Stone (Knights Corruption MC Series Book 2) (37 page)

Her annoyances became my pleasure.

Striding up behind her, I pushed her hair to the side and whispered in her ear. “Don’t you dare bend over in front of anyone else, because I can see your panties.” The rasp in my voice made her breath hitch. Or was it because my cock was hard and pressed against the seam of her ass?

“Stop trying to distract me,” she mumbled, a slight trace of humor in her voice when she responded. Once she finished unpacking our clothes and toiletries, she sat back on the edge of the bed, reaching for my hand to come and sit beside her. There was no hesitation on my part, parking my ass on the bed next to her right away.

Staring into her eyes for the briefest of moments, I knew she wanted to divulge something but was holding back. “What are you not telling me?” I prompted, hoping she wasn’t gonna procrastinate before telling me whatever was on her mind.

She fidgeted next to me, her uneasiness blanketing her and giving everything away. Well, almost everything.

“I . . . I went to see Dr. Weber today.”

“Did you have an appointment?”

“Yes.” She bit her bottom lip in nervousness before breaking eye contact.

“Look at me,” I demanded, turning her head when she refused. “Why didn’t you tell me about this appointment? What were you meeting with him for?”

Silence.

We stared at each other for what felt like forever, but in reality it was only seconds. Five very long seconds, to be precise.

Just when I thought she wasn’t gonna say anything, she clutched the hem of her grey dress and bunched the material in her hands. “I met with him so he could give me the results. You know, to see if the treatments worked or not.”

A lone tear slipped from her eye and slid down her cheek. My heart practically burst out of my chest waiting for her to speak the words I knew I never wanted to hear.

My tone belied what I was feeling inside. “And?”

“He said the cancer is still there, although it’s not as prevalent as before. But he won’t know more until he takes a biopsy.

“And when is he doing this?”

“After I have the baby.” Her answers were short and to the point, something which unnerved me for some reason. Maybe it was because she’d had time to process everything, whereas I was just hearing all of this for the very first time—a trend with her which I hated immensely.

Rising from the bed, I paced in front of her for a few minutes, digesting everything she’d told me. I tried to find the right words to comfort her, but I failed, instead allowing my worry to cloak me like some kind of shield. A mask of paranoia I’d become defenseless against.

Halting my steps, I faced her when I asked, “You said you ran into your father, right?” She quickly nodded. “Did you finally tell him? About the cancer?” She nodded again, and for some reason I found comfort in her answer. At least someone else knew and could share my fear, even if that same person despised me.

I went back to pacing but was interrupted when Addy rose to her feet and walked toward me, pushing herself against me until my arms wrapped around her. She was trying to ease my trepidation with her body . . . and it worked. For the most part.

“I’ll be okay,” she whispered, cradling herself into the crux of my arms. “I promise.”

I knew she couldn’t promise me any such thing, but I chose to believe her.

What other choice did I have?

Adelaide

Tension was high between everyone inside the clubhouse. The women did their part in trying to keep everyone calm, cooking and serving the men and children as best they could. To do their part, the men tried their best to keep all talk of business contained behind Chambers, but the frustrations of the members spilled over into the common area, their offhanded comments heard by not only myself but some of the other women as well.

There was talk of retaliation against the KC, Ryder drunkenly spilling some of the secrets the more he drank. I wanted so desperately to know what was going on, but based on the bits of information I’d already heard, I decided I wanted to remain in the dark when it came to the threat against us.

I had too many things to worry about as it was; I certainly didn’t need to add any more to my list.

Eyeing Tripp standing in the corner near the kitchen, I walked toward him with purpose, reaching him before he even saw me coming. My abrupt presence startled him but he quickly recovered, leaning forward and placing a quick kiss on my cheek.

“Adelaide, so nice to see you again. How are you feeling?” he asked, glancing down at my protruding belly.

“As good as can be expected,” I answered, giving him a genuine smile.

“How are
you
feeling?” I asked in return, moving out of the way of racing children so I didn’t get run over.

“I’m back to normal, I suppose. In fact, I was gonna take off in a few days, but Marek asked me to stay on and oversee the two clubs.” A remote look drifted over his face for a brief moment. Before I could even think to question it, though, it was gone.

“Well, I’m glad to hear you’ll be sticking around. I think I’d miss you,” I teased, reaching out to touch his shoulder. There was something about Tripp which drew me to him, my protective side emerging whenever he was near. Maybe it was simply the caregiver part of me recognizing something was amiss in his life, offering my support even when he hadn’t asked for it.

“I won’t miss this,” an all too familiar voice rumbled from behind me, grabbing my waist and pulling me into him so my back rested against his chest. “You need to find a woman of your own, Tripp, and stop hittin’ on mine.”

The only part of Stone I could reach from my position was his leg, so I smacked his thigh in annoyance. “Knock it off. He’s not hitting on me. Not at all. Actually, I’m the one who approached him, if you must know.”

Stone’s grip on me tightened slightly, his irritation prominent in the way he held onto me.

“Yeah? And why’s that?”

“I came over to tell him that someone better put Ryder to bed, because he keeps mumbling things I’m positive shouldn’t be heard by anyone other than the men. Things I’m sure were said in private.”

Both Stone and Tripp cursed at the same time, walking away from me to wrangle up Ryder and lock him away inside his room before he stirred up more shit.

Fortunately, the rest of the evening was quite uneventful. Everyone had retired to their respective rooms, the common area becoming deserted well before midnight. There were only a few men milling about, walking in and out of Chambers, whispering their business away from the rest of us.

The whole scene was quite surreal. I’d never been around when there was a lockdown, only ever hearing bits and pieces from my uncle when I’d overheard him talking to one of the other members. I knew enough not to inquire, however, because it had never had anything to do with me before. But everything was different now, ever since I’d become officially involved with Stone.

While I couldn’t be happier that I was finally with the man I was meant for, my reservations barreled forth. Times like this were exactly why I’d denied him for so long. There was no going back, though, so I kept my chin up and followed his instructions, something which was hard for me to do without complaint.

I was just about to hop in the shower for a quick rinse before bed when Stone walked into the room, his disheveled hair quite telling of the day he’d had so far. First, he’d been consumed with the goings-on here, with his club, and then I broke the news that I still had cancer. Even after all the treatments I’d endured. And now, he was still dealing with a possible threat toward everyone he cared about.

I wanted to do something for him, not wanting to wallow in self-pity about my situation, instead focusing that energy onto him. If he felt better, I would feel better.

“Wanna take a shower with me?” I coaxed, lifting the hem of my dress up my body and over my head, standing before him in my white cotton bra and panties.

Briskly walking toward me, he guided me toward the bathroom before his response left his lips. “Yes.” Kicking off his shoes and socks, he unbuckled his belt and unzipped his jeans, pushing them down his muscular thighs and taking his boxer briefs right along with them. The last thing to go was his shirt, tossed on the floor at his feet with the rest of his discarded clothes.

A naked Stone was the most beautiful, erotic sight I’d ever been gifted with. The toned, rippled muscles of his torso called for my touch. The need to run my fingertips over his sculpted chest bombarded me each time I was given the opportunity. I stood there staring at him as if it were the first time I’d ever seen him naked.

“Are we jumping in this shower, or do you want to stare at me a little while longer?” He laughed, licking his lips as he leaned his hip against the sink. Crossing his arms over his chest only spurred my incessant desire to visually devour him that much more.

“Give me a minute.” I chuckled, moving forward and running my hands down his chest, pulling at his arms until they fell at his sides. I’d touched him hundreds of times before, but for some reason this time was different. Having no idea if the bad news I’d received earlier had any bearing, I pushed all thoughts of my sickness aside and committed every line and plane of his body to memory, needing to focus on him instead of the persistent cancer inside me.

My fingers trailed down the rest of his body, settling on his defined abdominal muscles, sinking lower still until his thickness filled my hand. When he inhaled quickly, I knew he was enthralled with my fascination, jerking his hips forward until I grasped him tighter.

“Addy . . .” he moaned, threading his fingers through my long hair, caressing my scalp with a lazy massage.

“Do you like that?” I asked, knowing damn well what his answer would be. Releasing him, I traced the rest of his warm skin with the tips of my fingers, unintentionally tickling him as I skated around the back of his body. Looking deep into his dark, expressive eyes, I pulled him closer, leaning up and capturing his mouth before he could react.

His tongue pressed into my mouth, drawing out my lust until he’d essentially held me captive with his kiss. Nipping at my bottom lip, he broke our connection for the briefest of moments, pulling back so he could peer into my eyes. “I would have never guessed you’d be in the mood for this,” he said, gesturing back and forth between us. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Well . . . I’m kinda hoping you’ll be the one ‘getting into me.’”

His gravelly laugh made me smile.

“As you wish, but let’s get in the shower first. That way, I can clean you right after I dirty you all up.” The gleam in his eyes sealed the deal.

A half hour later, we snuggled under the covers and tried our best to get some much needed sleep.

Even though we were essentially trapped inside the clubhouse, a very real threat to the livelihood of all the members and their families, there was no place on Earth I would rather be than wrapped in Stone’s arms.

Stone

Another month passed.

Another month of silence on the part of our greatest enemy.

Psych still had not made a move to come and collect his daughter, Marek’s wife. He was either planning some kind of elaborate attack or he had more sense than any of us gave him credit for, realizing we would kill him on sight. If I was gonna go with either scenario, though, it would be the first one. Unfortunately.