44. Ethan
44
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The ride home felt like one of the longest fucking rides of my life. I wanted nothing more than to get my woman home where I could shower and care for her. I needed to be the one to make things right.
We’re pulling into the driveway at her dad’s house, the same one she’d been staying in with Cash since she got back. I wanted to go back to the apartment, but Skyler made a huge production out of why we needed to come here instead.
“Ethan, your apartment is too small. It only has one room with no door. She deserves to sleep in a comfortable bed, and I’d like to sleep in one too. My house has extra rooms with beds, and doors. There’s a fully stocked fridge, and it’s away from people.” Skyler’s eyes shine with tears.
“I want to keep Lilah to ourselves for a little while, at least until we figure out what Gabe plans to do for her. I know Eli said he’d take her to Mountain Heights, but I don’t know if it’s what’s best for her. So, for now, tonight, can we please go to my house?”
I hated hearing her say things like ‘her house’ and ‘your apartment’. As far as I’m concerned what’s mine is hers and wherever she chooses to live will be my home.
Skyler twists around, shaking Lilah’s knee to wake her up. It’s late. We’re all exhausted. It’s been a pretty shitty day all around. I want nothing more than to get inside the house and then inside my woman.
But will she let me with a kid in the room next door?
Fuuuuuck.
I should’ve taken Gabe up on his offer to have Lilah sleep at the clubhouse, but Skyler wouldn’t hear of it. Started rambling about how trash whores teaching her how to pole dance and suck dick was going to happen over Skyler’s dead body. Of course, she later apologized saying it wasn’t all the club girls she was referring to, only Candy and Rachel. The others hadn’t done anything to piss her off.
Skyler showed Lilah to the guest room while I unpacked the car. By the time I was done, Skyler was closing the door to the guest room holding up a finger to her mouth telling me to be quiet.
“She asleep?” I whisper.
“Yeah. Poor thing, she’s exhausted. They had her for several hours before taking me. She hadn’t eaten when they picked her up. Spider used her hunger to draw her in. He took her into the grocery store and told her to pick a few things to eat because he wanted to help her. She hadn’t eaten I don’t think, until we drove through and got burgers on the way home.”
Wrapping my arms around her, I pull Skyler into me and nuzzle into her neck.
“I let you down today, baby. I’m sorry you were mixed up in any of this shit. I should’ve skipped the fights and stayed by your side.”
Skyler shoves my chest, scowling at me, eyes full of disgust.
Shit. She thinks I fucked up too.
“Ethan James Anderson!” She whisper-shouts, poking my in the chest with her finger. “I swear you are one of the dumbest men I have ever met in my life. Sometimes I wonder how you got this far in life with all the utter bullshit you believe.”
I stifle a laugh at her indignation. I pick her up and carry her down the hall to our room, and close the door shut with my foot.
“You need to be quiet. You’re going to wake up the kid.”
Her face scrunches up, her eyes narrow, and my dick is at half-mast already.
“I’m not going to let you sit here and blame yourself for shit you didn’t do. Spider was the one sent his goon in to snatch me, and if it hadn’t been for Violet being hurt…” her eyes widen, her hand covers her mouth. “I’m such a terrible friend. I forgot all about Violet and her getting hurt. I didn’t even ask anyone when we got back to the hotel, or on the way home.” Cradling her face in her hands, Skyler breaks.
“One minute we were going to grab snacks and a drink, then the loud noise went off sending everyone into a tailspin and she was on the ground getting trampled on. I-I-I d-don’t even know how she got hurt, I saw the blood on her dress and ran out to find Dec and Jake. Then everything went sideways, and I was climbing into a van with a psychopath.”
There it is. Adrenaline dump.
I pull her into my chest and rest my chin on her head and let her get it all out.
“You’re not a bad friend. You were going through your own chaos and fighting to stay alive. I’m sure Violet won’t hold you trying to survive and protecting a teenage girl against you.”
“I still should’ve remembered to check on her.” She leans back, looking up at me with tears streaking her face. “How is she? Do we know what happened to her? How she got hurt?”
“I can’t really talk about it, baby. It’s club business.”
She steps back, but I keep my hold tight. I know she’s pissed. She hates those words. I hate keeping things from her too, but if what Hawk found out is true, Skyler doesn’t need to know a damn thing about anything. Plausible deniability has never been more important, especially with the possibility of a dirty cop being involved in our shit.
“I thought we agreed no more secrets?”
“We did, but you know that doesn’t include club business. I can’t betray Pres and the MC like that. And it’s not like I want to keep secrets from you. It’s for your safety, and to keep my ass out of jail – we hope.”
Skyler slaps my chest hard.
“Not funny, Ethan! You are not going to jail! I just got you back, you can’t go leaving me so soon.”
I take her mouth in a searing kiss. Our tongues sliding along each other, tasting, teasing, devouring. Skyler melts into me and I fucking love it.
“I’m not leaving you. Ever. I was just proving my point.”
She lets out a long-exaggerated sigh. “Can you at least tell me if Violet is, okay?”
“Yeah, baby. She’s fine. Declan said she had to get a few stiches and then he drove her back here to his place.”
“His place?” Her eyebrows damn near hit her hair line. “Who has Carter?”
“His still with Liz at the farm.”
Skyler’s lips curve upward into a mischievous smirk.
“Now. We have something else to discuss.” I walk her backward until the back of her knees hit the edge of the bed. She changed out of her dress and into one of my long-sleeved Henley’s and some tight-fitting black stretch pants.
I kick off my shoes and socks and rip my shirt off over my head, unbuttoning my jeans, but not ready to take them off yet. Skyler looked her fill with hooded eyes, licking her lips, her hands twisting the end of my shirt on her body.
Damn she looks good in my clothes.
“Take it off.” Skyler doesn’t hesitate, throwing my shirt to floor, maintaining eye contact with me the whole time. “All of it.” She makes quick work of stripping off her clothes, standing in front of me bare ass naked. My mouth waters at the sight of her.
Using my hands on her hips, I turn us so I’m sitting on the edge of the bed with Skyler standing between my legs.
“Over my lap.” She looks confused, but also intrigued. I’ve swatted her ass before, but this is going to be different. She needs to know how dead fucking serious I am about her safety and well-being.
Skyler hesitantly drapes herself over my lap.
“You seem to have something poking out of your jeans, baby. Want me to take care of it for you?” She’s playing games, trying to tease me, but she’s about to find out I’m not fucking playing.
“You will, after.”
“After, what?” My only answer is the palm of my hand coming down hard on her ass. “She yelped loud, and I quickly grab her panties from the floor, jostling her as I do. The panties are shoved into her mouth now, helping to quiet her moans.
I get back to peppering her cheeks with hard, repetitive swats. The sight of her ass turning from pink, to red, in a matter of seconds has my dick leaking precum in my jeans. I’m painfully hard and ready to give us both the release we need, but first we need to have a chat.
“You left Jake’s side at the arena.” Slap. Slap. Slap.
“I was trying to help Violet.” Slap.
“Your man told you to stay with the brothers who were assigned to watch over you, and you left them both. You should’ve let them help Violet. Your safety comes first to me, Skyler. Every.” Slap. “Fucking.” Slap. “Time.” Slap.
Slipping a finger down her crease, she’s already dripping wet and slick with need. I circle her clit until she wiggles on my lap, fighting against my own body’s reaction to having her body grinding down on mine.
My balls are painfully tight, but she needs to learn. I need her to get it!
“You’re enjoying this way too much, Sunshine. This was meant to be a punishment. A reminder to keep yourself safe. You are never to put yourself in danger like that again.”
“I d-d-didn’t do it on purpose.”
“The hell you didn’t.” Slap. This time I rub her cheeks, soothing some of the sting. “I know why you did it. You wanted to help Lilah. But the fact remains, you are mine, and losing you is not an option. We would’ve helped her. But not at the cost of losing you. DO you understand, Sky? Please, tell me you understand? I can’t lose you, baby. I won’t survive losing you again.”
Skyler’s shoulder shake, and I know she’s crying. Making her feel guilty isn’t something I like doing, but she needs to trust me. To trust us.
Sitting her up, I turn her to straddle me and cradle her face in my hands as I wipe away her tears. I pepper her face with soft kisses, then hold her to my chest and let her cry on more time. She’s been through so much; I don’t even think she’s processed it all.
“I’m sorry, Ethan.” Her words are whispered against my chest. My hand on her chin, forces her to look me in the eyes. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I saw Lilah, and I remembered Emily. How helpless I felt. The guilt I carry for not getting to her in time. I couldn’t let it happen again.” She sniffs. “Lilah is so young, and all alone. I had to do something. It’s what my Daddy would’ve done. He would’ve helped the child.”
Kissing her forehead, I remind her, “We’ve talked about this. You were not at fault for Emily’s death. She got into her own trouble. Made her own decisions.”
“But that’s just it, Ethan. Lilah didn’t get into her own trouble. She didn’t ask to be thrown away like a piece of unwanted trash. She was never meant to be hungry, begging strangers for money to buy food. She’s a little girl, for fuck’s sake!” Her voice raises and I see where she’s going with this. The pain she’s struggling with.
“What kind of mother throws their child away?” She sobs, dropping her face into her hands and mumbles, “I fought so hard to keep our child, and here’s this poor girl whose mother threw her baby girl away. I had to help her.”
“Shh. Okay. Okay, baby. I get it. It’s okay.” My words are meant to sooth, but I think the only thing Skyler needs from me right now is to hold her while she finally lets it all go, once and for all.
We sit here for several minutes. Skyler’s naked body straddling my half naked one. When she’s finally cried enough, she sits up and asks, “Will you make love to me, Ethan? I need to feel us. To know we’re going to be okay.”
I don’t answer with words. I kiss the ever-loving hell out of her, standing and turning to lay her out on the bed before me. As always, my woman gives as good as she gets. I swallow her moans, and slow the kiss, pulling back enough to stand up.
Shucking off my jeans, I spread her thighs and climb up between them, the tip of my dick knocking at her entrance. With her eyes locked on mine, I push my cock all the way inside and settle there. Balls deep, stretching her body to fit mine.
Skyler lifts her head up off the bed, bringing her mouth to mine, and begin moving in and out of her body slowly, but forcefully. Hitting the sweet spot, I know will set her off.
Her legs wrap tight around my waist, and she starts moving in time with me, taking what she needs from me.
Reaching between us, I pinch her nipple and give it a good twist, at the same time she grinds herself against me. Her legs shake, her eyes close, and my woman is lost to the pleasure only I can give her.
I pick up my pace. Pounding into her now, harder, faster until I reach the same cliff and follow her over the edge of ecstasy.
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