7. Breaking at the Seams
CHAPTER SEVEN
Breaking at the Seams
Deja grabbed her knee to stop it from bobbing uncontrollably. She wanted to escape into her apartment and hide from the world. But after impulsively blurting to Caleb that she was pregnant, she found herself back in his truck, trying to calm down.
Even though she hadn't intended to tell anyone that she was pregnant, Deja felt a little relief that someone knew. Holding it in was eating her up inside. But with that relief… came dread and regret.
Caleb placed another tissue in her lap. "Thank you," she whispered, wiping the tears from her face.
Leaning on his elbow, Caleb stroked the stubble on his chin as he stared out of the windshield. "...are you okay?" he asked softly.
Deja nodded as she blew her nose. "...I'll be fine..."
Turning his head, Caleb looked at her. Her body was hunched over in the passenger seat as if she were trying to hide.
"Now the Biggie Smalls clothing style makes sense," Caleb said suddenly, and Deja burst into laughter as tears rolled down her face.
Caleb smiled, just happy to get some sort of chuckle out of her. He hated seeing her so distraught.
"I don't want anyone to know," she said, wiping her nose. "I don't need people asking questions. I just want to be left alone."
Caleb twisted his mouth. "...is the father around?"
"No," Deja said simply.
Caleb frowned. "...do you want him to be?"
"No."
"Do you have anyone helping you-"
"No, Caleb," she said impatiently. "Just no. I don't have anyone. I don't need anyone. I can do this on my own."
Caleb sighed. "You shouldn't have to do it on your own, Deja..."
Deja's nostrils quivered, trying to hold back more tears as she stared out of the window. She looked down when she felt him grab her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. "...did he hurt you?" Caleb asked. "You can tell me..."
Deja stared at his hand as more tears fell from her face. "I don't feel comfortable talking about it," she said.
Caleb sighed. "...okay… You don't have to. But, I don't feel comfortable just abandoning you to deal with this alone."
Deja groaned in frustration. "It's not your responsibility or your concern, Caleb-"
"I get that. But I care about you, Deja-"
"Caleb!" she snapped. "Look, I don't know you, okay? I was in a very fucked-up relationship. People got hurt. And I don't want you to get hurt, too. I can't be with you. And I don't need you all up in my business."
"I'm not asking you to be with me. And I'm not asking for your life's story," Caleb insisted. "I'm just asking you to let me be there for you. To be your friend..."
Deja couldn't deny that Caleb's words brought her comfort she hadn't felt in a while. He made her feel safe.
But Deja couldn't trust those feelings. Not from anyone. "...as long as you keep your distance..." she said quietly.
"Friends from a distance. Got it," Caleb nodded. "I'll get a telescope so I can keep tabs on you from across the street like a creepy neighbor."
Deja chuckled at his corny banter. "I'm gonna go in. Take a nap. Thanks for the ice cream," she said, opening the door.
Caleb got out of the truck as well and stopped her before she could approach the building. She paused and looked up at him, breathing shakily as he stared down into her eyes. "Can I… can I hug you?" he asked. "You just… You really look like you could use a hug..."
Deja's heart fell with sorrow. Did she look that bad? That… pathetic ? She nodded, and Caleb wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him in a warm, comforting embrace.
Deja hesitated before she wrapped her arms around him, pressing her fingers against his back to feel his muscles.
She deeply inhaled his musky cedarwood-and-sawdust scent and relaxed against him.
His body felt so warm against hers, and it felt so good to have someone hold her.
To comfort her. To make her feel not alone.
"Oh… now , I feel the belly," Caleb chuckled. "OW!" he winced as Deja pinched him. "What was that for?"
"Don't talk about a pregnant woman's body," Deja muttered.
"Are you kidding? You're beautiful," Caleb said without hesitation. Deja pulled back from him as a bashful smile painted her face. She quickly dropped her arms and stepped back from him. "See you around then… friend ?" Caleb asked.
"Maybe..." she smiled before heading inside.
When she finally got to her floor, Deja headed into her apartment and locked the door behind her.
Her clothes were half hanging from her body when she threw herself onto the bed and sobbed into her pillow as loneliness, fear, and regret consumed her like a dark cloud hanging over her.
"Are you jealous because I won't let you fuck me tonight, Ian?"
"...maybe I am..."
Ian's blue pupils dilated as he watched Deja scoot back on the bed. A sultry, provocative smile defined her goddess-like features that he had become obsessed with.
He leaned forward on his knees, tugging at the tie that felt as if it were choking him as he watched Deja's knees rub together, teasing him. "...Deja..." he croaked with need.
"...what's the matter, Daddy? You want something?" Deja grinned.
"You know exactly what I want, Deja. Don't do this to me," Ian said impatiently. "Come here."
Deja bit her lip with a grin as she teasingly shook her head. A subtle growl escaped Ian's lips before he flew out of his seat. Deja looked up at him, startled as he pinned her to the bed. While one hand held her wrists above her head, the other trailed down her breasts, circling her erect nipples.
Deja let out short breaths, writhing from Ian's provocative touch. "Ian..." she whimpered, sparking a heartbeat in his pants. His eyelids became hooded, and his jaw tensed as his fingers stopped a mere few inches from her heaven. Deja looked up at him desperately. "Please," she begged.
Ian nearly exploded as his mouth conquered hers at the same time that his fingers slid between her labia.
Her body arched against him as he slid two fingers inside of her while his tongue claimed hers.
Her whimpers and moans made every muscle in his body tense with the overbearing desire to take her.
"Oh god, Ian! Ian, fuck me! Please!" Deja cried out. "Fuck me, Mr. Donovan!"
"Mr. Donovan."
Leaning his head on his fist, Ian lifted his eyes as if it were a chore and glanced across the table in the large, cold, dark warehouse at the disgruntled men sitting before him.
"...my apologies… did you say something...?" Ian said casually.
"We just read you a whole list of grievances," one of the men said, annoyed.
"...did you…?" Ian sighed, staring at his fingers.
He rubbed them together as if that would somehow allow him to feel the wetness he had teased out of Deja's pussy in his daydream.
He lifted his fingers to his nose and sighed with disappointment at the absence of her addictive scent. "...I suppose I missed it..."
"And this is why we're here," another man spoke up. "You're not listening to any of our grievances!"
"It's not that I'm not listening," Ian said, finally sitting straight as he folded his hands together.
"It's that I don't care. Trivial. Your grievances are trivial.
And frankly, a waste of my time. I gave you a warning.
Three, in fact. You did not heed them. Thus, several of your men have been terminated due to your inability to take instruction.
I'm not sure why this meeting was necessary. "
"Your brother has reduced my men down to a quarter of the size it once was," another man argued.
"Keith has an appetite," Ian shrugged, checking his watch. He sighed impatiently as he looked at the men again. "I warned you that you were overstepping boundaries. Jax had a balance. And you are expected to maintain that balance."
"Jax is dead!" another snapped.
Ian looked at the man with a tilt of his head as a smile crept across his face, showcasing his dimples.
"...be that as it may… Jax's absence does not authorize you free-range to do whatever the hell you want without consequences.
May I remind you that, as members of the Society, regardless of how inferior you are …
you are expected to follow protocol. My brother may not be here to hold you accountable, but I am speaking on his behalf and on behalf of the Aetherian Society. "
Ian looked down at the sound of his phone buzzing. He exhaled sharply before looking at the men again. "...if you'll excuse me for a moment..."
Standing to his feet, Ian tugged the hem of his suit jacket and walked down a narrow corridor. His eyes clouded over as he swiped through his phone and reread the message he had received. Stopping in front of a door, he pushed it open and stepped inside.
Staring at his phone entranced, Ian's polished shoes echoed against the floor as he crossed the room, interrupting the sounds of moaning and groaning.
"That's it, baby. You love it when Daddy fucks that dirty little mouth, don't you..."
Ian glanced at Keith, leaning back against the windowsill with his bloodstained mask covering half of his face. His fingers firmly grasped the bun on the head of a woman on her knees, going to town on his dick. A blood-crusted machete dangled from his other hand.
"Isn't that Rogan's woman?" Ian asked with a raised brow.
"...she was bored..." Keith grunted as he looked down at her. "She needed a distraction. Isn’t that right, baby?" The woman pulled her mouth off of him to speak. "That was a rhetorical question. Don’t stop," Keith said.
Ian sighed. "...this trial is nearly over… The compromise...? You'll need to lessen the frequency of your killing sprees."
"I'm trying to blow my damn seed, Ian. You're not helping," Keith said dismissively. Ian glanced at his phone again before he looked at the woman sucking Keith off. She was very beautiful. But she wasn’t...
Ian cleared his throat. "Keith, this is the fourth woman you've been with in the past 3 days alone."