Unattainable (40 page)

He snorted. “Yeah, okay,” he said,
laughing, still staring at her tits. He was so fucking horny. It
had been over a year since he’d last been inside of her and he was
aching for it. The fact that he couldn’t hold a damn erection
because he was too busy being half out of his mind wishing he was
high was pissing him off, more than the fact that he’d let his life
fall so far down the shitter not even a drain snake could give him
a helping hand.

It was official—he was the biker brat
equivalent to a spoiled rich kid who’d thrown his life away…just
because. And he hated himself for it.

If Tegen weren’t here… Jesus, fuck, he
didn’t even want to think about what would have happened if she
hadn’t come back.

“
I wanna fuck you so bad,”
he said, reaching for her. She sidestepped him and the next thing
he knew she was slapping her palms against his shoulders and
shoving him backward.

“
Go talk to your father,”
she said firmly. “Right now.”

“
Will you blow me
afterward?” he asked, grinning at the elderly couple that was
passing by them, their eyes wide with surprise.

“
Yes,” she said, rolling
her eyes. “But only if you promise to come all over my tits like a
good little boy.”

The elderly man stopped walking and
gaped at Tegen, who subsequently winked at him. Literally choking
on her shock, the man’s wife grabbed his arm and yanked him toward
the far elevator.

Laughing like a maniac, Tegen continued
shoving him backward down the hallway and he let her, relishing in
the smile on her face, just thanking God that she was here, with
him, and…fuck him, she was happy.

“
Ready?” she asked,
stopping in front of a room he guessed was his father’s.

“
No.”

Shaking her head, Tegen pushed open the
door and walked inside. Sighing, his stomach nothing but a bundle
of nerves, he followed her in and stopped when he saw his father.
Lying in a hospital bed, dressed in a goddamn hospital gown, hooked
up to machines and IVs, his long blond and gray hair splayed out
over the pillow behind his head, was Deuce. Cage just stared. He’d
never seen his father in such a vulnerable state. Not that the man
looked weak by any means, just the opposite actually. He looked
like he was too damn big for the bed, and if he pulled too hard on
any of the equipment he was hooked up to, he’d break it
instantly.

Deuce glanced from him to Tegen and
back to him. Cage watched as his father took in his appearance. A
look of relief crossed the man’s features.

“
How long?” he
asked.

“
Since the last time he
fucked up?” Tegen asked and Cage’s eyes shot to her. She folded her
arms across her chest and cocked her hip out. “Three days. Three
very long, very horrible days.”

“
Fuck you!” Cage spat.
“Was tellin’ him that really fuckin’ necessary?”

She shrugged indifferently.
“Yes.”

Cage’s nostrils flared and his fists
clenched but before he could come back at her, his father burst out
laughing. Deep, body-shaking laughs wracked the man’s body and Cage
just stood there and stared. Who the fuck was this guy? Sure as
fuck wasn’t his old man.

“
Tegen,” Deuce said,
trying to catch his breath. “You give us a minute,
darlin’?”

Cage watched in horror as the word
“darlin’” fell out of his old man’s mouth and Tegen’s face lit up
like a goddamn firecracker.

“
Sure,” she said, smiling,
all adorable and shit at Deuce. What the fuck? What the motherfuck?
He’d seen it before, his old man putting on the charm and thongs
falling off pussies all around the world. But…Tegen?

She hated Deuce. She thought Deuce was
an arrogant, pigheaded, sexist Neanderthal!

And she was his fucking
woman!

Cage glared at her as she practically
skipped from the room, still smiling. He turned his glare back to
his father. “Don’t ever call her that again,” he demanded
angrily.

Deuce held his hands up. “I’ll leave
you to it,” he said, fighting a smile.

Cage wasn’t satisfied. “She’s mine,” he
said.

Deuce’s brow hit his hairline. “Jesus,
fuck,” he said. “I don’t fuckin’ want her. What kind of crazy shit
you thinkin’?”

“
Nothin’,” Cage
muttered.

Deuce narrowed his eyes, then shook his
head. Gesturing to a seat near his hospital bed, he said, “Sit the
fuck down.”

Cage gritted through the anger he felt
at being treated like a dog and instead of exploding like he wanted
to, did as he was told.

Deuce eyed him knowingly. “Shoulda
listened to that old bastard,” he muttered. “Blue said, when you
couldn’t have been no more than two years old, that you were just
like me. He said you were gonna be throwin’ a whole lotta bullshit
my way, told me I was gonna have a handful with you. And instead of
listenin’, I told myself you had everything you could fuckin’ want
and what you didn’t have I’d make sure and get for you, so ain’t no
way you were goin’ to be gettin’ yourself into nearly as much
trouble as I did. Told myself a whole lotta bullshit, I guess,
’cause in the end you weren’t just as dumb as I was, you were a
whole lot fuckin’ dumber.”

Cage’s nostrils flared wildly as he
fought to keep himself from throwing a punch, his anger only
increasing when Deuce grinned at him.

“
You gonna hit a sick old
man?”

When Cage said nothing, Deuce’s grin
grew. “Listen up, boy,” he said. “I’m man enough to admit when I
fucked shit up and I sure fucked up with you. Thought by givin’ you
everything I had, I was givin’ you everything I never
had.”

Deuce shook his head and laughed softly
to himself. “Straight-up bullshit. Shoulda let you figure your shit
out on your own, shoulda let you fall the fuck down and pick
yourself back up, shoulda let you make your own goddamn mistakes
instead of takin’ care of everything for you behind your back, and
I shoulda let you hop on that crazy bus with that crazy little
red-haired shit. I know it now and I’m tellin’ you I’m fuckin’
sorry for fuckin’ with your life. Thought I was doin’ what was
right, thought I was bein’ the way an old man should be, and it
turns out I was just doin’ what I do best and fuckin’ everything
up.”

Surprised, Cage blinked at his father.
What?

“
Listen to me carefully,”
Deuce continued. “All my bullshit—my family, my club, my boys—it’s
always been yours. You’re my oldest son, my motherfuckin’ legacy.
You’ve got my love, my goddamn name, you got my colors on your
back, you’ve got first fuckin’ dibs on everything I’ve ever had.
You want to throw it all way, pass it the fuck on, live a different
sorta life, you do what you gotta do, but it’s always been yours,
Cage, whether you wanted it or not, that shit ain’t ever
changed.”

Deuce looked away for a second as shame
passed over his face, or was that regret? Then he looked back and
held Cage’s gaze head on. “Me doin’ what I did, gettin’ between you
and Tegen, I was doin’ what I thought was best for you. Didn’t
think she could cut it, bein’ the old lady to a club prez. This job
of mine, the job I’ll be passin’ down to you soon enough, you can’t
be havin’ a woman breathin’ down your neck all damn day, wantin’
out of the life, hatin’ the club. You gotta have your damn head in
the game and your woman at home, fuckin’ waitin’ on you, ready to
take that bad fuckin’ day, bad month, bad fuckin’ year you’ve had,
and let you bury that shit between her damn thighs without giving
you shit about it. And all I saw from Tegen was her givin’ you,
givin’ the club, nothin’ but shit. I was lookin’ out for you but it
fuckin’ backfired and for that, I’m damn sorry.”

Cage swallowed hard. Now, what the fuck
did he say to that?

“
Had a long talk with that
woman of yours,” Deuce said, smiling again. “She’s ready. She’s
gotta good head on her shoulders, she knows the ins and outs of the
club, and she loves the boys. Most importantly, though, she fuckin’
loves your dumb ass.”

Hearing that, Cage smiled and Deuce
snorted.

“
Yeah, she’s fuckin’ ready
and I ain’t goin’ to be buttin’ in where I don’t fuckin’ belong no
more.”

Cage raised an eyebrow; he didn’t
believe that line of bullshit for a second.

“
Listen up,” Deuce said.
“I’m about ready to turn the game on, so if you got somethin’ to
say, you need to get some shit off your chest and tell me what a
fuckin’ asshole I am, then you better get to it or I’m kickin’ you
the fuck outta here.”

Grabbing the arms of the chair, Cage
pushed himself into a standing position. “I ain’t got shit to say,”
he said quietly. He didn’t; his old man had surprised him and for
the first time in his life, Cage didn’t have a damn thing to say
back.

“
I’m proud of you,” Deuce
said. “You should know that. You’re a good man and I know once you
get your shit straightened out, you’re gonna be just fine runnin’
the club.”

The two men stared at each other until
Cage broke the silence. “Yeah,” he said. “Thank you.”

Deuce waved him off. “Get the fuck
outta here.”

Rolling his eyes, Cage turned to
leave.

“
One last
thing.”

Cage turned around.

“
Don’t let that one catch
you stickin’ your shit where it don’t belong. She’s damn crazy and
she’ll fuckin’ shoot your ass.”

Cage blew out a noisy, amused breath.
“Don’t fuckin’ worry about that. I ain’t you.”

“
In that case,” Deuce shot
back. “Best stake out that territory right the fuck now instead of
waitin’ like I did. Worst fuckin’ mistake I ever made.”

• • •

Deuce’s loud laughter followed Cage
into the hallway where I was waiting for him. I took the silly
smile on his face as a good sign. Despite how sick he’d been, he
looked better than he had in days.

“
Good talk?” I
asked.

He didn’t respond, just continued to
advance on me until we were nose to nose.

I raised my eyebrows. “Uh, not a good
talk?”

“
Marry me,” he said
quietly.

Two words. Two stupid words and my
stomach burst into a thousand butterflies, retarded butterflies who
didn’t have a clue where they were going and were bumping into one
another like drunken bumper car drivers.

“
No!” I shouted, and was
about to shove him off me when he caught my wrists and quickly
backed me up against the wall.

“
Marry me,” he
repeated.

“
Hell no,” I said firmly,
sounding a lot calmer than I felt.

“
Gimme one good reason why
the fuck not?” he demanded.

I stared up at him, my heart pounding,
feeling like at any moment it was going to pound its way straight
out of my chest and fall to the floor where it would flop around
like a dying fish.

“’
Cause the way I’m seein’
it is unless you plan on runnin’ away again or gettin’ with some
other asshole, you’re mine and I’m about ready to let the whole
damn world know it.”

My already clammy body broke out in a
cold sweat.

“
You gonna run again,
Tegen?”

I shook my head.

“
My dick enough for
you?”

I nodded.

He glared at me. “Then what’s the
fuckin’ problem?”

What was the problem? What was the
fucking problem, exactly? I wracked my brain searching for the
problem and came up empty.

“
I don’t know,” I
whispered.

His lips split into a smile and dimples
popped out everywhere. I lost what little breath I had left inside
my lungs. “Teacup,” he whispered. “If you ain’t got a problem, then
fuckin’ marry me.”

That’s when I realized what my problem
was.

I didn’t have a problem. Not a single
one.

Standing here in front of me was the
one and only man I’d ever loved, loving me back, asking me to marry
him. To spend the rest of my life with him and only him, because he
loved me just that fucking much, so fucking much he wanted me to be
his wife.

My eyes filled. That was my problem. I
didn’t have one. I’d spent my entire life surrounded by problems,
wishing and aching for things I knew would never happen.

But they had. And now my poor mind
didn’t know what to do with itself.

Blinking caused tears to spill over and
run down my cheeks and then Cage was there kissing them away almost
as fast as I was producing them.

“
Marry me,” he said,
pressing his lips, wet with my tears, against my mouth.

My mouth opened and Cage’s tongue took
advantage and shot inside.

“
Marry me,” he mumbled as
he kissed me, refusing to let me answer, kissing me harder each
time I tried to pull away from him. “Marry me, Teacup.”

“
Okay,” I said
breathlessly, threading my fingers through his hair as I kissed him
back with equal ferociousness.

Cage went still and with my head in his
hands, pushed me away from him.