“Shut up. You don’t date anyone other than me. You want to get laid, only I get between those fuckin’ lush thighs. No one touches what’s mine, and that means you!”
April blinked in sheer surprise. Whatever she’d been expecting, it wasn’t that. Fire flashed in her eyes as I ground my cock against her to drive home my point.
“Mine,” I growled.
Chapter Fifteen.
April
His? If I was Stone’s, then he was mine, and two could play that game. Firmly, I hooked my hand around his neck and drew Stone closer.
“That goes both ways. You’re mine,” I stated, leaving no room for doubt. “No other women, Stone, no yelling at me for being insecure, no more bullshit.”
“Deal. But get it into your stubborn head, you’re fuckin’ beautiful. Fuck what society says about being a size zero and eating rabbit food. Real men want a real woman, one who’s got a figure and padding. Who the hell wants to bang someone and be poked by hip and rib bones? I love your curves, always have and always will. You ever mention the word fat again, and I’ll paddle your backside until you can’t sit down,” Stone threatened.
My eyes narrowed. “If I catch you eyeing up a skinny bitch, I’ll be tying bricks to your balls.”
Stone winced, and I smiled. “April, I broke up with you in the worst way possible, and to this day, I’ll maintain I did it for you. Sure, looking back, I should have explained everything, but I was a scared kid seeing a long jail sentence ahead of me. I was never embarrassed to be seen with you, nor was I ashamed of us.When I looked to the future, you were there for the whole nine yards: marriage, kids, vacations, and growing old together. I’ve only wanted those things with you.”
Tears choked me as I buried my head in Stone’s chest. Stone had loved me, and I think he did at this point, but I needed to be sure. “Do you still love me?”
“Of course. Nobody came close to my heart, because you’d already claimed it and thrown away the key. Nothing anyone said or did could erase your memory. I’ve been in limbo for a decade, and I want to live,” Stone insisted. “April, I’ve wasted my life since you left with dead-end jobs and throwaway women, who I only used to get off with. None meant shit to me.”
“Does Hellfire?” I asked timidly.
“Yeah. Hellfire is the fuckin’ world to me. The club gave me a reason to move on, something to strive for. Iwillbe a brother and a damn good one.”
“What does that mean for me?”
“That means you are to be my old lady. You’ll be the only woman to ride behind me, and the only one to wear my cut. I know what popular fiction says about MCs, that we have whores and loads of parties. A great many do, but not Hellfire. We’re more about being ourselves, letting shit hang out, and creating family. There’ll never be anyone else apart from you, and I mean that. What happened before will never happen again.”
Carefully, I studied Stone and saw the truth in his face. He regretted his actions all those years ago but had never really apologised. I’d thought it was too late for Stone to apologise. Yet a little voice was urging me to crawl into his arms.
Under the spite, indifference, and hate towards Stone was a strong undercurrent of hurt. Stone had smashed my fragile ego ten years ago, and it hadn’t healed. I’d needed to hear that it wasn’t me, and that had taken a long time coming. The wounded part of me sat up and took notice, and I felt the pain subsidea little. Agony had been such a core element of me that it was shocking to feel it ease.
“Iamsorry. I regret everything I did to you back then. April, I’ll spend the rest of my life proving how much I love you and showing how regretful I am.”
“Stone, you don’t need to grovel for that long; a few years will be sufficient,” I teased, and Stone blinked before laughing.
“There’s my sassy woman. Babe, I want to stay, but I have to chase this fucker Margrave. Cancel whatever plans you had with Runner, and I’ll take you out this evening.”
“Honestly, I’d already refused him. The guy seemed off, although he was being charming,” I admitted, and Stone’s eyes narrowed.
“Good. Keep away from him. Runner’s bad news. Tonight, we’ll discuss why you and Clara are leaving,” Stone said.
“Oh, I’ve got dinner tonight with Clara. I can’t blow her off.”
“Not a problem, I’ll take two of my favourite ladies out then.” Stone smiled and kissed me again before heading towards his bike. He slung his leg over and moments later roared out.
Harlequin
Margrave was on the run. Jinx had followed him to a mall, and despite his best efforts, he’d lost him. When Jinx headed back to the car park, Margrave’s vehicle had disappeared. Jinx was currently riding around Spearfish trying to find the bastard. I’d checked his usual haunts, and Margrave wasn’t anywhere to be found.
Jinx was kicking himself for letting Margrave give him the slip, but it wasn’t his fault. He wasn’t a trained PI. The thought kept circling through my mind that Margrave could be running to Julie. I was damn convinced that he had Julie or had killedher. By reaching out to all my contacts, I hoped someone would spot Margrave soon.
Like Jinx, I was riding randomly around when Slaughter called me.
“Return to the office,” he instructed.
