

He’d whispered beautiful things to me last night while I lay on his chest before falling asleep with him just as wrapped around my body as I was around his. I was safe and content. I could honestly say I was the happiest I’d ever been in my entire life when I fell asleep listening to his strong heartbeat against my cheek.

The man I fell asleep with last night is not the man I woke up to this morning. He’s distant, and although he’s told me nothing is wrong each of the dozen times I’ve asked, I know he’s lying. I can’t help but wonder if last night wasn’t as pleasing to him as it was to me. My greatest fear is that he’s been manipulating my emotions this whole time and acting like the good guy when his intentions with me were different than what he’d said. I fear he’s gotten what he wants and has no use for me now.

The only thing that has kept me from freaking out is the fact that he’s kept me plastered to his side every second since we left the bedroom at Ian and Lorali’s. He even waited outside of the bathroom door when we stopped to get gas. Maybe I’m reading too much into things, but he’s just been… different. Nothing like I’d expected him to be after last night.

We head into the clubhouse with me right on his side, his hand in mine, but the second we step over the threshold and the door closes behind us he releases me and takes a step away.

“Why don’t you go find Rose? Grab you something to eat. I’ve got some things I need to take care of. I’ll come find you when I’m done.” He kisses me chastely on the forehead and walks away.

I’m left standing there with my jaw hanging near the floor as I watch him, Kid, Ace, and Shadow head down the back hallway and disappear around the corner. I don’t know what to do other than find Rose like he recommended.

Knowing she’ll more than likely be in the kitchen, I head in that direction. I smile when my eyes land on the vibrant woman, and I realize that I missed her. If she didn’t turn from the counter and hold her arms open for me to hug her, I think I would have hugged her anyway.

The emotion hits hard in her embrace, and I’m unable to control the tear that rolls down my cheek. Rose pulls from the hug, and her smile disappears when I do a shitty job of hiding the fact that I’m crying.

“Everything will be fine,” she says like I have any clue what the hell is going on. Am I the last one to know that Diego either regrets having sex with me or has decided he’s finished now that he’s scratched that itch?

“I’m fine,” I lie to her. I step away from her and head to the fridge for a bottle of water. I’m not really thirsty, but I need to step out of her space, which seems to pull all sorts of emotions with me.

No matter what lies he said to me to get me into bed with him, I refuse to be the whiny girl who can’t handle a one night stand. I don’t know what his intentions are going forward, but I’ll be damned if being treated like this after sex becomes a regular thing. He knew I wasn’t that type of girl from day one, and I refuse to be treated as such.

My anger grows exponentially as I lean against the counter and sip on the too cold water.

“Do you think it would be okay if I stay with you and Doc again?”

She turns toward me, and I can tell that she’s about to say no. “It will only be until I can get an apartment. I have enough saved up; I think I’d be able to make it work.” Her frown deepens. “I figured it’s better than a hotel for the next couple of nights. That would really chip into the money I’ll need for deposits.”

“You’re always welcome in our home, Emmalyn. Shouldn’t you stay here with Kincaid? I’m certain this is where he wants you.”

“I’m not particularly concerned about where
Kincaid
thinks I should be. I’m not going to sit around and wait until he beckons me to service him.” I spit his club name out like it’s the worst thing I’ve ever tasted.

“You know that’s not what he thinks of you.” I hate how she’s protecting him when she has no idea how he’s treated me since waking up this morning.

“Yeah, well after today I’m not so sure.” I leave the bottle of water on the counter and walk toward the door. “Give me about five minutes and I’ll be ready to go.”

I refuse to wait around and have Diego seek me out when he has time for me. I refuse to let this entire situation fester. I head down the hallway to search for him. Maybe I am reading too much into this. Maybe he’s just having an off day. Rose seems to think that I’m more than a club whore to him, and I want more than anything for that to be true.

I push open the door to his room, our room. My heart shatters at the sight of a clearly naked Bunny under the covers in the bed I’ve been sleeping in for the last three weeks. The bed that I’ve shared with Diego. She smiles sweetly at me like she’s happy that I walked in.

The last time she was in here naked on his bed it was clear in the aftermath that she wasn’t wanted here. Just as I am about to ask her what the fuck she is doing in this room, Diego walks out of the bathroom naked, drying his hair with a towel. Another quick glance back to the naked slut on the bed registers the flush to her cheeks and the messy tangle of her hair. Her hair looks like mine did this morning before I got in the shower. It looked that way after Diego was done fucking me stupid.

I cut my eyes back to Diego and watch as he looks over at the bed. His eyes go wide; clearly she was supposed to be gone before he got done washing the fucking whore off of him. There’s no way to misread this situation. I just huff, trying to act like my heart isn’t breaking when all I want to do is cry my eyes out.

Diego wraps the towel around his hips. Why he’s bothering with modesty now, I have no idea. He walks toward me and holds his hand out.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” I seethe.

“Emmalyn, this isn’t…”

“Save that for someone who’ll buy your bullshit,
Kincaid
.” I turn around and leave his room, slamming the door behind me for good measure.

My control shatters the second the echo of the slammed door bounces off of the wall. I turn toward Bunny, who has the fucking audacity to smile at me as she drops the blanket from her chest, as if I’d be enticed by her body. She’s absolute nothing compared to Emmalyn. No one compares to Em; no one ever would.

“Have you lost your fucking mind?” I yell at her all the while clenching my fists and reminding myself that hitting a woman, no matter the situation, is wrong.

“She’s been hanging on you every second you’ve been home since she got here, Kincaid. Surely you’re tired of her by now.”

“Get the fuck out of this clubhouse!” I scream, pissed I’ve let this woman once again control a situation with me. “You’re fucking done!”

The door flies open, Kid and Shadow filling the door frame.

“What the fuck,” Shadow mutters.

“Kincaid?” Kid says, looking at me like there is a slight possibility that he believes the same thing Emmalyn has running through her beautiful little head right now.

I narrow my eyes at him, and he stiffens, realization coming a second too late for it not to piss me off.

“Get this skanky whore out of my clubhouse. If she ever steps foot on the property again, the member who allowed it will be out,” I tell Shadow as I head to my dresser to grab some clothes. “The member who brought her ass here initially needs to see me for a very fucking serious talk.”

“Wrench is the one who pulled her in,” Kid explains. I nod at him, grateful I don’t have to add restrictions to a grown man in the club.

“You heard him, Bunny. Get dressed. We’ll escort you out.” Shadow stands with his arms crossed over his chest as he waits for her to climb out of the bed and get dressed.

“Kincaid,” she whimpers. “What we have…”

“What we have? Are you crazy? A couple of blowjobs and you think we ‘have’ something?” I stare at her because surely she’s lost her mind. “I’ve never even kissed your lips, touched,” I wave my hand indicating her entire being. “I’ve never even had my hands on you. The closest thing to a caress you’ve even gotten from me is my hand on the back of your head when you can’t even seem to get a fucking blowjob right.”

I hear Shadow cough through a laugh. Apparently he’s had a few subpar blowjobs from her as well.

I tug on a pair of jeans without even bothering to waste time on underwear. “Out,” I repeat and point to the door when she seems to be taking her sweet fucking time getting dressed. I tug on a t-shirt, and not wanting to spend any more time in the room with her, I slide my feet into a pair of cowboy boots. The last thing I want is to spend the time it takes to lace up my combat boots.

I walk past Kid, who’s only a few feet inside of the room. Looking back into the room I tell him, “Burn the fucking sheets.”

***

I looked all over the clubhouse and couldn’t find Emmalyn anywhere. When I realized Rose had left, I knew Emmalyn was with her. I prayed that’s where she was. A text to Doc confirmed it, and I was on my bike and headed toward her less than a minute later.

With each mile brings more anger. I’m mad at the situation. I’m pissed at Bunny, but my frustration with Emmalyn running and not even listening to what I have to say is standing most prominent. I can’t think of any other way to show her that she’s the only woman I want. Was what she walked into a crazy situation? Of course it was, but she should have enough faith in me to at least let me explain.