Soothing His Madness (5 page)

Chapter Nine

Every table at
Cactus Cove was full, and still people came inside the establishment and
gathered around the bar. Taylor lifted the serving tray above the heads of
those seated, and worked her way to the other side of the room.

"Here are your
drinks. Let me know if you need anything else." She unloaded her tray, smiled
at the two customers, and headed back to the counter.

Bruce stood at the
tap, filling mugs, and sliding the drinks down the bar. She set her tray in the
basket and picked up a wet towel to mop up spills left over from the frenzy of
filling orders.

"Hey gorgeous,
are the rumors true?" Stan leaned over the bar and wiggled his bushy black
brows. "Or is there still time for you and me to get down and dirty?"

Taylor grinned
without answering after seeing Slade approach an unsuspecting Stan from behind.
"You get down or dirty with my woman, and you'll hit the ground, ass
first," Slade said.

"Jesus
Christ." Stan swiveled around. "I thought you were working. Thanks to
you, all the damn women are taken around here. Who am I going to dream about
over a beer?"

Ginger passed by
and slapped Stan upside the head, knocking his cap off. "You blind?"

Stan stood and
followed Ginger, trying to get back on her good side with compliments and
apologies. Taylor laughed and moved closer to Slade.

He sat down on the
empty bar stool Stan left and put his elbows on the counter. "Come
here."

She stretched over
the bar, and he kissed her. The taste of beer and heat swirled around her
stomach, and she sighed happily.

Slade held her
close. "Almost done?"

"I get off in
a half hour." She kissed him again. "How did the run go?"

"Fine. I came
in to meet Raul and let him know what's going on." He motioned for Bruce
to bring him a beer. "Los Li stayed in Los Angeles last night. We sent three
riders down to watch their progress. Looks like they'll be hitting Pitnam on
the weekend. I wish I could get the kids to the club and put them in lockdown.
I sent a message through my lawyer to Jodie, but she's never taken anything
that has to do with club business seriously."

"Hang on a
minute." Taylor took the tray from Bruce and delivered the drinks to table
two, and hurrying back to Slade. "I have twenty grand in my savings
account. Let's hire someone new, and go back in front of the judge. Maybe a new
lawyer can speed things up. I mean, not fast enough to get the kids in
lockdown, but at least it'd be progress."

Slade's mouth
hardened and he looked away from her. She stepped over, forcing him to look at
her. "I'm serious. We'll bring more witnesses. I'll tell them what I've
viewed first hand and how Jodie's neglect has affected the kids."

He stood.
"No."

"Think about
it." She lowered her voice. "I want to help."

Slade's eyes
darkened and his lips thinned. "Stay out of it, Taylor."

"But we can't
give up," she said.

He leaned over and
got in her face. "I don't give up. Those are
my
kids, and I'll take
care of them
my
way. End of discussion. If you want to talk so much,
then you can explain why you're ignoring how you bitched me out for marrying
you because of
my
kids. You seem to want to ignore talking to me about
what you meant yesterday when you threw that in my face before I returned the
kids to my ex. That shit isn't going to fly and the faster you learn that, you
can stop trying to buy your way into
my
life. You're my old lady. Get
used to it."

"Slade…"
She clamped her lips shut.

"You heard me.
There's nothing else you can do." He rocked back on the heels of his
boots. "I'll be outside talking to Raul. When you get off work, find me,
and we'll ride home."

"I can't
believe you went there," she mumbled.

He turned and
walked away from her. Without thinking, she picked up the wet towel and threw
it at his back. The slap against the back of his vest as she hit her mark
silenced the whole bar.

Slade's head tilted
to the side, and he slowly turned around making her angrier at his stupid
self-control. Fear loosened her tongue. "I'm good enough to have sex with
for two years when nobody knows about it, but not good enough to have any input
on our lives."

"Don't,"
he said, taking a step toward her.

"You can take
your
don't
and shove it up your ass, Slade Ramchett." She searched
the room, found Bruce, and said, "I'm leaving early, so you can dock my
pay. If Rain has a problem with it, well he can take some of Slade's
don't
and shove it up his ass too."

Her heels clicked
against the wooden floor, down the hallway, and into the back room where she
grabbed her purse. Her body vibrated with anger, and she wanted to scream or
cry. Everybody always said bikers were a hard bunch to love, and she agreed.

She loved Slade
enough for both of them, and he refused to see it. God, she could smack him.

For good measure,
she slammed the door on her way out the back door of the bar. Two bikers sat on
their motorcycles and she glared at them, just because right now her opinion of
bikers leveled working overtime in four-inch heels. She was so over both of
them.

She stuck her key
in her car door lock, and found herself twirling through the air. Her breath
whooshed out when her stomach met Slade's shoulder. She hung upside down and
screamed, kicking her feet.

"Let go of me."
She pounded Slade's ass.

He shifted her
farther back on his shoulder until she dangled from her hips. She inhaled a
much needed breath and grabbed onto the back of his jeans to keep from falling.
He continued walking with her, never missing a step.

"Dammit, put
me down now," she screamed.

He spanked her ass.
She yipped, and her whole body stiffened. Her head bounced off the back of his
legs with each of his steps. "Slade, please, let me down."

He climbed up onto
the porch of one of the cabins behind Cactus Cove where the members often
stayed and kicked in the door. Then he yanked her back over his shoulder and
slid her down the length of his body. A body hard and aroused.

The strength to
move away from him fled and the anger coiling deep in her stomach resembled a
mini orgasm. "Damn you," she whispered.

He captured her
lips and backed her up against the wall, holding her prisoner to put his hands
on her body. In the tangle of arms and legs, he had her tank off and her jean
skirt hiked to her waist. She removed his shirt and sprawled her hands on his
chest, needing his heat on her.

"Drive me
crazy, baby girl." He stroked his tongue along the curve of her neck,
while she heard the crinkle of a foil wrapper.

She could no longer
reject him than deny herself. Whatever sickness drove her to accepting less
than perfect also made her love him unconditionally. It wasn't rational or sane.
The love she had for Slade was there whether he pissed her off or took her to
paradise.

He lifted her off
the floor. She put her legs around his waist and linked her arms around his
neck. His hand went against the wall to protect her bare back as she slid down
on his hardness. Her body trembled and sighed in pleasure at the fullness. It
was always this way with him.

When he was inside
of her, holding her, words and promises were meaningless when she touched his
soul and received everything she needed in return. He couldn't hide his
feelings or act tough while they were having sex. Most of all, she was secure
and loved, because he wasn't leaving her.

He rhythmically
thrust against her, taking away all her control. Her body, in a mix of melting
and pulsating, accepted everything he was doing. His hand on her ass, his mouth
on her neck, his whiskers caressing her skin titillated her beyond thinking. Her
nipples ached and she writhed against his upper body. He sped up his movements,
holding her mobile and secure against the wall.

The musty scent of
desire lay heavy in the room. Their breathing strummed the air, surrounding her
in a hypnotic melody. Her blood pulsed in her veins, faster and faster. Her sex
squeezed him with each deliberate movement as jolts of pleasure stormed her
body. This was them, together and connected.

"You're
mine." He nudged her chin, and she kissed him.

His tongue matched the
movements of his lower body. Each brush of his body when he impaled himself in
her fully heightened her arousal. She tightened her legs, trying to stave off the
inevitable, but her body had a mind of its own. Her orgasm came in a hurry and
left her screaming his name against his mouth.

He went wild,
taking and taking and taking, until he sank against her and pressed her firmly
against the wall, shuddering his release. Her body quivered at the warmth
inside of her, the heat radiating off Slade's body. Her earlier anger and
desperation settled into a contented sigh.

She closed her eyes
and laid her head on his shoulder. He held her to him and stumbled back to the
couch, sinking down onto the cushion without leaving her body or letting go.

"I've done
things the wrong way, baby girl," he whispered. "I had plans after I
won custody of the boys to put a ring on your finger and do things right. I
knew you'd want something special, and I wanted to be the man who gave you
everything."

"You
were?" She melted, holding her breath.

He exhaled loudly.
"Asking you to move in was part of the plan, but I can see why you
believed I did it for the boys' sake. I thought I had time, and I was afraid of
losing you too."

"Honey, we
don't—"

"Yeah, we
do." He hooked her neck, bringing her forehead against his. "I love
you, baby girl. Never told you, cause I thought you knew. I see that you
didn't, and that's my fault."

She blinked the moisture
out of her vision. "I love you too."

"I know that.
I've known for a while, and I don't take that gift lightly." He kissed the
end of her nose. "I need you. My boys need you and even if they didn't
need you, I'd want you. Do you understand now?"

She nodded. "I
only want to give you everything you want."

"Already got
it, baby girl. What you don't know is, I've got my boys covered and I'm getting
them back my way. I should've done that from the start instead of relying on
someone else's advice. No lawyer is going to be able to help me get my kids
back," he said.

She wrapped her arms
around his neck, wanting him to keep sharing with her. "What have you
planned to do?"

"Deal with
Jodie and Ray the same way I deal with anyone else who threatens what's mine."
Slade's cock slipped out of her.

She shifted,
suddenly chilled. He set her aside and stood. The loss of him brought out her insecurities.
"You can't do something stupid that brings trouble down on you. What good
will you do in prison? Jodie will still have the boys."

Slade grabbed his
T-shirt. "Rain, Torque, and Raul will protect me. They've got my back.
Nothing for you to worry about."

She stood staring
after him as he walked into the bathroom to get rid of the condom. Was he
serious?

He returned with
his jeans fastened and his shirt on. She hurried to slip on her clothes. The magnitude
of what he wasn't telling her was huge. This was her life too.

How were they
supposed to act like a team and support each other if he continued to leave her
out of everything? His impulsive reactions scared her. He had to plan and think
about what he was going to do, not ride out on pure emotions.

Okay, he loved her
and he was going to ask her to marry him, but he'd spontaneously had her move
in during the worst time of his life. Even today, to shut her up, he took her
to the cabin and damned anyone to stop him. That kind of behavior was going to
land him in prison.

She smoothed her
skirt. "Okay, so let me get this straight. We love each other, but what
you do with your life and the decisions you make are private and don't include
me, right?"

He ran his tongue
over his teeth and slowly nodded. "Yeah. I'm taking care of you. You have
nothing to worry about."

She stared at him,
giving him one more chance to change his opinion. When he motioned at the door
and took a step away from her, she snorted.

He turned around.
"What?"

"I'm not one
of your bitches," she stated.

His lips twitched
in amusement. "Never said you were, baby girl. Not even at the beginning
of our relationship. I also never treated you like one today, because if I did,
I wouldn't be standing here talking with you."

Okay. He had a
point.

"I'm going to
sell my house," she blurted.

He shrugged.
"Okay."

"Maybe I'll
keep it, and use it as a rental," she said.

"That's a good
idea. You might want to talk to Rain about the ins and outs, since he's the
businessman." Slade put his hand on the door handle. "You done
now?"